Sign up here for 5K walk around Lake Wawaka (pictured above) in gorgeous Halcottsville August 28th, 2021.
Family Farm Day 2021, Saturday August 28th, 2021 from 10pm to 5pm. Visit their website for the list of farms to visit in Schoharie, Otsego, and Delaware Counties.
Visit Delaware Pantry in the roadside barn (actually a stable built in 1864) at River Meadow Farm, 21780 NY28, Delhi, NY 13753. We are currently open Thursday through Sunday: Noon to 6 pm. Beginning with collections of local farm and creative products, books and antiques, they hope to evolve into an indoor and/or outdoor space for meetings or small gatherings including art shows and workshops.
Our newest invasive species the Spotted Lantern Fly and how to help eridicate it.
The Conservation Dogs Program of the Lower Hudson Valley. Dogs are trained to patrol the Catskills and seek out invasive species.
The ultimate guide to hiking with your dog from the New York New Jersey Trail Conference.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
