Robot Deer at Ausable Club

I am sure no one will believe me when I tell you this story since I don't have any pictures to prove it, but a deer at the Ausable Club actually followed me!  

I had finished running the Lake Road to and from the Ausable Lakes, and was waiting for Drew back at the Ausable Club.   He decided to run up Indian Head when we got to the Lakes and I didn't tag along because I had received 6 shots of novocaine in my toe the day before for an ingrown toe nail that decided to grow back.  That's another story and consider yourself lucky that I didn't blog about that yesterday!  

Anyways, I was sitting on a bench taking in the beauty of their golf course with the mountains in the background when I started to get cold.  He had the keys to the car so I decided to jog back to the Lake Road to warm myself up.  Just before the gate, I noticed a small deer off to my right.  I stopped and looked at it, waiting for the deer to go running off.  The deer didn't move. I rubbed my eyes thinking maybe it was a fake deer.  I stomped my foot trying to scare it away. Nothing.  Then, it started walking towards me!  I couldn't believe what was going on.  

Most deer get spooked by crazy ladies in running capri's swinging their arms shouting, "I'm not your mother little deer, stay away from me!"  I thought maybe a member of the Ausable Club was sitting in one of the cottages with a remote control playing with this deer and watching my funny reaction. This went on for about 20 minutes.  I would walk away from the deer and she would follow.  I would stop, say something and start walking again.  The deer followed.  The closest the deer got to me was maybe 8 feet or so.  The deer was freaking me out.  

She itched herself on a whirligig at one of the cottages and scratched herself with its back leg like a dog.  The deer just looked at me like, "Will you please scratch behind my neck, I think I might have a tick."  I picked up a small piece of wood just in case the deer got too close to me and wanted to rub up against me.  

I finally saw Drew coming down the road and started waving my arms frantically and motioning for him to slow down and stay quiet.  I pointed to the deer and he said, "Oh yeah, they're robots." I said, "What do you mean?  No, it's real.  It follows me."  Apparently, he has encountered these deer as well and has been within arm reach from them before.  

The Ausable Club is no petting zoo, but it certainly felt like that.  Maybe with all the wealth surrounding the Club they have stocked their grounds and private Adirondack Mountain Reserve with a special breed of deer that run with you like dogs, since no pets are allowed on their property.

When I told this story to a friend on the phone last night she said, "The only thing that would have made your story better is if you told me it was a unicorn."  I wonder if that means she didn't believe me?

Mystery Spot #5

Can you guess this location? 

Whitebrook Dairy Bar Season Kick Off

Opening day of ice cream season kicked off for Whitebrook Dairy Bar in Wilmington yesterday.  I love Whitebrook for two reasons, their creamsicle colored building and their soft serve ice cream.

I eat ice cream year round, but I am always excited when local ice cream stands open up for the summer.  You can buy hard ice cream at any grocery store, but it is a challenge to find soft serve year round anywhere other than McDonald's.  I am guessing that I am not the only one that feels this way because I overheard the man standing in line behind us say, "This is the most exciting thing that has happened to us in months!"  I couldn't agree more.   

Honestly, I think there's nothing better than my husband treating me to a vanilla twist with rainbow sprinkles!

Just Say No to Husband Pimpin' Ride

I realize this post is a little on the personal side, but something very interesting has happened recently to our new vehicle. I was washing dishes when I heard Drew pull into the driveway. I looked out the kitchen door to see the website address he maintains on the roof rack fairing of our car!
There it was in big white stickers, WWW.ADKTRAILRUN.COM ! I thought I was imagining things and blinked a couple times to see if it was really there. I dropped the glass I was washing into the sink as he walked in to greet me. Even before asking him how his day was I said, “No, you didn’t.” Unfortunately, yes…yes, he did. He told me his coworkers liked it. I told him they were being nice.

Since I'm not holding anything back, I find it to be completely obnoxious and loud. This is the equivalent of me putting my blog’s web address on the side of my car and adding yellow and orange flames on the side just to make sure people notice me. A few of our friends own businesses and they tastefully advertise on their vehicles. I have no problem with that because it's their livelihood and it's not my car.

The day we bought the car, my husband had a small sticker that he wanted to put on the vehicle and asked me for my input on placement. I don’t know what happened to my husband that consulted me on stickers for our car two months ago, but I would like him back please. I will give the person I am currently sharing a bed with one week to advertise www.adktrailrun.com on the car and then future advertising will have to be discussed.

P.S. If said husband is reading this, you better take me out for ice cream in your pimped up ride tonight since I'm giving you some free advertising. :)

Fox Farm Kids Farm Stand

I am one of those people that stops at every lemonade stand I pass, just because I can't turn a kid down.  Last summer it wasn't lemonade I found myself stopping for, it was corn that some kids on Fox Farm Road were selling along with other produce from their garden.

The Fox Farm Kids Farm Stand in Wilmington has expanded this year and now offers, perennials, annuals, and herbs. 

The Muffin Lady really runs the show here, but her kids are definitely involved.  Don't start thinking that they should be shut down because of violating child labor laws, they're just having fun watering the plants and running around in the yard. 

 

All the flowers looked beautiful and healthy.  I would have really liked to get a couple hanging baskets for our porch, but I usually kill them by mid-summer and thought I would wait.  So I settled on some pansies.  

They also have a variety of herbs with some organic ones to choose from.  Surprisingly, my rosemary has survived two winters inside without completely drying up and thought once I put it in the ground for the summer it needed some companions.  I purchased some basil, parsley and lemon thyme. 

