Jan 17, 2013 — The snowpack in the Adirondacks took a big hit with this weekend's rain and 50-plus-degree temperatures. But before the thaw arrived, ski conditions in the Adirondack backcountry were about as good as they can be.

Chris Knight traveled with Adirondack Daily Enterprise outdoors writer Mike Lynch to southern Essex County for a trip into Hoffman Notch, a popular ski tour in the central Adirondacks.

There are two approaches to the trail through the notch. Chris and Mike skied from the southern end, about 10 miles outside of Schroon Lake. The northern starting point of the trail is on Blue Ridge Road in the town of North Hudson.

The State Department of Environmental Conservation completed a unit management plan for the 38,000-acre Hoffman Notch Wilderness last year. It includes proposals to add several miles of new trails and construct two new trailhead parking areas, several new tent sites and a lean-to.  Go to full article

Watertown, NY, Jan 15, 2013 — It's an eerie sight: Every winter, around dusk each night, a flock of between 20,000 and 30,000 crows gathers in the trees around the Black River in Watertown.

They can be a neat sight against the white winter landscape, but the city wants them gone. That's because they squawk and poop and generally annoy a lot of city residents. The city has hired a wildlife management company to disperse the birds.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Jan 15, 2013 — Record numbers of bird species were counted recently during the Christmas Bird Count in the Saranac Lake area. Larry Master, longtime birder and wildlife photographer, says the Saranac Lake count broke a 47-year-old record for the number of bird species seen and the number of birders counting in the field. Fifty species were seen by 46 birders in the field, also a record for Saranac Lake.

Larry Master has been counting birds all his life. He took over compiling the Saranac Lake results in 1974. He says there was exciting birding news in the first week of the new year when a Common Pochard, a European duck, was sighted among several other very rare ducks, like the Tufted Duck and Barrow's Goldeneye, that gather near the Champlain Bridge at Crown Point.  Go to full article

Plattsburgh, NY, Jan 14, 2013 — Seed catalogs have started to arrive, with plenty of ideas and new products for the coming growing season. High tunnels, low tunnels, irrigation systems...it all can be a bit daunting.

Cornell Cooperative Extension horticulturist Amy Ivy helps sort through the offerings.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jan 10, 2013 — Let us take a moment to appreciate our recent snow-covered landscape.

In Canton, loads of skiers take advantage of the St. Lawrence University golf course for a quick outing. And...lucky for us...the trail scoots right through NCPR's backyard.

David Sommerstein has this postcard from a lunchtime ski.  Go to full article

Plattsburgh, NY, Jan 07, 2013 — The stark contrasts of a snowy landscape bring out hidden beauty in the garden and the yard. Plant stems and flower heads give depth and detail, and fences and other structures can anchor the view. Cooperative Extension horticulturist Amy Ivy sorts through her favorites with Martha Foley.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Dec 28, 2012 — This fall, an ecology professor at Paul Smiths College traveled thousands of miles to learn about a new culture, and share a bit about life in the Adirondacks. Celia Evans was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach and conduct research in Siberia. She, and her two daughters, spent three months in Russia's Altai Republic studying primary school students' relationships to their environment, community and culture.

Evans, who also shared her love of folk music with her Russian hosts, told Todd Moe that she also wanted to find out how students in Siberia are learning about their natural world compared with students in the North Country.  Go to full article

Dec 27, 2012 — This week we're exploring the lives of people who do traditional work. These are arts and types of industry that people would have been using to make a living in our region a century ago, or even longer.

Bud Piserchia is a master taxidermist working in Keene. Over the last four decades, his North Country Taxidermy shop has also emerged one of the most important marketplaces in the Northeast for animal skins and antlers.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Dec 27, 2012 — Martha Foley and Dr Curt Stager discuss fungal lurkers--fungi that live inside plants. Fungal lurkers are a new discovery and scientists believe that this type of fungus helps the plant it lives on but may harm animals and people.  Go to full article

Dec 18, 2012 — North Country visual artist and sculptor Becky Harblin included her poetry in a recent exhibit at the St. Lawrence County Arts Council in Potsdam. At the opening, poet and publisher Albert Glover asked if he could publish the poems. The result of their collaboration is a slim book of poetry titled, Eating the Bread of this World. Our book reviewer, Betsy Kepes, talks with Becky Harblin about her new book.  Go to full article