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!

What's Good for Your Lawn

The Memorial Day long weekend is often a time to put in the garden, spruce up the yard, and of course, mow the lawn. After the snow from our prolonged winter melted away, many homeowners were disappointed at the condition of their lawn. Areas of dead grass are sometimes, but by no means always, due to heavy feeding by last fall’s grub crop. Grubs, of course, are beetle babies. Not like Ringo Junior, but the larval stage of European and rose chafers, and Japanese, Asiatic-garden, and Oriental beetles.

A mowed lawn, with focus on the cut grass in the foreground.

More flowers and some dogs near Harper Falls

Took a quick morning jaunt at Harper's falls to see what is blooming.  Nice hike, nice day.

Donnervillle State Forest "hike"

White Trillium are quite spectacular this year! Usually by the time they start turning pink they are pretty beat.

Best Buds: How Spring Plants Survived Winter

While our springtime in the North Country has been a bit more unpredictable than usual, there’s still the usual spring trend: warmer weather and sunny skies! We’re not the only ones starting to venture out- animals are waking up from hibernation, and we’re starting to see signs of new growth in all our favorite flowers.

Butterflies on purple aster.

Flowers, dog snout

Another gorgeous day in the NoCo and I'm trying, somewhat irregularly, to keep track of the onset of wildflowers. Didn't have much time today, but saw foam flower and I *think* wild strawberry.  Hazards of photography with a lab: ki might stick a nose in the photo - gotta be quick!

St. Lawrence Land Trust Annual Bird Walk

Event date and time
May 19, 2018 - 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
Event description

Join the St. Lawrence Land Trust and Tom Langen on a bird walk at Upper & Lower Lakes State Wildlife Management Area (ULL SWMA) near Canton, NY on Saturday May 19. The walk will be led by Tom Langen, a Clarkson University Biology Professor and St. Lawrence Land Trust Board President.

Summer Campfire Series: Fire-making with Len Mackey

Event date and time
June 7, 2018 - 7:00 PM to June 7, 2018 - 9:30 PM
Event description

Want to learn to start a fire by hand? As is tradition, we're kicking off our summer campfire series by inviting you to come help us light the first fire of the season! Len Mackey will be joining us for an interactive evening learning the Earth's oldest ways of making fire with hand or bow drill. Once the fire is burning, we will enjoy the deep, peaceful power of songs from Native North America and Guinea West Africa, and learn how to play traditional rhythms during a hand-drumming demonstration by Len Mackey.

Garlic Mustard Pull and Pesto Workshop in Canton

Event date and time
May 19, 2018 - 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Event description

Garlic mustard is an invasive herb that threatens native tree and wildflower species in our local forests. Fortunately for us, we can help control its spread by…. eating it!

Spring has sprung!

After being out of town for a week, I see that spring sprung while I was gone!  This assortment of flowers was up to greet me this morning - as well as some purple violets.  Leaves are out, and spring is here with a vengence!  My maples have fully unfurled leaves, Amelanchior is flowering, and the redbud tree I planted in my yard did not die over the winter (not so sure I can say the same for the flowering dogwood).  After a very long winter, these signs of spring are welcome!

Porcupine encounter

I was preparing to go to work when I saw my cat Billie interacting with a porcupine. They looked at each other and went their seperate ways.