Summer's Past on Tom Kettle Lake

Summer always brings back memories of the times I spent at our family camp in Ohio, NY.  

My dad bought a lake with the land surrounding it and sold off lots keeping 26 acres

 for himself.  He spend weekends and vacations building a one room camp, putting  

in a well, an outhouse and eventually a generator for electricity.

My mother sold the camp sometime in the 70's.  The new owners made lots of changes but a "catwalk" or boardwalk is still necessary if you want to reach the edge of the lake.  We had a floating dock a short distance for the edge of the bog - peat moss base so when we would swim we wouldn't feel the little dangleies of the bog.  It was like "monsters" trying to git you.  I was only 9 so what I couldn't see was - well you know - out to git me.

I learned a lot during those years on the bog. 

I learn about bull frogs and how they stay tadpolish for a year.  

That bullheads sting when you take them off the hook.

We learned all about bog plants that eat  insects - pitcher plants and sundew.  

Wild Cranberries grew in the bog too.  Not a lot but it was fun hunting for them.

What we did have a lot of was blueberries.  Some grew down near the lake but our 

biggest haul was across the road.  We were able to pick quarts and quarts of them there 

in the most beautiful little haven I have ever been in.  The moss cover was so thick and spongy 

just waiting for someone to take a nap in the summer sunshine. 

We had spatterdocks that you could find if you canoed over to the of the little "coves".  

One day my friend Sandy and I, in one of our exploring modes, pulled what we

 perceived was a tangley monster out of the water.

Be honest - doesn't this look like a relative of Nessie.

We name it "Harvey" and brought it home. 

Of course, our excitement waned but only a bit when we found out it was "just a lily root".

On dry land, there was other things to learn about.  I think this was really the start of my pursuing a career in Horticulture.  My mother would find lady slipper orchids, dig them up and replant them 

in the woods just off the path on the way to the lake.  Yes,  we know now that is an illegal pastime 

but back in the 50's she was just doing her thing.  It was one of the first things we would do on 

Friday when we got to the camp in the summer - look to see if the lady slippers we in bloom. 

Learn more about Orchids of NY here

Out on the bog pink orchids and cotton grass would blossom during the sunny days of summer

Canoeing around the borders of the lakes - looking for adventure - 

is something lurching there I've never seen before. 

This is the camp as it looks today.  

Not too much different, new windows and a coat of brown paint. 

Beautiful even in winter. 

A little blurb about the town of Ohio which is located in Herkimer County on Route 8.   It is really a very nice drive  through Cold Brook and Poland, and farther north to places like Hoffmeister, Mountain Home and French's Vly.  Route 8 in the Adirondack Park is especially nice because it hasn't gone the way of the other touristy towns like Old Forge, Lake Placid, Tupper Lake and many others.  It was never developed, in fact, the small inns and restaurants had a hard time surviving once other Adirondack Towns became popular with water attractions and other newer forms of recreation.  Driving up route 8 is almost like stepping back into time where you could still meet old time guides and fishermen. Growing up we investigated a swinging rope bridge and a cable car system spanning one of the many creeks and valleys in the Black River Region. There really wasn't a day we could say - we're bored.  Hikes around the lake reveled all log cabins and a beaver lodge.  We knew we wouldn't get lost as long as the lake was on our right.  We were woodswomen in the 1960's out on an adventure. Of course, no one mentioned the possibility of bears.  We knew they were around because 1. they live at the dump up the road 2. we saw what they left behind 3.  we had proof on our front door.  We just didn't think about it.  If you are into letterboxing there is a very nice one near the sign as you enter the Adirondack Park.