If You Blinked - You Might Have Missed It

Wow! What happened to fall???

Boonville, New York

First I thought it would take forever to get here, and then last week we got hit with lots of rain and wind - and so much for our fall display. There are still some colorful leaves on the trees around here, but most were knocked down from the rain. But there are several other areas around the State that still have a lot of fall color left.

Salmon River Reservoir, Redfield, NY

Fall arrived late in the northeast, and several of us didn't think it would even be as colorful as previous years especially due to the severe drought we received this past summer.

State Route 13 near Williamstown, NY

Ted and I headed up to the Adirondacks the end of September because we thought the leaves up there would certainly be getting close to its peak for autumn color. We were actually somewhat disappointed because the leaves were just starting to change colors there. And the colors that we did see were mostly dull reds.

Moose River, McKeever, NY

So after that brief stay the end of September, we went for another ride up to the Adirondacks the middle of October. That was a more fruitful attempt at photographing the changing seasons.

Thendara, NY

We really had a warm and mild fall so far. In our area of central Oswego County, we have not had a heavy, killing frost yet. That could change here shortly. There is still some colorful leaves hanging on the trees, but not sure how much longer they'll be around.

Tobie Pedestrian & Bike Path, Thendara, NY

Most of the photos in this post are from our second trip to the Adirondacks in the middle of October. Quite often at this time of the year the leaves are past their peak color display in the Adirondacks.

We only took the Tobie Pedestrian-Bike path for a short distance. Being as this was just a day trip for us, we wanted to drive around this area of the Adirondacks to photograph the autumn colors. The bridge pictured above crosses the Moose River in Thendara. It was once the site of a railroad crossing. The path is a 14 mile trek from Thendara through Old Forge and Eagle Bay to Inlet. There is parking at various stops along the trail, but sometimes the parking area were not marked that well.

Migrating Robins stopping for berries on their trip south.

Probably the most photographed boat house in Old Forge, NY

Blue Mountain Lake (taken Sept 27, 2016) - see photo below for same view two weeks later.

Blue Mountain Lake - taken October 14, 2016 - quite a big difference from the above photo taken a few weeks earlier.

Seventh Lake, Inlet NY

Sea plane rides leaving Long Lake for fall views over the Adirondack Mountains.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Adirondack Hotel which was across the road from the sea plane docks.

Hunter's Moon, Harrisville, NY October 14, 2016

Hope you get a chance to go for a drive in your area to see the fall colors before the leaves are windswept away. It won't be long now before the next season arrives.  Actually we got some snow this morning, but I was not ready to go out and photograph the first snowfall. Maybe the second snowfall - 

Links:
Tobie Pedestrian and Bike Path 

Feel free to leave a comment ~

That Golden Time Of Year

A few days ago as my husband and I were driving up Route 3 in northern Oswego County into Jefferson County, I was really inspired by the glow of the country landscape. It's not quite fall yet - still summer actually, but only for a few  more days.

The countryside was all a-glow. Washed in a golden hue. Not bright yellow, but a warm golden color. A nice end-of-summer day. This is the time of year when the leaves are still holding on to the trees, but the color is fading from the bright luster greens to the yellow-greens before the trees change into their full autumn color and glory.

Great Blue Heron

Lots of yellow and amber colored flowers in the fields scattered around. Many fields are flooded with goldenrod, wild sunflowers, Black-eyed Susans, dried corn stalks, soy beans ripening and turning yellow, and a variety of fall grasses.

Maple Ridge Wind Farm, Lowville, NY (Lewis County)

This time of year is so quiet to me. No birds singing in the early morning. A few hanging around scavenging for seeds to hide for winter, like the chickadees and nuthatches. There are a few tree frogs chirping in the areas, and some crickets, too.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

We've seen quite a few butterflies this year. There were lots of swallowtails visiting our gardens throughout summer, but very few monarchs. I did notice there are several milkweed plants (which the monarch lays their eggs on) around our place, but with the drought we had this summer I'm not sure all the plants survived. I hope this doesn't contribute to the loss of habitat for the Monarchs.

I'm not sure what kind of butterfly this is. I think it might be a Silver-border fritillary.

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

When I was thinking of a title for this blog post the movie "On Golden Pond" (1981) came to mind. It must have been because I was using "Golden" in the title of this blog post. What a great classic movie that was. Not only was it filmed on a beautiful lake with gorgeous scenery, but the characters and story were certainly something that everyone could relate to at one time or another in their life. It's a story about family relationships, including conflicts, love, caring and understanding, presented in a way that will bring a smile to your face. The movie won three Academy awards. Best Actor (Henry Fonda), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Katharine Hepburn), and Best Adapted Screen Play (Ernest Thompson). One of our favorite lines from the show was: "So, how fast does this old tub go, anyway?" If you have an old boat you'll know what I mean.

