Ten Mile Day (Paddling Part 10)

... picked up an inflatable 'SUP' a few years back for paddling the swifter and rockier sections of the 'Yough' - don't use it a whole lot, so yesterday decided to do a relatively long trip beginning upriver at the mouth of 'Indian Creek' - the trip involves a long five mile hike along the CSX rail line to reach the put-in then a return five miles in the water - have done it twice before at slightly higher water levels - expected a lot of shallow and rocky sections this day...

... "river pig"...

... bit of a jaunt totin' that thing for five miles - especially since it doesn't come equipped with a waist belt - been puttin' off sewing one on - definitely will add one for next year considering this mornings aching shoulders...

... other than a short hill at the start following an access road thru the wooded hillside...

... the "excursion" follows the rail line up through the winding river gorge for the distance...

... not a bad hike if you're aware of your surroundings...

... don't know what these purple flowers are called...

... edit: 09/10/15 - 'Wild Lupine'?...

... 'Morning Glory'...

... 'Casparis Hole' along the 'Yough'...

... east flank of the gorge...

... some unidentified plant...

... a purple butterfly...

... couple winged insects on this yellow 'wildflower'...

... green caterpillar contrasting with the rusted rail flange...

... probably the closest thing in the northeast to hiking in the southwest desert when traveling along the rail line on a hot 84 degree day...

... long final stretch...

... before reaching the put-in at 'Indian Creek' - here looking upriver from the stone railroad trestle...

... and downriver - that section cuts across the very top of 'Chestnut Ridge'...

... 'Camp Carmel' opposite - don't know who the lady is in the photo but whoever she is waiting on is late for showing up with the boats - she was swearin' up a storm to no one in particular - wouldn't want to be "f*kn Junior!!" when he finally showed up...

... rushing to inflate the 'SUP', load up and be on my way before "f*kn Junior!!" showed up with the rest of the group - wanted to distance myself from these guys - definitely would put a damper on the "peace and quiet"...

... finally on my way...

... lookin' back upriver  from about a half mile downstream - no one in sight - bet she's still back there waitin' on that "f*kn Junior!!"...

... a bit further downstream - note the large island ahead...

... stopped to investigate these unidentified pink wildflowers that were growing here and there along the eastern shore...

... they were swarmin' with bumblebees...

... takin' a break at the island - lookin' back upstream - still no "f*kn Junior!!" in sight...

... bit of 'Indian Paintbrush' blooming on the banks of the island...

... hard to believe those small 'Sycamores' stay rooted considering that the island is occasionally under up to six to eight feet of swift water throughout the year - solid boulder-strewn bottom...

... some island 'river grass'...

... checkin' out some flowering-type ferns (I guess) growing along the western shoreline - there's miles of this stuff (see the previous 'Casparis Hole' panorama of this post - they're lining the opposite shore bank)...

... all full of hundreds of 'honeybees' (seen here) and 'bumblebees' - not disputing any "scientific facts" - but whoever says that bees are dwindling in numbers needs to come here and bring their traffic counter... (see "footnote" at bottom of page)...

...edit 08/31/15: Had my suspicions - looked it up to verify - is 'Japanese Knotweed' - an invasive species, actually, "...whose flowers are valued by some beekeepers as an important source of nectar for honeybees..." - maybe that's where they're all flockin' to...



... western shoreline of the island lookin' upstream - still no "you-know-who"...

... takin' a late lunch break a bit further downstream - a usual stop...

... saw this boat approaching from upstream (no - it still ain't that "f*kn Junior!!") - added it for scale - backdropped by the western slope of the gorge - note the hawk soaring just above the ridgeline about two-o'clock of photo center

... a final shot lookin' downstream thru 'Casparis Hole' - about three more miles from here to takeout - paddled from here on in and kept the camera in the pack - around a nine hour trip from start of hike to finish...

... "COOL MAN!!"...

... footnote...

... was mowin' the lawn earlier this summer when a swarm of several hundred 'honeybees' came swooping thru the yard and landed on a limb of the neighbors cherry tree - that's a solid swarm of bees in the (not the best of focus) photo - was a bit apprehensive getting in close for the image - I'm about five feet away - thought they might attack and it was a long run to cover - they stayed the night and were all gone early the next morning...

Flower Power

... been building a trellis each summer the past few years to allow the homestead 'Morning Glory' vines to take over for the summer and early fall...

... typical vine with early morning purple flowers in bloom...

... "ditto"...

... cut 'em down in the fall after they've "run their course" for the year - this year didn't bother with building their trellis for no reason other than being lazy...

