WANAKENA WEEKLY #24 - 07/16/20 - 07/22/20

Happy Thursday!



This past week in a nutshell: Hot weekend! Was up near 90 – sure felt like it. Rain and thunder and lightning Sunday night. Cooled the town down for a while. On and off rain and sun through this past “work week”… just what the doctor ordered. A big coyote has been seen wandering around town most days of the week… watch out now! RODENTS…. lots and lots of rodents: mice in camps, chipmunks digging up potatoes in the garden, squirrels galore. Bats flutter overhead. Deer and turkey scamper across the road; purple, yellow, white, wildflower highway blur. Bank beaver by Fox’s Den and bee balm by The Mill Pond. Neowise comet and mosquitos will carry you away over The Setback at dusk. Wrong Way Girls are back for round two.
Weather forecast: Possible thunderstorms Thursday evening. Looks like a beautiful weekend – Friday, Saturday, Sunday in the low 80s, low 60s at night… maybe some clouds here and there; sun, also. More rain Monday! DRUM CIRCLE SATURDAY at 8pm and every other Saturday after that. 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
BRIDGEWORK CONTINUES! Looks like they’ve got a new project in the works. Some sort of crude wood structure holding up a giant beam. Interesting… we’ll see what happens. Last week we commented that bridgework was mostly taking place on the North Shore. Neighbors on the South Shore informed up that we jinxed the universe and work commenced on the South Shore simultaneous to the WW#23 publication where we mentioned such information. Sorry, folks! Work on North Shore abutment continues, as well – getting big! Also, popping wheelies on bicycle will trigger the light to turn green – sometimes.
It appears that very geometrically-minded vandals have created some intentional-looking artwork out on the Wanakena Tennis Court. Some sort of green gridwork. Happy people whacking dense plastic swiss-cheese-like yellow ball with wooden paddles tell us it’s called Pickle Ball. Word on the street is that even the nicest people you know will become stern in the face and spirit when a match of Pickle Ball is going-down!
This past Saturday night six experimental musicians descended upon Wanakena: Claude and Ola Aldous, W.T. Eckert, Michael Hart, Jarod Sommerfeldt, and Dean Thornton. The concept was to take another stab at ROUST: an experiment in random combinations of performers improvising. This past November WITHIN Otto’s Abode ROUST I happened. It was a hit. Well, in the age of coronavirus the Rousters wanted to get back at it. Can you blame them? Sonic experiments commenced in ZPARK for a couple hours. Spectators and performers were socially distanced and masked-up. Great work, everyone! Some rather large fireworks (unrelated to the ROUST II event) were launched in the sky that evening at dusk. The Neowise Comet could be seen in the Northwestern Sky over The Setback. Roust III is in the works… stay tunes.
HOT OFF THE PRESSES!!! Ranger School professor and Five Ponds Partners Chair Jamie Savage just dropped off a stack of brand spankin’ new Cranberry Lake 50 Pocket Guides! Snag your copy down here at the shop for $15.95 and some tax. The book has detailed information on how to plan your trip, what to expect while you’re out there, side-trip information, photos, and lots more. Congrats to Jamie Save and co-author Spencer Morrisey on the completion of the Cranberry 50 Map companion piece! There’s talk of a book-signing event in the near future… stay tuned!
A Watertown Daily Times article from this past week highlighted a recent purchase of local land by New York State. The article reads: Also in the town of Clifton, DEC acquired the former site of a large log cabin and boat house on Dead Creek Flow built in the late 1880s and known as Tramps Retreat for $131,400. Tramps Retreat frequently hosted prominent figures of the day including Frederick Remington, Irving Bacheller, and Governor Roswell Flower. The building was destroyed by fire in 1957. This 11-acre acquisition in a remote part of Cranberry Lake where development is limited supports efforts to preserve the area’s natural character. The parcel is bounded by Cranberry Lake Wild Forest in the Forest Preserve and includes 600 feet of frontage on the lake. Here's a postcard with Tramps Retreat on it (bottom, middle):
Down at the Abode it has been a busy summer. Since re-opening (after being closed for 10 weeks) Memorial Day Weekend we have seen lots of out-of-town folks hitting the trails. Parking lots across the river have been full or overflowing. Lots of CL50 hikers popping on. ON VIEW we have extended the TWENTY-FIVE YEARS exhibition for at least another week. The ’95 Microburst is still fresh in people’s minds and worthy of a further celebration and exploration. Check it out id you havn't already done so. Or check it out again. ALSO don't forget you can register to play the Cranberry Lake Boat Club Village Poker Ramble! Construction cones are out, also.
Blackwaters Café and Trading Post in Wanakena is open for pick-up/take-out Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat 11-6:30 pm. Picnic tables and port-o-john out front! Picnic tables out back by the river, too. Order though their take-out window or better yet do it online at their website www.blackwaterscafe.com Someone said Packbasket Adventures is renting rooms.

Stone Manor Diner and Motel in Cranberry Lake, Lakeside General Store in Cranberry Lake, UB’s Mercantile & Adirondack Rustics in Oswegatchie, Coffee Fever, 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…). The Clifton-Fine Municipal Golf Course is open seven days a week. 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 is closed but hosts via Facebook Live bedtime stories most nights read aloud by Ms. Kate the Librarian! Also from the CCL Facebook page: “Community wide scavenger hunt!!! From Windfall to Oswegatchie, from Fine to Cranberry Lake--put your peepers on and prove you have 2020 Vision!. I'll be putting paper forms in the CL post office shortly, and then hitting the road to drop off paper copies in Wanakena (Otto’s Abode), Star Lake, Newton Falls, and wherever else we can! I hope you have a great time--first prize is $50 to either Todd's, UB's, or Stone Manor. #2020vision Have a GREAT time and remember that you have to enter via the Google Form listed at the top of this sheet.” https://www.facebook.com/cliftoncommunitylibrary/

Hillside Diner in Oswegatchie says they should be opening soon! Twin Lakes in Star Lake remains temporarily closed.

Kim’s Lost Dog Report: As of today 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
On the twenty-sixth day of July sow turnips wet or dry - unknown