Author Archives: JNUrbanski

Daily Catskills: 08/24/21

An overcast morning with thick clouds clearing somewhat at lunchtime, making for a hot and sunny afternoon. A high of 82F. Rare sighting of Joe Pye Weed, a fading summer bloom enjoying some rare blazing sun.

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Daily Catskills: 08/23/21

Almost 99% humidity and Hurricane Henri gone by morning. Cloudy with a high of 75F and a few sprinkles of rain. Clouds clearing by sunset. Seed saving begins.

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Daily Catskills: 08/22/21

Muggy and bright despite thick layers of cloud clover. A high of 79F and then Hurricane Henri moves in late afternoon and brings a few inches of rain.

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Daily Catskills: 08/21/21

Overcast and humid with brief flashes of sunshine making the plump clouds shimmer. Scattered showers and a high of 82F. Spider web clouds and a gorgeous pink sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 08/20/21

Overcast with a thick layer of insulating cloud, and less muggy. A cool breeze blows through the humidity and brings rain by mid-afternoon that gets heavier through the evening. A high of 81F. The melon patch thrives with all the recent rain.

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Daily Catskills: 08/18/21

More rain and high humidity. Continual drizzle, overcast with foggy cloud and a high of 80F. A brief flash of sun mid-afternoon. Sweaty.

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Lamports Hemp Farm: CBD Dog Treats & Supplements

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My dog, Alfie, a Black Labrador retriever mix, can’t tell me how much pain he is in, but I’ve known him since he was nine months old and he’s tough: a good dog, a trooper. About a month ago, he snapped his CCL, the cranial cruciate ligament in his leg (named ACL in humans) and after some research I feel like this is actually the end of months of pain. Vets now think that CCL injuries are progressive: picture the ligament being like a rope that frays with wear over years of heavy activity – like sprinting and jumping – and, then, finally snaps. Alfie is what some vets call an “athlete” and he’s now nearing retirement. From time to time over the past few years, he has taken to periods of limping, has been slow to get up after strenuous exercise and needed to rest, so this school of thought makes sense to me.

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Daily Catskills: 08/14/21

Humid, but much cooler and bright sunshine despite some gauzy cloud. Some rain mid-morning, but otherwise downright gorgeous. A high of 80F.

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Daily Catskills: 08/13/21

Light overnight rain drying quickly in the morning. A few scattered, ragged clouds remaining by noon and a blazing, sunny afternoon. A high of 88F. Lightning storm at dusk brings an evening rain shower.

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Daily Catskills: 08/12/21

A morning rain shower at 8am breaks the dry spell but not the humidity. A high of 90F and muggy with lots of plump clouds. Only-the-bikini-makes-sense weather.

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Daily Catskills: 08/05/21

Day 4 of hay season, first cutting. Dry but overcast with layers of occasionally ominous clouds and humid. Hot with a high of 77F and a low of 52F.

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Daily Catskills: 08/04/21

Overcast yet still bright, and dry with a cool breeze. A high of 77F. Low of 54F. More like spring than summer and Day 3 of being rain-free.

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Daily Catskills: 08/03/21

A chilly start to the day: still 57F at 9am. A second day of dry weather in August though, cloudy with periods of sunshine and a high of 72F. Low of 45F. A thin veil of lavender cloud at sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 08/01/21

Intermittent scattered, light, sprinkling rainfall, a high of 73F and a cooling breeze. A colder evening: 62F at sunset and heavier rain. After the near-daily rainfall in July, it’s turning out to be a rainy August too. Good weather for foraging mushrooms.

July 2021 Catskills Update

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It’s been quite a summer already, which I hope marks the end of a tumultuous two years. Upstate Dispatch has moved to a new HQ in the gorgeous Dry Brook Valley. I’ve spent the rainy July selling up and moving, which included the transportation of a beehive containing the badass overwintered bees who have survived the move, and Alfie, the black lab, has ruptured his MCL and needs surgery. He’s been hopping around on three legs.

I’ve just finished unpacking and exploring this lush, new area over the mountain which is so different from the Red Kill Valley and planting a garden, finding out what grows best on this land. The almost-daily July rain brought a bounty of mushrooms that need to be identified, but one key benefit from all this rain is that I will have a huge crop of melon for the first time.

