17F by noon and calm with the sun straining through another frosted sky.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.30am
Daily Catskills: 01/09/17
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Tag Archives: Mountain Life
Daily Catskills: 01/08/17
9F at 9am, calm and quiet with the sun straining though a sky like gauze. 15F by mid-afternoon with light, glittering snowfall.
© J.N. Urbanski
Daily Catskills: 01/07/17
17F by noon with a sky made of gray-blue glass and crunchy snow underfoot like chopped meringue.
© J.N. Urbanski
Daily Catskills: 01/06/17
18F at 10am with a dusting of crunchy overnight snow and a very brief, early morning theatrical sky that looked like a rippling New England stormy sea when I went to the local farmer for a gallon of milk, and cleared up by the time I got home.
© J.N. Urbanski 9am
Bebert’s Chicken Tagine
© J.N. Urbanski
We asked Bebert for one of his favorite recipes and he submitted a chicken tagine, which we tried for the first time by turning it vegan a few weeks ago and you can find our recipe here. Here’s the recipe for the original chicken dish, using Bebert’s own preserved lemons and spices.
Chicken, Preserved Lemons with Olives & Almonds
1 Chicken 3-4 lbs, cut into 8 pieces
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6-8 cardamom seeds
½ teaspoon pepper
(Or substitute 2 tablespoons of Bebert’s organic spice blend for the above spices)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced in half rounds
1-2 slices of preserved lemon including pulp and juice
(lemons are preserved in salt… not necessary to add more salt)
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
½ cup dried raisins
½ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup chopped, fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley
Put all ingredients together in a tagine, Dutch oven or casserole. Let marinate in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Cook on 350F oven for 2 hours.
© J.N. Urbanski
Daily Catskills: 12/23/16
39F by noon with mostly clear skies.
© MAU 1pm
Marcey Brownstein’s Shepherd’s Pie
© J.N. Urbanski
Marcey Brownstein is the proprietor of Marcey Brownstein Catering serving the Hudson Valley, Catskills, NYC, the Tri-State area and beyond since 2001. She moved to the Catskills full-time in 2012, settling in Woodland Valley, one of the the most picturesque and historical valleys in the Catskills. Her favorite winter recipe is Shepherd’s Pie, a rib-sticking favorite.
Daily Catskills: 12/09/16
Still only 26F by 2pm, blustery with a glittering sky.
© J.N. Urbanski 12.50pm
Catskills Geology
© J.N. Urbanski
All over the Catskills you can find ancient shells, clam-like fossils and other marine life partially buried in the sandstone because, during the Devonian period, the Catskills were at the bottom of the sea, somewhere around the Bahamas. The Devonian Period was 400 million years ago and since then the Americas have moved farther north to the position they are in today. On hikes to places like Slide, Giant Ledge and Panther Mountain, the rocks look like they had pebbles thrown at them while they were molten. According to Catskill Mountaineer, Panther Mountain sits on top of a meteorite hit that happened 375 million years ago. In the middle of the picture above, taken on Slide Mountain, you will see what looks like the remnants of a curling shell.
Johanna and Robert Titus, local Ice Age experts, have written a book on the subject and you can also find a podcast of an interview with them that is available at the Catskill Center.
Catskills Sandwich: Cauliflower & Egg
© J.N. Urbanski
Bread Alone’s warm cauliflower egg sandwich was on the specials’ menu on Monday in two thick slices of their delicious health bread. This time it has some sort of orange sauce plus cheese. The cheesy cauliflower goes well with the soft, slightly chewy wholewheat bread and the warm scrambled egg just melts in the mouth. Scrumptious.
Daily Catskills: 12/05/16
37F at 1pm with a glassy sky and an overnight layer of snow.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.30am
Daily Catskills: 12/04/16
39F by noon with mostly clear skies.
© J.N. Urbanski 11.30am
Daily Catskills: 12/3/16
34F by noon, with a gunmetal grey sky and a fresh layer of snow.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.10am
Daily Catskills: 11/30/16
47F by noon with continuous rain, grey and gloomy.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.40am
Daily Catskills: 11/29/16
50F by mid-afternoon, raining and overcast.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.45am
A Cozy Winter’s Evening in Hobart
© J.N. Urbanski
As winter draws closer and dusk settles at 4.30pm, the tendency is to batten down the hatches, fire up the wood stove and curl up on the sofa with a book. This is also the perfect way to get cabin fever and it’s easy to go days or even weeks without socializing. The Brits handle their cabin fever by frequent attendance down the pub. A gloomy British winter – one that extends all the way from summer’s end to the following summer – would be unbearable without a local pub. Hobart now has one, The Bull & Garland and I think we’ve mentioned here how truly authentic and cozy it is. Hobart is called the Catskills’ “book village” and it’s modeled after another British tradition: Hay on Wye’s annual book festival.
