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.
Rain showers slightly heavier today; humid, sweaty and overcast with enigmatic cloud cover. A high of 80F.
More rain and high humidity. Continual drizzle, overcast with foggy cloud and a high of 80F. A brief flash of sun mid-afternoon. Sweaty.
More rain. Overcast, foggy and humid with a high of 72F and near continual drizzle waning at dusk.
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.
Continue readingMostly sunny with thin, straggly clouds like cobwebs waving in the sun. A high of 80F.
Humid, but much cooler and bright sunshine despite some gauzy cloud. Some rain mid-morning, but otherwise downright gorgeous. A high of 80F.
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.
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.
The steamiest, but still no rain. Humid with a high of 86F.
Getting steamier and steamier. A jumble of mixed cloud, but mostly sunny and humid. A high of 81F.
Threatening cloud cover but still no rain. Humid and a high of 82F. Steamy.
Another lovely hay day. Humid, sunny and a high of 81F.
Hazy cloud and a high of 81F. Steamy.
Sunny, gorgeous with the odd cluster of plump cloud, and a high of 85F. Hay season continues.
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.
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.
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.
A cooler day but dry and sunny with scattered clouds. A high of 73F and a low of 48F. A good day for sight-seeing.
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.
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!
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.
Another scorcher with fat clouds threatening rain. A high of 91F.
Another scorcher: baking in the sun, dry with mixed clouds. A high of 86F. Broccoli emerging.
It’s been a week of gorgeous sunsets. Today’s high 89F with picturesque cloud.
A high of 81F and still no rain. Hot in the sun. Farmer’s market in full swing.
More blazing sunshine, thin hazy cloud and a high of 79F. Spot the deer…
A high of 73F and blazing sunshine. Quiet, enigmatic sunset on the peaks.
Bright and sunny. A high of 66F. A light breeze and no rain. Rivers running under a full strawberry moon, lavender sunset.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Overcast with thin, dense cloud only threatening rain, and humid with a high of 79F.
A high of 73F and mostly sunny with a vague threat of rain.
Mostly clear skies, humid and hot in the sun. A high of 69F. Mowing resumes.
A bright morning, steamy sunrise and sunshine for most of the day. Dramatic clouds move in before dusk. A high of 70F.
A wet landscape after overnight rain, humid and overcast with intermittent rain showers and occasional bursts of sunshine. A high of 73F.
Cooler with a mix of sun and clouds. Some grey clouds threatening rain. A high of 79F.
Sunny despite dappled cloud cover. A high of 73F but a cooler evening.
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.
A milder day, but still humid and sunny with some cloud with a high of 80F. Clouds clearing late afternoon.
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.
Overcast and very humid, with grey, turbulent clouds until an early evening rain storm with flooding in some areas. A high of 83F.
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.
Another sweltering day of sunshine and scanty cloud. Humid, sweaty with a high of 86F. Downed hay drying in the sun.
A sweltering day and mostly cloudless with a high of 86F. Hay season commences.
Muggy and overcast again in the morning with enormous, looming clouds dissolving to a fine gauze by mid-afternoon. A high of 73F.
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.
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.
Thickly overcast with deep cloud, raining and a high of 72F. Humid and sticky.
A wash of thin gauzy clouds clears by mid-afternoon: humid, sunny and a high of 73F.
A mixed bag of weather: a misty, humid morning with some rain and thick, moody cloud that dispersed mid-afternoon. A mostly sunny afternoon for a high of 67F, dropping to a chilly and clear sunset and an overnight low of 44F.
Another rain day, same as yesterday: overcast with a high of 46F. A wet, soggy Memorial Day weekend more suited for indoor activity and a low of 42F and seedlings under cover.
Heavy rain all morning and cold, rising to a high of only 46F, low of 41F. Mist in the valleys mid-afternoon. Intermittent rain in the afternoon. Chilly.