I'm not really sure what to do with the lemon thyme, but it smells wonderful!  The kids weren't able to give me any recipes because they must have been off playing hide-and-seek.  Maybe later on in the summer I'll make some lemon thyme butter for my corn on the cob and wash it all down with a glass of lemonade!

Furniture Ball?

Driving by Upper Jay Upholstery, I noticed to the side of the building this wooden furniture ball:  To some it might look like a pile of junk.  Personally, I see a sculpture that resembles a beautiful rubber band ball made out of love in the work place.  What do you think trash or treasure?

Gargoyles Gone Fishin'

Many readers including myself  have been wondering what the Gargoyles have been up to.  

Last month, I thought they would be carrying Easter baskets and wearing bonnets or bunny ears, but they must have been on vacation.  

My husband came home from work yesterday and told me the Gargoyles were dressed up again.  I was very excited to drive by this morning to see that they were getting ready for a fishing trip.

Here is Lefty Gargoyle equipped with a fishing rod and sun hat. 

 

Righty Gargoyle appears to be playing it safe with the higher than usual water levels and is sporting a life jacket.  

If they are entering the Ausable Two Fly Contest tomorrow, I wish them the best of luck!

Alpacas Getting Haircuts

Yesterday was a big day for Jay Mountain Alpacas because they were all due for a haircut and I was invited to join in on all the fun.  

When I went back to see the alpacas at the barn, they seemed a little curious about what was going on.  

After a few alpacas returned from their shearing, they started getting a clue about what would be happening to them after seeing their shaved friends and family members. 

 

The men roped the front and hind legs so the alpaca would be on their side or belly and they would start shaving.  Some alpacas behaved better than others and I really couldn't blame the pregnant ones for yelling at us.  

It was amazing to see the thickness of the blanket that came off of them.  Since I am a newbie to all of this, I was put on clean up duty and swept the fur that could not be felted or spun into yarn.  

Once the men were done with the bulk of the shearing job, I helped Pat by straddling the alpaca and holding the ears while she trimmed and perfected the top of their head.  I was reluctant to do this at first because I thought I would be hurting the alpaca by grabbing their ears.  I certainly wouldn't like it if someone did this to me and was surprised that none of the alpacas turned their head around 180 degrees and spit at me. Maybe it was just beginner's luck!

I took a break on this alpaca so I could get a picture for you.  

Here is Miss Keela before and after her haircut and I must say she is a beauty.  

Someone give this gal a ribbon!

Hunan Oshaka's Latest Addition, Numero Dos

Last month I had mentioned that Hunan Oshaka and Kento the Chinese Japanese Restaurant in Lake Placid was going to be opening Mexico City soon.  The last few days the local radio station had been brainwashing me into trying it out for Cinco De Mayo, their "Grand Opening."  I couldn't convince Drew to take me there for their special offer of $3 margaritas and free appetizers.  I can't imagine why?  Come on, $3 margaritas!

Luckily, our friend Heather asked if we would go and Drew caved in.  Upon entering, we were warmly greeted by the owner and were seated in the back of the restaurant where they had Southwestern pictures hanging on the walls.  A couple of us at the table thought that they could have been playing some Mexican music rather than the radio station to create a better ambience.

We sampled the appetizers that they had at the buffet.  There were tortilla chips, mini tacos, and perhaps an empanada, but it was more like a cross between a pork pierogi and a sweet pot sticker.

 

A few people thought the margaritas were a little bit too salty, but were able to finish them with no problem.  

I hate to say anything bad about a business that is starting a new venture, but it's going to take something like $1 margaritas for me to give them a second try.  Lo siento Hunan Oshaka/Kento/Mexico City y feliz Cinco de Mayo!

3/50 Project and My Three

Surfing the internet today, I stumbled upon the 3/50 project and it piqued my interest.  I realize I might come across a little preachy with this post, but it really is so important to buy locally when you can. There are definite areas where I fail miserably at this and quite honestly our budget often leads us to big box stores and chain supermarkets.  

The premise behind Project 3/50 is if you pick 3 stores in your local community and spend $50, it will save your local economy. For every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 of it returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures.  If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays.  

In an effort to buy locally, my weekend starts tomorrow and instead of driving 3o minutes to Plattsburgh and going to Lowe's for paint, I'll go a quarter mile up the road and buy our rollers and paint at Ward Lumber.  

Not only is Ward Lumber the largest manufacturer of White Pine in New York State, but they generally have on hand what every other hardware store carries. Plus, they have gummy worms too.

I also need an oil change and get the snow tires off my car, so rather than making an appointment at Monroe Muffler, I'll be bringing my car to the friendly folks at Devin's Garage just a half mile up the road.

There is always one occasion that I seldom go to a chain store for and that would be for my Mother's Birthday/Mother's Day, just a couple days apart this year.  A gardener at heart, no matter the year, she always requests a trip to a greenhouse or nursery.  I look forward to these adventures with her every year and never know where in the North Country we are going to end up.  However, this year's choice is Flowering Meadow Nursery and is less than 3 miles up the road from where I live.  

Last year I was on the hunt for some shasta daisies for a friend's birthday and discovered the Nursery.  Not only did I find the daisies, but I came away with a running partner, cat sitter, and all around good friend.  For some reason I don't think I would have found that at Lowe's.  

I miss you E!