A BLACK RIVER THAW

I cut this poem from the Lowville newspaper many years ago, but filed it away in my boxes of stuff to never throw away. It just came to the top the other day, and I thought I would share it with the new generation of snowmobilers. The Reverend had obviously experienced a Tug Hill blizzard.

A BLACK RIVER THAW

A story is told of a traveler bold

In the days of the Hartford coach

In a big blanket rolled, for the weather was cold
Here he went just as snug as a roach
But the snow gathers deep as Northward they creep
And the snow rising higher he saw
And the driver, he cried to the man by his side,
“We shall soon get a Black River Thaw.”

Then the man in the coach, lying snug as a roach,
Gently smiled, like an infant at sleep;
But the horses’ slow gait never told him his fate,
In the snow drifts so wide and so deep,
At last came a shout and they tumbled him out,
And a sleigh was his fate then he saw;
But a man with a sigh, pointed up to the sky,
Saying, “Here comes a Black River Thaw.”

“Let it come,” said our man, “just as quick as it can,
“For I never was fond of the snow;
“Let it melt from the hills, let it run down the rills,
“Then back to our coach we may go.”
But the wind raised its song, and the snow sailed along,
And the cold it was piercing and raw,
And the man in the rug, from his covering snug,
Wished and prayed for the Black River Thaw.

When the sleigh, with its load, reached the old Boonville road,
Where the drifts reared themselves mountain high,
Alder Creek on the right, buried deep out of sight,
Left a white desert plain ‘neath the sky.
Not a fence or a tree could the traveler see,
As he cowered close down in the straw,
And the driver, he sighed, as the prospects he eyed,
“By George! Here’s a Black River Thaw.”

While he spoke, lo! The team disappeared with a scream,
And the drift quickly closed overhead;
While they wildly look back, lo! The snow hides the track, And is drifting high over the sled,
Then the traveler bold, though decrepit and old,
Hurled that driver down in the straw,
Crying out, “Driver speak, ere my vengeance I wreak,
“What d’ye mean by a Black River Thaw?”

Then, the old gossips say, he arose in the sleigh,
And extended his hand o’er the scene,
And he laughed and he shrieked, and the sleigh groaned and creaked,
And he said, “I will tell what I mean;
When the North wind doth blow, and there’s five feet of snow, And the ice devils nibble and gnaw,
When snow fills your eyes and the drifts quickly rise,
This is known as a Black River Thaw.”

Then the trav’ler arose, and he smote him with blows,
And they sank in a deadly embrace;
And none knew the spot, till the June sun was hot,
And a hunter, by chance, found the place.
Here they made them a grave, where the storms loudly rave, And this epitaph lately I saw,
“Two men lie beneath and they come to their death,
Frozen stiff in a Black River Thaw.”

By Rev. A.T. Worden, Waterville, Oneida County 1860.

wandering the tug

this is a test to see if this thing is working... Last week, I wrote perhaps the most insightful, interesting, and introspective blog of my short blogging career. I posted it up with anticipation, and it... disappeared into the nether world of blogger.com. Perhaps it will show some day, perhaps on someone else's blog page? Where do they go, when there is a transfer error? Oh, well.

Views from a tree stand:

Another deer season is upon us, and I have had a chance to spend a few days hunting on the Tug Hill. The weather doesn't cooperate, and the bucks don't cooperate, but one can't expect everything. I have kind of lost my need to kill bucks anyway...just take my camera and view the world around me and think a lot. I have not solved many of the world's problems yet, but I do think about them.

Political campaigns: How can a candidate expect us to respect him, much less vote for him, if he accepts his party's mud-slinging commercials with a shrug and "I can't stop it"? How can a congressman say that he "voted his heart" on a bill? Isn't he supposed to represent the people?

Would anyone else like to see a "Do Not Call" registry for political campaigns? They are all canned calls, and usually mud-slinging garbage. Would not be so bad if you could respond, but they are all from 99999999 or 00000000 numbers. That should be illegal, too. Like anonymous spam emails. If you have something worth saying, identify yourself.

