The Gypsy Travelers: Black River Canal Wanderings

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. My husband just can't understand why.

It is warmth and comfort. It is quiet, it is harvest time. Perhaps it is because I

remember all the wonderful times I had with my mom canning tomatoes,

peaches, pickles and freezing and putting by foods for winter.

The water here was gently flowing past and was so serene and peaceful

as it carried fallen leaves to the Black River Canal.

I had a break in between flu clinics Wednesday and planned to visit the

Boonville cemetery but found this "UN" public highway to explore.

About half way down the trail was a bridge that spanned a side spur.

And on the rail was this sign. Apparently locals realized the danger of tampering

with the flood gates below but shooting bb's at the sign was ok.

The water was flowing well.

I knew I wanted to hide my "box" somewhere in this place but wasn't

quite sure where so I continued my travels.

The reds of maples is always a nice sight.

At the end of the trail I found these posting quite interesting. The one in the middle warns

against trespassing. I assumed that meant past the barricade where the nicely graveled path

was as what else would it be referring to? So that meant that I was - horrors - trespassing.

But then again - why would I clean up after my pet if I was - trespassing?

And in case you might want to know what NYSCC stands for (as I did) here you go.
NYSCC - very nice web page.

And if it was not a public road - what was it. Perhaps a public path or maybe a private road.

WOLF TREES

Something that always excites me in the woods are the BIG trees. These trees are typically referred to as Wolf Trees. While the tree in the photo doesn't appear to be all that large it was. You could probably stand three people shoulder to shoulder in front of it and still see trunk on either side.

A wolf tree is an unusually large tree which dominates the surrounding environment because of its size. Wolf trees tend to have a very large crown, and to be heavily branched. They are also usually older than the surrounding trees, although this is not always the case. Many natural forests have wolf trees, and these trees can also be spotted in settings where people are taking a relatively hands-off approach to forest management.

Classically, a wolf tree is a tree which managed to survive when an older stand of trees was damaged or significantly depleted, making it at least a generation older than the surroundingtrees. For example, a single tree might be left after clearing to create a meadow, a stand of trees might be damaged by fires or storms leaving one or two survivors, or a stand might be heavily logged, leaving only a few trees behind. In these cases, the elimination of other trees allows awolf tree to grow big and strong, because there is no competition, and younger generations grow up around it.

Finally decided on where to put my letterbox. On the north west side of the spur.

This is where the fun begins. Cause I am alone in the woods, I can see to walk down hill with my trifocals on and can't see with them off. The side of the falls is a tad steep and of course slippery from all the rain we've had. But I VERY carefully made my way to the bottom and started my search. There at the bottom was a HUGE erratic that was a perfect landmark for my plant. There would be no missing it.

SMALL AND QUAINT CEMETERIES