Perhaps it was inevitable that Mark Bowie would become an Adirondack photographer. He grew up just outside the Blue Line and spent most of his childhood summers in the Park. Both his grandfather and father are professional photographers. Mark always … [Read more...] about Adirondack Waters: Spirit of the Mountains
Notes Collected in the Adirondacks: 1895 & 1896
Hungarian-born Arpad Gerster was a 19th-century Renaissance man, an artist, writer, musician, keen observer of the natural world, early conservationist, pioneer of thoracic surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and the author of Rules of … [Read more...] about Notes Collected in the Adirondacks: 1895 & 1896
The Great South Woods II
Want proof that Peter O’Shea is a serious naturalist? Pay close attention to the section titled “Wildlife and Changes Around a Homestead” in his new book The Great South Woods II. The homestead is O’Shea’s “own humble abode” in the northwest … [Read more...] about The Great South Woods II
Women with Altitude
Everyone in the North Country knows an aspiring 46er or soon learns to recognize one: firm calves, purposeful expression and a lofty to-do list. Forty-Sixers earn the title, of course, by climbing all of the Adirondack High Peaks, most of which top … [Read more...] about Women with Altitude
The Ardent Birder: On the Craft of Birdwatching
When I finished the three-page introduction to The Ardent Birder I concluded, with a yawn, that while very sweet and even tender the book seemed far too basic for an experienced birder like myself. But I found the bordering-on-theprecious tone … [Read more...] about The Ardent Birder: On the Craft of Birdwatching
Wilderness Forever: Howard Zahniser and the Path to the Wilderness Act
On Page 65 of this excellent biography is a photograph of Howard Zahniser in front of Hanging Spear Falls, on the Opalescent River. Snapped by the Adirondack conservationist Paul Schaefer in 1946, it provides a compelling visual reminder of the role … [Read more...] about Wilderness Forever: Howard Zahniser and the Path to the Wilderness Act