Category — Nature

I know, I know, picking’s been going on for weeks already.  In my defense, I ran into a guy at the farmers’ market last week who claims that he refuses to eat an apple until the last of the tomatoes are gone.  Well, yeah, that’s just silly.  I’m completely willing to allow overlapping produce.

Just like when I was looking into berries earlier, the Pick Your Own site was quite helpful.  I’m only listing places that indicate that they’re U-Pick places, because I’ve already told you about the various farmers’ markets in the area.

I’ve been to a few different orchards, so I’ll tell you what I know if I’ve visited.  But they do tend to change things up a bit each season, so if there’s something that’s extraordinarily important to you, it’s a good idea to call and double check.  Same thing with prices:  I didn’t want to misquote anyone, and it can be confusing occasionally, like when they charge a fee to pick or have you pay by say, the pound vs. the bushel.  If a reader is motivated, organized, and mathematically gifted enough to figure out the single cheapest excursion, I do hope that that person will spread the love by sharing the information with us.  You will be repaid in karma.

Random pick-your-own orchard tips:

• Layer clothes for optimal comfort
• Bring along extra sacks or baskets because kids always like to carry your own, and you might want to keep track of the different apple varieties for future reference
• As long as you’re there, maybe grab a pumpkin?  I know that you might not be ready for Halloween yet, but if you wait until you are ready, the patch might be rather sparse
• If you’re heading someplace in Saratoga County, many of the orchards have reviews on the Pick Your Own site.

M on hay stacks at Bowman, the playground behind her includes an ancient fire truck

Anyway, I’ve got a list here.

Altamont Orchards in Altamont–they also do U-Pick tomatoes.

Bowman Orchards in Rexford is a busy orchard, and we’ve been there several times over the years.  Cars drive pretty close to the trees, and it can feel a bit like a traffic jam on the weekends.  Of course, it’s handy if you’ve got someone with mobility issues, but it can cut into the whole back-to-nature atmosphere.  Bowman’s also got a fun playground–when I’ve been there in the past, it’s been free during the week and pay-to-play on the weekends. They’ve also got sheltered picnic tables nearby, and there are donuts and ice cream.

J & I along a roadway at Bowman

Buhrmaster Family Farm in Scotia is listed as a U-pick Apple place, but I couldn’t find much information on it.

De Voe’s Rainbow Orchard in Halfmoon is listed as a U-pick Apple place, but I couldn’t find much information on it.

J bonds with goats at Bowman

Fo’Castle Farm in Burnt Hills is also listed as a U-pick Apple place, but their website seems pretty eat-and-shop focused.

Goold Orchards in Castleton

Hicks Orchard in Middle Granville is a drive (they say 40 minutes from Albany), but it sounds like fun, with a variety of activities including making your own scarecrow. . . anyone ever gone?

Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont is a huge and busy place.  They’ve got a sit-down restaurant and very cute gift shop (it also carries Just Tomatoes, which I love),as well as a super-fun playground with old tractors and other equipment.  They’ve got places to picnic outside, as well as animals to see and nature trails to wander.  One of my guest bloggers also chose Indian Ladder as one of her favorite outings in the Capital District.

J enjoys tractor at Indian Ladder

Lindsey’s Idyllwood Orchard in Rexford is listed as a U-pick Apple place, but I couldn’t find much information on it.  Update:  see comment from reader below.

Riverview Orchards in Clifton Park feels smaller than the other orchards I’ve visited, but in a good way.  There are pumpkins, animals, and a very modest kid-sized hay maze.  You park next to the main building and then have to cross a busy road to the orchard, but once there, it’s a pleasant hay ride to get to the apples.  Their gift shop is small but interesting, with bees to look at as well as unusual items like bug candies.  Plus you can watch the donuts being made.   Apple alert:  see the comment below!

J and friends enjoy hayride at Riverview

Saratoga Apple in Schuylerville is a popular destination, although it looks like they charge $5 or $6 per person to pick your own?  Is there something that makes this particularly worth it?

So, that’s what I found. . . anyone have opinions on these to share, or additions for the list?

