25F at 8.30am, cold and enigmatically overcast with snow on the higher peaks. 30F by mid-afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 11am
Daily Catskills: 01/02/16
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Catskills Conversations: Bill Birns
© J.N. Urbanski
JN: How long have you lived in the Catskills?
BB: 44 years, I came here in August of 1971.
What brought you here?
Funny story, actually. I went to Union college in Schenectady New York and became fast friends with a fella who grew up and lived in Margaretville. He used to get the Catskill Mountain News and in those days, much of it was a local and personal column where local correspondents would call people in the community and find out just the social notes. So we sophisticated suburban kids, as I was, we would all be chuckling and having fun, “oh look, Mabel Smith had chicken dinner with so and so”, etc. So he’s telling me a story one day. We’re sophomores in college and I knew that his father was a physician, a doctor. He was telling me about an automobile accident. He said his father is best friends with a truck driver and I said, “what? Stop. What? Your father’s a doctor and his best friend is a truck driver? I’ve got to see this place”.
That was really the beginning of my fascination with the Catskills and the Margaretville area. I grew up in the suburbs of Westchester County in post-World War II prosperity years – the Eisenhower years – really before the world kind of changed in the 1960s. I grew up in the high suburbs in New Rochelle, New York. My father died when I was seven years old. My brothers were ten and eleven and my mother was a widow who had paid off the house. So we grew up in this prosperous, upscale kind of thing. She went back to work as a secretary in a school district, making $7,000 a year, raising three kids on her own, in a world where everything is kind of rarified. It was a big suburban Tudor house. It kind of gives you an outsider’s observational point of view because you’re in the middle of a whole way of life, but you don’t feel like you’re really part of it. For one thing – and this wouldn’t be true for younger people today – but I was the only kid in the class who didn’t have a father. There was no divorce. So I had that outsider perspective.
Daily Catskills: 01/01/16
Still only 32F at 11am with flurries of morning snow that settled more thickly on the peaks and overcast skies. A seasonal start to the New Year.
© J.N. Urbanski 1.40pm
Daily Catskills: 12/31/15
34F at 9.30am, humid, overcast and bleak with brief periods of sunshine and the odd flurry of snow.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.40am
© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am
Daily Catskills: 12/30/15
39F by 2pm, overcast, misty and dark.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.50pm
Catskills Cocktails: Prosecco & St. Germain
© J.N. Urbanski
If you eaten too much stuffing, overloaded on turkey or you’re seeking need a tonic to dissolve the Christmas pudding, try these refreshing cocktails as an antidote to all the stodge. According to their website, St. Germain is made in France from freshly picked elderflower blossoms in a “slow, charmingly inefficient way”. Medicinal benefits of extract of elderflower include influenza, coughs, colds, sinusitis, constipation, inflammation and rheumatism.
The taste is “neither passion fruit nor pear, neither grapefruit nor lemon; the sublime taste of St. Germain is a flavor as subtle and delicate as it is captivating”.
Lemon St. Germain & Prosecco
2 ounce of St. Germain
12 ounces of Prosecco
1 ounce of Fleischmanns gin
2 ounces of fresh, still lemonade
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
2 ounce of soda or sparkling mineral water
1 lemon
Combine ingredients in a mason jar. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze into the mixture and throw in. Stir slowly and gently and pour into glasses. Serves two.
Classic Prosecco & St Germain
16 ounces of Prosecco
12 ounces of sparkling water
8 ounces of St. Germain
2 ounces of fresh, still lemonade
Pour ingredients into a jug. Mix slowly for a minute and serve. Serves four.
The Catskills 35 (W): Balsam Mountain
© J.N. Urbanski
Winter hiking can get dangerous pretty quickly. One minute you could be trotting along atop a magical winter wonderland and then the next minute, you might take your gloves off to take a picture and be left wondering if you’ll ever feel your hands again. Your water might freeze in your backpack at the summit of a mountain and if you’ve layered with cotton and start sweating on your ascent, you’ll stay wet for the duration of the hike. Winter hiking in the Catskills is only for the experienced or very prepared. At the very least, take spare socks, t-shirt, food and don’t wear cotton under- or base garments. Drink a liter of water before you set out and eat a hearty breakfast. Take a lighter, some pocket hand warmers and a gadget that turns snow into water. Or wait until Spring. Just stay at home and read, catch up on correspondence or binge watch quaint BBC period dramas because if I haven’t mentioned it, winter hiking in the Catskills can get serious suddenly and without warning.
