Many people have seen the old sundial which still sits in close proximity to where the first Huletts hotel stood. To the best of my knowledge, it still keeps pretty accurate time. As the summer draws to a close, I thought this might make an interesting post.
Wikipedia has a long description about sundials here but I present the “short version” below.
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In the most common design, the sun casts a shadow from its Gnomon, a thin, straight edge onto a flat surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. As the sun moves across the sky, the shadow-edge progressively aligns with different hour-lines. Such designs rely on the Gnomon being aligned with the axis of the Earth’s rotation. For a sundial to work correctly in the northern hemisphere, the Gnomon must point towards true north (not the north magnetic pole) and the Gnomon’s angle with horizontal must equal the sundial’s geographical latitude. Huletts Landing’s latitude is 43.6392326355 degrees.
The shadow-casting Gnomon must be in a fixed position and aligned with the Earth’s rotational axis. It must be oriented with true North, making an angle with the horizontal equal to the sundial’s geographical latitude. This axis can only be aligned with the celestial north pole, which is closely aligned with the (present) North star, Polaris. In other words, it can’t be positioned with a compass, it must be positioned with the North star.
If the shadow-casting gnomon is aligned with the celestial north pole, its shadow will revolve at a constant rate, and this rotation will not change with the seasons. That’s why a sundial works through all seasons of the year.
So while I don’t know the year the sundial was put in place, I can say with some certainty that it was positioned at night and those putting it into place stopped and found the North star. Our proof is that it still works today.
So as Labor Day brings this summer to a close, have a great break and a good rest.
A new public informational flyer about Asian clam, an invasive species identified in Lake George for the first time this August, has been released. The flyer explains how citizens can help to identify and prevent the spread of this clam. The flyer is available here.
Designed specifically for Lake George, the flyer will help the general public discern the Asian clam from the native mollusks that live in Lake George and pose no threat. The Asian clam is a very small and round bi-valve. It is typically less than 1.5 inches in size, and can spread rapidly. A single clam can reproduce alone, and can release hundreds of juveniles per day. The biggest problem Asian clams have caused in other water bodies is biofouling - or clogging of water intake pipes.
Officially known as Corbicula fluminea, the Asian clam is native to southern Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and Australia. The Darrin Fresh Water Institute found it off Lake Avenue beach in Lake George Village on August 19. Up to 600 clams per square meter were documented, covering an area of approximately 2.5 acres.
Spearheaded by the Darrin Fresh Water Institute, a committee has formed to coordinate response efforts. Representatives from the Darrin Fresh Water Institute, Lake George Park Commission, Lake George Association, FUND for Lake George, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Adirondack Park Agency, Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, and Lake Champlain Basin Program are working together to pool resources and expertise. Their next step is to determine the extent of the spread of the clam, map the extent of the invasion, and then weigh options for eradication or management. The hope is that the infestation has been discovered soon enough to successfully eradicate it.
The public is asked to look for the clams in sandy or gravelly bottom areas of Lake George, in shallow, warm water; this is the clam’s preferred habitat. If a clam is found that matches the description of the Asian clam, citizens are asked to get a sample or take a photograph and call the Lake George Association at 518-668-3558.
In addition, the public can avoid spreading the Asian clam, as well as other invasive species, by following these guidelines whenever leaving a waterway:
Check and remove any visible mud, plants, fish or organisms from boats, trailers, equipment, clothing, dogs, etc.
Clean and eliminate water from equipment. Be sure to drain all water, including live wells and bait buckets.
Do not use Asian clams as bait.
Dry anything that comes in contact with the water.
Never release plants, fish, or other animals into a waterway unless they come from that waterway.
Print out, distribute, and post the informational flyer in your place of business.
Congratulations to Nicholas Mir who hit a hole-in-one of the 2nd hole of the Huletts Golf Course on Thursday, August 19th.
Using an 8 iron on the 2nd hole during a late afternoon round, he recounted the event in an email to me.
“I was with my dad and he actually called it in mid-air, he said “This one is going to look good in the newspaper.” It landed just short of the pin, bounced a couple of times and went right in. It took both of us a couple seconds to realize what had happened but when we did we were both pretty excited. He has now seen me get a hole in one as well as my sister who was only 8 years old at the time. It was the perfect scenario for my first hole in one, I was at my favorite place on earth with my dad, the man who taught me how to play the game, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
Congratulations Nick Mir! Thanks for sharing your accomplishment!