Do you ever experience a bad version of something, and it causes you to crave The Real Thing?  This happens to me frequently.  Say, I’ll eat a brownie at a party, and halfway into it I’ll realize that it’s a sub-par brownie, and within a week I am mixing up a batch at home.  M recently requested burgers because she’d eaten a “yucky” one at a birthday party.

It goes beyond food.  As I mentioned yesterday, I felt pretty caged in at High Falls Gorge.  So within a week of our return home, we were taking a hike at Plotter Kill Preserve in Rotterdam.

Kids Love a Bridge

The waterfalls are, of course, more spectacular in the spring, but it still gave us plenty of opportunities to wade and hop from stone to stone.  In fact, the preserve’s a great “starter” hike for kids.  There’s plenty of interest, with stairways and bridges–what is it about a bridge on a nature walk?  It seems like every time I’m hiking with kids, they always shriek and run toward a bridge when it’s spotted.

The bridge pictured here is close to the entrance on the red trail–probably not even a five-minute walk into the preserve.  To increase the adventure quotient, we kept finding little, quick-moving frogs hiding among the rocks and water.  Later, closer to the big falls, we were able to climb down toward the water’s surface, where there were little cave-like areas in the stone that the girls enjoyed, too.  It certainly satisfied our craving to immerse ourselves in some wet nature after the hamster cages!

After posting about Hoffman’s it occurred to me that another local classic is Adirondack Animal Land.  About 45 minutes away from the Capital District, it’s absolutely worth the trip.

Adirondack Animal Land is a smallish zoo, but it’s perfect for a day trip:  just exactly manageable, in my opinion.  Just when my kids were about to spontaneously combust, it would be time to eat or take a ride, and they’d recover.  If you’re in doubt, do bring a stroller.

Beyond just seeing the animals (and they have a helpful list with photos, by the way), there are pony rides and a petting zoo as well as a playground and a “Western Town” that is pretty bare bones, but plenty fun for kids.   There’s quite a bit of shade and there are picnic tables.  We always pack a lunch, and it’s great that they welcome brought-in food, unlike many family entertainment places.

J at the petting zoo.

I’ll admit that I find zoos mildly depressing, and much of the Animal Land is “old school”, with animals in not-super-comfortable-looking cages, reminiscent of that  Nick Park Creature Comforts short–if you haven’t ever seen it, it’s worth a look.  Once we visited, and I swear, there were some sort of baby animals that were so small compared to the cage that some of them could hop right out–does anyone remember that visit?  On the other hand, after a couple of visits to Animal Land, we’d go to other zoos that had more space and authentic environments, like, say, the National Zoo in D.C., and we were wandering around thinking, plenty of trees, but where the heck are the animals?  It’s absolutely easier to keep the kids engaged when they can get a good look.

M's up close and personal.

We generally save the Safari Ride for the end of our visit to the zoo–a chance to sit down and relax after all of that walking.  My expectations were low on the first visit, but we all thought it was surprisingly fun.

On the Safari Ride. Apparently M was in an accessory phase.

Adults are $13.75, kids 12 months-12 years are $10.75, and there are printable coupons on the website.  They only accept cash.   I’ll admit that I haven’t been there in a while, so if anyone’s visited this summer and has news or updates, I’d love to hear them!  Comment it up, please.

We took a drive past Saranac Lake during our week up in the Adirondacks.  Actually, it turned out to feel like a much longer drive than we’d anticipated.  As a coping mechanism, I invented a new Car Ride Game.  It’s called, “That’s your house!”   It really only works on those drives that are somewhat rural, because they often have a wide variety of different residences, and they’re spaced out a bit.  Here’s how you play:

1. Establish and explain a particular order (say, alphabetical or chronological).
2. Tell everyone the rules (it has to be a residence, and you have to be able to see it from the road).
3. Decide when to begin (like, after that white mailbox up ahead).
4. As you drive along, point out each building and name whose house it is.

It was surprisingly entertaining.  Some people got lovely homes with beautiful front porches, others got half-boarded, decaying hovels.  J asked her friend L if she could come swim in her pool, and then invited her for tea at her home afterward.  Or. . . maybe we were all just bored? I don’t know.  It’s worth a try.  And it beats the heck out of I’m Going on a Picnic.