Co-incidentally, Creative Corner Books in Hobart, a stone’s throw from the pub, is hosting a jewelry-making class on December 8th from 7pm to 8.30pm. It really couldn’t get any better: a few pints, a Scotch egg, books, more books and then some hilarious wrangling with a pair of tweezers and some tiny beads – or the other way around. Run by Heather Rolland, the class will teach the basics of earring making. The cost is $15 per pair of earrings inclusive of instruction and materials.
Creative Corner Books, 607 Main Street, Hobart, NY (607) 386-2525
The Bull & Garland, 760 Main St, Hobart, NY 13788 (607) 538-3006
Daily Catskills: 11/25/16
45F by noon, overcast with receding snow.
© J.N. Urbanski 11am
Daily Catskills: 11/24/16
35 by 2pm, overcast and snowing.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
Daily Catskills: 11/23/16
35F by noon with hazy cloud and bright sunshine.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.50pm
Daily Catskills: 11/22/16
30F by noon, overcast and windy.
© J.N. Urbanski 11.40am
Daily Catskills: 11/21/16
27F by noon, light breeze and glassy, grey sky, snow for most of the afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.15pm
Daily Catskills: 11/20/16
30F by mid-afternoon, with thick, deep overnight snow. Overcast and blustery.
© J.N. Urbanski Noon
Catskills Holiday Gift Guide: The Arts
Robert Schneider, “All Hallow’s Eve” Oil on Panel, $1200, photo courtesy of MURAL on Main
Support local artists by shopping in the Catskills for holiday gifts. As the quote goes, “vote with your wallet for the kind of change you want to see in the world”. Consumer power is real. If you stop buying products produced overseas, fewer will be imported. The latest economic conversion metric for shopping locally is: every dollar spent locally benefits that community to the value of 5-7 dollars. Support your local artists.
Daily Catskills: 11/08/16
62F by 2pm, with wispy cloud and warm in the sun.
© J.N. Urbanski 1pm
Daily Catskills: 11/05/16
50F by mid-afternoon, humid with a light breeze and overcast.
© J.N. Urbanski 11.40am
Barn Dance
© J.N. Urbanski 10/8/16 4.15pm
Food & Farming Links
© J.N. Urbanski
When farmers retire and sell, “typically it’s a large corporation that purchases that land”. American Farmers are rapidly retiring. Who will succeed them? From Modern Farmer. “The lack of replacements for aging farmers is a real concern. The average age of U.S. farmers is 58.3 years, and over the next 25 years, more than one-fourth of all farmers are expected to retire, which would require an additional 700,000 to replace them.”
The UK’s Guardian asks: “can we feed 10 billion people on organic farming alone?”
A brief history of farmed chickens, also from The Guardian.
“Scientists have turned the humble spinach plant into a bomb detector”. “Bionic” plants that can detect explosions from the BBC.
What the oldest woman in the world eats every day from Huffington Post.
Daily Catskills: 10/30/16
60F by mid-afternoon, overcast, humid with rain for most of the day.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
Daily Catskills: 10/25/16
41F by mid-afternoon and windy with rolling cloud.
© J.N. Urbanski 4.40pm
Root Vegetable Soup with Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes
© J.N. Urbanski
If you never truly appreciate something until it has gone, then I was really very much appreciating the Saturday Summer farmer’s market until I found out it was extending until the end of November. Owing to an Autumn that was warmer than usual, local farmers have more produce to sell. I haven’t been to the market as often as I have liked this summer and am grateful to have another three or four opportunities. On Saturday, in addition to kimchee and fresh ginger, I picked up a box of assorted root vegetables. Plus, I planted the rest of the fresh ginger as it had a couple of green shoots. There’s nothing like firing up the wood stove for the first time and watching a fresh, organic root soup simmering for the evening. Fall is almost finished and the landscape is swaddled in a thick blanket of caramel oak leaves, the last trees to turn.
