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A Bit of Mother’s Day History : A Day of Peace

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I’ve always found Mother’s Day to be a wonderful tradition. It doesn’t have to be about celebrating a woman.  The origin of Mother's Day was not intended to be about self, but about service.   We can celebrate Mother Nature or admire a person who has provided support. We can take a moment of silence and honor those no longer here. It is a momentary break from our busy schedules to remember a mentor or a mother figure, whether by birth or by choice. This Mother's Day perhaps we look beyond us, beyond our losses and our gains. Perhaps we look beyond those days turned into commercial holidays and celebrate nature and peace.  Days dedicated to mothers have been traced back to a variety of sources. The ancient Greeks honored Rhea, the mother of the gods. Christians honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, apparently evolved to be a time when people working away from their homes were expected to return to their “mother” church. Th

Happy Lunar New Year or Spring Festival: Recipe for Quick Pineapple Tarts

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My daughter and I read Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asian trilogy, which is essentially a love affair with Singaporean food. Throughout the book, Kwan writes about the pineapple tarts eaten during the Lunar New Year. Three books later, I knew that this year was my year to make pineapple tarts. There are a few complicated recipes out there and I'm all about simplicity. Though fresh pineapple is recommended for the jam filling, I found reducing a can of pineapple tasted the same and was readily available. Yield: 18 small tarts Pineapple filling 1 can of unsweetened pineapple (crushed or rings)  Cinnamon or clove to taste ( I do not add any spices, but my family likes cinnamon.) Tart  ½ cup (1 stick) of butter softened (113 grams) 2 tb (1 oz) of sweetened condensed milk (28 grams)  (substitute: 2 tb milk and 2.5 oz of powdered sugar- add liquid sparingly) 1 egg yolk  ¾ cup (6 oz) all-purpose flour Egg Wash  (using a whole egg for th

Easy Adirondack Hikes: Newcomb NY Goodnow Mountain (fire tower) free trail map

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Goodnow Mountain Fire Tower (c) AdirondackFamilyTime.com Goodnow Mountain Fire tower Elevation:  2,690 ft Ascent:  1,040 ft Distance:  1.9 miles Fun Facts:  1) Goodnow fire tower is 60' tall and first built in 1922 2) Is part of the 15,000 acre Huntington Wildlife Forest owned by ESF (College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University)  3) The fire tower was manned until 1970, restored in 1995, and now part of the Adirondack Fire Tower Challenge. What's in a name?   1) Goodnow Mountain and nearby Goodnow River were named after a settler named Sylvester Goodnow. Here is a bit of history about the family's roots.  2) Later the surrounding acreage and mountain were purchased by the Huntington family,  In 1932 Annie and Archer Huntington donated their 15,000 acre property to the State University of New York. In 1972, the  Adirondack Ecological Center has continued to provide valuable scientific research . Here is a view of Goodnow Mou

Adirondack Indoor Ice Skating Rinks (and beyond)

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(Updated) This is a tricky time of year when outdoor ice skating rinks are just starting to form the outside ice rinks. Here are a few inside ice rink alternatives so you can enjoy this amazing winter sport or just root for your favorite team. Albany Academy Field House 135 Academy Rd. Albany, NY 12208-3196 518-465-1461 Capital Arena 16 Clifton Commons Blvd. Clifton Park, NY 12065 518-383-5440 Tim es Union Arena (formerly Pepsi Arena) (Home of the Albany River Rats) 51 S. Pearl St. Albany, NY 12207 518-487-2000 Scott's Memorial Rink (pavilion rink) 52 MacAdam Rd. Chazy, NY 12921 518-846-7825

Adirondack Hikes: Wilmington/Whiteface Bear Den Mountain FREE Trail Map (Flume Trails)

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Bear Den Trail Map in Wilmington Flume Trail System Our recent hike up Bear Den Mountain in Wilmington, NY (Whiteface Region) shouldn’t be confused with the similarly named “Bear Den,” which is the approach up Dial Mountain (High Peak #41) near the AuSable Club. Our fast, steady 2.2-mile hike starts near the Whiteface Mountain Ski Kids Kampus in Wilmington.   Since Whiteface is a busy resort, the lots are sometimes filled up at Whiteface, so we let the parking attendant know our destination is the Kids Kampus. This time the parking area has plenty of room for us to park. Depending on the season, micro-spikes or snowshoes are recommended.   The first section of the trail follows a ridge above the Bear Den parking area at Whiteface Mountain. Signs are sparse, but the trail is well marked thanks to the Barkeater Trail Alliance. Though Bear Den is our final destination we first enter the path on Trail 19, a nice level traverse. At 0.2-mile there is a yellow marker to the lef

Seagle Music Colony Explores Wounded Veterans Stories Through New Opera

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* UPDATE: T ickets are free for military personnel and veterans courtesy of Glens Falls National Bank . The number of free tickets varies with each location. Please call to reserve.  (Schroon Lake)   The Falling and The Rising  is a new 70-minute opera that is touring the Adirondack and beyond to shed light on the United States wounded veterans experience. First workshopped in August 2017, the show first premiered at the Texas Christian University in April. According to Seagle Music Colony General Director Tony Kostecki,  The Falling and the Rising  was conceived by Sargent Ben Hilgert of the US Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus. The new opera was created from actual interviews with veterans from Walter Reed Hospital, Fort Myer, and other locations.  “ It’s uplifting and relatable,” states Kostecki. “It is a universal story that will appeal to everyone, even if they haven’t been in the service. We believe in this piece. It is impactful and the response has been so posi