Daily Catskills: 12/29/15
31F by 10.30am and overcast with a thin blanket of overnight snow settling only on paths and roads.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am
Daily Catskills: 12/28/15
30F at 10am and for most of the day, dropping to 28F by 3pm with some cloud and hazy sunshine. A dusting of snow on the peaks that melted slowly throughout the day.
© J.N. Urbanski 12.30pm
© J.N. Urbanski 12.30pm
Country Life: The Observer Observed
Nothing beats getting stared down by a deer. “Whatcha doing?”
© J.N. Urbanski
Daily Catskills: 12/27/15
52F by noon, overcast, raining and miserable rising to 54F.
© J.N. Urbanski 2pm
Daily Catskills: 12/26/15
38F at 9am, mostly cloudy rising to 43F by 2pm.
© Erik P Johanson
© Gavin DuBois
Daily Catskills: 12/25/15 Christmas Day
47F at 10am rising to 52F by noon. Humid, wet and cloudy.
© Gavin DuBois
Christmas Eve in the Catskills: The Pepacton Reservoir
© J.N. Urbanski 10am
Catskills Cocktails: Mulled Spiced Citrus Port
© J.N. Urbanski
You can still enjoy a warming port or wine cocktail even if it’s 70F on Christmas Day. Port has an illustrious history: both sweet and warming. Sherry and Port were a staple in the households of British Christmas drinkers when I was growing up and here is a tangy variation on the theme that employs sweet cherry juice. Merry Christmas!
Mulled Spiced Citrus Port
750ml Tawny Port
100ml cherry juice
1 orange
1 lemon
10 whole cloves
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
1 drop of vanilla essence
Slice off the peel (including pith) of both the orange and lemon until you have the raw fruit and about eight slices of fruit peel. Put the peel to one side and muddle the raw orange and lemon fruit together with the port and cherry juice. Add the remaining ingredients, including the fruit peel, into the muddled mixture. Steep the mixture for a few hours. Add a cup of water to dilute to taste. Pour into a saucepan and heat gently until warm. Remove the fruit waste – but not the peel – once the port has warmed sufficiently to serve.
Serves four to eight.
Daily Catskills: 12/24/15 Christmas Eve
61F at 8.30am, humid and gloomy with foggy wafting over the mountains, but brightening up by the afternoon. 66F by 2pm.
© Erik P Johanson 1pm
Daily Catskills: 12/23/15
52˚F by noon. Shimmering morning clouds turning gloomy by the afternoon. Sumac still hanging on.
© J.N. Urbanski 1.30pm
Daily Catskills: 12/22/15 Yuletide & The Winter Solstice
47˚F at 9am, overcast and raining. This morning the evergreens twinkled in the rain while a new winter sun rose behind a thick veil of cloud cover to mark the Winter Solstice and the ancient tradition of Yuletide.
© J.N. Urbanski 11.15am
© J.N. Urbanski 9am
Daily Catskills: 12/21/15
35˚F at 8am with a shimmering cloud cover this morning that had dulled by the afternoon. Today is the last day of Autumn and the eve of the Winter Solstice, which is officially the first day of winter (tomorrow). Tomorrow morning we will have a new winter sun. The northern hemisphere of the earth will be pointed the farthest away from the sun at 23.5˚ tonight and tomorrow will begin its slow return towards it until the June Solstice of 2015. The ancient tradition of Yule will begin tomorrow with the Solstice and will end on January 1st, 2016.
© J.N. Urbanski 8am
Daily Catskills: 12/20/15
Only 31F at 2pm, with most of yesterday’s snow melting, except parts that were in the shade. Clear skies all afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 2pm
Daily Catskills: 12/19/15
26F at noon with an overnight snow flurry having dusted the landscape. More gentle flurries beginning in the afternoon. 30F by 3pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.20pm
Daily Catskills: 12/18/15
34F at 8.30am, dull, grey and overcast.
