Happy Thursday!
This past week in a nutshell: It’s been dry all around. Wanakena lawns aren’t brown, though. The Earth is dusty. We have had enough rain here and there to keep the forest lush; mushrooms are popping up. The coyote continues to be seen around the village at all hours – day and night. Snowshoe hare hoppin’ abun-dance! Raspberries along the trail. Footbridge bank beaver comfortably floats around below the rapids. The Canadian goslings are growing nearly grown. Trailhead parking lots remain busy and are noticeably ALL or MOSTLY New York State license plates. This in comparison to earlier this spring, in the height of NY Covid-crisis when the parking lots were filled with cars from just about every state. Most would agree the river is low. SOMEONE STOLE A PERSON'S KAYAK RACK OFF OFF THE ROOF OF THEIR CAR AT INLET TODAY.
Long-term forecast looks not nearly as hot as it has been. Temperatures shouldn’t get above 80 through the weekend. Weather looks clear though the weekend as well with possible rain arriving Sunday - hopefully! Enjoy! 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!!!! A drilling crew of two has been busy earth-coring dozens of twenty-foot holes into the bedrock deep in the crater of the future south-shore abutment. This is to tie with fasterner the future abutment down tight to the earth. Meanwhile on the North-Shore abutment the crew is molding decorative fake-brick-looking cement facade; faux finesse. Instead of sharing a photograph of the current bridge we thought we’d share a photo of the old bridge in the dead of winter. BRRRR!
Sitting on a rock up the rapids of the Oswegatchie the other evening. Around 7:30pm. Sun below tree line. Sunny, some clouds. Humid, but not hot. Mid 70s maybe. Spiders and crickets pop and tuck among the shoreline river rocks. Grasses and flowers grow from rooted tufts of earth; mini ecosystem outposts temporarily situated among the shoreline river rocks. Large, severed crustacean claw hollowed of life and crawling with ants. Cardinal flowers, even.
AGGRESSIVE RED SQUIRREL ALERT! Have you heard of the Wrong Way Girls? Well, as reported in last week’s Wanakena Weekly the WWG had returned to Cranberry Lake for a second voyage. They hit the lake and wound up setting up camp on Catamount Island (Campsite #11) this past week and commented on the condition of the the wildlife specifically the red squirrels. As their story goes the squirrels were NUTS! Chewing through just about everything, running off with the hot chocolate power (maybe?) and overall terrorizing Camp WWG. One wonders how these squirrels got there and why they are so crazy. Perhaps when the Cranberry Lake dam was built in 1867 a group of red squirrels got trapped on what became Catamount Island.
Wilderness Rescue! Town of Clifton. On July 20 at 8 a.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a request for assistance from a 25-year-old man from Honeoye Falls hiking the Cranberry 50 when he became fatigued about 20 miles into the woods. - Forest Ranger Will Benzel responded to assist and after a brief interview determined the hiker was on the Gilbert Tract, which is located near the road heading into Cranberry Lake Campground. The ranger picked up the hiker and provided him with a courtesy ride to his vehicle in Wanakena.
Down at the Abode The Covid-Meter remains at PHASE 4. Suppose the next big phase will be going back to school (?). TWENTY FIVE YEARS remains on-view, the collection growing. Eight Miles to Harewood postcards in the shop. We'll be getting our first shipment of 1,000 Island River Rat CHEESE Friday! CL50 Pocket Guides are fresh in the shop, new CL50 stickers, also. Cranberry Lake Boat Club Village Poker Ramble registration and Clifton Community Library Scavenger Hunt is on view. Oh yeah, the Abode got Asphalted!
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 Back open for service via curbside pick-up! 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, Twin Lakes in Star Lake remain temporarily closed.
Kim’s Lost Dog Report: As of today there are NO lost dogs in Wanakena. We'll share a reader's submission concerning dogs in Wanakena here: An interesting incident of passing pups occurred on Sunday, July 26th in the afternoon hours, after coffee yet sometime before tea. This writer and her walking friends were met by other walking friends. Most notably coming upon two humans joined by two dogs, one made clear as to not belong to those very walkers-by. Questions were raised with little to be done. Further down the path, this writer and her walking friends were then met by another passer-by. But this time, there were answers to be given: “Yes, we do know where your dog is, sir. That way - he’s tagging along into town with another pup and two walkers”. Relief sighed and good-byes bid. This writer and her walkers continued walking. If said parading pup was to slap a cliche’d bumper sticker upon his rear, it would read: All those who wander are not lost. Ta-ta for now! - Hannah Fedorow
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
Once the apple is ripe, no man can turn it back to greening. – Wales