Happy Thursday!
WITHINANUTSHELL – As the old saying goes: Alas, June! Such an inconsistent giver; today we swelter, tomorrow we shiver. And that has certainly rang true! This whole spring has been a roller coaster of weather. Hot, cold, dry, wet, etc etc… Woke up to 38 degrees Wednesday morning! This cooler weather did knock that hot humidity right out of town. Last week Bill G said the Oswegatchie was 75 degrees THREE FEET DOWN. BEAR SIGHTING IN WANAKENA! Bear sighted by yours truly; In-between the cemetery and the car bridge, closer to the cemetery seen walking across the road heading west to Star Lake, probably to see what the hell they are supposedly doing to Circle J’s. The bear was not large nor small. BIG STORM Sunday night into Monday morning. BIG BOOMING AND ROLLING THUNDER. LIGHTING STRIKES. Got 8/10s of an inch of rain by some reports. We welcome it as it has been dry dry dry. Some folks experienced some electrical surges and reports of downed trees throughout the Clifton-Fine area – not-so-much Wanakena. More rain followed here and there throughout the week. Reports of itsy bitsy tiny baby loons on Cranberry Lake. Turtles around town. FOURTH OF JULY PARADE IS ON. DUCK RACE TOO. SEE YOU SUNDAY THE 4TH IN WANAKENA! The Ranger School re-opened its campus to the public – happy trails. SLOW DOWN WHEN YOU DRIVE THOUGH WANAKENA, PLEASE! Wear a life jacket AND DON’T SPREAD INVASIVE SPECIES! Carry it in carry it out, leave no trace. Also watch out for ticks! Here’s a link to the most recent town board meeting minutes. (06/09/21): HERE Check out this silly ad we saw on North County Now:
FORECAST - The forecast says… More rain this weekend; perhaps PM showers on Friday and thunderstorms Saturday. Maybe some more rain and thunder Monday, Tuesday as well. Temperatures will warm up, though. 70s though the weekend and up into the 80s on Monday. Cooling down into next week. 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 HERE: Also, always beautiful photography at the Wanakena Tracks facebook page Summer Concert Series information HERE. Here is a shot of some FUNKY stuff growing on the stump of an ancient white pine:
ROADWORK – Someone told us that the rt. 61 project will begin June 23rd. Here’s the old news: Three culverts installed. Big bump on the curve: GONE! The shoulders have been scraped down alongside the road. Things in the way (fallen trees, boulders) are pushed out of the way. Could this be what we think it is? Is the County beginning to work on RT 61 leading into Wanakena? All the way from RT 3 down to Ranger School Road?! We’ll see! Seems like it. The Town of Fine Board meeting from 3/10/21 said RT 61 (Wanakena Road) will be replaced/resurfaced this summer. So… yeah. Here's a shot of the labyrinth:
DOWN AT THE ABODE – ROUST IS COMING! Yes! That’s right… ROUST returns for ROUST IV. Next weekend. See the Flyer below. Out on the front porch we’ve got a new produce rack. Produce arrives Thursday afternoon. We will make an effort to have a list of what produce will arrive – this list will be posted by the produce stand early in the week. This week: red peppers, tomatoes, celery, empire apples, romaine, and more! Milk, eggs, bread and more groceries within. Bread from the Potsdam Coop arrives Thursday afternoon as well. Wanakana’s own Swickamillo’s Sourdough bread hits the shelves every Saturday! WIDE SELECTION of packaged beer in the walk-in cooler; light stuff, dark stuff, ales, porters, stouts, ciders, seltzers, cheap stuff, expensive stuff, bottles, ambers, lagers, cans, TO GO. Ice cream, candy, snacks, music, books, maps, t-shirts, hiking, fishing, and MORE! Also, art and history exhibits ALWAYS on view. WE’RE CLOSED ON TUESDAYS.
ON VIEW – 1st Annual Black Fly Jamboree – June 2nd – July 12th - WELCOME TO THE FIRST ANNUAL BLACK FLY PLEIN AIR JAMBOREE HELD RIGHT HERE AT OTTO’S ABODE IN WANAKENA. LOCAL ARTISTS WERE INVITED TO MAKE ART EN PLEIN AIR DURRING THE INFAMOUS ADIRONDACK BLACK FLY SEASON. FOR ONE PARTICIPATING ARTISTS IT MEANT HIKING HALWAY ACROSS THE WILDERNESS TO CAPTURE A PERFECT PHOTO. FOR ANOTHER IT MEANT CELEBRATING THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ACTUAL BLACK FLYS ON THE SURFACE OF THE PAINTING. WHILE THE BLACK FLYS ARE MOST LIKLEY OUT AND BITING, WE HOPE YOU ENJOY SPENDING TIME WITH THIS COLLECTION OF RECENTLY CREATED ARTWORKS. AN ARTIST MEET-UP WILL BE HELD IN Z-PARK SATURDAY, JUNE 26TH AT 2PM – ALL ARE WELCOME. DON’T FORGET THE BUG SPRAY. Featuring the works of: Annette Swartz, Jack Williams, Jack LaQuay, Carol Cassidy, Deb Roberts, Sara Cibelli, Bernie Siskavich, Bev McKeown, Holly Woodworth, Maria Ortega.