Finally, we reached the Paul Smiths Adirondack Visitor Interpretive Center.  If we had spent the entire day there and planned to do some serious hiking or boating on one of their guided tours, we would have a more enthusiastic report.  Instead, we popped in to see what was in the center itself, since the kids were a bit hiked out.  Inside, it was similar to–but not quite as fun as–a visit to Thacher or Albany Pine Bush.

J & her friend L examine the touchables.

Outside, there was a modest playground that the kids enjoyed.

They also had a butterfly house with staff that were friendly and eager to teach.  I saw the teensiest caterpillar I’d ever seen there.  It’s not their fault that my kids have been to, oh, at least 4 or 5 other butterfly habitats before.

On the way to our car, J encountered a baby snake, which might have been the highlight of our trip.

As we drove home, we were excited to locate Donnelly’s Ice Cream, which had come highly recommended by a friend as well as the workers at Ben & Jerry’s (yes: it’s true).

It’s a little place that offers one flavor (twisted with vanilla) of superbly creamy soft serve ice cream.  Lucky for us, we hit a chocolate day.  M took one step out the door and her ice cream dropped right off the cone.  There was an unbelievably quick response with a bucket and sweeper, and after sitting on the grass nearby we understood:  I think 3 or 4 people lost their ice cream in the fifteen minutes it took for us to finish our cones.

I found the ordering process quite stressful.  I know it sounds ridiculous: all you have to choose is your size, but people were lining up behind us at an alarming rate.  When we mentioned to a local that we’d eaten there, she laughed and said, “They’re like the Soup Nazi!” and I felt validated.

After ice creamin’ up, we headed to Lake Colby for the rest of the afternoon.  It was beautiful, the kids all enjoyed the water, and I was the single most popular woman on the beach because I was loaning out the many Max Liquidators that we’d brought along.  Which was a treat, since often when you go to lakes, that sort of thing isn’t allowed.  In fact, we spent such an unexpectedly long amount of time at the beach that my friend went on a drinks-and-trashy-magazines run, and both the grown-ups got burned (dang those men for going back to work instead of applying sunscreen to our backs).

J also appreciated picking the wildflowers at near Lake Colby.

J's bouquet

We climbed up small-but-satisfying Baker Mountain near Saranac Lake while we were up in the Adirondacks.  I’d definitely recommend it.

The kids start their climb.

We hike occasionally, but I find that it’s tough to motivate the kids without a specific goal in mind (which is why I like letterboxing).  Climbing to the top of a mountain was perfect.  Part of the way up, the trail split into two:  to the right was the official, marked trail, which we later learned was rockier and steeper than the unofficial-but-easy-to-follow path that veered left.  Climbing up the rocks was fun, but a little scary at times.  The top photo in the link above (oh, I’ll put it here, too) shows exactly the spot where I had a little panic attack.   Imagine me at the bottom of this picture, then imagine the two five-year-old girls in our party frolicking happily on the steeper rock portion above, completely oblivious to the sheer drop that’s at right.  I was scrambling up while pant-hissing to J’s friend, “Lean forward right now, please!  Get on your hands and knees right now please!” They were so excited that they were almost at the summit that they were dancing a little bit.

And the summit itself was oh-so-satisfying.   We took a shoe picture around the medallion that marked the top (this is kind of a thing that my in-laws do, actually), and J located blueberries, so there was picking and snacking.

Meanwhile, the views were gorgeous.

M taking it in.

We took the less-steep trail down.  The kids were re-energized after reaching the top and having a snack, and with that, plus gravity, they kept breaking into a run.  W reminded them that if they went too fast they might ram into a tree and get a black eye or lose a tooth.  We’d forgotten that J was actually hoping to lose a  loose tooth.  She decided to try to knock her tooth out by smacking herself against a fallen log.

Hey, it's worth a shot.

Later in the day, M yanked it out for her.  Personally, I was quite impressed that the Tooth Fairy was able to get her hands on a golden dollar (her traditional gift) on such short notice.  She’s a marvel, I tell you!

The climb took longer than we’d expected, so rather than going home & assembling sandwiches, we treated ourselves to lunch at Tail o’ the Pup Bar-B-Q, which was on the way.  It was better than we’d expected, with live music, a little playground, and mid-day margaritas.  Frozen with salt?  Yes, please!

