Mud Flats

They were not kidding about lowering the river.
What fun to walk here

Lots of stranded mud bugs

Which we rescued if we could

Mud Birds..Greater Yellowlegs

In the Cloud

Woke up to the scent of water today, as if  driving up to Peck's Lake and crossing the magical boundary between town and mountain. As soon as you enter the trees you can smell the water there.

This grumpy old cloud named Florence isn't really raining so much as she is bleeding warm water, drip, drip, drop, drop....

So many drips, so many drops. Sheets down the driveway. Puddles everywhere.

So much water.

They lowered the upper dams on the river locks yesterday, from Scotia to Fort Plain. Mad props to them, as this will hopefully mitigate the threat of flooding. We have seen enough of that in the past few years. It makes for good birding with all those shorelines bared for foraging. I am hoping to get down to see how she looks, but there are a lot of busy people with other agendas in line ahead of me.

This will sure slow down the corn harvest for a few days though. Over the past week it has been astonishing to see how fast the fields have been stripped. Drive by a cornfield on the way to a reservoir we visit and see a full field of stalks and ears. An hour later nothing but stubble and the big choppers have moved on to another field and then another. 

The landscape is changing fast in a hurricane of corn.

Kinda like a barber shop at a Marine base at the beginning of basic training.

And who can blame them. It is much nicer and more efficient to chop on hard dry ground than it is to wallow in mud. All this water will make plenty of that.

Speaking of water.....

To the Far Blue Mountains, and the Wild Mountain Lakes

The Best

My mother is the best of all possible mothers, a bright and shining light in my sometimes more than slightly dim life and someone whom I have aspired to grow up to be for many of my years.

Today is her birthday.

I hope you will join me in wishing her an especially happy one with lots of love from all corners.

Love you, mama,

Happy Birthday

A Jay by any other Name...or where's the Birdthday Cake?

Am I not cute?

We went up to the Sabbatis Bog today looking for boreal birds. Although we found a few relatively common ones we didn't see anything exciting until I walked back to the car. What used to be Grey Jays, but are now Canada Jays were all but landing on the boss's head looking for food. They were very friendly.

Truly, kind sir, I need cake......
or sunflower seeds if you have them

Guess maybe they thought he was carrying birdthday cake or something. It sure felt like a birdthday to me! These birds are such a delight even though it takes over a hundred miles of driving to get where they are. Such a treat. I was sorry we didn't have pockets full of sunflower seeds for them.

Then we visited the Adirondack Mountains Antiques Show so the boss could get some fun out of his special day too. Never saw so many furs, pack baskets, canoe paddles, and Adirondack camp stuff in my life! That was pretty neat too.

Palm Warbler, nearly as tame as the jays

Happy Birthday, Big Guy

Hope you have a wonderful day and many more of the same.

Boop-de-doop

I don't think she sees me....I mean, I blend right in with the grasses and stones, right

Nope, she is missing me completely

Boop-de-boop-de-boop-de-boop, I"ll just sneak right by her and she'll never know

"Boo"

Oops, I think she saw me......

Parking

Bird(s) of the week.
 Newly fledged Eastern Wood Pewees, right along the creek between the house and the barn

Yeah, we went parking last night....It's true. There was another car down there at the boat launch and I suspect that they were really parking.

A soggy Merlin we found the other day

We were just listening for owls. It was a beautiful evening, with a sweet little golden crescent moon, the star that dogs it dangling nearby, any number of glowing planets, and just before the darkness set in, a clear sky as orange as...well, as an orange. Wish you could have seen Big Nose and Little Nose silhouetted against all that from the top of the hill above 5S.

Green Heron

Very nice. Full dark down at the river, but with a fine array of stars showing and lights from the locks and the local houses reflecting on its calm, still surface.

Great Blue Heron

No owls, but three Killdeers screaming in the dark up on an Amish farm we passed. That was kinda cool.

A soggy Red-tailed Hawk (immature)

What? Did you think at our age we were getting up to anything but chasing elusive birds out there in the dark? Um......Nope.....it didn't happen

Song Sparrow

Fitting

Weather for our memories of infamy and tragedy seventeen years ago.

Sky tears falling for the victims and for our hearts...those thick grey clouds a mirror of the storm that fell that day.

Remember Carl DiFranco

Remember them all

Congratulations Alan and Amber

Yesterday two of my favorite people were married in a ceremony that was solemn, yet silly, poignant, and fun. I took too many photos to reasonably fit here, not to mention very many terrible videos with almost no sound....

Thus I made the kids their own blog of the wedding and rehearsal.

You can view ithere: Alan And Amber Together Forever. Hope the title is prophetic as they are a wonderful pair of people. 

If I missed you in the photos, I am really sorry...I was having too much fun to capture everyone and every moment. 

Congratulations to you both, and welcome to the family, Mrs. Amber Lynn Friers.

Heron Today

Green tomorrow. This breakfast alfresco looks to me to be a Bullfrog tadpole. What do you think?

Moody River

The Schoharie is technically a creek and sometimes that name even fits. However, down here at its confluence with the Mohawk, which is a river, it is much more than a creek. It seems silly to call it one.

My, how the old Erie Canal aqueduct loves the early morning light. It's not in Ireland but it looks as if it should be doesn't it?

A Very Important

Wedding to attend this weekend, and not one iota of fashion sense in my entire make up. As far as that goes no makeup either. Nope...well maybe some sunblock lip gloss left over from two years ago, but that's it.

I have put off shopping.

And put it off.

And put it off.

I have a kind of a nice, green long sleeved shirt that fits my "style" pretty well and really doesn't wrinkle too badly. And it's clean. Kinda plain though, not unlike the person who wears it.

What to do, what to do. I will be dancing with the groom and all.

Not to mention gaining a red-headed daughter we have all come to love and enjoy. I hope they are okay with birder chic. 

Flat Bottomed Girls

Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth

I know, I know, I listen to Queen too....however, these big, fat, girls had big, flat, bottoms, and they sure packed a wallop. We got nothing but a few puffs of wind, but to the north of us they....sadly...really got nailed.

Did you ever see such a blue?

We have had almost no thunder storms this summer, but this week is sure making up for it. Same clouds are making up this afternoon again.