Category: North Country Life
-
56 Years Along The Blue Trail: Then And Now
Like brave mountaineers, we weren’t bothered much by time. –Gordon Lightfoot It’s late August in the North Country. The green of the leaves and shrubs are looking tired. Some hints of the colors of autumn are emerging from the maples and oaks. Late summer flowers like Black-Eyed Susans and Ragweed are everywhere. The quarter moon…
-
Day And Night At The County Fair–August, 2015
It was my third visit to the Franklin County Fair. I came on Senior’s Night when the admission is a mere $2.00 for older gents like me. It was crowded with North Country folks of all sizes, shapes, and ages. Teenage girls clung to the arms of their ‘guy’. Wounded vets were pushed in wheelchairs…
-
The Great Guano Goldmine of Rainbow Lake
[WARNING: The subject matter of this post may not be suitable for general readers. If you are offended by such words as “droppings” or “do-do”, then please move on to another, more appropriate blog about late summer recipes or crocheting cat napping pillows.] On the afternoon of August 6, 2015, I was sitting quietly in…
-
The Moth
There are stories told around the world about a strange figure referred to as The Mothman. These are compelling stories that are, it is claimed, substantiated by eye-witness accounts and news articles. A Hollywood film was made about the Mothman, which starred Richard Gere. It was a pretty good film. Apparently, the figure of the…
-
Is This Really Happening?
It’s 5:01 pm on July 23. Thirty-two days ago was the summer solstice. It’s 64.9 F. I’m standing on the back deck of our house at Rainbow Lake. I’m chilled. I have a thin blanket over my shoulders like a cheap superhero. It’s one of those free “blanket” covers they give you on long distance…
-
Unexpected Memories
Seventeen years ago today, my older brother Denny, passed away. It was not a sudden unexpected death but a slow decline with cancer. His family misses him terribly. My brother, Dan and I miss him. I think about him a great deal. We were a family of four boys. Denny was the second oldest, born…
-
Beaver Lodge Available: No Cable Necessary
[You have to look close for the small blue-gray dish. Trust me, it’s there.] Beavers, as everyone who has studied their natural history can attest, are amazing in a variety of ways. The first thing that comes to mind is that they are considered “Natures Engineers” because they have the instinct to secure a…
-
Digging A Grave On A Beautiful Spring Afternoon
I stood in the soft loam, nine inches below ground level, leaned against my shovel, and thought about death and insects. This is not a difficult thing to do when you’re helping to dig a grave on a day in May when the gnats and flies are biting ankles and arms. After all, it is…
-
Going Down The River On A Winter Day
Aboard the Amtrak, Train #238. Bound for Penn Station, NYC I can’t sleep in this cramped seat. It’s 4A, the window with a view of the Hudson River. But there is no view. It’s white enough for sunglasses. I see West Point across the water, barely. I snap a photo with my iPad mini. It…
-
A Winter Tragedy in the Unforgiving North Country
This is a heartbreaking story of a misjudgment made 87 years ago today. The heart of the sadness is that this is a true event. In the summer of 2014, I was wandering through St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Chateaugay, New York. I was searching for certain headstones to photograph for ancestor-seekers that lived too far…
patrickjegan 