Sunday, August 15, 2010
What We Miss the Most...
Standing at the fire pit near our cabin looking over the lake, then panning over the cove to the neighboring camp where most of the family stayed.
Standing on the rocks that edge our beach.
360* View From Our Beach
Duck, Duck, Duck.... GOOSE!
Indian Lake Pictures 2010
The Perfect View(from our cabin porch/kitchen)
Our Cabin, Beach, and Guide Boat
Our Cabin, Beach, and Guide Boat
Foggy Morning
(View of Baldy Mountain from our cabin)
Some of our Web-footed Friends
Feathered Friends Patrolling the Waters
Everyone on the Lake admired the Guide Boat... Even the Wildlife!
The Fire Pit Near Our Cabin
Ready to Roast Marshmallows!
Sign from the Neighboring Camp(where most of the family stayed)
A HUGE Boulder in Squaw Brook(a short row or paddle from our cabin)
Norman's Cove, Base of Baldy Mountain
The View From The Top of Baldy(Norman's Cove is just to the right of the close pine tree)
View From Baldy
Looking Towards the Southern End of Indian Lake
View From Baldy - Our cabin is the tiny white dot just above the tallest tip of that pine tree.
Indian Lake 2010
Mr. Birchmountain and I just returned from spending two weeks in the Adirondack Mtns of New York, right on the shore of Indian Lake. We have a little cabin (the “Honeymoon Cabin”) that’s within 10 feet of our own little sandy beach. We have the best view on the lake (and that’s not just me being biased) – we look across the lake at its widest point –one mile across – and enjoy a view of Baldy Mtn morning, noon and night. In the same camp as us is Mr. B’s mom’s cabin, and in the camp up the lake just a short row away was more family… though not all were there the whole time. Mr. B’s sister, her hubby, and their 8-month-old boy didn’t come until the second week, and there were cousins coming and going at various times in the vacation.
In my mind, I’ve already separated the first week of vacation and the second… During the first week, it was nice to just relax, sleep in, unwind, read (I read four books that week!)… and just enjoy a leisurely vacation. There weren’t a lot of planned activities… only one that first week, if I can remember correctly – a birthday dinner for Mr. B’s uncle. Everyone was on their own schedule for the most part, which was nice. Mr. B and I joked that we were hermits the first week… We didn’t venture far from the cabin most of that time – we didn’t have to! It was enough for us to enjoy the peace and quiet of our beach, and enjoy the view from our porch/ kitchen. We saw numerous groups of ducks paroling the shore for any unclaimed bread crumbs, two loons made daily appearances, along with chickadees, sparrows of all kinds and sizes, nuthatches, woodpeckers, a friendly chipmunk, and the occasional monarch butterfly. From our porch we could, over the span of our vacation, watch as the water slowly receded from our beach, as it does every summer.
Many of the days that first week brought with them wind and waves, and cloudy skies at night. Because of that we missed seeing the Northern Lights that were to be prevalent, and there was only one really good night for stargazing. Another plus to the location of our cabin is that we can sit in the comfort of our porch, away from the things that go buzz (and bite!) in the night, and watch the stars. That night we saw more stars than we could possibly count in a lifetime, along with a couple satellites, a few falling stars, and a bright planet rising above the horizon. It was amazing.
Our neighbors were all quiet that first week, which we were thankful for. There are usually two retired couples who occupy two of the three other available cabins in our camp the same weeks we are there. Only one was able to come this year, and we enjoyed seeing them even as we missed the absence of the other couple. (We were assured they’ll be back next year!) In the neighboring camp that housed the rest of the family, there are also a few families who come at the same time we do every year, so everyone knows everyone else. I’m still trying to connect names to faces, as we don’t spend much time in that camp… we see each other out on the water mostly, and wave a greeting to each other across the waves.
The second week brought the arrival of Mr. B’s sister, her hubby, and their son. Nephew Birchy impressed us all with his adorableness and his fully mastered “army crawl”. During the week he started experimenting with a “real” crawl, and more than a couple people are convinced that as soon as he’s put down on the carpet at home he’ll be off faster than a shot, crawling on his hands and knees! Nephew Birchy was our entertainment for the week, and highly in demand by all the family and friends present. He managed two meal-time water drenchings of family members (I could see the wheels spinning in his mind, plotting their soaking!), and kept us all making silly faces at him and uttering nonsense. No wonder he laughed… wonder how ridiculous we looked from his view point?!
A highlight of our second week was a campfire hosted at our camp, thanks to the wonderful owners. We all enjoyed the monstrous marshmallows provided by Brother-in-law Birchy’s mom and step-dad, along with all the fixings for s’mores. After a couple of the monsters were toasted and consumed, it was decided that it would be better for all involved if the huge marshmallows were cut in half before toasted for a s’more. Other than a couple questionable references to some of the marshmallow’s characteristics, and some comments about me being a pyro (me??) it was all good, clean family fun. Once the stars began to appear, and the fire began to die, we all decided that it was time to head to bed.
