Who thinks of this stuff!

Okay now these next two links don't really have anything to do with the Adirondacks but they are just too good not to share -

Who would ever imagine you could turn a Hummer into a stage coach!

http://www.asylum.com/2010/03/11/jeremy-dean-artist-hummer-h2-into-horse-cart/

And while we know how to manage snow in the North Country check out this method which looks like it just works great down state!


http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tPg1ZMiC9pA

These are some of the things that make this country great!

Maple, wine, music, conditions and a new Eagle in Town! For the off season there is still a lot going on!

This weekend is the last weekend of maple weekend - there is a big pancake breakfast at the Maple Museum in Croghan Sat and Sun then lots of open houses - weather looks good so get outside and have some fun!   http://www.mapleweekend.com/  Read a great sign yesterday - said if your dog is fat you are not getting enough exercise! :)

Also this weekend is a concert at the Lewis County Historical Society - not sure if any tickets are left - you'd have to call - here is announcement from Lewis County Chamber - Lewis County Historical Society Concert! Buskin and Batteau

Buskin and Batteau will appear Saturday, March 27. The Washington Post calls their performance, “an irresistible amalgam of melodic, sensual pop, folkie grit and killer wit.” Tickets are $18 advance/$20 door. Buskin and Batteau began in earnest when folk legend Tom Rush, in a truly titanic misjudgment, invited David Buskin and Robin Batteau to be his backup band – with David on piano, guitar and vocals, Robin on vocals, violin, guitar and mandolin, and the Mighty Mighty Marshal Rosenberg on percussion. Chaos reigned. Hotel rules were tightened across America. And then suddenly, without warning B & B went out on their own. Call the Lewis County Historical Society at 376-8957 for more info.


Our local winery (I love that we can now boast about having a winery it is a new gem in the area!) is reopening for their upcoming season - http://www.tughillvineyards.com/index.shtml  for schedules - if you haven't been there yet make sure you plan a stop while you are in the area - it is an absolutely spectacular building with a great view of the area.  We attended a fund raiser last fall for the Lewis County Hospital Foundation there and got to say it was one of the nicest events we have been to!  They have Sunday brunches  and looks like their Wine Down After Hours evenings will now feature acoustic music - think I might have to go myself one night!

Took a hike last weekend up to Shallow Pond - still needed snowshoes on the jeep road but snow has been melting down and the reservoir is coming up!  You can track the reservoirs progress by visiting
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ny/nwis/uv?04256500 
courtesy of Hudson River Black River Reg District - also check out their snow survey - seems we only had about half the amount of snow this March that we did last March.  It's been an interesting winter - not a lot of snow but somehow what we got stuck around.  I love spring hikes - the sound of the water rushing through the woods, little streams appearing and disappearing, little ferns appearing out from the snow...........how some of these plants emerge green as if the winter doesn't effect them is fascinating to me............

You may have seen some of the articles about Eagle sitings in NY the past couple of months - a few down in Oneida County - of course we have them here but don't see them all the time - it is a special treat to witness - we did see one at the end of a snowshoe outing in Feb - being chased by a hawk - interesting - guess the Eagle snatched something that hawk wanted ..........but at any rate there is a new awesome Eagle wood carving in Old Forge (actually Thendara) when you are driving through town make sure you look for it! 

On a side note we had a new experience yesterday in Watertown - a good friend took us to the Krysal Restaurant - right on the square in the center of town - it's been there since 1917 - old booths - wood paneled walls - tin ceiling - good food - the only "stand up" bar in Watertown - pretty neat place - worth a visit if you're up there for lunch or supper - prices were good too!  Kind of a walk back in time.

Photo Gallery Sharing - new webpage for Stillwater junkies!

News flash!
I have started a community forum for sharing photos of the Stillwater Reservoir and surrounding Adirondacks - you do need to join - you can post messages and photos -this is a public forum subject to all rules by the provider - flickr!


Please join me at:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/stillwaterreservoir/

Looking forward to your photos!  See you there!

A few things I really liked this winter

So I'm not exactly an avid you tube follower but there are a couple of clips that were sent to me this winter which I really enjoyed and would like to share with you - mainly because all three of these items brought tears to my eyes for different reasons - the first being God and Dog - a song by WJ Francisco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY

Next there is the Pink Glove Dance -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

And then I have a new favorite song by a great lady who visits this area often - Pamme Swan - I had bought one of her CDs some time ago and it now stays in my CD player in my car - it is called a Good Horse and I listen to if often - usually my last song to play as I'm almost home - but it is where I am at this time of life if you listen to the words closely- I was going to just link to her website http://www.pammeswan.com/home.html but then I found she has the song on You Tube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZitIvyYQQg&feature=player_embedded

So maybe I am becoming a you tube fan of sorts - none of these are new to everyone but worth a listen if you haven't yet heard them - the God and Dog song I find myself going back to now and then for a reminder!

Enjoy!

Wow - new to me!

So what is this picture of you might wonder? Yesterday I was outside doing my chores when I heard the geese flying over - nothing unusual for this time of year however it happened to be flock after flock of snow geese which was actually pretty amazing.  I've never seen them before.  There were hundreds upon hundreds of them coming in waves with the flocks of birds merging together in a pretty spectacular ballet.  Hard to capture with the camera but I did my best!

Baby chicks - no longer!

