Category: The North Country

On the northern shores of Middle Saranac Lake Between Weller and Eden Rests a remote rock rimmed boulder bay Biding time’s weathered seasons Beyond lonely wail of coyote and loon Made legend by Reben Beware Hungry Bay’s windswept whitecap howl Stalking doomed souls it feasts on **********      It...

If that’s not an official holiday, it oughta’ be! Well! This is it! Saturday is October 1st. The time of year every hunter has been waiting for. In New York State, October ushers in the opening of bow season, fall turkey and duck hunting, as well as most small...

Sometimes the Christmas spirit finds a hunter’s heart in its own special way ********** New York State’s early Canada goose hunting season runs from September 1-25th. At the beginning of every fall hunting season, I have always looked forward to it. Until last year. For the past ten years...

A Middle Saranac Lake lean-to look-back collection of memories, artifacts, legends and photos.      My family first visited Middle Saranac Lake’s site 63 Bull Rush Bay in 1972.   The photo above depicts the lean-to that was there by that time. It quickly became the cedar log summer home...

A Wood Duck Celebration in Haiku   Haiku is a traditional Japanese short verse form written to celebrate some aspect of nature or life. While it has numerous nuances and variations, in my rudimentary understanding, a Haiku basically consists of three lines of verse written in a non-rhyming pattern,...

The Day I nearly lost Khalisi. My true canine rescue story. A close call, a hard learned lesson, and a warning.      It happened several years ago, right about this time of year. It was late February or early March. The ground had just refrozen right behind an early...

Author’s Note: What a beautiful day today! Everything sparkles after last night’s fresh snow. The sky is so blue. The sun shine’s such bright warmth.  I took my canine companions out for a snowshoe “paw patrol” stroll. The poem below formed in my head while the dogs explored and...

Cancel Culture Censorship’s Efforts to Erase an Era So here I am, an Adirondack Outlaw, on the lam once again. Living in the day I am in, sharing life’s memories, staying true to myself. A proud Saranac Lake Redskins alumnus, for as long as I live. *********** Until Our...

Author’s Note: The snowshoes pictured here are my dad’s vintage pair. He made them in Ranger School during his time at Wanakena. He graduated from Ranger School in 1961, two years before I was born. They are still sturdy, solid and strong. I have taken great care to maintain...

An Adirondack Outlaw Wandering Lost in Love’s Wilderness ********** Author’s Note: This story was featured in the February 13, 2022 online edition of The Adirondack Almanack ********** There’s a mystic trail in these mountains. Myths, tragedies, and harrowing rescue tales surround it. It’s not marked on any map. Oldtimers...