We spent a week at a house on a lake near Lake Placid, and it was practically by accident.  We’d bid on this item with friends at a silent auction because 1) it was super-cheap, 2) proceeds went to our church, and 3) W had been to the area and said that it was nice.   Approximately the next morning, I was sorry that we’d done it.  First, the homeowners approached me and said something about how the lake was murky and you really couldn’t swim right there in the backyard.  Then there were scheduling problems, and instead of getting to use the house last summer, when we had plenty of time, we had to squeeze it in this summer, so W didn’t have enough time to stay all week–he headed back to work on Monday.  Umm, how relaxing is that for anybody?

Frankly, I got a little scared when I realized that there would be no internet and no television.   I mean, clearly, I spend quite a bit of time on the computer.  And, while my kids aren’t tv junkies, an hour or so of something mindless at the end of the day when I’m trying to cook dinner sure does take the edge off.  My friend and I would have two kids each, no Manly Backup, and no emergency DVD action.  Between packing and typing up auto-posts, I was getting a teensy bit nervous that it was going to suck, big-time.

View from our dock

It didn’t suck.  It was beautiful.  The kids loved it.  In fact, yesterday they said they’d trade in their tv with a lake and kayaks.  If you haven’t ever taken a good ol’ wholesome Adirondack-lake-and-mountain vacation, you should totally do it.

One of our favorite outings was a canoe ride across the lake to a little beach that you could only access by hiking.  We’d heard about it from our friends who owned the house, but there weren’t too many details.

View from our dock, toward the "secret beach"

We asked another neighbor–who unsuccessfully tried to coach me in kayak skills from his dock as I flung myself about with enthusiasm–and followed his directions.  Then we were extraordinarily fortunate, because another boat was headed for the hiking trail.  We followed them and guessed our way through the trail hoping that we’d find a beach.  The suspense was incredible, and all four kids ran ahead of the grown-ups.  They shrieked with joy when they found the lake beach.  We were all exultant at the discovery.

Tadpoles

It was gorgeous and serene.  We all splashed around.  There were a bunch of the biggest tadpoles I’d ever seen.

That's me in the water.

We also saw a leech.  It took a particular liking to W, following his ankles wherever they went.  Luckily, we only saw one of those little suckers.  Ha, ha!  Suckers!  Get it?

Ewwww! A leech!

Anyway, it was an adventure.  I’ll share some of our more easily accessible adventures later in the week.

Generally, I provide a weekend post on Thursday night.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it this week.  If not, I’ll hopefully get something up by Friday.  Meanwhile. . .

Apparently our reader Amy has caught the blogging bug.  When she launches her own I’ll be sure to link you, but for now, here’s her second post of the week:

As a reader of Capital District Fun, Katie has inspired me to get out of the house and continually reminds me of how much our area has to offer, to take advantage of all the great resources available to us living in the area, often right in our own backyard and usually not more than a stone’s throw away!

Two of our favorite outings:

Indian Ladder Farms

No matter the season, there’s always a reason to head to Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont. Today was just the day for a trip to the country for a visit with the animals, cider donuts, and berry picking. We picked a quart of strawberries although the pickings were slim as were the pickings for raspberries and blueberries. And no trip for our family would be complete with the requisite stop in the gift shop to add to our ever-expanding collection of Schleich animal figures!

Five Rivers

We often forget about this natural treasure tucked away in Delmar, but the nice weather forced us outdoors again this summer and found us heading to Fiver Rivers Environmental Education Center.  From the nature center to the trails, you can’t go wrong. Something here for everyone and it’s not usually overrun, which makes you feel like you own a little bit of this heaven on earth if only for an afternoon.

Remember the butterfly post?  Here’s a report from one of our readers:

Hi to all,

My name is Carolyn and I’m a stay at home mom to three mostly
wonderful children ranging in age from 2 to 13, the eldest having
Asperger’s, a mild form of autism.

