News & Opinion About Huletts Landing, N.Y.
If you are going to be around Huletts this weekend, be sure to have your camera.
Neil Hannan reports that last Sunday while heading back to the Lake from Whitehall, he saw a moose in the field on the left hand side of the road just after going over the South Bay Bridge. We had a moose in Huletts about this time a few years ago, so perhaps this one will stay around for awhile.
A Bad Harvest?
The Post Star recently had an article about Dresden Town Board member, John Barber, and his apple orchard. It discusses the problems he has had with bad weather this year. (John’s seat on the Town Board is not up for election this year.)
Coast Guard Proposes New Rules for Ballast Water
The Washington Post writes about proposed new Coast Guard standards for ballast water treatment that had been long awaited by people concerned about the impact of invasive aquatic species transported via ballast water in ships. This would apply to ships passing through the canal that runs through Whitehall.
This was recently forwarded to me. It’s a rattlesnake with its tail tagged and painted red by the DEC.
It was spotted near the dock for sites 3 & 4 on “Floating Battery” island, which is part of the Mother Bunch Group.
The DEC spotted it, and went to warn the campers. Unfortunately, the two campsites had tents, but the campers were not around to let them know the snake was visiting.
The DEC marks rattlesnakes they find for someone who does a study on them. This is a particularly big one. It’s probably at least 5 feet long and wide as a soda can in the middle! Makes you want to rent a house next summer!
If you’ve never heard a rattlesnake, it makes a sound almost exactly like a baby’s rattle. I heard one once but never saw it.
Now we’ve all seen a particularly big one!
On a trip over to Whitehall, I saw this turtle on the side of the road.
So I jammed on the brakes, grabbed my camera, jumped out of the car, and endured my wife yelling; “what are you doing!”, only to realize that the turtle hadn’t moved at all. So here is the closeup of our slow moving friend.
So after this shot, we left it there and would you believe, it was in the same spot when we returned home!
How it out-raced a hare, I’ll never know.
.. in a supermarket for wild mushrooms like this.
I found these as I was hiking through the woods. This illustrates how wet it has been this summer.
As you pass the pond on top of the mountain, you’ll see a beaver’s nest on the far side.
The Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake has a number of great exhibits. When I was there recently, I took a shot of this three-dimensional display which shows what the inside of a beaver’s nest looks like (Click on this picture to see it in full screen.).
The entrance is actually underwater and the beavers swim into it from below. The mud and sticks form a protective cover which hardens almost like cement. So now you know what the inside of a beaver’s house looks like.
Giuliani Mulling Run
The NY Times reports on Rudy Giuliani’s plans.
Fair Starts
The Whitehall Times tells about the start of the Washington County Fair.
Ticonderoga Adds Launch
The Press Republican reports on what people want more of on Lake George.
Bravos to the Samaritans & Chasing Geese
The Post Star’s Boos and Bravos for this week honor the Dresden Good Samaritans and a novel way of chasing geese away.
Seen on top of the mountain.
Man Drowns in Lake George
The Times Union reports on it here.
Rabies Common Among Bats
The Washington Post had an interesting article recently about a woman who had an encounter with a bat. Any bat that is flying around in the daytime is likely to be rabid. This is an interesting article.
Spotted in the early evening yesterday.
When I’m out and about I try to carry my camera with me. I am by no means a professional photographer though. When I see something unique I grab my camera, fumble with the settings and try to shoot as quickly as I can. This past weekend I spotted these two beautiful birds.
A great blue heron walking very slowly on a dock.
A beautiful red cardinal sitting high in a tree chirping like crazy in the morning.
I’ve learned you have to be really quick to shoot pictures of the local wildlife because I only got one shot of each before they flew away. I wouldn’t have made it as a gun slinger in the wild west.
An Otter is a very elusive animal. I spotted one last week and it took me another week carrying my video camera everywhere before I saw it again. But this time I got it on video tape. So here in 2.5 minutes is a week’s worth of work!
I present the Huletts Otter.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tmY2Sp3fBI
To learn more about the Huletts Otter read this.
A stuffed bobcat on display at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake.
Huletts Current reader, Karen Wagner, submitted the following question:
Hi George,
There is an animal in the mountains that produces a sound like a woman sreaming! We’ve asked around, but no one seems to know what it is. I assumed it was some type of a bird. Any ideas?
I might have laughed at such a question but I was in the woods recently and heard this strange screaming sound myself!
I’ve researched this and here are some possible answers.
One possibility is the bobcat. Several sites indicate that bobcats scream when threatened. I’ve also read that bobcats, when lovesick, emit a high-pitched scream. However, this site has three bobcat sounds, as well as various other animal sounds. I must admit that none of the bobcat sounds resembled a woman’s scream.
Another good possibility is the fox, which I have seen at times near the dam. This site has examples of fox screams. (Foxcry.wav seems to be the nearest match.) Other sites I have found indicate that a fox can produce a vocalization somewhat similar to a woman screaming.
Finally it could also be a raccoon. Here is a site where you can listen to raccoon noises. Although these don’t sound exactly like what I heard.
I hope this helps. But if you hear something like a woman screaming, stay alert!
Seen on a canoe in front of the lower tennis court this morning.