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!

Spring hike with friends at Harper Falls

While passing through the area on Sunday, I went for a lovely afternoon hike to Harper Falls with a couple of friends, including Emlyn from Nature Up North. As we made our way toward the falls, we admired an abundance of spring ephemerals, including trout lilies, ramps, red trilliums, and some others that I couldn't identify. It's hard to believe that I never knew about this beautiful trail in the four years I went to school at SLU!

Blooms of Spring at Stone Valley

Flowers are blooming and underbrush have buds. Raquette river is dangerously high with a high flow rate, but a beautiful sight. Plenty of mist from the rougher parts of the river that cool you down. Some flooding over earlier parts of the trail.

Spring has Sprung: Waking Up In The North Country

It’s spring in the North Country! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the animals… are waking up!

When I think about hibernation, an image of a bear curled up in a cave comes into my mind. The bear is cozy and warm, and when spring finally comes outside, he opens his eyes, yawns, stands up to stretch, and then walks outside like he’s waking up from a long nap. I imagine that all the squirrels and chipmunks and smaller animals do the same thing, too— except they come of out little holes in trees.

Chipmunk pausing on a log

Spring Has Sprung: Waking Up In The North Country

It’s spring in the North Country! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the animals… are waking up!

When I think about hibernation, an image of a bear curled up in a cave comes into my mind. The bear is cozy and warm, and when spring finally comes outside, he opens his eyes, yawns, stands up to stretch, and then walks outside like he’s waking up from a long nap. I imagine that all the squirrels and chipmunks and smaller animals do the same thing, too— except they come of out little holes in trees.

Spring Has Sprung: Waking Up In The North Country

It’s spring in the North Country! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the animals… are waking up!

When I think about hibernation, an image of a bear curled up in a cave comes into my mind. The bear is cozy and warm, and when spring finally comes outside, he opens his eyes, yawns, stands up to stretch, and then walks outside like he’s waking up from a long nap. I imagine that all the squirrels and chipmunks and smaller animals do the same thing, too— except they come of out little holes in trees.

Woodland Fairies Visit North Country Trails

The fairies are here, the fairies are here!

Each spring a merry group of fairies migrates through the North Country on their way home for the summer. These aren't just any fairies – these fairies live in the woods, where they spend their days bonding with birds, talking with trees, buzzing with bugs, and getting friendly with fungi. As you might guess, over time they’ve become expert naturalists. For a limited time only, you’ll have the chance to visit their fairy houses and ask them any questions you have about nature.

Two fairy houses, one made from birch bark nestled among the pieces of a fallen tree, another made from stones and tucked into the nook of a tree with four diverging trunks.

Indian Creek Nature Center's Spring Work Day

Event date and time
May 5, 2018 - 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Event description

Join Board members for a workday to set the Center in order for the summer.  Tools will be supplied, or bring your own.  There’s plenty of work for all.
 

Photo: Waiting for Spring, Nic McPhee, Flickr Creative Commons, Some Rights Reserved

Earth Day Walk at Stone Valley

Enjoyed celebrating Earth Day by getting out to Stone Valley with some friends and our dogs. Water is high, and spring seems to have arrived!

Kip Trail Conditions

Got out on the Kip Trail this today to check conditions for the Earth Day 7K run and walk tomorrow. The afternoon was gorgeous - 62 F and probably the first day it's really felt like spring weather. The first half of the trail closer to the Little River has a few spots that like to attract mud, but the conditions were drier than I expected. No large pools of standing water in the trail, and only a few muddy spots. Still, I'd advise anyone coming out for the race tomorrow to plan for some mud!