Recently we went to the Butterfly Station at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland.  This was a fun “field trip” for all three of my
children.  Instead of heading straight into the butterfly garden area,
we went to the Caterpillar Room and the children got to see how
butterflies start out and the different stages that they go through.
After that we headed into the Arts & Craft Room where the children
made multiple crafts and they could even get their face or hand
painted!  Next was a room where the kids were able to have some hands-on interaction.  Then it was time for the butterflies!  All three
children were thrilled and after dipping their hands in some sugar
water, butterflies soon landed on their hands, or for my youngest,
right on his head!

The greatest aspect of the Butterfly Station is the student
volunteers.  They are extremely knowledgeable.  They are at the
entrance and in each room and they are also the ones doing the face
painting.

Address:
Farnsworth Middle School
6072 State Farm Road
Guilderland, New York 12084

Hours:  Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until August 15th

Cost: Free but donations are welcome.

The other day we met some friends at Collins Lake in Scotia.  Between visits, I forget just how pleasant it is.  The beach is open from noon to 7:45 pm, and if you go late like we did, it’s quiet and relaxing.  It’s $2/person with kids 5 and under (or maybe it was 6?) free.

M on dock with canoe in distance

Plenty of lifeguards, one long dock, and a beautiful view.   There’s a covered pavilion just outside the beach area, and the playground and bathrooms are a short walk away.  Don’t forget the sand toys.

A friend enjoys the water

We’d  made it a late visit partly so that some of our husbands could join us, so we walked over to Jumpin’ Jacks for dinner.   Tasty.  It was our first visit this summer, and I forgot that it actually stresses me out, a bit, to order at Jumpin’ Jacks.  Then when I went looking for my link I saw this list of etiquette rules on the Visit Scotia blog.  If you’ve never gone before, it’s excellent preparation, really.   You can also view the menu online:  please, may I recommend the twisters over the regular fries?

Anyway, we weren’t even paying attention and we happened to be there on a Tuesday night, which meant that it was crazy-busy for the water ski show.  Of course we had to stay.  The kids enjoyed it, and then my super-alert friend (who also provided these photos–thank you!)  realized that we should start walking to the ice cream (it’s soft ice cream; no hard) before the very end of the show, and it’s a good thing–that was a very long line.  Jumpin’ Jacks opens at 11 am, so if you really wanted to skip the lines, you could have an early lunch before the beach.

J and two little friends

So, remember on Saturday night, when it was pouring down rain & there was lightning & thunder & high winds?  Guess what we were doing?  Camping!!

Lucky for us, it wasn’t hardcore, back-to-nature camping, but backyard camping!  Our friends host an annual party that brings people from as far away as the Carolinas.  This is hosted by their parents who live nearby-but-rural  enough to have free-range chickens.  Although the chickens were cooped up for the weekend due to the many guest dogs roaming about.  They were actually pretty bitter about it.

An Angry Chicken

Their super-fun family also included us on our winter trip to Jiminy Peak, so we are pretty much ready to adopt them as our in-town grandparents.  Besides Mary, of course.

Grammy Gave Tractor Rides

We had some deliciously excellent food.   There were volleyball games and bubbles and washers games and the kids managed to pop two different Slip ‘n’ Slides.  Then some more deliciously excellent food.

Yummy.

As evening fell, the music started.  Alas, I have no musical talent, but between the various guests there were drums, guitars, mandolins, and plenty of singers.  J picked up a tambourine and sat among the jamming grown-ups, patting it earnestly.  It was pretty adorable.   My prediction: there will absolutely be a tambourine purchase in the next few months.  And not some bright plastic thing, either.  Something gen-u-wine.  I’m going to have to pay better attention to family jam events from now on.

It was all going quite well and the fireflies were just coming out when suddenly the storm came.  People continued to play music while various camp chairs (and our super-cool camp couch) and music cases were shoved under a tent.  Many children were sobbing in terror and rushing inside the house.  M was completely unfazed, and J was sobbing because she wanted to roast marshmallows.  We stayed near the campfire waiting it out.

J feels the rain from under a tent.

The storm passed, we finally perfected a golden-brown marshmallow, and our tent stayed nice and dry.

Between the house guests and the camping, we’ve all been pretty wiped out at our house.  I’m sorry for the atrocious typos that I’ve found in the last few posts–you know I’m usually better than that.   We have no major plans for the next week, so it will be nice to recover a bit.  Still, it’s been tons of fun.