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 Feline Wall, about ¼ mile into Panther Gorge on Mt. Marcy, sometimes hosts a thin ice smear down its center line. It seems reliable in that it forms every year. The caveat is that it is thickest at the top where the water feeding it seeps from the krummholz. Sun heats the dark underlying stone and often delaminates the bottom portion. Whether it is bonded to the anorthosite when one visits, is a persistent wildcard.

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.

A lovely afternoon at Bittersweet Farm, checking in on the newborn piglets and lambs faded into a beautiful winter sunset. The orange was still alive on the horizon as planets and stars began to appear in the blue/black sky above. As it grew darker coyotes could be heard barking in the woods beyond the fields.

Easy hike, nice views

It was a very cloudy day with freezing drizzle. This is one of my favorite maple trees and it was heavy producer of sap last year. Every day is a beautiful day in the North Country.

At the in-laws for Christmas, I've seen river otters fishing on the on the ice on the Raquette River nearly every day for the past week. Unfortunately, attempts to catch them on the trail cam have so far included two raccoons, a squirrel, and, of course, the family golden retriever.

Just a short snowshoe trip back to boy scout bay on Trout lake. The trail-head sign says 1 mile, but it was closer to 8/10th according to GPS. We started from the the Cedar Lake Public Forest Access Road/ north shore road, about 1/3rd mile off county rt 19 in Hermon. We had freezing rain for a few hours this morning, but by noon everything was done. Mid 20s and overcast, so not too bad for snowshoeing. It's an easy trail and leads to a picnic area on trout lake (complete with an outhouse).