Raven Quest

After a week in Seattle and flying in a plane and all that scary stuff, son and brother are back on the ground in NY. As is not unusual on a Saturday when Alan isn't working, he met me this morning with, "Where shall we go today, Ma?"

The Adirondacks were calling to both of us, so off we went to Long Lake. We weren't really in search of Common Ravens, but we saw a lot of them. They are really big birds and in the brilliant early sunlight they gleamed like the brightest of bright coal. Seemed as if they were everywhere.

There were also snowmobiles and trailers and snow shoers and back packers and a lot of lousy traffic associated with same. Thus there wasn't a lot of peeking into the woods to see what we could see. If I am riding in a car, I can't look away from the road for more than a few seconds....years of driving has made watching the road an ingrained habit....

However, in one spot I looked into the trees and saw a grey stone ledge draped with ice from water flowing out of the ground behind it. In itself that is nothing unusual. All the road cuts along the way are covered with flows of frozen water, some bright blue, many yellowish or greenish or brown, and some just a dull, almost plastic, shade of white.

However, the ice on this little ledge was absolutely crystalline and pristine and perfect. It must have been a foot thick and several feet from top to bottom, but as clear and prismatic as the best optic  you could buy. Except free....Alas, the busy highway full of grannies and NASCAR drivers was no place to slow down let alone stop, so it will only remain in my memories...

Anyhow, home again, home again, out for a quick bird list...brrr....and then not much else today. Have a good one.