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Adirondack Inside Public Skating

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Ice Skating is a fun Adirondack family activity that my family enjoys all winter long! When the weather outside is cold and the ice thickens on the Adirondack lakes and ponds, we take out skates with us.   Inside we have the opportunity to take off our skates, warm up our toes and listen to the music piped in over the sound system.  Here are some Adirondack Civic Centers . So strap on those skates and hit the ice!

Fake Christmas Trees vs. Real Trees

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According the NYS Department of Environment Conservation (DEC), for every one Christmas tree that is cut, one to three more seedlings are planted.  The benefit for using a real Christmas tree instead of a plastic (fake) tree is that almost all Christmas trees are grown as crops making the switch from an artificial tree to a real one an easy decision. It takes six to seven years to grown a Christmas tree. For those years that  real tree soaks up carbon dioxide , a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change (global warming) and the chemicals to make plastic trees actually creates more greenhouse gases. Real Christmas trees are a renewable resource. In addition most town collect used trees to be chipped and recycled for mulch, which helps reduce water usage in municipalities. Most fake trees are not biodegradable.

LiĆØge Sugar Waffle Recipe: Not to be confused with the American "Belgian Waffle"

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My family recently returned from a trip to Paris. While walking the streets and enjoying the atmosphere we meandered through an antique fair. One vendor was selling these delicious sugary waffles.  It has been a long time since I've had a Li ĆØ ge waffle. It brought back such amazing memories.  Here is how to make your own sugar-pearl waffles.  What is a Li ĆØ ge Waffle? Centuries ago, the Bishop-Prince of Liege,Belgium, grew tired of his breakfast brioche and asked his chef to prepare something new and different.  Just before baking, he put the sugars “pearls” that were normally on the outside of the finished brioche into the dough directly.  Instead of baking the dough patties in an oven, he baked them in a waffle iron.  His result was a fragrant, warm waffle coated with caramelized sugar.

Recipe: Frozen Fresh Fruit Pops

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Frozen Fresh Fruit Pops 3 cups watermelon puree (about 1/4 to 1/2 a watermelon) 1/2 cup fresh blueberries 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced 1 peach or nectarine, diced small handful fresh cherries, pitted and chopped Cut the watermelon into chunks and then puree it in a blender until smooth. Set aside. Set out about 1 dozen popsicle molds (amount needed will vary depending on size of molds). Fill each one with the chopped fresh fruit. Then pour in the watermelon puree until each mold is full to the top. Place a popsicle stick into each one. Place into your freezer and freeze for about 6 to 8 hours.

Streetcar Lecture Series at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake

An exciting multi-media lecture series with scholar John Dileo will take place  on Sunday  afternoon July 14 th called “T. Williams and Company: His Essential Screen Actors” and  on Monday  evening July 15 th  entitled “Streetcar…is that you?: The On-Screen Imitators of William’s Masterwork”. Book signing will follow the lectures. John DiLeo  is the author of five books about classic movies: And You Thought You Knew Classic Movies!: 200 Quizzes for Golden Age Movie Lovers  (1999); 100 Great Film Performances You Should Remember But Probably Don’t  (2002);  Screen Savers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery  (2007);  Tennessee Williams and Company: His Essential Screen Actors  (2010);  Screen Savers II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies  (2012). John has presented his Tennessee Williams programs at the Williams festivals in Provincetown and New Orleans. You can follow him at his blog ( screensaversmovies.com ), website ( www.johndileo.com ), and on Twitter (@JOHNDiLEO).  

New York State Park Geocache Challenge

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If you want to try Adirondack treasure hunting, here is the 2nd annual NYS Geocache Passport Challenge.  John Brown Farm  Historic Site in Lake Placid has one cache

Lake George: Martha's Dandee Ice Creme

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Sunday - Thursday 11 am - 9 pm Friday - Saturday 11 am - 10 pm  © Diane Chase is the author of the Adirondack Family Activities™ guidebook series, Adirondack Family Time™, which is available online or bookstores/museums/sporting good stores. Diane is currently working on the third guidebook in the four-book series of Adirondack Family Activities™.

