What's Your Nature?
Become a Nature Up North explorer to share your encounters with wild things and wild places in New York's North Country. Post your wildlife sightings, landscape shots, photos from your outings, and even your organization's events!
The First Shall Not Last
Seems like competitiveness may be part of human DNA, but it does not always pay to be first.
No prize awaits the fastest car that passes a radar patrol, or the first person to come down with the flu at the office. And for trees, the first ones to turn color in autumn are not envied by their peers. If trees experience envy, which no one knows. The first trees to show orange and red and drop their leaves are telling us to get quotes from a tree-removal company, because they are not going to last.
MOW the Grasse Water Sampling, Heritage Park
Grasse River Heritage and Nature Up North seek volunteers to monitor water quality at Heritage Park! This hands-on volunteer sampling session will last three hours and focus on simple water-monitoring techniques. Please meet at the Heritage Park entrance in Canton at 9:00 am and wear or bring closed-toed shoes that can get wet (boots or old sneakers). Registration is required, please contact Grasse River Heritage or Nature Up North (info@natureupnorth.org) to register. Volunteers below the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Big Fish on Lake O!
These two experienced anglers were pretty pleased with their evening catch. And those big guys are back in Lake O gettin' even bigger!
Asters, Goldenrods, and Other Fall Flowering Plants
Join Anne Johnson at for a stroll along the edges of the ponds and marsh at Indian Creek Nature Center to look at and identify late flowering plants. Please meet at Nature Center Parking area in Rensselaer Falls.
Photo: purplestem aster (Symphyotrichum puniceum), Melissa Burchard
Stumpy's Left Foot!
This is another pic of Stumpy. He must have had his talons folded under, and it looked like he was missing his foot. Emlyn pointed out that he probably had it folded under rather than missing, and she was right. when he took off he kept the foot balled up and it looked like it was missing, but when I reviewed the photos of him sitting on a nearby branch his left talons are clearly shown. Also note the blue band on his right leg that has "V64" on it. The metal band on the left leg is unreadable in the photos.