Posts

Getting Ready for Bug Season: Homemade Mosquito Trap and Deterrent

Image
Getting ready for the Adirondack Bug Season? Try these homemade remedies! Homemade Mosquito Deterrent* I TEMS NEEDED: Combine in a 16 oz bottle: 15 drops lavender oil  3-4 Tbsp of vanilla extract 10 drops of citronella oil 1/4 Cup lemon juice. HOW:   Fill bottle with water. Shake & it's ready to use. Spray on yourself. (Substitute 10 drops of lemon eucalyptus oil instead of citronella oil)  *Do not apply without doing a skin test first. Children can be especially prone to rashes from essential oils) HOMEMADE MOSQUITO TRAP: I TEMS NEEDED 1 cup water 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 gram of yeast 2-liter plastic bottle HOW: 1. Cut the plastic bottle in half. 2. Mix brown sugar with hot water. Let cool. When cold, pour in the bottom half of the bottle. 3. Add the yeast. No need to mix. It creates carbon dioxide, which attracts mosquitoes. 4. Place the funnel part, upside down, into the other half of the bottle, taping them together if desired. 5. Wrap the bottle with

Adirondack Native Plants: Foam Flower

Image
Foam Flower Tiarella cordifolia   zone: 3-9  light: sun to shade  soil: moist  flower color: white  bloom: May - June  height: 6" - 1' plant spacing: 1' uses: groundcover, spreads by runners divide: spring or fall

Peru: Babbie Rural Museum Opens for Season

Image
Look forward to these fun activity days at the Babbie Rural and Farm Learning Museum in Peru, NY Opening Day is May 3, 2013 • Plow Days - May 4 & 5 • Museum Days - June 1 & 2 • Woodworking & Conservation Days - June 29 & 30 • Hay & Grain Harvest & Music Weekend - August 17 & 18 • 3rd Annual Kids Fair & Festival - Sept. 7 & 8 • Harvest Weekend - Oct. 12 & 13 Look for us in the Battle of Plattsburgh Parade and the Peru Applefest Parade Museum hours - 1 0 am to 4pm - May, June, Oct. (Fri. thru Sun.) July, Aug.,Sept. (Thurs. thru Sun.) Closed for the Season - Oct. 14

2013 Lake Placid Sunday Garden Series (FREE)

Image
April 28,  Sunday 3-5 pm Heaven Hill Farm, 302 Bear Cub Rd, Lake Placid  The Climate-Friendly Gardener Combat global warming from the ground up. Learn why gardeners are part of the solution. May 19,  Sunday 3-5 pm Heaven Hill Farm, 302 Bear Cub Rd, Lake Placid  Fresh is Best Grow your own salad year-round. From easy window gardens to herbs grown outside. Take home a little salad garden. June 1,  Sunday 9:30 am at Lake Placid Rug and Home, 2077 Saranac Ave Plant Sale Perennials, vegetable seedlings, and garden merchandise (new and used) will be for sale. Free PH testing and lots of gardening information available. All proceeds benefit the Master Gardener Volunteer Prgraom of Essex County Cornell Cooperative Extension. © 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

Ausable Forks: Asgaard Farms Kidding Season

Image
By Diane Chase,  Spring break may be starting for area schools but this is a busy time of year for Rhonda Butler and David Brunner, owners of Asgaard Farm and Dairy. Once owned by illustrator, printmaker and artist Rockwell Kent, the property, designed by Kent, has remained mostly unchanged.   Since March 9 over 62 baby goats (kids) have been born with more expected during the week of March 31-April 5. I talked with Rhonda at length about the spring births and was delighted to find out there are many opportunities to visit the kids and even attend a birth. The goats at Asgaard are breed through their natural cycle. Though larger dairies use artificial light to manipulate the goats to breed off-season, Asgaard continues to follow the natural season. 

Daffest 2013 in Saranac Lake

Image
After packing away the skis, making mud pies through the spring season it is time to celebrate summer with Saranac Lake's Daffest.  In addition to all the activities below, don't forget to just take some time to explore all the parks around Saranac Lake and see the beautiful daffodils! Enjoy! Check frequently for changes in schedule:  April 26  1 pm Historic Tour through Riverside Park to Bartok Cabin ($5) 5:30 pm - 8 pm . Harriestown Hall.: Meet the soapbox derby contestants, taste free samples and vote on the pastry competition April 27  10 am - 3 pm: Festival of Blooms Riverside Park,  • Paul Smiths College baking students bring baked goods for sale and to sample • Merrilooms the clown will be on hand for face painting and balloon animals. • Blue Line Sports Shop will be holding fly and reel fishing demos and clinic. • Adirondack Lakes and Trails will be holding kayak, canoe demos and clinic. 11 am:  Daffest Derby Day at the George LaPan Highway in Saranac L

FREE showing of Oscar nominated movie LINCOLN at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall

Image
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, The Champlain Valley Film Society is screening a FREE showing of the Oscar nominated film Lincoln at The Grange in Whallonsburg LINCOLN Saturday,  April 27, 8.00 pm Whallonsburg Grange Hall Oscar winner as this year’s Best Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis stars in one of the most acclaimed movies of the year, Steven Spielberg’s deeply moving story about Lincoln’s fight to abolish slavery and unite our nation. Other movie shows:  May 11  SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK May 25FORT APACHE by Westport director Addison Mehr