Adirondack LettersNo.14: An Old Fields Story. Hints of Balsam and Pine: Nature Reflections in a minor key from our quiet corner of the Adirondacks. For Fourpeaks Guests and anyone who ever dreamed about a wilderness getaway. CLICK & GO! (On this page.) Adirondack Letter No.14: "An Old Fields Story." More stuff in An Adirondack Miscellany. (On the next page.) List and Links to all the Adirondack Letters in this series. 
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to get on our mailing listAnd receive occasional Adirondack Letters like this. "An Old Fields Story" Adirondack Letter No.14 Subject: An Old Fields Story Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2003 16:04:45 From: < YourAdirondackGuide@4peaks.com > To: < youremailname@youremail.address > To: Fourpeaks Visitors At: < youremailname@youremail.address > Dear Fourpeaks Visitor, Once in the jeep heading out by Sugar Camp I saw it for myself close up. Favor Smith called it one of the largest birds of its kind, a major predator with extensive hunting grounds that evidently included my place. He had spotted it a number of times. It came down from behind me, following the narrow opening low between the trees, then swooped close to the road just ahead. But I couldn't see what it got, if anything. By Camp Gate I watch and wait looking up from time to time at the line of trees for a sign and scanning the empty sky for anything in motion. You could say I was birdwatching, but really I don't need a reason to just lie there, looking out at the field, the expanse of meadow grass and brush, and the familiar rocks and trees around. Years ago I'd have my camera with me all set with the macro lens for any interesting bit of grass, worn flower or stubble nearby. Today I look and lazy around, not even taking a picture of it. Face toward the sun, it helps to find a good slope to get more of it on you especially if it's low in the sky. This way I still enjoy the warm sun in any season. That's what I had in mind one day late Summer with time to kill waiting for a guest coming to Wolf. The hammock by New Camp seemed inviting so I tried it out. I remember it was three o'clock and the sun was going down. For some time I lay suspended on that rope bed at wood's edge, looking out at the dark outlines of Rattlesnake and Ebenezer. With the gentle motion of it I must have fallen asleep and dreaming felt a cold gust of wind over me and through the trees and brush around. For a while the sky was dark with clouds. A few leaves blew across the grass and some were lifted up over it. Farmers who watch the seasons say on mid-August days like this the onset of winter can be accurately predicted. Today the frost is deep there and the surface is all white for the New Year. Old farm fields have a history and character. The land at Fourpeaks was abandoned in the 20's when electricity first came up the AuSable Valley and backcountry folks headed out for easier living down below. By the time I got here in the late 60's pasture land was thoroughly overgrown, but the planting fields and gardens around each homesite were open and clear, chemical changes due to agriculture and grassy root systems (soil scientists say) having resisted the invasion of woody plants. I thought of each opening as something precious, a link with the pioneer past--all but one with a stone cellar and a hand-dug well--adding variety as well to the beauty of the land with mountain views and places to play and build. I got a tractor with mower, chain saws and an old Ford chipper and set about keeping it all open. The more remote fields were beginning to grow in with popple and pine. In the back lot at Halsey Straight's farm we cut out the edge, following plump till lines made over the years of plowing and the stone wall by the woods. There's a picture of me with a chain saw on a big woodpile in '68. But it took years to complete. Willy and I just put the finishing touches on it not long ago when we discovered a rough stone wall down in the swampy part. At High Meadow we found three planting fields, each one at the crown of a broad ridge with butternut trees of great size. The paths connecting them crossed over the wet spots with stone culverts. Up toward the end of Stonehouse Road we found a header for collecting logs. It was several acres in extent with nice views of Bassett and we cut it out and kept that open too. Come and visit. Our natural place is an ideal getaway for these stressful times. Stop and roam the old fields. Halsey Straight and Perkins farms are still up there across from one another on Stonehouse Road. And Jim Melvin's big field at Gypsy-- George's happiest run. He'll chase butterflies there. Even his own tail. CLICK http://4peaks.com/finquiry.htm to get started. Bring your dog, too, if you have one. Thanks for reading this. If you've ever been a guest here, go to http://4peaks.com/fgift.htm for an attractive offer to visit us again. If you've never been--check our up-to-date Availability Calendar http://4peaks.com/femail0.htm and make some time. There's a lovely quiet season coming up. Till then please visit On-Line: http://4peaks.com/ "Explore our 700-acre rest and play-ground." http://4peaks.com/fcamp.htm Upscale Camps in a Hidden Valley. http://4peaks.com/fotrails.htm Walks with views & Beauty spots. http://4peaks.com/fgstbndx.htm Meet our guests! (Photo Guest Book) http://4peaks.com/fk5stay.htm NEW! "Stay Awhile In Style" Your Adirondack Host, Martin Schwalbaum Member Whiteface Mountain Visitors Bureau Member Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau ************************************************************* This is No.14 of a really occasional Letter, "Hints of Balsam and Pine from our Corner of the Adirondacks," for Fourpeaks guests or anyone who ever inquired about a Fourpeaks Vacation/Getaway. To get off this list reply with "REMOVE" in the subject heading. *************************************************************
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to get on our mailing listAnd receive occasional Adirondack Letters like this.  An Adirondack Miscellany Newspaper and Magazine articles, Books and lots more. January 1998 Ice storm of the Century Devastates Northcountry. May 1998 Town of Jay Happy 200th Birthday Party at the 1829 Southmayd Stone House June 1998 Natives and Outsiders at the Jay Old Covered Bridge. July 1777 Jane McCrae Murdered by Indians in Ft. Edward NY Adirondack Great Camps: Adventures in the Wilderness. Miss P, the famous www.Internet web purrcat, interviews Tramp, our Fourpeaks barking cocker. Ironman USA comes to Fourpeaks. Chickadees In Winter Flying Critters on your Adirondack Vacation. Adirondack Letters: "Hints of Balsam and Pine from our corner of the Adirondacks." AuSable River Swimming: Where the Pools Are Never Crowded, And Water Slides Are Nature's Own (New York Times) A new novel about Fourpeaks: Moss Krupnick's Daughters of Utopia, 196 pages, $9.98 For your Adirondack experience--"Stay Awhile In Style!" Plattsburgh-Republican November 2002. NATURE WITHIN REACH: Luxury Camping. (July 2004, Southwest Airlines SPIRIT (In-flight Magazine.) Annual Jay Yard Sale. (First Sale August 19, 2006.) Glamping. (Glamorous Camping.) (Jan-Feb, Nov-Dec 2008, Women's Adventure Magazine.) .  Are you in this picture? Fourpeaks hosts now welcome paying guests to a 700-acre rest and playground for vacations in the Adirondack Great Camp tradition. Couples appreciate Fourpeaks secluded settings. Outdoor loving families have fun exploring our accessible wilderness. Folks with dogs enjoy the open spaces to run their pets. A private nature rereat. For a vacation away from it all. Are you in this picture? CLICK HERE to find out! [More about this at Frequently Asked Questions.]  Inquire about a Fourpeaks Adirondack Vacation/Getaway. (Easy Inquiry Form.)
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