Tag: North Country

Giant Bullfrogs Trigger Memories of St. Regis Pond I was out in my Monroe Wildlife Area for my mid morning walk when a creature lurking in one of my ponds made me stop in my tracks. It was a gigantic bullfrog, at least five inches long. As it sat...

I knew what it was the moment I saw it. Sitting there, unassumingly, in one corner of the vendor’s table, surrounded by other cards. To the untrained eye it might not have looked like much. Somewhat soiled with age, corners rounded, several slight creases, a little paper loss at...

A Trail Camera Chronology Maybe it’s their rugged beauty. It might be their elusive mystique. Perhaps it’s that distinctively short bobbed cat tail. It could simply be their spots. Whatever the case, whenever a new image graces our Monroe Wildlife Area’s trail camera array, we feel blessed. There’s just...

Well, that’s it. Seven cedar post mounted signs installed in seven days. Now the Monroe Wildlife Area’s National Wildlife Federation “Certified Wildlife Habitat” status is official. It only took 35 years! Thirty five years spent clearing miles of tangled barbed wire and long since abandoned rusted farm debris remnants....

It seems most of the country is experiencing a record breaking heat wave. Not so the north country. With daytime temps in the 30s, overnight temps below freezing, and more snow in the forecast, as we head towards April, March is clearly intent on reinforcing its role as winter’s...

He awoke well before dawn. No alarm clock required. Because every black & gold tabbed Roger’s Rangers desciple has Standing Order #15 : “Don’t sleep beyond dawn. Dawn’s when the French & Indians attack”, hard wired into them. But it wasn’t musket bearing foreign maurauders or tribal war parties...

Adventures Await As we bid farewell to 2025 and welcome 2026, I wanted to share an exciting Monroe Wildlife Area announcement. For those who haven’t yet heard the news… Through the National Wildlife Federation, The Monroe Wildlife Area is now officially CERTIFIED ! This has been an undertaking I...

A Whitetail Christmas Wish Deer Santa Claus, I’ve been a good buck this year So I’m making my list In hopes that as your sleigh passes overhead You will grant my one wish I’m not asking for fancy sleigh bells or jingles I don’t want clothes or toys Save...

A Whitetail Deer Hunter’s Tale It was finally here. The day I’d been waiting for. Opening day of 2025’s Southern zone rifle season. When I was a boy growing up in Saranac Lake, the Southern Tier was shotgun only. They had no rifle hunting season. As a result, two...

One Man’s Journey Backward Through Time Who else besides me grew up watching the morning cartoon “Jonny Quest”? Dr. Quest, Race Bannon, Jonny himself, Hadji, and of course, their dog Bandit. From remote jungle to sea floor, spanning the globe on one peril filled adventure of discovery after another....