And if any of these political candidates are half as bad as their opponents say, how did they ever get nominated by their party as the best choice? Sad.

How can all these Albany legislators vow to reform, then keep returning Bruno and Silver to power? I say vote them all out, and give someone new a chance. And how can the man in charge of controlling NY State's money, be caught misusing that money, then have the nerve to say, Well, I made a mistake, but reelect me! That would be a mistake for all of us.

Where does it say that when a hurricane, tornado, etc. strikes, the goverment (taxpayer) has to make it right? If a hurricane is an Act Of God, shouldn't the churches be held responsible? Don't they bill themselves as God's representatives?

And speaking of churches, how is it that a Central New York minister can go to jail for 11 years for an affair with a young girl, but a Catholic Priest can molest numerous young boys and just get transferred to another church, or maybe forced to retire? Better lawyers? 'Taint right. Why are other church leaders and even congressmen just allowed to resign and walk away? And how does a priest cover these things at confession?

With all the young kids killing themselves with cars, why do we not yet have mandatory driver education in our schools? It is probably the most important skill we will ever learn. Our schools can find $5 million for artificial turf on a football field, but there is no funding for driver ed. When will we learn about priorities? Maybe the insurance companies should get involved-they have a lot to gain.

And why do we still allow automakers to market machines
capable of speeds up to 200 mph when neither our roads nor our drivers can handle such speeds? Even in our driver ed classes they don't teach us how to control a car at 150 mph. Do we have a national death wish?

Oops, there's a deer! More later, maybe.

MAPLE RIDGE WIND FARM

(or Flat Rock Wind Farm, or even Tug Hill Windmill Farm, if you will.)

The Windmills of Lewis County:

Took a ride up to the Tug yesterday to the Eagle Factory Road for the official dedication of the great Maple Ridge Wind Farm, finally nearing completion. It was a beautiful sunny fall day, but a bit breezy. Those windmill folks did it up right, as they do everything, with a great program, excellent lunch, thanks to all who were involved for a job well done, and souvenirs for everyone.

It really was an amazing project to see built, and once all the red tape was out of the way, those huge windmills were popping up overnite, it seemed. Awesome. One of the largest such projects in the world, so they say, and just a sign of things to come.

I was somewhat surprised that some of our politicians were not there to take credit, being an election year and all. Well, not so surprising, I guess. George W. and his crowd are seriously tied up in fossil fuels. Hilly and George P. are busy with more lofty goals somewhere in the Midwest. And I am sure Spitzer and Faso have not located Tug Hill on their GPS maps yet.

The folks who did speak were heavily into pointing out the long-term benefits of clean, renewable energy, and the long-term cash benefits of the windmills to an area that pretty much had nothing before. True, I guess. And one can put up with a few inconveniences, like the tourists, for the extra income, improved roads, and such. We got a chuckle out of one speaker going on about how the local dairy farmers would now find it easier to keep the family farms going with the extra income. Many of the Tug Hill farmers we know who are still in operation have been selling their herds as soon as the wind checks actually started coming in, and have gone on to other projects, or retired to watch the blades turn. But I guess the government’s agenda for years has been to put the small dairy farmer out of business, even to buying out their herds, so I guess it all works out.

One thing that does puzzle me is that now the project is completed, they are paving many of the roads in the area. That in itself is worth the hassle, as it seems those roads are paved maybe once every 40-50 years. But, we are only paving those roads that were paved before this all began, none of the gravel roads. Now it seems that if the windmill maintenance folks are going to be driving those roads, every day for the next 25 years, they would want to travel on paved roads. It would be nice for the residents too. Maybe when the towns start getting all that extra annual income, they will see to that.

