Milling about in the woods

While hiking along the Vernooy Kill Falls in Rochester, I spotted what appeared to be a chimney in the distance. See it up there on the left?

It's quite common to stumble upon lone fireplaces in the forest. It's also common for my eyes to play tricks on me. When I got closer and my angle of vision had changed, I could clearly see that it was a massive wall.

Here it is from the opposite side. It's at least 12 feet high and double that in length.

Could this be the remnant of one of the first handball courts in the Catskills? Not likely, though that wall is just begging to be hit with a pink Spaldeen.  I later found out that Cornelius VerNooy, a Revolutionary War veteran and early settler, was responsible for this structure. About 250 years ago he built the first gristmill in the region. All that remains of it is this enormous (and old!) wall.

River Relic #2

With all the heavy rains lately, plenty of junk has washed up on the muddy banks of the creek. Like car parts, bottles and cutlery and other things I find lying around. I wasn't expecting to see a Manga Boy winking at me...

...from the seat of tiny tricycle. It was the bittiest bike I've ever seen.

I hope the wee owner isn't heartbroken. I'm sure an industrious beaver will find a use for it.

River Relic #1

The rivers and streams of the Catskills are marvelous places to find objets d'oddness. This study in amber washed up not too long ago on the banks of Warner Creek in Chichester.

According to the official Clorox site, this bottle dates from the mid 30's. It still has its original rubber stopper. From 1940 onward, the bottles were manufactured with screw tops.

The iconic diamond trademark was stamped into the bottom.

The ads throughout the 30's and 40s featured an animated Clorox bottle, hilariously named Butch. Yessiree, tough stains were not for wimps.

Clorox seems to have been the go-to solution for stain removal, and in the case of particularly germ-phobic housewives, it offered peace of mind when it came to protecting family health. But decades later, every girl of the 1980s knew the perfect use for the sublime power of Clorox.

Ah, this river relic, this little bottle of bleach - what fond memories you brought back!