Round Barn Saturday Farmers Market in Halcotsville Extending Through November
© J.N. Urbanski
The Pakatakan Farmers Market in Halcotsville on Route 30 is extending its Saturday market through the end of November. Today there was a limited edition of what you’ll normally find there, but if you’re looking to stock up on local vegetables, Lucky Dog and Straight Out Of The Ground were present. Madalyn Warren’s famous kimchee is delicious. She also had fresh ginger, heirloom tomatoes, pumpkins, Jerusalem artichokes and other greens. Lucky Dog had all its usual green vegetables and herbs. Owing to the late Summer/warm Autumn combination (yesterday it was 70F), there will be more to sell for the next month. Under the large awning there was local chicken for sale, more vegetables, a bakery, soups, coffee, tea, local cheese and Catskill Funghi. Open 10am-2pm every Saturday from now through November. The final market will be on November 19th but a special holiday market will take place on November 26th. Today was dismally freezing with a biting wind, but it’s worth braving the cold to get such excellent produce. Support your local farmers.
Daily Catskills: 10/21/16
An overcast morning, with sunshine emerging midday. 70F by mid-afternoon with rolling cloud.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.40pm
Daily Catskills: 10/19/16
64F at 8.30am, warm, cloudy and wet after overnight rain.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.30am
Daily Catskills: 10/17/16
57F at 8.30am and humid with moody skies. Update: 70F by mid-afternoon with periods of sunshine.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am
An Evening Tasting & Tour of Wayside Cider
© J.N. Urbanski
Wayside Cider is opening their new cidery and tap room opening in Andes this month. The tap room is based in a barn on Redden Lane, beautifully restored, with as much attention to detail paid to it as was to the cider, which is as light as a breeze. There is a courtyard with a firepit. Future plans for the adjacent carriage house include a banquet hall and store. They anticipate a soft opening on October 22nd.
© J.N. Urbanski
Daily Catskills: 10/15/16
34F at 8.30am rising to 64F by 2pm, with mostly clear skies and sunny.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.40am
Daily Catskills: 10/13/16
61F by mid-morning, rising to 65 by 2pm, raining and misty.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.20pm
Daily Catskills: 10/10/16
55F by 3pm with clear skies and a cool breeze.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.45pm
Daily Catskills: 10/09/16
54F by 2pm and overcast with rippling clouds.
© J.N. Urbanski 4pm
Daily Catskills: 10/07/16
50F at 8.30am, nippy with thick fog steaming out of the valleys.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.30am
Fall Festivals in the Catskills
© J.N. Urbanski
On Friday October 7th from 4pm to 7pm on Main Street in Margaretville, come and enjoy a harvest festival with a range of activities including pumpkin carving with the Catskill Mountain Artisans’ Guild; demonstration on how to press your own cider apples; a costume parade and contest for adults, kids and dogs.
Union Grove Distillery will be offering samples of their vodka. Stick in the Mud will have waffle dogs as well as their super fun Belgian waffles on a stick. There will be chili and cornbread for sale from local chefs. Catskill Candies and Confections will offer samples of their chocolates. The Margaretville Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop will be open late and running a special bag sale.
Plein Air painter Alix Travis will be creating artwork depicting the evening’s activities. Entertainment will be provided by Ben Rounds. Stores will be open late as part of this First Friday event sponsored by the Business Association of Margaretville. Admission is free.
Catskill Center Hosts Fall Gala
© J.N. Urbanski
The Catskill Center is hosting a fundraising gala at the Catskill Interpretive Center in Mount Tremper on Saturday, October 9th from 5pm to 8pm. Find tickets here.
The Catskill Center promises an evening of delicious local cuisine, libations and musical performance by Spirit of Thunderheart, five native American drummers, Donna Coane, Debbie Fichtner, Brenda Martin, JoJo Griffin and Wynona Decker. Spirit of Thunderheart are awardees of the 2014 Native American Music Awards’ Best Traditional, 1st place and the 2015 Best Group of the Year, 2nd place. There will also be music by Skye, which is Celtic cellist Abby Newton, guitarist Lynn Hrdy, and keyboardist Selma Kaplan.
Daily Catskills: 10/03/16
70F, humid and cloudy by 2pm with late afternoon sunshine.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.40pm
Daily Catskills: 10/02/16
64F by mid-afternoon and gloomy. More explosions of red.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm
Daily Catskills: 09/30/16
52F by 10am and overcast, rising to 61F by the afternoon with light rain for most of the day.
