ku # 586 ~ Spring has sprung # 20 ~ floating through the Adirondack version of a coral reef

Tamarack bog # 4 • click to embiggenI am not alone. It appears that James, who lives nearby but I have not met, seems to like bogs as well:

I couldn't agree more regarding your comments on the rare beauty of a tamarack bog...and considering your eye for decay Mark, I'm not at all surprised by your interpretation.

Of all the places I've explored here, I just can't get enough of Bloomingdale Bog. The naturally occurring "rusty hues" and glowing lichens feel so supernatural to me, during late fall and early spring especially.

There is this duality here as well...so much decomposing matter being absorbed back into the earth...at the same time, I've never been in a landscape that felt more alive...like floating through the Adirondack version of a coral reef.

I enjoy just completely losing myself in the alders and grasses and tamaracks, etc. I love that you chose to ignore the sky, choosing instead to immerse the viewer completely in the skeletal, soggy details of the place. I hope you also plan on picturing during that initial burst of lime/neon green that seems to pass so quickly...unbelievable addition to your ku Mark.

As an aside, if you've never experienced paddling Twobridge Brook through Bloomingdale Bog this time of year, and don't mind battling the alders and beaver damns in spots, I highly recommend it. My brother and I paddled from 86, crossed "under" the bog corridor near the opposite end, passed under Bloomingdale Rd, and continued on until we reached some tiny road in Bloomingdale whose name I never caught...can't even begin to describe the wildlife (otter, beaver, countless birds, etc), not to mention the grasses and islands (or whatever you call clumps of spongey earth in a bog) filled with wildflowers...last May we encountered the largest patch of swamp marigolds I have ever seen...also found painted trilliums, etc. But in the context of these bog islands/forests, it's just incredible.

James, thanks very much for the comments and your reminder re: Bloomingdale Bog. I did an episode for my PBS show in Bloomingdale Bog. It was my first experience there and I have been wanting to get back to it ever since. I am not a birder but the reason I was in the bog was at the behest of photographer Jeff Nadler - he was my birding guide for a piece about birding and avian photography.

I think it's time to get out the the boat and take it for a spin. But Jim, here's the zillion dollar question - what's the water level in the bog? It's been a bit dry this Spring.

Comments

[aaron]

we should get together then and all three go picturing and/or paddling... James is a great guy.

[James]

Mark...first, how can I get my hands on that video? I would love to purchase it, and any other PBS videos/documentaries you've been involved in or know of regarding the history of the Adirondacks.

Second...the water levels...I paddled this with my brother just last weekend before the light rain/snow we received this week. Water levels were not a problem at all and never have been for us. With our kayaks, we take the following approach when it comes to dealing with the dams: aim for a low spot and hit it as fast as possible...only had to exit the kayak once due to a fallen log...rarely get hung up at all.

Not sure that approach will work quite as well in a Spitfire, but I have two kayaks you and Aaron are welcome to anytime that sit pretty high in the water and can take a lickin'. The greatest "annoyance" is the alders through the more narrow sections, but this is intermittent at worst, and well worth the occasional stick in the face (when leafed out, alders transform the route into a tunnel in sections).

Aaron...I would love to join you and Mark if you can wait for me...traveling for work unfortunately this Saturday, returning next Saturday (May 2nd)...name the day and time thereafter, and I'm there! I think there may be some serious Cinemascape potential my friend (I'll email you some examples before I leave). In the meantime, you and Mark are more than welcome to the kayaks even while I am away if it makes it any easier, just let me know so Jill or my in-laws can hook you up in my absence.

James