The Oswegatchie River in the village of Rensselaer Falls – Jan. 29, 2011. Please bare with me. Today’s post contains 16 photos so it may be slow loading.

Looking up river from Fireball Hartman’s ‘mill’. The old dam looks like a perfectly level snow drift across the river. At the far left is the discharge from the old canal that runs up to the Upper and Lower Lakes Wildlife Refuge.

The mill’s stone walls have stood the test of time. Water once flowed under the arch, these days it just seeps when not fozen.

The old canal seen from the bridge over the Oswegatchie River.

Looking towards the end of the long ‘island’.

Guess how the Village of Rensselear Falls got the falls in it’s name.

The Oswegatchie River like others in St. Lawrence County, northern NY flows out of the Adirondack Mountains on their way to the St. Lawrence River. Small falls like this one is a common sight around here.

Looking downriver from the falls you can just make out the old dam in the photo. On the right of the dam is an old stone structure. And no, I have no idea what is was.

A closer look at a rock outcrop entending into the river.

Zooming in on the tip of the ice shelf reveals the icicles hanging from it.

One great thing about winter cold is the way it adds character to a simple little waterfall.

I wasn’t the only one to walk on the ice shelf that ran along the river bank. I normally don’t walk on river ice because you can never tell where the current creates thin ice. But I know the river here is only a couple inches deep and the only thing I risked was getting a hot foot. A slightly better view of the stone structure at the end of the dam can also be seen in this photo.

Farther down the river I came across a hole in the ice.

River icicles hung hidden beneath the ice.

A number of ice sheets clung on rocks in the river. This is one of many I photographed today.

Finally, I was able to sneak close enough to something to get a decent photo or two. Sorry Pook, I didn’t miss your barging ahead and scaring the wildlife.

There was a gaggle of Canadian Geese hanging out at the mill. Once I reached the end of the island I crossed the canal and climbed the steep bank to get these goose pics.

Ouch, I got spotted. Goodbye geese.