Category Archives: animals

Here Moosey, Moosey, Moose

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Here Moosey, Moosey, Moose

Moose warning signMoose are active morning and late afternoon and according to the locals from noon to 2 pm as well. I set my camera ISO to 800, lowered my F stop and reduced my shutter speed to compensate for the low light. With a feeling of expectation I headed out to drive route 17, a so called Moose hot spot.

It should be so easy

The handout about the roads and moose warned that Moose like to use the highway to travel. Moose crossing the roadThey seem to think it’s their own private way. I was surprised that the speed limit most of the way was 50 miles per hour. No wonder this is a “High Hit Area”. Who can stop fast at that speed? I trundled along at about 35-40 miles per hour pulling over to let the locals pass when I saw them barreling down on me. If you come for a visit do not expect the locals to obey the speed limits. They pass on double lines, drive 75-80 in a 50 mph zone and tail gate. Scary stuff.

Trees, woods and overlooks

The drive is a two lane road for the most part. Occasionally it splits to 4 lanes but it also shrinks going over bridges. I saw two beautiful overlooks that I will need to return to for pictures. When I stopped the sun was right in my eyes. When I came back it was just past sunset so I missed that too.

Coos CanyonCoos Canyon waterfall

The trip from Rangeley to Rumford is 36 miles. I didn’t have that much daylight left but I was determined to make the full drive before I turned back. Along the way I spotted a rest area with a picnic table and a chain link fence. Curious I stopped to take a look. A lovely cascade spilled down between high rock walls. The fence was there to keep silly people from getting too close to the edge. Having left my hat in the car I had to beat back the black flies while trying to photograph the gorge.

 

Mexico Maine

sombrero with mustascheI didn’t get to Rumford. When I reached Mexico, Maine I was two miles away but it was too dark for moose then, at least for my purposes. I thought of my sister as she kept talking about Mexico, Maine while I was planning this visit. Well Sis, found it. Wish you were here.  In the end I made the drive and got nothing for it, not a moose, not a deer, not even a mouse. Tomorrow is another day.

Bash Bish Falls

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Bash Bish Falls

Bash Bish Falls is located in a State Park of the same name in the Town of Mount Washington, Ma. This is the highest single drop water fall with the state’s borders.

Bash BishFalls lies in the Taconic mountains located int he Hudson Valley. Even so, Massachusetts residents prefer to include it in the Berkshire mountains and New York residents consider it all part of the Adirondack Mountains.

60-80 ft drop

After a series of cascades, nearly 200 ft in total, the final drop splits. The twin falls stream past the jutting center rock to fall 60-80 feet to the serene pool at the bottom.

A Dangerous Attraction

The falls are clearly posted  “no swimming” but I saw several people with shirts off and towels ready that were just itching to jump in. The rangers were present the whole time I was there making sure none one acted on the impulse. Because of the large number of drowning, injuries and falls in 2009 AOL Travel named Bash Bish Falls as one of the “Most Dangerous Tourist Attractions” in the U.S. In 2010 AOL upgraded the warning  to the world.

Leaving the Falls

Obviously leaving the falls was easier than climbing up to it. Driving back to the highway was shorter and quicker going through New York. It wasn’t long until I was back on I 90 heading for the New York State Line.

Wildlife in New York

I had barely crossed the stat line when I spotted a brown spot against the green. As I drew closer I could see it was a deer. Just about the time I drew even with her I realized it wasn’t one deer. It was a doe and fawn. The fawn was tiny and covered with spots. That made my day. A beautiful waterfall and now a mama and baby deer. What more could you ask for on a Saturday afternoon?

 

What Can Possibly Go Wrong~

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Whatever can go wrong probably will!

I had a chance to work from home today because I have enrolled in a class to learn more about WordPress. Oh there’s lots of places to read about it but I felt I needed a instructor to explain it and answer my questions. Working from home would let me go directly into Boston. What could possibly go wrong?

I raced out of the house at 5 pm. My work phone was still blowing up with emails and I got a call as I dashed out the door. It’s also rush hour but the class doesn’t start until 6:30 so I felt like I had plenty of time. As I pulled onto the expressway I pressed OnStar and gave them the address. I didn’t want to take any chance of getting lost. I also wanted to know my eta.

