Adirondack Family Time™

  One minute it feels like we have so much snow and the next moment it seems to all melt away. It is this tricky time of year that we have to choose our wooded walks with care. There is plenty of snow still hidden among the trees when we make a quick stop to take in the beautiful view from Big Cherrypatch Pond.   I’ve only ever noticed the sign for Cherrypatch Pond heading west toward Lake Placid from Whiteface Mountain. Little and Big Cherrypatch ponds bookmark Rt. 86 and we’ve never given the ponds their due. With only a passing glance from our vehicle, the ponds always seem more marshland than open water. The trail to Big Cherry Patch pond starts on the south side of Rt. 86 with its outflow crossing beneath the road to the northern Little Cherrypatch Pond. We park at the small designating area and make our way over the remaining snow bank. The whole hike is less than ½-mile round-trip, but since we are searching for signs of spring, we plan on taking our time.

Last year at Saranac Lake's BluSeed Studios, my daughter and I went to see a concert that blended beautiful music with the origin of the clarinet. Since my daughter is just learning to play the clarinet, it seemed like the perfect way to strength her love of playing. It did so much more, for both of us. With world-wide trading at our fingertips, eBay and auction houses, it feels like we have lost touch with the beginning of things. We have certainly lost sight of our food source and we've also lost sight of our resources. An organization based out of East Berne, NY has been working to preserve the wood source of the clarinet, piano keys, bag pipes and more. Since 2010 Clarinets for Conservation  has run a program in Moshi working with school children and teaching music, conservation and tree planting.  Clarinets are made from the Mpingo Tree, commonly referred to as African Ebony or Blackwood tree, also the National Tree of Tanzania. It takes 80 years for a Mpingo to gr

We only have five maple trees on our property and each year we produce two gallons of maple syrup, just enough for our family's consumption. Making maple syrup is a rewarding experience for children and families. It is a wild foraged food source that does take a lot of time, but is always worth the effort! • Can syrup be made from any sap out of any tree?  Well, it depends on what you want to use the syrup for. If you want something to sweeten your morning pancakes then maple trees have the highest content of sugar. Syrup has also been made from birch trees,  • How do you get the sap out of the tree?  A person has to drill a hole into the tree and tap in a spiel, a small peg that will let the sap drip out. A bucket or jar is also attached to the tree to catch the drips of sap. 

by Diane Chase A cost effective way to pot plants and recycle and reuse from your paper bin is to make newspaper "peat" pots that can be planted directly into the ground. It is an easy process and children enjoy the activity. it can be done on a rainy day, if you need something to do or make a family night out of the activity. Then plants your seeds or seedlings, water and wait for your indoor garden to grow! Continue for step-by-step directions