WiseAcre Gardens

Going Green is not something Corpse Flowers do. Translucent white they look like a ghostly apparition on the shady forest floor so you can see why they are also known as Ghost Plants. On the other hand whoever named them Indian Pipes must have looked at them while standing on their head.

Monotropa uniflora

Lacking chlorophyll these plants can’t photosynthesize and have no real use for sunlight so they don’t mind the deep shade of the woods. They are myco-heterotroph – they get their nutrients and energy from mycorrhiza fungi (symbiotic between a fungus and the roots of a plant – in this case the trees) that it is parasitic upon.

If your wondering – I took these photos in the rain. I never did learn to get out of it.

If you see Corpse Plants you know you’re in a good place to hunt mushrooms since they prefer rich woods. These were found in Stone Valley, Town of Colton, NY where if you can ignore the attraction of the Raquette River and it’s numerous waterfalls you’ll find a wide range of woodland wildflowers and mushrooms. Here are a couple.

This section of the river is so powerful you don’t have to worry about drowning if you fall in. You’ll be bashed to death on the rocks long before you breath water.

To make matter worst there are a number of hydro dams that release water without warning so keeping out of the river bed is always a good idea.

Back to the Corpse Flower. ‘Bloom’ time is June to September so keep your eyes out for ghosts when in the woods this summer. When they get old they turn black. Same if you pick one and let it dry. If your sweetheart is a zombie – this is the flower for them.

Go take a hike.
And if at all possible take it in Stone Valley. Start at Colton, NY. and follow the trail along the Raquette River. At the northern end of the trail the Raquette River drops more than 200 feet in a series of waterfalls in less than a mile. Along this section of trail you’ll also hike along the ruins of a tannery and see the old stone wall foundation.

Fresh snow fell last night and blue skies prevailed today and the river was in it’s winter finest. I’m not much for words so I’ll let my photos describe the river as it tumbles down the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.

Bridge on Spring Street, Colton, NY.
Over to the right and out of sight is the parking area at the northern trail head.

Looking upriver at the Colton hydroelectric dam.

Looking down river from the same spot.

Looking back toward the dam from a little further downstream.

Boulder turned Snowball

The river disappears as it dives under the ice.
This was only a stones throw down from the snow boulder. At this point I had to return to the path to work my way downstream.

Tannery Ruins
Here I’ve gone off the beaten path on my way to a ledge overlooking the river. From this perspective it’s much easier to see the old stonework than from the trail.

On the ledge brush and trees obstructed the camera’s view so I scrambled down to to the river.

Rocks in the shallow water became snowy pillows.
Here the river leveled out for a short distance where I followed the shoreline towards the next drop.

Waterfalls turned to icy cascades.
Looking down from a cliff made getting a good pic a little risky. I got as close to the edge as I dared. Here the river rushes through a narrow sluice that would make anyone looking down at it nervous. This is one of those spots on the Raquette that makes your legs shake in direct proportion to your proximity of the cliff’s edge.

I linked this image to a larger size. In it’s reduced state the details are hard to see.

Icy Waterfall
Another icy cascade from a level position way down river. Thank goodness for the zoom lens because there was no way to get any closer.

This is the photo I made desktop wallpaper for myself. Help yourself if you want to use it too. The large image is 1024 x 768

This is about a mile from the northern trail head with another 2 miles to the southern end at Brown’s Bridge. Unfortunately at this point I had run out of time and had to turn around and head home.

I’ll resize any of these photos on request. Let me know what size and I’ll post a link on my response to your comment.