Here are some of the photos I took this weekend (the porcupine at the Wild Center; the view looking across Saranac Lake; the porch at Asgaard Farm; the goats at Asgaard Farm; cows and mountains; group photo at farm; coyote; owls; raven at Adirondack Wildlife Refuge and Rehab Center).
In other news, when we were at the Wild Center, I was particularly struck by the display about a man who discovered the decline in the Alpine tundra plant species on Adirondack mountain tops. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, but he managed to demonstrate that the plants were being killed by hikers treading over them. The exhibit had a tray of small rocks that people could use to build cairns, since cairns are one way to encourage hikers to stay on the designated path. This got me thinking about the history of cairns, and I found the following article: http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/2013/features/cairns-history-building-maintenance.cfm. It's a short and interesting read, but I'll summarize it here.
"Cairn" is a Gaelic word that means "heap of stones", and the author concedes that the Scots are probably best known for building cairns. However, the history of cairns reaches into ancient history and spans continents. According to the article, early Norse and vikings in Iceland used cairns for navigation. The author claims, though, that little is known about the extent to which Native Americans utilized cairns, since there is no reliable way to date the structures.
Caroline, these pictures are so gorgeous! Looking at these photos, and at those posted by others in our class, I regret having not taken more pictures myself. The Adirondacks is an especially picturesque place and even though pictures can never quite seem to capture the real thing (although yours come pretty close-killer quality), they're great mementos of time spent in the park.
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