Happy Thursday!
This past week’s weather in a nutshell: the warm spell cooled way down over this past weekend. Downright chilly. A much-needed break in the heat and dry; right on time, actually. This shift in weather brought brief but heavy wind. Some downed trees and lots of rain. One 15-foot balsam-top cracked off and over, cascaded toward the ground puncturing the earth and snapped off. Yikes. Clintonia and Lady Slipper in the forest! Mom and eight quacklings seen strutting-up second street. Holly says High Falls Loop is in good shape besides some beaver action up The Truck Trail. Bernie says juvenile bald eagle at The Mill Pond. Heard a funky guttural growl from the backyard the other evening… two very round raccoons sniffing around the garbage can. Mosquito and deer fly abound. Turtle bridge crossing, too. Thick and humid – more rain on the way.
Looks like a cool weekend with daytime temps around 60. Cool nights for sure. Beautiful! Maybe some rain Sunday and warming up to 80 though the week before The Summer Solstice!
This weather forecast is brought to you by Wanakena’s own PATTIJACKNAN weather team – a Wanakener garage pole mounted weather station and crew. THANKS, TEAM! This weather station can be found at: https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/ny/wanakena/KNYWANAK8
Sitting on a rock a few feet out from site #37 on Dead Creek Flow the other day. The air smells sweet. Sunny, some clouds, warm! Very nice breeze coming from south-west. Sun reflecting off the water makes white pine boughs above shimmer while they flow in the breeze. A pontoon approaches off in the distance. Dragonfly click and clank as they wrestle with the atmosphere and each other. Waterbugs loop the loops on the water’s surface. Small sunfish snatch one with a splishing glug. The surrounding hills (Gobblers Knob?) glow green in the bright sun. Surface of water blue like sky. Two boats and me, way down at the end of Dead Creek Flow. Breezin. A paddler approaches in the distance.
Over the weekend, just after the big wind/rain burst, Ozzy pulls up and says there is a big tree down blocking South Shore Road just before Cat Mt. trailhead – took some power lines with it. National Grid was called and arrived on the scene. Also, while going out to
carefully check out the downed tree/power lines one couldn’t not notice all of the pine cones scattered about. Pine cones that were not there in the morning. Wind blew em off the tops of white pines like dandelion seeds in the wind.
Who’s that? Oh, that’s Michelle! Seen in Wanakena up on some poles. Town of Fine created a couple neat banners. Check em out! Down by the dock/beach and over at the turn onto Ranger School Road by The Setback. Some might be asking: What is that behind them? A rock with Wanakena painted on it. Yes! It’s true! The super strict leave-no-tracers and the uber-cute painted rock people are able to work together and allow a rock within “forever wild” state wilderness to exist in harmony with it's surroundings. It’s a stupendous sight! Just where Inlet Flow meets Dead Creek Flow out on Cranberry Lake. Across from Hawk’s Nest.
Bridgework continues! Without batting an eye, the temporary bridge is up and running and the old green machine is being chewed up and spit out like Christmas gristle. The bridge crew wastes no time as long work days show major results. There’s not much of Old Green left standing. It’s being loaded into dumpsters and hauled off. Wonder if there is any old treasure under there. Tobacco cans and axe heads? Croquet mallets, perhaps?
Concert series formally cancelled. Seen in this week’s Bargain Hunter… Caught wind that the first concert of the season would have been Gone Fishin’ live at The Gazebo Friday, June 19th at 7pm.
https://www.facebook.com/ginzodude/
Down at the Abode – Eight Miles to Harewood – Eight NEW drawings by Nolan Fedorow remains on-view through 6/22. Want to exhibit your artwork here at Otto’s Abode? Let’s chat! FRESH Martin’s Pretzels in the shop. Come and crunch’em. Ice Cream chest topped-off too. Deer fly patches for sale in the shop, too! Local DEC Ranger Will Benzel popped in the other day – mentioned that three Assistant Forest Rangers have been hired to patrol the Cranberry Lake/Five Ponds Region. BEHAVE!
Blackwaters Café and Trading Post in Wanakena is open for pick-up/take-out Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat 11-6:30pm. Picnic tables and port-o-john out front! Picnic, anyone? Order though their take-out window or better yet do it online at their website
www.blackwaterscafe.com
Stone Manor Diner & Motel in Cranberry Lake, Lakeside General Store in Cranberry Lake, UB’s Mercantile in Oswegatchie, Todd Hardware, Adirondack Pharmacy and Circle K in Star Lake, Mountain Gate Redemption near Benson Mines, and Sevey Point remain open for business in one way or another (open, take out, pick up, drop off, etc…). Post Offices are open too (Thanks, Mary!)
Duck Decoy and MORE showroom open for pop-ins. “Showroom FILLED” 481 Tooly Pond Rd, Cranberry Lake – 315-848-4223
Always beautiful photography at the Wanakena Tracks facebook page.
The Clifton Community Library in Cranberry Lake hosts via Facebook Live bedtime stories most nights read aloud by Ms. Kate the Librarian!
Hillside Diner in Oswegatchie, Twin Lakes and Coffee Fever in Star remain temporarily closed.
Kim’s Lost Dog Report: As of Wednesday at 10:35am when Kim poked her head in the shop and said: “Hey, There are no lost dogs this week”... there are NO lost dogs in Wanakena.
All for now!
Any questions, comments, concerns, trail condition inquiries, legends, jokes, animal sightings, etc… feel free to email
otto@ottosabode.org or call 3158483008 or pop-in the shop! Wanakena Weekly archive here:
http://www.ottosabode.org/p/wanakena-weekly.html
There is a time to fish and a time to dry nets – Chinese Proverbs
