Wonderful trip out to Stone Valley with some of this year's graduating St. Lawrence students last week. So nice to share one of our favorite places with these students before they leave the North Country. We especially enjoyed listening to the warblers and catbirds calling along the trail. Stone Valley will be waiting when you come back to visit!

Encountered high water and lots of wild flowers while out trail running at Stone Valley. Hobble-bush has just begun to bloom, and there are several generous patches of bluets and trillium. Nice to see a few other folks out on the trail despite the rain. The section of trail by Lenny road is slightly flooded, bring boots or be prepared to get wet!

Wild leeks are in! Spent some time walking in the woods the other day and came across a few impressive patches of these early spring arrivals. It's always good to be careful when collecting wild edible plants, but I find leeks (or ramps) are easily identifiable by their soft green leaves, the purple color between leaf and bulb, and their delicious garlic-y smell. These were great sauteed with butter.

Nature Up North and friends at a "Green Up" on the Grasse River today in honor of Earth Day. We collected a total of 5 bags of trash and 3 of recyclables along the trail to the Sandbanks and along the river! It was great to spend the morning outside meeting new people, and it felt good to clean up an outdoor spot where so many enjoy spending time. We also encountered a full deer skeleton along the way, which nature was in the process of "recycling". Thanks to everyone who came out to help!

Took a great afternoon hike up Owl's Head, a small peak near Groton State Forest, while visiting family over in Vermont this weekend. There was still about a foot of snow on the ground, but spring was in full gear, with a sky full of high wispy cirrus clouds and 60 degree weather. Beautiful!

The field by this part of the Little River flooded this weekend, and I was captivated by the shapes the ice formed as it froze in thin layers around the grasses. Nearby, we came upon this impressive scat sample. Best guess is a coyote- one who's been snacking on snowshoe hare by the looks of it.

I saw the sun coming up and the contrast with the dark pending rain clouds and bright orange sun made me run outside down our long driveway to capture this dramatic sunrise.

Beautiful trip with a visiting friend down to the Grasse River near Pyrites to see Hart's Falls (also known as Flat Rocks). The water cascades around a bend in the river here and the long flat rocks feature a spattering of well worn holes formed by years of moving water. Owned by The St. Lawrence Land Trust, the spot is a conservation preserve open to the public- worth a visit any time of year!

Out for a quick morning ski with the pup. The river was loud in the quiet of the morning, and Tigger had trouble containing his excitement. It may have been an early start for us, but not for some, several fresh white-tailed deer tracks already criss-crossed the field.

. Mother nature is quite an artist with only water & temperature as the medium.