© J.N. Urbanski 12.30pm
The Catskill 35: Indian Head Mountain
© J.N. Urbanski
It’s difficult to decide what was more remarkable about a hike up Indian Head Mountain during hunting season. Would it be the periodic burst of gunfire from the local sportsman’s club every few hundred yards of my 13th peak over 3500 feet, like distant, anonymous cheerleaders? Perhaps it was the burly, camouflaged hunters strolling nonchalantly around the parking area, with loaded weapons over their shoulders, incongruously set against our hippy neighbors in their tie-dye. Possibly it was the roadside pile of dead deer we passed on the journey, but I think it was actually the unseasonal weather: t-shirt warm and humid at 55F by 10am on December 13th. I had no mobile phone service at lunchtime, so I could not tell what exactly the temperature was, but it felt like at least 60F. We’ve had a smattering of snow this year, but thus far that has been all. Last year was a strikingly different story as you can see here from our Daily Catskills picture of the same day. The lower parts of the trail to the summit and back down were wet and there were frequent stream crossings, but they were very low.
Daily Catskills: 12/17/15
45F at 9.30am, humid and grey with showers mid-morning. Update: 48F and raining for the rest of the afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.30am
Daily Catskills: 12/16/15
35F at 8.30am, cloudy and humid rising to 41F by mid-afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
Daily Catskills: 12/15/15
45F at 8.30am with the sun twinkling through the gaps in the shimmering cloud.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.40am
Daily Catskills: 12/14/15
53F at 8am, cloudy humid and warm. Almost 60F by noon: t-shirt weather.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am
Daily Catskills: 12/13/15
54F at 10am, mild and warm all day with hazy fog hanging over the mountains and multifarious cloud cover.
© J.N. Urbanski 12.40pm
Daily Catskills: 12/12/15
54F by 1pm, balmy and overcast.
© J.N. Urbanski 1.15pm
© J.N. Urbanski 1.20pm
Daily Catskills: 12/11/15
52F at 2pm with a mixture of cloud and the occasional twinkle of sun.
© J.N. Urbanski 2pm
Daily Catskills: 12/10/15
40F at 8.30am and partially cloudy.
Daily Catskills: 12/09/15
38F and cloudy by noon.
Daily NYC: 12/08/15
52F at 2pm and mostly sunny in NYC.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.45pm
Daily Catskills: 12/08/15
The Catskill 35: Plateau Mountain
© J.N. Urbanski
The trouble with hiking the Catskills in the autumn is that thick layers of fallen leaves completely cover the path. It’s easy to lose your footing and stumble, as your boot disappears up to the ankle into the crunchy leaves, especially when the ground underneath is rocky or slippery. The hike to Plateau Mountain from Mink Hollow Road on the Route 212 end, is rocky, pebbly and everything in between. It’s also wet, wet, wet; with several knee-deep river crossings on the first 2.6 miles, and frequent muddy pools, so if you feel like hiking it now, take your waterproof boots. One river crossing necessitated the aid of two large trees that were downed halfway across the water. All the clumsy, ankle-turning stumbling that’s met with enthusiasm on the way up becomes quite tiresome – and downright dangerous – on the way back to the car when you’re exhausted.
If it sounds like a big pain in the backside, this would be the point to mention that it’s utterly gorgeous: a smorgasbord of beautiful Catskills landscapes in a 7.3 mile round trip, featuring thick, white birch trees mixed with soft evergreens, falling waters, mossy boulders, a spring and a lean-to complete with outdoor privvy.
Daily Catskills: 12/07/15
31F at 8.30am with brilliant sunshine in clear skies and a hazy horizon rising to 42F by 1pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.30am
Daily Catskills: 12/06/15
29F by 8.30am with a frost burning off in the clear skies. 47F by mid-afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski Noon
Daily Catskills: 12/05/15
A clear, cloudless day and a balmy 44F by 3pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
Daily Catskills: 12/04/15
A morning layer of overnight snow had melted by by mid-afternoon. Overcast and 40F by 3pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.30pm
Daily Catskills: 12/03/15
35F at 8.30am and overcast with snow flurries beginning mid-morning, taking break for lunch and then continuing throughout the afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 1pm
Catskills Art At The Commons Gallery
Local Catskills’ artist Alix Travis invites everyone to pop into her new winter studio in Margaretville for a cup of tea and to watch her work. In the gallery you can view her latest exhibition entitled “Family Friends Celebration and Holiday Colors”, which consists of gorgeous works of oil on canvas, watercolor and collage on the subject of relationships, warmth, brilliant color and the shared values of the holiday season and all year round
the Commons Gallery, the Commons, 785 Main Street, Margaretville, NY; December 3, 2015 through March 31, 2016. Open Saturdays from noon – 4pm, and any day when you see the lights on.
