News stories tagged with "spring"

(03/08/12) With temperatures in the Tri-Lakes area soaring into the mid-50s today, the Olympic Regional Development Authority officially canceled this year's Lake Placid "Loppet" ski race, planned for this weekend.

The race had already been delayed once due to warm weather and lack of snow. The long-distance cross-country race is one of the most popular in the Northeast.

(03/07/12) Cold nights, warm days, sunshine: chickdees are busy, and the sap is rising. It all adds up to maple syrup season. Whether your operation includes a bulk holding tank and miles of plastic tubing, or just a few buckets hanging off the trees in the backyard, it all starts the same way, with a strategically placed hole in a sugar maple.

And it's today's Heard Up North, produced by Martha Foley.

(03/05/12) Cornell Cooperative Extension horticulturist Amy Ivy tells Martha Foley it's time to get the pruning saw and clipper out. And she has advice on what to do first.

(02/27/12) The Uihlein Sugar Maple Research & Extension Field Station in Lake Placid made its first batch of syrup last Thursday. Director Michael Farrell, who's been with the field station for seven years, says it was the earliest he's made syrup.

Crews started tapping trees at the 200-acre Uihlein Forest on January 31. That took about three weeks. Then, workers had to inspect the 60 miles of tubing that carries the sap from the trees to the sugar house.

Chris Morris joined Farrell for a tour last week. Farrell told him that mild temperatures have given area producers a jump start on the season.

(02/20/12) The equinox is a month away, and the winter has been on the mild side. Even so, Cornell Cooperative Extension horticulturist Amy Ivy sounds a note of caution for gardeners thinking about getting an earlier than usual start on the planting season.

And she tells Martha Foley that of the three berry crops favored in the region, strawberries are the easiest choice for last-minute planners.

(01/23/12) January is the beginning of the gardening season for seed catalog fans. The stacks of colorful, glossy pages can set off a fantasy of unrealistic expectations, or can be the foundation of a good plan for the coming season.

Amy Ivy, of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service of Clinton and Essex counties shares thoughts on how a gardener can sort through the possibilities and make good choices for the new year.

(06/10/11) The Adirondacks are a world-famous destination for hiking and climbing. But the North Country also offers a vast network of old logging roads and rail beds lanes that are perfect for taking long walks.

Sometimes the views and the sense of wildness on a country lane can as fine as anything you'll find on a High Peak. Brian Mann has an audio postcard this morning from one of his favorite walks in the town of Newcomb.

(05/27/11) There are continuing flash flood warnings across the region this morning. Last night brought drenching rains in many areas, after tornado and thunderstorm warnings yesterday afternoon.

Authorities Essex county are assessing the damage from the latest round of severe weather to hit the region -- a month to the day since severe storms dumped about three inches of rain in parts of northeastern New York.

Downed trees and flooded roads were reported in the Lake Champlain community of Willsboro. There were no reports of tornado sitings, but a lightning strike is blamed for setting a home there on fire last evening. No one was injured. The Press-Republican of Plattsburgh says there's also road damage in the town of Moriah which had suffered heavy during the storms on April 26.

Vermont Emergency Management spokesman Mark Bosma tells The Associated Press that the Winooski River and its tributaries overflowed. Early this morning, he said river levels had "just spiked" but the watercourses should crest shortly.

(05/27/11) If there's an upside to this season's devastating weather, it's that we feel an even greater appreciation for the more benevolent signs of spring and summer. Butterflies are one of those welcome sights, and many early-season species are starting to take flight.

For this Heard Up North, Angela Evancie met up with Kevin Hemeon at Park McCullough's Mile-Around-Woods in North Bennington, Vermont to look for a rare butterfly called the West Virginia White. Hemeon is a butterfly enthusiast - he contributed more than 2,000 records to a state butterfly survey that was recently released by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. (Hemeon didn't spot any butterflies on this outing, but at least it wasn't raining.) more

(05/27/11) Those who love edible wild mushrooms, cousins of the grocery store variety, also enjoy the annual spring hunt for one of the most elusive -- the morel. May is morel month in the North Country.

Todd Moe joined an outing of mushroom collectors at Paul Smiths College earlier this month. The group held a friendly contest to see who could find and pick the largest quantity of morels. By the end of the hunt it was clear you don't have to have to go out looking for morels with a meal in mind. Just learning to identify each mycological species is a challenge.

A reminder about looking for edible mushrooms: even distinctive yellow morels have look-a-likes that are poisonous. The slightest doubt about a mushroom is warning enough not to eat it.