Time is going by so fast this spring that I have not kept up with my photos. I have hundreds of photos to view and edit and many to post that chronicle my goings about. I took these about 3 weeks ago on the Missisquoi River in Troy. In the photo above, you can see his crest blowing in the wind.
Blueberry Ridge is a five acre, five thousand bush organic blueberry farm in North Troy.
Peanut, the Blueberry Ridge blueberry-loving blue-eyed Lab cross dog.
We picked, cleaned and froze 18.5 lbs (8.4 kg) of berries for the winter.
As the Missisquoi River flows north to Canada it comes to an 80 foot gorge in North Troy. This is where Big Falls State Park is and was the site for our Friday quest. Wingnut took the trail down the gorge to the river to find the treasure box, which was not there. Above and below you see the rapids at the top of the gorge.
The state, despite designating this area a state park, has not installed any safety devices at all. There is nothing preventing anyone from slipping on wet rocks and falling off of the cliff into the gorge.
Above, I sam standing on a cliff over the 80 foot gorge (24.4 m) and holding my camera above and away from me to see the falls. Being afraid of heights, this was enough adventure for me.
I walked with Wingnut down the trail a bit until I looked down the side of the trail to the bottom of the gorge (above).
The forest at the top of the gorge in the park.
Here, Wingnut is waiting for me to toss down the quest book so that he and Matt can study it to find the treasure box (below). However, there was no treasure box to be found.
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I took a drive on my bird road on Monday. Suddenly from the ditch flew a bird so big that its wing span was wider than my station wagon. I knew immediately that it was a turkey vulture because of it's coloring and size.
On Tuesday I returned at the same time of day. But I got my camera ready and held it on top of the steering wheel while I drove slowly. This was on a Vermont back road where there is no traffic. The same bird flew out of the ditch at the same place. I got two shots of it in flight and pulled over. I searched the trees and saw it perched high in a tree. I used 10x zoom on my Kodak Z710 Zoom camera. I took these photos without a tripod.
The vulture kept an eye on me and after 20 shots it flew away. These five photos are the best of the bunch. They are untouched except for some cropping.
I have returned every day and will continue for at least another week or so. It may return because its food is still there. What was it eating? A dead porcupine and raccoon. These animals were not hit by cars. They may have been shot by kids that live in the area. There was another dead raccoon in the woods a short distance down the road.
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Sky Watch Friday
Beaver are cutting these trees down on the Missisquoi River in Troy. Further downstream are many more that have been cut. This is new activity. In March I saw a couple of girdled trees but thought it had been done by porcupines. I doubt that the beavers are damming the Missisquoi. They are probably building a dam further back in the field behind the river.
Today at the Missisquoi River in Troy, Vermont
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Sunday Spire
The dirt River Road on the Missisquoi River, Troy, VermontComputer map programs and GPS systems may work great in urban areas but they don't work so well on our serpentine rural Vermont roads. Many of our roads have several names. Some of our roads go in different directions but not at the same intersection. Our physical street addresses, created for 911 purposes, often are not in sequential order. Please consult the directions above and do not rely exclusively on modern technology to find your way.
This was taken two weeks ago on Rt 105 looking north towards Newport. Now the road and mountains are snow-covered.
A female (I think) pileated woodpecker. This was shot through my windshield and I am thrilled at how well it came out. This is only the third pileated woodpecker I have seen; the first I have photographed.
The sun was out for awhile today so I found another vantage point for another shot of Jay Peak. I like the clouds and the sun spilling on the left side of the mountain.
The best view, so far, this week of Jay. Snow is about 6" (15.24 cm) deep at the base lodge. I've been hearing for days about the snow up there and finally saw it today. Saw part of it: most of the mountain is under that cloud. Elevation of Jay: 3,968 ft (1,209 m).
A close up view of a rainbow at the top of Great Falls (or Big Falls State Park). The spray from the falls created the rainbow. Snow fell all day but there was no accumulation.
North Troy, Vermont