LGA lake saving projects, like the dry well installation at Bixby Beach shown here, are made possible in part through funding support from the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation.
Lake George, NY - August 30, 2010 - The Lake George Association announced today that the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation has awarded the 125-year old conservation organization a grant of $378,500 for lake-saving initiatives. This is the LGA’s seventeenth consecutive award from the Froehlich Foundation. This grant award will provide $174,500 toward lake saving projects, $56,000 toward education and outreach programs, and $123,000 toward lake quality programs, including Citizen Science and the Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program, Invasive Species Management, and Lake Stewards.
“The LGA is grateful for the Foundation’s continuing support, as well as their vote of confidence in the LGA and our efforts to protect the Lake and its watershed for future generations,” said Walt Lender, the LGA’s executive director.
Nearly half of the total grant award will provide funding for the LGA’s Lake Saving Projects. These construction projects improve Lake George’s water quality by preventing sediment and pollutants from entering the lake. “The funds in the grant award, leveraged with our members and donors generosity, put us in a strong position to receive significant funding from public sources, which in turn, extends our ability to complete more projects to protect the Lake,” he said.
The LGA’s popular Floating Classroom program will receive $23,000 to help teach lake science and watershed management to area students. Over 1,000 area students benefit each year from the LGA’s Education and Outreach programs, which are provided free of charge through grants like the one provided by the Froehlich Foundation.
LGA staff also educates homeowners, businesses, municipalities and landscapers about improving water quality by installing vegetative buffers, reducing lawn size and non-permeable surfaces, controlling stormwater runoff through rain gardens and rain barrels, and using no-phosphorus fertilizer and native plant species in landscaping.
The 17 consecutive grant awards from the Froehlich Foundation represent over $5 million dollars worth of improvements to Lake George and the watershed.
Established in 1885, the Lake George Association is America’s first lake association and a pioneer in the conservation movement. The LGA spent over $900,000 in 2009 to carry out its mission to protect Lake George. In addition to the funding from the Froehlich Foundation, the LGA relies on income from membership support and fundraising events.
After reading the entry about the Bald Eagle sighting I wanted to share that we also saw a bald eagle the first week of August, just past lands end. We sat there in the boat and watched for a while. He/She didn’t seem to mind us, and preened.
The Lake George Association is concerned about the decision made by the Department of Environmental Conservation to discontinue retrieving garbage from collection centers on the Lake George islands. We urge the DEC to reconsider this decision and ask local citizens who love Lake George to join us in finding a better solution.
Expecting our natural resources to bear the burden of cost cutting is fiscally irresponsible. At the LGA, we believe that the cost of cleaning up this problem will be higher than preventing it from happening in the first place.
Alternative solutions could result from a dialogue with Lake users. The LGA has considerable experience on the Lake and a deep understanding of boating, recreation and water quality. Given the opportunity to discuss the situation with the DEC, we could help find a solution that continues to protect Lake George and the water we use for drinking, swimming, fishing and boating.
While the “carry in - carry out” policy is ideal in theory, trash finds its way into the Lake regardless of policies. One isolated example: after Log Bay Day 2010, the LGA hauled away several large bags of trash.
Even conscientious Lake users need a convenient way to dispose of trash. It is considerably easier to empty trash at a central collection point than to clean up wind-blown garbage, especially when it has left an island and gone on to desecrate the Lake.
To allow trash to enter Lake George — after generations of exemplary stewardship by DEC staff — would be shameful.
Sincerely,
C. Walter Lender Executive Director
Lake George Association
Scuba divers working for Lycott Environmental install barriers over a small milfoil bed off of Huletts.
This morning I took a short kayak ride out to some scuba divers who I spotted in the bay. It turns out they work for Lycott Environmental, a company that has been hired by the Lake George Park Commission to work on eradicating Eurasian water milfoil from the lake.
Eurasian water milfoil was accidently introduced to North America from Europe and spread westward into inland lakes primarily by boats and also by waterbirds. It is an invasive species in Lake George.
This particular bed had been worked on last year and has responded well.
“Last year we put a barrier down and this year almost all the milfoil is gone,” said one of the workers. “We see a little growth around the edges, but we hand harvested last week and now we’re adding some more barriers. We really see an improvement in this particular bed from last year.”
Here is a picture of a strand of milfoil, for those unfamiliar with what it looks like.
Thank you Lycott Environmental and Lake George Park Commission.
