Adirondack Family Time™

Memorial Day  was officially proclaimed in 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his   General Order No. 11 , and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.  • The first state to officially recognize the holiday was  New York  in 1873 • 1890 - Memorial Day was recognized by all northern states.  • The South refused to acknowledge the day until after World War I What changed?  The holiday now honors all Americans who died fighting in any war, not just those that died fighting in the Civil War.  • Some southern states still have a separate day honoring the Confederate war dead:   January 19 in Texas  April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi  May 10 in South Carolina  June 3  in Louisiana and Tennessee, which just happens to be  Jefferson Davis' birthday Memorial Day (Remembrance Day, Poppy Day , Armistice Day)

Looking around my own property I find that I have inherited trees, shrubs and plants that are considered moderately invasive in the Adirondack Park. Before I go ripping up my whole yard, I am looking into substituting the plants with native species to New York and the Adirondacks. It will take some weeding, but will be worth it in the long run! Before you transplant know what is considered invasive! Adirondack Nature Conservancy (ANC) surveyed roadsides for the following invasive plants: Garlic mustard  ( Alliaria petiolata ) Russian and autumn olive  ( Elaeagnus angustifolia  and  E.  umbellata  ) Fly and tatarian honeysuckle (  Lonicera  morrowii  and  L. tatarica ) Purple loosestrife (  Lythrum  salicaria ) White sweet-clover (  Melilotus  alba) Common reed grass (  Phragmites  australis ) Japanese knotweed (  Polygonum  cuspidatum ) Common and smooth buckthorn (  Rhamnus  cathartica  and  R. frangula ) Black locust (  Robinia  pseudoacacia ) Black swallowwort 

By Diane Chase Sawyer Mountain  Distance = 1.1 mile Elevation  =  Elevation  = 2,600' Vertical Ascent  = 640' Location: Between Indian Lake and Blue Mountain Lake (Hamilton County) Sawyer Mountain’s 1.1-mile climb is popular with a wide age set and we are no different. The parking lot has only one car as ours pulls in but we’ve been told it will soon fill up. My son signs us in at the trailhead register and we start the modest ascent to the summit. We soon catch up to the owners of the lone vehicle. The first thing we are asked is if the walk is going to be worth it. We have never been here before but our answer is a resounding yes. The trailhead and for most of the walk we are under a canopy of hardwoods. Mud from a recent rain provides a few obstacles but nothing we can’t handle. My daughter is rather curious about value added onto a climb. “Is it worth what,” she questions in a stage whisper, “money?” She is a typical six-year-old in that she realizes

National Weather Service Windchill Chart Weather channels and news organizations are still making reference to the "old" wind chill formulas. Wind Chill describes the rate of heat loss on the human body resulting from the combined effect of low temperature and wind. As wind increases the internal body temperature is driven down at a faster fast, quickly reducing the exterior and interior body temperatures.   The "old" wind chill formula was first instilled in the 1940s and based on the research from Antarctic explorers Siple and Passel. The Siple and Passell formula was implemented through a series of observations on freeze times of plastic cylinders filled with water and placed in differing temperatures and wind speeds.  This old system did not take in consideration that the human body produces its own heat, unlike the plastic containers. In addition, weather stations measure wind speed, the basis for the WCT index , at a height of 33 feet where it is oft

Strangers on A Bridge by James B. Donovan “I decided to keep a diary on the case…on what would appear to be my most challenging assignment of law since the Nuremberg Trials.”   ~ James B. Donovan, Strangers on a Bridge : The Case of Colonel Abel   Nowadays one would be hard pressed to find someone who has not heard of the historic role of Cold War attorney James Donovan , the subject of the Steven Spielberg’s six-time Oscar nominated film, Bridge of Spies . One Google search, a subscription to Time , The Wall Street Journal,   The New York Times or any other newsfeed provides enough information to fill a term paper or at the very least a few paragraphs of this post.  Donovan’s granddaughter Beth Amorosi recalls when that wasn’t always the situation.  An untimely death in 1970 of a heart attack at the age of 53 pushed her grandfather’s legacy to the bottom of the history pages, into the footnotes.  “Over the years my family was somewhat actively trying to revitali

A new route outlines snowmobile travel between Outlet Bay and North Pt Rd between Maquette Lake and Forked Lake  The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that snowmobiles can no longer travel on the Raquette Lake Canoe Carry trail  between Outlet Bay of Raquette Lake and North Point Road,  which is on a private driveway and private road. The DEC only has a deeded right away for non-motorized public use.  Any snowmobilers traveling between Raquette Lake and Forked Lake in the Sargent Ponds Wild Forest must use the new designated snowmobile trail  (see map) between Outlet Bay and the North Point Road located 1.2 miles west of the Raquette Lake Canoe Carry and 1.6 miles of North Point Road between the designated snowmobile trail and the Forked Lake Canoe Carry Road. The new trail is marked with red markers and directional signs.  The Forked Lake Canoe Carry Road between North Point Road and Forked Lake remains open to snowmobiles.

The Adirondack Ice Bowl near The Woods Inn, Inlet My family and I’ve played some rousing games of pond hockey. Since none of us have ever played on a team, we are a bit lackadaisical with the rules. Camaraderie ties with competition every time.  That certainly seems to be the case when it comes to the Adirondack Ice Bowl in Inlet. Camaraderie is what pulls people back the shores of Fourth Lake every year, but it’s the fun competition that keep people in the game.  Adirondack Ice Bowl: January 29-30, 2016 at The Woods Inn, Inlet The Adirondack Ice headquarters is located at the historic Woods Inn where spectators and competitors can warmup in a variety of ways from Sky Box viewing to a lakeside pavilion. The two-day event (with Sunday held in reserve for inclement weather) starts today, Thursday, January 28 with registration at the  Screamen Eagle  and a captain’s meeting.