It's also that time of year when the salmon are heading upstream in the local rivers. Pulaski and Oswego are popular fishing spots for salmon.

The above two photos were taken a few years ago by my friend, Karen Liscum, of the Salmon River in Pulaski. You can see the fish in the river heading upstream to spawn.

These salmon were caught in Lake Ontario
off of Henderson Harbor in early September.

So as we say good bye to summer, 

let us welcome the new season of Autumn!

"Don't cry because it's over, 

smile because it happened."

~ Dr. Seuss

This is a great time of year to get out and enjoy the beautiful end of summer. Go for a ride and pick some apples at a local farm stand or go for a hike in the woods!

Thanks for stopping by; 

feel free to leave a comment!

Summer Garden Tour: Pulaski/Sandy Creek, NY July 2016

Last month, the Gardening Friends Club of Pulaski, New York, sponsored a local garden tour of five beautiful and romantic gardens in the area.















My husband and I toured these gardens and were pleasantly surprised. Being as this area is a rather rural area you don't think of country gardens being on the elaborate side. They did not disappoint us.

They were all so impressive and most certainly gave a great delight to all those who were able to attend.

There were five gardens that were open to the public and they each had a unique personality. This tour took place in early July and that was the start of our drought period, but by the shape and color of these gardens you wouldn't know it.

The above photos were from the residence of Marci and Stan Groman whose property borders on Sandy Pond. The home on the water is very welcoming. The views of the pond are gorgeous and wildlife and waterfowl frequent the property. There were several gardens to take in which included a tree garden, hosta garden, and a friendship garden which is shared with a neighbor. Unfortunately, after the garden tour, the club lost their well-loved member and owner of this garden, Marci Groman, to a long illness. Our deepest condolences to their family and all those who knew Marci.

Our next garden we toured was the home and farm of Steve and Laurie Jones from Jones Apple Farm. Their gardens featured perennials, annuals, vegetables, and country artifacts displayed uniquely among their gardens.

Their small commercial orchard has over 15 varieties of apples and several assorted grape vines.










We enjoyed all the miscellaneous farm implements and decor that accented their lovely gardens.

The next garden on the tour was the gardens of Barb Smith. Barb is a Master Gardener and her gardens were originally created for the purpose of teaching her gardening students. I featured Barb's garden in one of my previous posts a few years ago (detailed photos of Barb Smith's gardens).

Barb likes to try different varieties of perennials in her gardens to see how they perform. She has/had several varieties of clematises growing up supports. She has lost a few of them which might be due to our hard winters up here in northern New York.


Barb also had a beautiful water feature complete with ducks and beautiful statuary complements her many different garden areas. She also has a fruit and vegetable garden that she maintains.

The next garden up on the tour was the home of Suzanne and Tom Pfister. These gardens were very colorful and they were enhanced with decorations in the MacKenzie-Childs style.

 The gardens were color-coordinated with adornments in each area, and the areas were connected by stone pathways.















There were lovely urns (at right) that greeted visitors at one of the entrances.

The main feature of these gardens was the large man-made pond and waterfalls with a beautiful inviting gazebo. Evergreens and  grasses offer a sense of coolness and shade. You can see the beginning of the drought in this area in the lawn. Several dry patches were noticed in some of the areas.

 I'd like to open up that umbrella and lay on that lounge and read my book.

And then when I was done reading - have tea and sandwiches in the gazebo!

And of course finish it off with ice cream and fresh squeezed lemonade!

The last garden we stopped by belonged to Wayne and Maryann Hanley. They have spent 35+ years caring and tending their beautiful yard.

When you walk through their garden gate you are very surprised at the lush hostas, lawns and colorful displays of perennials and annuals.





There were several sitting areas to view and enjoy the birds and wildlife.

The natural slop of the land appeared to be terraced and gave the property a three-dimensional look.

The different gardens combined herbs, shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals. Scattered throughout the expanse were fairies and other colorful characters.

And of course a cat! Every garden needs a cat! The one we saw was hiding under one of the hostas but he did come out and let Ted pet him.

If you have a chance to attend a garden tour in your area, I hope you'll take the time to stop to do so. Garden tours are very educational as most sites have members on hand to answer questions and offer gardening tips. Also, it's nice to be able to see how certain plants perform in your area before you purchase them.

Note: You can click on any photo and view them in a larger image. You can also scroll through all the photos in this blog post in the same view. 

Thanks for stopping by 

and I hope you enjoyed your tour!