Daily Catskills: 12/02/15
47F at 8am and gloomily overcast with layers of fog cloaking the mountains, and rain.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.10am
For the Love of Dog: Fred Levy’s Black Dog Project
© Fred Levy
I will have the privilege of interviewing photographer Fred Levy on my radio show on December 14th at 9am on WIOX because there is such a thing as Black Dog Syndrome. Fred’s new book The Black Dog Project (pictured above), published by Race Point Publishing, is a photographic tribute to black dogs who, it’s reported, are the last to get petted by strangers or adopted from shelters. On the radio show, we’ll discuss the mythology surrounding black dogs and Fred’s gorgeous photography. Plus, Fred’s coffee table book is a superb stocking stuffer for dog lovers. Buy it from the publisher here, or visit your local bookshop and order it. And, just because, here’s picture of my own black dog Alfie, who I have written about here.
© J.N. Urbanski
Cold Catskills: Dressing for Winter Adventures
by: Jeff Vincent of Catskill Mountain Wild
© J.N. Urbanski
With winter approaching, we’ll start to see more and more ill-prepared hikers in the Catskills. It’s important to know the right clothing to wear and special gear you may need on a cold weather trip.
Your clothing should be broken down into three basic layers: a base layer, an insulating layer and a top layer that will protect you from the elements.
Daily Catskills: 12/01/15
35F at 9am with steady rain melting overnight icy patches and fog smothering the mountains.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.40am
Daily Catskills: 11/30/15
25F at 8.30am and bitter, with the landscape coated in a layer of grey frost evaporating in the sun. Clear skies save for a distant cloud of fog hugging a far off mountain. 34F by noon.
© J.N. Urbanski 10am
Daily Catskills: 11/29/15
41F by 9am and frosty, with thick, rolling fog hugging the mountains. Clear skies at dusk.
Daily Catskills: 11/28/15
Daily Catskills: 11/27/15
56F by 2.30pm and warm with an enigmatic mix of sun and cloud.
Daily Catskills: 11/26/15
40F at 10.30am and overcast, rising to 48F by 2.30pm.
Daily Catskills: 11/25/15
38F at 8.30am, with clear skies except for a thick layer of frost evaporating off the mountains in the strong, morning sun.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.20am
© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am
Daily Catskills: 11/24/15
24F at 8.30am and bright despite clouds, rising to 38F by 2.45pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.45pm
Daily Catskills: 11/23/15
35F at 8.30am, brilliant sunshine with scant cloud like cotton wool balls. A light, frigid breeze. A thinly spread, easily broken sheet of ice on the pond where the beaver has been beavering.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.20am
Daily Catskills: 11/22/15
40F at 8.30am with a sky dappled with cloud, rising to 43F by noon.
© J.N. Urbanski 11.30am
On Hunting
© J.N. Urbanski
Today is the first day of hunting season for shotgun users and I’ve been hearing gunfire echo over the mountains for the last month in preparation. The past few weeks of hunting season have been strictly for bow users only. Over the next month or so, there’ll be a plethora of camouflaged, gun-toting neighbors creeping around in the woods that abut my property, and sitting in makeshift deer stands. My husband saw a crossbow wielding neighbor stealthily striding out of the woods last week and felt like I had dodged an arrow.
As a new country lass, the first experience I had with a hunter was when I was hiking. Rounding a corner, our group chanced upon a man; perfectly still, holding what looked like an AK-47, looking like a stocky, camo-version of Bruce Willis in Die Hard. The gun made him look at least eight feet tall. He stared. We stopped. He silently crept towards us and then passed us without so much as an excuse me. We kept calm and carried on.