So last summer we ordered up from Murray McMurray Hatchery an order of chicks - Rhode Island Reds to be exact - you had to order quite a few - 26 if memory serves correctly - everyone "in the know" told us to expect to loose several - so we weren't so concerned about purchasing so many hens - plus we knew we'd be able to share them with some friends.

But sure enough just about 6 months to the day - those birds started laying eggs - first one then two now 12 to 14 a day - we gave all but 14 of the birds away - you see none died - credit to quality from Murray McMurray!  We have had just tons of unexpected amusement from these birds - for those of you who grew up around farms perhaps it isn't as much fun but for us - it being new to all we have been suprised at how much we enjoy these birds.  They have interesting little personalities - there is one hen who dislikes having her feet in the snow and she'll fly up and land on your arm which just cracks me up.

So having all these eggs now we of course have been warned by our doctor to cut back but they are ever so good - never having had fresh eggs before I've been amazed at the difference - So here is my latest quiche recipe - a quick one - no crust:

Spinach Quiche

3/4 cup baking mix (I use bisquick because my mother always did)

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup milk

1 TBS sour cream

1/4 tsp seasoned salt or garlic salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 cup shredded mozarella

1/4 diced onions

1/2 cup mushrooms (use what you like)

2 - 3 cups fresh spinach leaves

Cook onions, mushrooms and spinach in 2 TBS olive oil until spinach is wilted and onions/mushrooms are soft. Allow to cool slightly.

Put filling in bottom of greased pie plate - add shredded cheese toss together in pie plate.

Combine baking mix, eggs, milk, sour cream, salt and a few turns of fresh ground pepper to taste.

Pour over filling in pie plate.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until set - if you like leave in longer and outside will brown - depends on your taste.

Enjoy!

St Pats day parade

So, yesterday, we attended for the first time, the St Patrick's Day Parade in Old Forge, the weather held out and every had a GREAT time!

Yes apparently one can kayak and waterski down main street on the day that everyone is Irish. The "Brides" of March, the Irish Elvis, and the synchorinized snow plow performance were just a few of the awesome appearances in the Parade. We had fire trucks, ambulances, all of the tractor trailers from the sled manufacturers, singing, dancing, jugglers, it goes on and on - next year do not MISS!

If you haven't seen this weeks Adk Express newspaper make sure you visit pg 8 (http://www.adirondackexpress.com/) and check out the shots of the card board sled race from last month which is part of the Winter Carneval at McCauley - another great afternoon that you shouldn't miss - I sometimes wonder why we put our kids on cardboard and push them down a ski slope but I must admit it is a lot of fun and when you see the photos you'll see how some of us entertain ourselves when we get a little cooped up in the winter time - we had darth vader, trucks, pirate ships, etc!

Enjoy the weekend! PS don't forget to feed the fish - click on the box and you'll see...........

Spring is here – well Maybe!

Almost spring……..so what am I looking forward too?

So this is the weekend to change the clocks – finally we can spring ahead! I cannot wait – I am so tired of waking up at 3:30 AM feeling ready to get out of bed – now it will be 4:30 and since I'm up at 5 I will no longer have to lay awake tossing and turning trying to get back to sleep! It has been quite warm here the past couple of weeks allowing for lots of outdoor fun which for us consists of snow shoeing, snowmobiling, time with horses, and cross country skiing and sledding the backyard luge run for the kids. Yes the sleigh riding hill is now the luge in honor of one of my Adk Sisters Luge and the Olympics of course.

While it will be spring for most up here we know that there will be one or two more good snow storms on the horizon there always is. This winter has been a great winter – lots of snow and lots of fun. The kids had a great time at McCauley Mt in Old Forge – they love to ski – they are both getting into cross country now and hopefully biathlon next season. Our school ski teams did great we have kids heading off to Nationals and the Junior Olympics. Life here is very different from how I grew up in North Jersey. In Jersey we had lots of snow days – here of course very few – usually only for ice or when it just snows so hard so fast it they just take a little longer to clear it. If you haven't read the Jeff Foxworthy joke about being from upstate New York you really need to it absolutely rings true – especially the parts about snow. We had several groups come to stay at the B&B to snow shoe and ski which was great – this area is just awesome for snowshoeing but folks just don't seem to know about it.

So I'm actually having mixed feelings at the moment – I haven't quite had my fill of snow – still lots of places I was hoping to get to with my Adk Sisters snowshoeing – I'll try in the next post to describe our trips this winter which have been fantastic – but I'm also looking forward to getting out on the horses again – it's hard to ride here in the winter – snow gets too deep in the woods and roads get icy and of course on the weekends lots of snowmobile traffic – so like the Adirondacks are stuck between winter and spring – I too am stuck in the change of seasons which here takes a while to convert to spring – it doesn't happen according to the calendar – it happens when it happens – so I guess I will hope for so more fun in the snow because while it's spring today I know it won't stay – at least not yet.

Some events of interest – snow cross this weekend in Old Forge – http://www.oldforgeny.com/ then the next couple of weekends are maple weekends – yes MAPLE as in syrup of course! http://www.mapleweekend.com/

If you've never been to a real sugar shack you really should take the kids – we lived here for many years before we actually ventured out and now we try to go every year – gives you a whole new appreciation for what you are pouring on your pancakes in the AM – an unbelievable amount of work goes into that stuff – it is what we would call in our house a labor of love! Some of the places have sleigh rides – and yes they still do it with horses not tractors – for the most part – lots of snacks – of course all laced with maple sugar/syrup so forgo the sugar for a few days and don't OD!

Have a great day and have fun!