The most noticeable part of these pastures new though are wild plants in huge numbers: ramps, reishi, burdock, bergamot, mullein, dandelions and welcoming, calming wild camomile growing in abundance that is just flowering now. I find that symbolic after such a challenging two years. The camomile plant is known for its almost extreme hardiness and a wide variety of properties beneficial to health. Steeped in hot water, camomile flowers are calming and good for the stomach. You can also make a facial moisturizer by mixing the concentrated tea in an inert oil like sunflower, or coconut oil. I grew it in the garden before I realized it was all over the place and it doesn’t seem to be taking well to being treated kindly!

Speaking of facial moisturizer, I’ve been testing Heaven on Main Street products, in my search for natural, local make-up and face cream. A trip to Catskills Harvest in Andes made me realize just how many local artisans we have making soaps, potions and lotions here: more than ever before, it seems.

My next stop will be Island Girl Henna in Delhi to treat myself to a full-sleeve temporary henna tattoo, but I just have to come up with design ideas. Updates on all this will be forthcoming.

But lastly, here I have landed, in the Dry Brook valley, home of possibly the most gorgeous hike I’ve ever experienced, my first Catskills 35 hike, which begins at the end of Rider Hollow Road, a truly magical place: the hike to Balsam Mountain and it’s glorious view. I leave you with my account of that hike to read here. Daily Catskills will resume in August.

Happy Summer!

Daily Catskills: 06/30/21

Humid and misty with a high of 89F and some late evening rain. Shimmering cloud cover and thick fog nestled in the valleys at sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 06/22/21

A high of 68F, overcast and rain for most of the day. An overnight dip into the forties: a low of 45F. A good year for apples.

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Daily Catskills: 06/21/21

A high of 89F and mostly sunny with a sheet of glassy cloud moving in late afternoon, bringing evening thunder storms and heavy rain for most of the night.

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Daily Catskills: 06/20/21 Summer Solstice

Hot and humid with scattered clouds and 75F by noon. A high of 82F. The tilt of the earth (in relation to the sun) causes the seasons: the northern hemisphere is getting direct sunshine today, our longest day of the year, the day with the most daylight. Summer begins.

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Daily Catskills: 06/19/21

A hot morning with milky, glassy clouds clearing and the returning for the afternoon, threatening rain. Steady rain at 9pm for an hour or two. A high of 82F.

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Daily Catskills: 06/14/21

A wet landscape after overnight rain, humid and overcast with intermittent rain showers and occasional bursts of sunshine. A high of 73F.

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Daily Catskills: 06/11/21

Even less humid, and bright despite prevailing opaque cloud cover laced with skinny, smoky, grey twirls like stray campfire. Brief periods of piercing sunshine. A high of 73F.

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Daily Catskills: 06/09/21

Slightly less humid than yesterday, a mix of sun and swirling clouds threatening rain. A high of 81F. Late afternoon thunder, torrential rain storm and thick, late evening mist rising out of the valley.

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Daily Catskills: 06/08/21

Overcast and very humid, with grey, turbulent clouds until an early evening rain storm with flooding in some areas. A high of 83F.

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Daily Catskills: 06/07/21

Day 3 of hay-making: baling hay with ominous clouds becoming thicker towards 3pm, threatening rain. A high of 81F with the sun making an appearance late afternoon. The barest sprinkle of rain for a few minutes at 7pm.

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Daily Catskills: 06/04/21

Muggy and overcast again in the morning with enormous, looming clouds dissolving to a fine gauze by mid-afternoon. A high of 73F.

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Daily Catskills: 06/03/21

Overcast, and grey but that’s a color goes beautifully with all these vivid greens. Thick, tumultuous cloud cover making it humid and a high of 70F. Light evening rain. An enigmatic day in the mountains.

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Catskills Conversations: Dr Bill Birns, Part II

This year, Catskills Historian Dr Bill Birns celebrates 50 years of living and working in the Catskills, mostly as a school teacher. He has quite a following here in the Catskills and in Part II, we talk about Writers in the Mountains, what he’s reading, writing and how his post-pandemic life is unfolding.

I’m posting yesterday’s interview on YouTube, unedited, so we can tell you that Bill will be at John Burroughs’ Woodchuck Lodge this Saturday June 5th, 2021, as a docent after their Wild Saturday presentation.