Anyway, it appears to be a win-win project for everyone involved, and we are glad to see it finally completed. Great job, Maple Ridge, Flat Rock, Horizon, and all you other folks.

www.mapleridgewind.com

The Tug Hill Windmills:

You were right. I was wrong. What was I thinking? Those windmills are huge, they are noisy, they are ugly, and they need to be removed. All of them. Now. We want everything back the way it was, and for all the tourists to go away, and for the towns and counties and state to give back all the money. How do we do that?

Not serious, of course. I do not live close to the windmills, but many people I know who have them on their land are very happy with them. Especially the extra income when the tax bills come! From my own observations, the windmill noise is not much more than the sound of wind in the trees, and is really kind of soothing. Strobe lights? Flicker? After the first few minutes, you don't notice them-like cell towers and power lines and all the other modern inconveniences. Welcome to the future.

THE GREAT PROPERTY TAX REBATE OF 2006

Well, our short Central New York summer is almost gone, but the good news is that the great State of New York is going to be sending us all a huge tax rebate. Now, what will I do with it? Pay off the mortgage? Buy a new car? Pay my school taxes? What? Not that much? Well, maybe a tankful of gas. And this is free money, folks, like the refund the IRS gives us in April, so we can enjoy it. I heard some people were complaining that it would cost 3 or 4 million to mail out all those checks, but, hey, the state is paying for that, not me, right?

It is somewhat amazing that our great state legislators were able to get together and agree on something. Maybe Joe and Shelly did it while the rest of the gang was out of town campaigning and the Guv was in Iowa doing something. He’s running for what? That might be an improvement. With a great bonus like that, I know I will be voting to re-elect my representative and…what? Unopposed again? Oh, well, surely someone will vote for him.

If the legislators did pass this bill, I am guessing that there is a hefty pay raise attached, to take effect just after the elections. (For them, that is, not a minimum wage bill.) Did they ever pass a budget? A bottle bill? No time for such things in an election year. Wouldn't it be great if one of them could actually accomplish all the things they promise during the campaign? What a great state! I wonder how far south I can get on my tax rebate? Virginia, maybe?

I finally did receive a rebate check, made payable to me only. I emailed my legislator and told him that if he could come up with a couple hundred more, I would try to get my wife to vote for him too. No response...

I don't disagree that our legislators should have a pay raise once in a while; cost-of-living and all that, but it doesn't seem right that they get to choose when and how much. The only fair way would be to give them the same generous annual increase that us social security recipients enjoy, an average $30 a month or so. Of course, they don't have to pay medicare premium increases out of that, so they might actually receive enough for a dinner out once a month.

windmills at sunset

there was a really beautiful sunset at the farm a few days back, and I got a couple of shots. The clouds came out a bit darker than they actually were-I have to work on that-but the sky was awesome.

Tug Hill Windmills and wildlife

We keep hearing more and more noise about the windmills on Tug Hill and how they are driving the deer and turkeys away and destroying the geese and other flying birds. In my opinion, it is all a lot of wind, and I don't mean from the windfarm. My own very unscientific observations show that the deer and turkeys are totally unaffected, except that the grass planted under those towers is very tasty.
As I see it, they treat the windmill the same as a tree or any other object in their neighborhood. Same with the geese. They graze around the windmills, but they are no more likely to fly into one than into a tree or a power pole. They may be silly geese, but not stupid. I have photos of deer grazing under the towers, but I also have photos of the towers with no deer grazing 'neath them. The latter might be proof that the deer have all been driven out. But no, we are seeing more deer , turkeys, and geese around than most years. Draw your own conclusions.
I say that the windfarms do not really have a large impact on the environment, wildlife, or the energy supply, and the antis need to find someone else to attack. The choices are numerous: Big Oil, The Government, The War(s), Big Business, Taxes, The National Debt (wait til your grandkids see that bill). I think if the windmills had any large impact, the Oil Barons, that monster known as ExxonMobilBPValeroShell, would have toppled them long ago. (And what is up with the Alaska oil fields? They are run by British Petroleum and the oil is shipped to Japan?)
The deer and turkeys? Well, they are undecided, but they are certainly not leaving the neighborhood.