Adirondack Invasive Species Awareness Week July 7-13, 2013

Adirondack Invasive Species Awareness Week Celebrated Annually the Second Week of July Adirondack communities and organizations will celebrate the 8th annual ISAW July 7 - July 13, 2013 . WHY*      Invasive plants and animals threaten Adirondack lakes, ponds, rivers, and forests, which are precious resources that underwrite the economy of many communities through recreation, tourism, forestry, and numerous other uses. WHAT*   Learn about the issues surrounding invasive species (both plant and animal, aquatic and terrestrial) and about the importance of native biodiversity in the Adirondacks by attending workshops, field trips, lectures, and control parties.  WHO*     Hundreds of citizens of all ages across the Adirondack region. WHERE*     Nature centers, natural areas, lakes, rivers, agricultural fields, parks, campgrounds, institutions of higher learning, natural history museums… WHEN*     The second week of July every year. HOW*    Plan an activity for

Baking Soda Volcanos and 40 Other Uses For Baking Soda

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Since we all have an interest in keeping the toxic items aways from our kids, here is one product no family should do without. Baking soda!  Sodium Bicarbonate is not only cheap but can be used as a cleanser or beauty product. My kids love to make "volcanos" simply using a bottle, baking soda and vinegar. You can get a bit more complicated if you wish but I  like to keep things simple. To make a volcano: Materials: One short bottle (not too tall or the baking soda "lava" won't flow over the top), 2 tbs of baking soda, few drops dish detergent, vinegar, towels to clean up the mess Put a few drops of dish detergent at the bottom of the bottle Put in about two tablespoons of baking soda into the bo ttle S lowly pour in the vinegar and watch the volcano erupt! The baking soda and vinegar combine to produce carbonic acid which breaks apart (causing all the fizzing) into water and carbon dioxide. • If you wish to get fancy, papier-mĆ¢chĆ© the bottle with

Learning Roadside Signs

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Did you know? There is not just one system! • The US Highway numbering system was established by the federal government in 1926. • Interstate Highway numbering system was established in 1956 by the Federal Aid High Way Act during the Eisenhower administration. • Regional roads are numbered under individual state and county systems How to tell where you are going! Interstate Highway signs North to South • Are marked with a blue and red "shield" shape • North-South routes are assigned odd numbers  i.e. look for Interstate 87 t hroughout the Adirondacks  or Interstate 95 traverses the east coast from the Canadian Border outside Houlton, Maine to the southern tip of Miami, Florida. • The numbers are lower in the west and increase from west to east. Interstate Highway signs from East to West • Are marked with a blue and red "shield" shap • East-West routes are assigned even numbers i.e. look for Interstate 90, which crosses USA from Boston, Massachuse

Adirondack Farm to School June 6

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Adirondack Coast Free Museum Day Schedule June 1-2, 2013

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For the 6 th year, the Adirondack Coast Cultural Alliance (ACCA) and Press Republican have pulled together a free passport to 14 participating museums, cultural centers and historical societies for the first weekend in June.  Make sure to ask about the ACCA Passport. Though this weekend offers free admission, each passport can be used to collect the necessary stamps from each venue throughout the summer. Participants must collect one stamp from each venue by September 12, 2013 in order to be eligible for prizes from Ausable Chasm, Titus Mountain, Parker Family Maple Farm and more.    

Building and Placing A Bat House

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Do you want to help bring back the bat population to the Adirondacks?  White-nose Syndrome has killed more than 5.7 million bats  since it was discovered in a single New York cave in February 2006 DID YOU KNOW? • There are cave bat species (Northern Bat, Little Brown Bat, Indiana Bat, Eastern Pipistrelle, Big Brown Bat) and tree bat species (small-footed bat, red bat, hoary bat, silver-haired bat,  in New York State • All cave bat species in New York State spend the winter hibernating in caves and mines where they live off stored fat reserves.  • According to Bat Conservation International ,  a single bat can capture 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour! • Bats are the only mammal that can fly! (Flying squirrels just glide) • Bats wings are similar to a human hand. Yes, it is has four fingers and a thumb • All bats located in New York State eat insects. Other breeds eat    fruit, nectar, small mammals, birds, lizards, frogs, fish, and blood.   • Bats' predators in