On our last day of vacation, I made the arduous journey to conquer Baldy Mountain, accompanied by Mr. B’s sister, her hubby and their baby. Some of Mr. B’s cousins joined us near the summit. Mr. B’s sister and I kept a look out for black bears, or maybe even a more mysterious and elusive creature… but to no avail. The most dangerous creature we saw was a large tree stump impersonating a black bear… or possibly Mr. B’s cousin attempting to scale a large fallen tree. The view at the top was incredible… and especially sweet to me, as it was my first time up the mountain. I’d been wanting to climb Baldy for a few years, but this is the first year I’ve been physically able to – so I enjoyed not only the expansive view at the top, but also the sweet taste of victory.
The saddest part of vacation is the end, when everything is packed, and the goodbyes are said. With just enough space in the Jeep for us to sit in the front, we set off homeward. Now that vacation is over, we are anxious to see our little Birchcat, and are eagerly counting the weeks until we enjoy our home away from home again… Only 50 more to go.
In my mind, I’ve already separated the first week of vacation and the second… During the first week, it was nice to just relax, sleep in, unwind, read (I read four books that week!)… and just enjoy a leisurely vacation. There weren’t a lot of planned activities… only one that first week, if I can remember correctly – a birthday dinner for Mr. B’s uncle. Everyone was on their own schedule for the most part, which was nice. Mr. B and I joked that we were hermits the first week… We didn’t venture far from the cabin most of that time – we didn’t have to! It was enough for us to enjoy the peace and quiet of our beach, and enjoy the view from our porch/ kitchen. We saw numerous groups of ducks paroling the shore for any unclaimed bread crumbs, two loons made daily appearances, along with chickadees, sparrows of all kinds and sizes, nuthatches, woodpeckers, a friendly chipmunk, and the occasional monarch butterfly. From our porch we could, over the span of our vacation, watch as the water slowly receded from our beach, as it does every summer.
Many of the days that first week brought with them wind and waves, and cloudy skies at night. Because of that we missed seeing the Northern Lights that were to be prevalent, and there was only one really good night for stargazing. Another plus to the location of our cabin is that we can sit in the comfort of our porch, away from the things that go buzz (and bite!) in the night, and watch the stars. That night we saw more stars than we could possibly count in a lifetime, along with a couple satellites, a few falling stars, and a bright planet rising above the horizon. It was amazing.
Our neighbors were all quiet that first week, which we were thankful for. There are usually two retired couples who occupy two of the three other available cabins in our camp the same weeks we are there. Only one was able to come this year, and we enjoyed seeing them even as we missed the absence of the other couple. (We were assured they’ll be back next year!) In the neighboring camp that housed the rest of the family, there are also a few families who come at the same time we do every year, so everyone knows everyone else. I’m still trying to connect names to faces, as we don’t spend much time in that camp… we see each other out on the water mostly, and wave a greeting to each other across the waves.
The second week brought the arrival of Mr. B’s sister, her hubby, and their son. Nephew Birchy impressed us all with his adorableness and his fully mastered “army crawl”. During the week he started experimenting with a “real” crawl, and more than a couple people are convinced that as soon as he’s put down on the carpet at home he’ll be off faster than a shot, crawling on his hands and knees! Nephew Birchy was our entertainment for the week, and highly in demand by all the family and friends present. He managed two meal-time water drenchings of family members (I could see the wheels spinning in his mind, plotting their soaking!), and kept us all making silly faces at him and uttering nonsense. No wonder he laughed… wonder how ridiculous we looked from his view point?!
A highlight of our second week was a campfire hosted at our camp, thanks to the wonderful owners. We all enjoyed the monstrous marshmallows provided by Brother-in-law Birchy’s mom and step-dad, along with all the fixings for s’mores. After a couple of the monsters were toasted and consumed, it was decided that it would be better for all involved if the huge marshmallows were cut in half before toasted for a s’more. Other than a couple questionable references to some of the marshmallow’s characteristics, and some comments about me being a pyro (me??) it was all good, clean family fun. Once the stars began to appear, and the fire began to die, we all decided that it was time to head to bed.
On our last day of vacation, I made the arduous journey to conquer Baldy Mountain, accompanied by Mr. B’s sister, her hubby and their baby. Some of Mr. B’s cousins joined us near the summit. Mr. B’s sister and I kept a look out for black bears, or maybe even a more mysterious and elusive creature… but to no avail. The most dangerous creature we saw was a large tree stump impersonating a black bear… or possibly Mr. B’s cousin attempting to scale a large fallen tree. The view at the top was incredible… and especially sweet to me, as it was my first time up the mountain. I’d been wanting to climb Baldy for a few years, but this is the first year I’ve been physically able to – so I enjoyed not only the expansive view at the top, but also the sweet taste of victory.
The saddest part of vacation is the end, when everything is packed, and the goodbyes are said. With just enough space in the Jeep for us to sit in the front, we set off homeward. Now that vacation is over, we are anxious to see our little Birchcat, and are eagerly counting the weeks until we enjoy our home away from home again… Only 50 more to go.
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