Baldwinsville Neighbors

Here it is June already, and time for our annual worst tv commercial survey. There are so many to choose from, but mostly the commercials are better fare than the programming. Here's my choice.

Around central new york, the hands-down most obnoxious commercial is anything from Billy HUGE, so we will disqualify him from the start. For my nomination, there is a testimonial for a local comical law firm called A&C (for ambulance chasers?) with a young girl who admits that she was standing in the back of a moving pickup truck, somehow fell out and broke her collarbone, and the boys at A&C got her the huge $$$ she so deserved. Picture that. If she was stupid enough to ride standing in the back of a pickup, a large sum of money is NOT what she deserved. I once saw a young girl in ICU who did the same thing, only she landed on her head. I'm sure she would have settled for a broken collarbone if she could have walked out of the hospital. Of course, if she had survived, she probably would have gone for a large cash settlement too. The laws do not make allowances for foolishness.

The latest word from Washington on the illegal immigrant problem is that we are going to build a 300 mile fence on the 3000 mile Mexican border to keep "those people" where they belong. The same Washington group that has set our country back about 100 years so far, and is headed for the Dark Ages. One would think a Texas rancher would know those fence numbers won't work. And of course such a fence built by the fed will cost about $10 million a mile. But no doubt our old friend Halliburton has a fence-constructing branch in Texas, and, oh yes, well they do employ illegal aliens, but...
I read one quote that this fence is different from the infamous Berlin Wall, as that one was built to keep people IN, and this will be to keep people OUT! Try and explain that to a Mexican: "You understand, Juan, this fence is just to keep you out of the US, not to keep you in Mexico? Si, senor. I will work very hard for you, you see."
I was in Europe fighting the Cold War, and the Germans certainly didn't understand about their wall. And of course now our neighbors to the north, Canada, will want a fence too. Where will that end?
My solution to the immigrant problem is to let them come in. Just require them to serve 2 or 3 years in the US Army before becoming US citizens. That would give them a job to support their families, allow them time to learn to speak our language, and give us a fresh supply of fighting men for our empire building programs. And any army recruiter could tell them about learning a trade and getting a college education and seeing the world. Maybe we could follow the popular trend today, "Outsourcing", and build an all-immigrant army, ready to invade anyplace, anytime. Maybe call it a UN Peacekeeping force. I mean, there is Iran, and Libya, and what about Venezuela? And of course North Korea. We will need the manpower to... Oh, sorry, no oil in North Korea. And then there are many countries in Africa we need to tend. Maybe a fence on all our borders? I am very tired.

Back in March, I took a few pictures of a gray fox in our back yard, near Syracuse, NY, and posted them up on flickr. Now I hear from a college professor in Oklahoma who is writing a book on foxes and wants to feature one of my photos. So now I will be published. Here is what it looks like, in case you see the book some day.

wandering the tug

This is closer to home, but I wander here a lot too. Byrne Dairy plans to build a super gas/dairy/cigarette/beer emporium in our rural residential neighborhood, as a "neighborhood convenience', though the neighbors all oppose it. This was published in the Syracuse papers:

Mightyfine

The exciting news that our far-seeing Lysander Town Planners have rewarded our residential neighborhood with a big shiny new “neighborhood convenience” store has been somewhat clouded by the recent rash of armed robberies of these stores in the Syracuse area. Two in one day. It seems these stores are a “convenience” in more ways than one.

Neighbors in this quiet residential area can hardly wait until the new Byrne Dairy Store opens just down the road. I guess we just have to start locking our doors and keeping the shotgun handy. I would suggest that our town planners plan on doing the same.

What I fail to understand in this deal is that when developers plan stores, malls, or gas stations in other rural areas, such as route 31 in Clay, planners can and do require them to include wider roads, curbing, turn lanes, crosswalks, lowered speed limits, and even traffic signals as part of the construction. On route 370 in Lysander, nothing. What are they thinking? What is wrong with anticipating problems and preventing them? Isn't that what planning is all about?