... regardless, they grew sporadically wherever they had an opportunity to climb - seen here taking advantage of the 'Virginia Creeper' vines...

... and a metal flower pot hanger...

... got to miss seeing the flowers in the early morning, so decided to build a small trellis about two weeks ago - didn't expect much as I figured that it was a bit late in the season...

... but those things have really taken off in the short term...

... apparently lots of core energy as well...

... "when taken in large quantities, the triangular seeds of these things have been used as a psychedelic with effects similar to LSD"... looks like there's something goin' on in there... sweep up probably half a five-gallon bucket of seeds each year...

... combined with the psychedelic 'Manic (Alba) Mushrooms' growing in the backyard (image of this years "crop"), we could probably have a pretty good "Hippiefest" in the works...

(internet image)

... or better yet (and more our style) a pretty good 'Viking Party'...

... after viewing this, now wonder how long it will be before the 'ATF' comes beating down the front door... and the line will start forming at the local 'Agway' store as well...

One thru Four

... was up along the ridge off-roading a few years back, just me and the pooch - was traveling thru an old abandoned surface mine that was as desolate as the surface of the planet Mars - partway thru the mine saw this little, furry gray critter standing in the trail directly ahead - wasn't budging an inch, so stopped the vehicle and got out to investigate - thought that I was going to encounter a 'gray fox kit' considering we were relatively deep within the backwoods - discovered that it was a small gray domestic kitten - looked to be only a week or two in age - an older and larger female cat, which appeared to be around six months old, came running over from a short distance away - she was pretty friendly and immediately began meowing and rubbing against my leg - it was August and near ninety degrees in the shade, which didn't exist in the mine, nor a drop of water -  the nearest creek was at least a half mile away - the hot, dry conditions had been on-going since at least a week prior...

... about fifty feet over in the direction from where the larger cat came were three more small gray kittens, identical to the first - all were in pretty bad shape  - the three were lying immobile and baking in the hot sun and totally covered with flies that were literally eating them to death - one's face was covered with flies, mostly swarming on its eyes - the larger cat seemed pretty concerned for all four...

... now what - can't leave these guys here to suffer and die - thought about moving them out of the mine to down near the creek and into the shade, but they needed immediate attention to their physical conditions as well - didn't know how long ago it had been since some asshole had "dumped" them here and when they last had water and food as well - two quad-runners carrying a few local "ridge rats" drove by and stopped for a minute to see what was goin' on with me - showed them the cats - "... that's a shame someone would do something like that..." - and off they went... looked like everything was going to be up to me...

... now what to do - sure as hell didn't want one cat let alone five, and four helpless kittens ta' boot - but, compassion got the better of me, so I figured the least I could do was to take them home and give 'em some food and water and whatever other attention they needed - I'd figure out what to do with them later, if they survived... picking them up and tossing them into the rear of the vehicle I discover that they were literally skin and bone - the larger cat was in a bit better condition but pretty emaciated all the same...

... at home gave 'em some water and some canned cat food that I stopped and picked up at the 'Dollar Store' along the way - the larger cat drank two bowls of water and wolfed down three small cans of food - the kittens ate somewhat, but it was obvious they need their mother, which definitely wasn't me - gave 'em a small saucer of  'Almond Milk' which fared with them slightly better...

... (L-R) One, Two, Three, Four...

... the larger cat - definitely wasn't their mother - probably around six months old at best...

... but they definitely wanted to stick close to her and vice-versa...

... Two was in the worst shape...

... he was the one with the flies swarming on his eyes and had some pretty severe eye infection - sometime overnight he went blind and I had to personally "put him to rest" - not a pleasant task...

... Three had the same infection goin' on in the left eye...

... One and Four - One had a bit of the same eye infection goin' on - did the best I could for 'em but he and Three wound up dyin' the next day (Sunday)...

... Four was in the best condition...

... figured that he would pull through with no problem - made him an appointment at the "Vet" and took him there Monday after work - can't tell by the photo but he was so emaciated that the vet couldn't even find a clear spot to give him a shot - was eventually able to do so, but he and his assistant were both actin' pretty apprehensive regarding his survival - brought him in the house that night and made him a bed out of a cardboard box - got up to go to work the next morning and found him lying on the floor having some sort of convulsions and suddenly went paralyzed - he was still breathing slightly, but decided to "put him to rest" as well - again, not a pleasant task...

... the good news was that the older, protector cat was eventually taken by a guy I work with to live with his family and has been doing very well all these years...

... after their short, tough life, the little guys at least have a welcome home as well -  forever resting peacefully together in the back yard...