Where’s the RUSH in Rush Hour?

Bad News. It was 11 miles and 54 minutes. WHAT?! 54 minutes to go 11 miles? That’s really bad. Turns out they were right. Shortly after I activated OnStar traffic came to a screeching halt. We crawled. I could have walked faster!

Then as if I wasn’t late enough, OnStar took me to the wrong address. I thought they were just routing me around the traffic. Nope. I have no idea where I ended up but it wasn’t where I wanted to be. After another call to OnStar and new directions I finally arrived at my destination at 7:30 pm. I’d missed half of the class.

No Need to be Rude, Dude.

I earned a really dirty look from the instructor who refused to accept my apology. His response was “Don’t expect me to hold up the class for you”.  Of course I was left without any direction to catch up. I was on my own. I finally gave up and logged into my new blog so I could follow along without messing up this space.

I picked up some tips but the most exciting thing is that I learned how to add Videos.
This is my first attempt!

I love this video of Buddy. It always makes me laugh and now I can share it! Yay!

 

Is Lake Sabbatia a Paddling Option

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Is Lake Sabbatia a Paddling Option?

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p877769067/h8b1b9357#h8b1b9357

As I looked over the Norton Reservoir I thought of another option for a quiet paddling location. Lake Sabbatia is even closer to me than the Norton Reservoir. I pulled out of Tang’s parking lot and headed back to Taunton. Along the way even more possibilities ran through my head. There’s Watson State Park and Lake Rico to check out too.

Watson State Park

As I headed over to Lake Sabbatia I had to drive right past Watson State Park. Even though it hasn’t opened for the season, cars were lining the side of the road. It’s a very popular place in Taunton in the summer. Only about 10 acres it has a playground, 300 ft beach and picnic area. Non-motorized boats are welcome. I expect it will open up Memorial Day weekend.

The Launch Area, Lake Sabbatia

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p877769067/h8b1c87e6#h8b1c87e6

Just past Watson State Park I arrived at the boat launch for Lake Sabbatia. It was really busy today! Dogs and people milled about. The parking spots were taken up with pick up trucks and boat trailers. While I was there several more trucks arrived with kayaks on board. They off loaded and lined them up at the side of the launch area. After the trucks were parked each paddler picked up their kayak and into the water they went.

Time to Leave

I watched a good size recreational boat  get pulled out of the lake. It was clear that I was in the way.  I’ve dropped by this spot many times and never seen it this busy. It must be the excitement of the  first nice weather of the spring/summer season.I took a  couple of pictures of a particularity cute dog, part pug , part frenchy, and it was time to go.

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p989312300/h8b1c91c0#h8b1c91c0

 

 

Another Saturday Gone

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Another Saturday gone

Sounds like a good title for a country song to me. Its hard to believe that another Saturday has slipped through my fingers and I haven’t done anything interesting to talk about. Who knew that finding topics of interest to share would be so hard?

Where did the Day go?

So let’s see, where did the day go. How did the time get away from me?

  • 8-11 am  Wait for the Fire Department to come by for our annual fire inspection.

 

  • 10:20 take Rocky to the Vet for his annual wellness check. He’s a senior kitty now so this is even more important. Besides he really needed a “mani/pedi”.

His claws were turning into samurai swords!

  • Lunch and a hair cut.
  • Top off the gas tank and get the car washed. Get all that sticky tree sap off the hood.
  • Stop off at Walmart and Big Lots to see what kinds of boats/kayaks they have a how much they cost.

By then it was 3:30 so I checked out cat trees for Rocky.

Why does Rocky need another cat tree?

My silly kitty won’t go on the old cat tree that he used to share with Smokey and Buddy.

He hasn’t been on it since Buddy passed away. I’ve tried catnip spray, hiding treats on it, toys but he just sniffs it and hops down. I thought I’d get him a new one to see if he’d have any interest in something with no other cat scents.

I’ll set the big one on the porch for now.

Weekend Project

With Memorial day Weekend coming up I have decided to complete the long side tracked catification of my back porch/ deck. I have the lattice work to set up and just need to pot some catnip. It will serve to entertain Rocky and keep the mosquitoes away at the same time. Maybe after 10 years of living here I will finally be able to use my deck.