Anyway, welcome, Byrne Dairy, to the neighborhood. We probably will not be regular customers, but we will wave as we sit in traffic outside your store, waiting to get to route 370.

John Northrup

wandering the tug

It is really amazing to me, as a born and bred Tugger, how much the Tug Hill has changed over the years. Not just the windfarm, though that is probably the biggest change, but the whole face of the area. For better or worse? Who can say. But it is different.
When I was a boy, there were still a number of active farms in the area, although none were especially prosperous. As the old-timers died off and their kids left for the cities to get rich, those farms disappeared too. I can recall roaming the back roads and meeting almost no one-maybe a farmer from the valley checking on his heifers in summer pasture; maybe neighbor Amby Williams looking for his feral hog herd; maybe old Adam, the "Mayor of Rector Corners", visiting his Christmas tree crop, or harvesting some "tug hill weathersticks". It was quiet and peaceful. Even in the '80s, staying at our camp on the Pitcher Road, sometimes it would be 2-3 days without a truck coming by.
Today the back roads are alive with snowmobiles in winter and ATV's in summer. Not 1 or 2, they travel in packs of 5 to 100. Camps are springing up everywhere on former farmland, and, of course, the windmills bring the construction workers and the curious tourists. I recall when we were kids how we would all rush to the windows when we heard a car or saw the headlights, wondering who was coming to visit. Now there is almost a constant stream of traffic on all the back roads. Progress? Maybe. Certainly the end of an era.

wandering the tug

Happy Trails To You:
This has nothing to do with Tug Hill, but just with life in general, I guess. We just took a trip to Albany on I-90, and on the way home stopped at one of those rest areas, Pattersonville, I believe, as it was past dinner hour. I won't name the fast food place, as they may sue me, and I don't have much, but it was named for my favorite cowboy hero when I was growing up. He stood up for all that was good and right.
In all my 66 years, this was the absolute worst meal I can remember being served. Well, actually, it was self service, but you know what I mean. And that includes army C-rations and SOS, which were actually quite good.
We should have known, as the rest stop was very busy, but there were only about 3 other people in this large dining area, and none of them looked very happy. We opted for the usual burgers and fries, and they were virtually inedible. If you have ever had a backyard cookout with burgers and hot dogs, then just turned off the gas grill and left the extras on the grill overnight, well, you get the picture. Like maybe they had been dehydrated and you needed to add water and reconstitute them, but there were no directions. I would guess they had been made for maybe 3-4 days, and the heat lamp was not keeping anything warm. Maybe they had just had a power outage?
It is hard to believe that intelligent people could actually convert good meat and potatos and serve up trash like this, charge money for it, and actually call it "food". Or that people like you and I are stupid enough to buy it. I was going to complain and get my $10 back, but it was late, we were tired and far from home, and there appeared to be no adult supervision for the help there anyway. You really can't blame the kids who work there-cold overcooked fries and sawdust burgers are all they know, all they have ever known. If ol' Roy were still around, I know he would say: "Pardner, you can't serve up trash like that to my buckaroos and put my name on it!" Now, DRAW!"
On second thought, maybe it would be good if they did sue me. I could just bring in a bag of ROY ROGERS burgers for the judge and jury to sample. Case closed! Denny Crane would love it.
What are they thinking? Of course, these folks are not into serving gourmet meals to family diners, expecting them back on a regular basis. Dump a quick snack, call it something they recognize-like "hamburger", on an unsuspecting traveler who probably will never be back this way again. If he does come by again, he will stop at the rest stop 40 miles up the road and receive something near as bad. But not quite as bad. No Happy Trails here, buckaroos.

I just read a blog from a Syracuse area crosscountry skiier who was wondering where Tug Hill is! Someone told her that the skiing was great there, but she had never heard of Tug Hill. Can you imagine? If she knew which direction north is, she could see it on a clear day! Obviously she never watches TV, reads a paper, or listens to the radio. They discuss Tug Hill and lake effect snow daily, especially in winter.