History of Labor Day

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Labor Day Celebration New York City, 1882 Each Labor Day, it is necessary to go beyond the barbecues, vacation spots, and Back To School Sales. It is time to reflect on the history of Labor Day and how it came to be. The holiday was conceived to celebrate the American labor movement with all its strength, contributions, and prosperity to the wellness of the United States of America. Fact: Labor Day is celebrated the first Monday of September. Who founded Labor Day? That is up to debate, but has been attributed to these two men:  Peter J. McGuire , general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor or machinist  Matthew Maguire ,  proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Maguire  later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J. How was Labor Day to be Celebrated? The first proposal of the holiday was a stree

Hiking Catamount in Wilmington (free Adirondack trail map)

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At the false summit (overlook) of Catamount My daughter is always worrying about my allergic reaction to cats. She is like the town crier when we visit friends letting each and every person know that she can’t have one because it makes her mother sneeze. I appreciate both my children being on the look out and so far being able to resist the urge to take home those offers of free kittens. Cute and fuzzy, warm and cute, cats are part of an ongoing conversation of animals to have, along with monkeys and unicorns.   We drop my son off with friends while the rest of the family hopes to reach the summit of Catamount. We have a time limit so it is not going to be a meandering pace. Long gone are the days when she would bring a backpack full of stuffed animals to share her lunch. Now we search for other wildlife. The name of the mountain is Catamount.  According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, A catamount is any variety of American wildcat such as a lynx, cougar or mountain l

Nature Detective: Hummingbird or Moth?

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Hummingbird Moth on Milkweed Is it a bird or is it a butterfly? A hummingbird moth can be found around your Adirondack garden throughout the summer months. Some shared characteristics between the two similarly named creatures make people mistakenly identify this moth for the more popular hummingbird. Differences 1) Stating the obvious here, but one is a moth and one is a bird. 2) A hummingbird moth's tail is shaped like a fan 3)  The moth has a long tongue that rolls up under its chin called a proboscis 4) A hummingbird moth is classified as a  Lepidoptera 5) Hummingbird moths have antennae Similarities between hummingbird and hummingbird moth 1) Both can remain suspended in the air as well as flying sideways and backwards 2) Both feed off of nectar   3) Both emit a similar humming sound   Hummingbird moth 1) In the United Kingdom, hummingbird moths are referred to as Bee Hawk moth 2) Part of the Sphingidae family, one of the fastest flying insects in the w

Adirondack Coast Hikes: Pointe Au Roche State Park Nature Trail, Museum, Playground and Beach

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Pointe Au Roche State Park Trail Map We have been traveling to Plattsburgh to visit two friends of ours on a weekly basis. In order to have a calm beneficial visit I take the advice of a woman I know who raised six sons. “Run them like dogs,” she said when I would wonder how to manage two kids. So, now quite a few years later, I still think of that advice and am always looking for a place to expel their excess energy. Not so surprising it is usually the adults that need to indulge in some old-fashioned play and use the kids as an excuse to do it. Pointe Au Roche State Park is just a short drive from Plattsburgh and an easy jaunt for anyone visiting the area. With over 800 acres it is a unique combination of forest, marsh and shoreline. It has an interesting history that still can be seen skulking in the landscape. The land was first cleared and used agriculturally and then during WWI as a training site (similar to ROTC) for young men. The parcel then became a variety of businesses

DIY: tee shirt grocery bag without sewing (directions)

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Yes, you do need a a tee shirt to make this bag, but the one I used was in a free bin at a thrift shop. Materials One tee shirt and a pair of scissors Instructions 1) Find an old tee shirt or get one from a variety of places. I found this one in a free bin at a thift store. 2) Cut off the sleeves 3) cut off the neckline 4) measure how deep you would like the bag to be. I used another reusable cloth bag for my measurement as well as a knitting book. 5) Cut fringe from the bottom to where the bottom where you would like the bag to be. Separate the side fridge and cut up to meet the size of the other fringe. 6) Start at one side of the fringe and tie two pieces of material together into a knot. Continue tying knots until the end of the shirt is reached. Look inside the bag. If you can see holes through the knotted sections, go back and then take one piece of fringe from each adjacent knot and tie it together. That will seal up any holes. Great bag that is com

Make Your Own Paper Beeswax Drinking Straws. Say No to Plastic! (paper straw templates)

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Earth Day is Every Day! I hate plastic drinking straws. My children both have been taught  to say NO to the straw when we go out to eat. It isn't a perfect scenario. I understand that some people find it easier to drink out of a straw so here are some options to kick the plastic straw habit. 1) Get in the habit of saying No to the Straw . I have to remind myself to ask for "no straws" at a restaurants. It's a work in progress. 2) Purchase reusable stainless steel straws. I keep a container near the fridge where my children and their friends can grab a straw to use around the house. I also have one in my bag and a few in each car's glovebox. To solve the issue of plastic outside the house, I looked into purchasing paper straws. Though inexpensive, the packaging and shipping can be an issue. 3) Make Your Own Paper Drinking Straws: It seems making paper straws would be a simple enough, and it is. Below are a few templates to make things easy for you. I