BLACKWATERS CAFÉ AND TRADING POST – Open Sun, Tues, Wed 8-3pm & Thurs, Fri, Sat 8-7pm (closed Mondays). Beginning Wednesday, May 19th: IF YOU ARE FULLY VACCINATED, you may visit our establishment without a mask. ALL NON-VACCINATED PERSONS OVER 16 MUST STILL WEAR THEIR MASKS. Thank you for getting vaccinated - it helps us all move forward! CHECK OUT THEIR TRAIL CAM HERE.
ALSO - Speaking of the black water.... The Oswegatchie River.... Here is a shot of a non-native aquatic invasive species right here in Wanakena. This is called Variable Leaf Water Millfoil. As of now it is the ONLY invasive species in Cranberry Lake... YOU DON'T WANT ANOTHER INVASIVE SPECIES IN CRANBERRY LAKE... NO ONE SHOULD WANT AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN CRANBERRY LAKE. DONT FOOL AROUND, PEOPLE!
WANAKENA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION – Walking Tour around Wanakena is OPEN for the warm-weather season!
RANGER SCHOOL - The Dubuar Forest is open to the public again effective Tuesday June 1. This includes the fire tower. Happy Trails! Watch out for BEARS! The Ranger School is currently hosting its second summer session. The public is asked not to enter or go near the RS buildings. CHECK OUT THEIR TRAIL CAM HERE.
WANAKENA CHURCH – OPEN FOR SUMMER SUNDAY SERVICES STARTING JUNE 6th – Sunday service starts at 9:15 AM!!! Ring that bell!
WANAKENA CEMETERY ASSOCIATION – Got yer raffle tickets? Announced that Cremation Remains burial has gone up from $150 to $250. Also, there is no longer a backhoe charge for cremation burial because they don’t use a backhoe for cremation burials any longer.
HAREWOOD – Cranberry Lake Boat Club Poker Paddle will be held on July 24th in Wanakena – more info to come! Carl and Maria have retired from Stone Manor Diner and Motel! Congratulations! Therefore, the diner is CLOSED until further notice! New owners say they will re-open ASAP. Clifton Community Library OPEN 6 days a week: Mon-Fri 10-2pm also Wed 6-7pm and Saturdays 10-1pm. The Library has a Story Walk out-back. The Library has also announced: LIVE MUSIC with The Nelson Brothers 2pm August 29th. Cranberry Lake Book Club first Mondays of the month in community room below the library. Cranberry Lake Dry Dock and Marine Services LLC (Billy’s Boat Shop) has a new phone number: 3156032108. Lakeside General Store is OPEN! Tooley Pond Duck Decoy Showroom in Cranberry Lake is OPEN (call first)!!!!!!! John Dragun NEON ARTWORK and MORE down in Windfall… OPEN! Check out the Cranberry Lake Boat Club and The North Shore Hub are up to on Facebook. Cranberry Lake Boat Club 5k Firecracker Race July 4th! We heard that the Cranberry Lake Art Show will be held Sat and Sun August 14th and 15th this summer. What ever happened to Grass River Railway? We spoke with someone who’s workin’ on it! Also, check this out: http://cranberrylake.com/defaults.asp Bear Mountain written up by the DEC's Randy Young in this week's NNY Business Mag:
NEWTON FALLS - Recent article about NF development HERE. Robust discussion of Newton Falls on Facebook HERE
OUT WEST – SOS announced an August 14th-15th South Woods Historical Society event. Summer Yoga back at the Star Lake Community Center on Wednesdays, call ‘em up! Big news about Benson Mine solar farm HERE. The Fitness Room at CFCS is OPEN to community members 6pm – 10pm M-F starting May 3rd (paperwork required). Also, volleyball at school Thursday nights at 5:30pm, outside. Mountain Gate Redemption near Benson Mines is open. Golf course is open. Twin Lakes Hotel, Coffee Fever, American Legion, Todd Hardware, Adirondack Pharmacy (vaccines available!!), Community Bank and Circle J’s in Star Lake are OPEN! Alcoholics Anonymous Friday nights at 7pm in the SOS Building. UB’s, and Adirondack Rustics, Hillside Diner in Oswegatchie are OPEN! The following is copy-pasted from the Fine Town Board Meeting hours from Wednesday 11/11/2020: Jeremy wanted the board to be aware that the Dollar General is looking into putting a store at the former Great American site. This would not be required to go to site plan review since it is not a change of use.
KIM AND THOMS LOST DOG REPORT - As of today, there are NO lost dogs in Wanakena. Town of Fine is doing a Dog Census this summer. All dogs over 4 months are required to be licensed in the Town of Fine.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR - http://www.ottosabode.org/2020/06/wanakena-weekly-19-061120-061720.html
ALL FOR NOW!!!!!!
Any questions, comments, concerns, trail condition inquiries, legends, jokes, animal sightings, cartoons, 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 Also, we probably wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to publish your submission! Write “submission” in the subject line! Wanakena Weekly is brought to you by the folks at Otto's Abode.
“A man in the wilderness asked me, how many strawberries grow in the sea? I answered him, as I thought good, as many as red herrings grow in the wood.” Anonymous (17th Century)