© J.N. Urbanski 5pm
Catskills Weekend: 10/1-2/16
© J.N. Urbanski
Saturday Cider Pressing: The Hubbell Family Cider Mill on Route 30 in Halcotsville, which has been pressing apples since 1878, opens its doors to the public on October 1st and every Saturday in October. The press will start promptly at **12.30pm***, so please be on time. I will be interviewing Burr Hubbell and Andrew on WIOX Radio on October 3rd at 9am to discuss the history of the Catskills apple and farming in the region. Hubbell Family Farm, 46124 State Highway 30, Margaretville, NY 12455.
***The time for the cider pressing has moved forward to 12.30pm from the originally stated 11am.***
Pony Palooza at Rosemary Farm: A pony party at the horse sanctuary with games, food, music, and ponys. There will be demonstrations with the horses; local vendors with special offerings, pumpkins and corn; horseshoes, coloring and a chance to meet, pet and maybe even hug your favorite RF horse. Tickets are $7.50 in advance, $10 at the door, with limited admission. (Note that the Tack Sale is outside the ticketed area, you may come and shop for free). Rosemary Farm Horse Sanctuary, 1646 Roses Brook Road, South Kortright, NY 13842.
© J.N. Urbanski
The 13th Annual Lark in the Park run by the Catskill Center, a non-profit devoted to conservation and development in the Catskills, begins on October 1st and runs to October 10th. The event offers hiking, paddling, cycling, fishing, nature walks and lectures as well as cultural and educational events throughout the entire Catskill region.
And, finally, an artist’s reception on October 1st from 1pm to 3pm in Margaretville – see below for details:
Daily Catskills: 09/29/16
50F at 8.30am and cloudy, rising to 61F by 2pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 2pm
Daily Catskills: Fall Watch
© J.N. Urbanski 9/28/16 1.10pm
Come late August a red leaf or two fell here and there. For the first half of September, there appeared a light dusting of red across the mountains and a lightening, as if the landscape was turning into an antique before our eyes. Mid-September was quite foggy and enigmatic. This week and some of last, individual trees are blushing individually amongst the greens, creating sparse pockets of vivid, fiery red. Overall, fall is happening later than it did last year and you can go to last year’s Daily Catskills in September to judge for yourself. While you’re there, take a look at October too.
Daily Catskills: 09/28/16
52F at 8.30am and chilly with hazy cloud moving in. 64F mid-afternoon, clear skies and hot in the sun.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.40pm
Catskills Conversations: Leigh Melander
© J.N. Urbanski
JNU: What first brought you to the Catskills?
LM: I wanted to create this magic place where people could come, play and plan ideas, celebrate stuff and figure out who they were in the world. I had been living in California, being originally from Pennsylvania, having bounced around the country a bit. I had finished my doctorate in California and was doing something called the Imaginal Institute, which was the precursor of Spillian. It consisted of programs around myth, imagination, story and narrative. We would do weekend conferences for which I was renting other peoples’ places and I didn’t make any money at all. I figured out that I needed to own the building that it was happening in. We had been out in California for about 10 years at that time and I was really getting homesick. My family is still on the East Coast in State College where I grew up. I missed them, the east coast, the water, the history and the hemlocks. It came into relief when 9/11 hit, because it became clear that things could happen where I couldn’t get home.
Daily Catskills: 09/25/16
61F by noon and hot in the sun with clear skies.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm
Weekend Links: Food & Nature
© J.N. Urbanski
This is your brain on nature from National Geographic.
“Rewilding” the English landscape from the BBC.
The Leave It On The Lawn Campaign for soil health from the DEC.
The UK’s first food waste supermarket.
The dark side of “agritainment” by Civil Eats. “Farmers in Sonoma County—real farmers with dirt under their fingernails and aching backs—make an average of $12.21 an hour, or just under $34,000 a year. The average household income in the U.S. for small farmers (the 82 percent of U.S. farming operations that have annual sales of $100,000 or less) is $81,000. Around 85 to 95 percent of that income number comes from off-farm day jobs”.
Daily Catskills: 9/22/16 Autumnal Equinox
52F at 8.30am with fog burning off the sun. 80F and sunny by the afternoon. Dashes of red on the landscape. The fall show begins on on the first day of autumn.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.40am
Daily Catskills: 09/21/16
61F at 8.30am and humid with thick fog burning off in the sun by noon.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.15am
Daily Catskills: 09/20/16
64F at 8.30am, foggy and humid. 75F by mid-afternoon and hot in the sun.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.30am