Tag Archives: Fall in the Catskills

Daily Catskills: 10/05/18

After a gloomy morning, the thick clouds evaporated into nothing leaving clear skies and blazing sunshine for a change. Fall began in earnest this week. The yellow leaves are falling and the reds are popping. Peaches are ripening just as their leaves are drooping.

© J.N. Urbanski 3.15pm – Usage prohibited without consent

© J.N. Urbanski 3.45pm – Usage prohibited without consent

 

Daily Catskills: 09/29/18

Almost 60F by mid-morning with ominously low blanket of cloud that splits into a flotilla of long cotton balls by mid-afternoon.  A high of 62F. The fall is slower this year with only vague swathes of red amidst the yellowing landscape.

© J.N. Urbanski Noon – Usage prohibited without consent

© J.N. Urbanski Noon – Usage prohibited without consent

 

Daily Catskills: 10/04/17

Clear skies and a 75F high. Warm in the sun, but cool in the shade. Humid and slightly steamy. Fall is slightly late out of the gate.

© J.N. Urbanski 4pm – Usage prohibited without consent

 

Daily Catskills: 10/03/17

A clear, frosty morning, rising to a high of 67F. Initial muted dashes of red amidst the yellowing. Fall has yet to show its true colors.

© J.N. Urbanski 7.40am – Usage prohibited without consent

Fall Events in the Catskills: The Barn Tour

© J.N. Urbanski 10/8/16 4.15pm

Here’s a chance to explore the fabulous barns of the Catskills. Take a sneak peek behind the historical architecture of our mountains.

On Sunday Oct 1st, 11am to 4pm: The West Kortright Centre will hold its first Barn Tour fundraiser. Take a self-guided tour of the structures that characterize our region’s agricultural heritage and hilly farmland. Get an up-close look at iconic bank and ramp-style barns, the cupolas that decorate and ventilate them, their timber frames, and the stone foundations upon which they are built.

You’ll explore both traditional and innovative dairy operations, horse stables, and repurposed barns. Additional attractions include a fleet of working vintage tractors, amazing chicken coops, beautiful duck ponds, stately draft horses, sloe-eyed cows, and gaggles of geese.

Professor Cynthia Falk, author of Barns of New York: Rural Architecture of the Empire State, will be on-site at the first barn to provide introductory information about barn history and architecture.

Tickets for this event are $16 per person, to benefit the West Kortright Centre. Pre-registration is required to receive directions to the first barn. Go here to pre-register, or for more information, call (607) 278-5454, or visit their website to purchase tickets before 3PM on Friday, September 29th.

© J.N. Urbanski 9.40am

Daily Catskills: 09/15/17

Another moody day: a high of 79F, muggy and sweaty with sultry, stormy clouds and distant rain over Slide Mountain. Mother natures continues to flick red splotches into her green canvas.

© J.N. Urbanski – 3pm Usage prohibited without consent

Catskills Holiday Gift Guide: The Arts

Robert Schneider, "All Hallow's Eve" Oil on Panel, $1200, photo courtesy of MURAL on Main

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.

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Daily Catskills: 10/29/16

55F by noon, overcast, gusty and humid. 60F by mid-afternoon.

© J.N. Urbanski 2.50pm

© J.N. Urbanski 2.50pm

Catskills Pie: Holiday Biscuit Co’s Sausage Pie

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

Found at the Pakatan Farmers’ Market which runs through November: Holiday Farm Biscuit Co’s sausage pie. This delicious pie comes in two varieties, egg/sausage and chorizo/manchega. Light and crumbly crust with subtly flavorful filling, it’s not so heavy that you’ll feel stuffed afterwards. Served warm, it’s makes the perfect winter breakfast. Get some.

Catskills Conversations: Diane Galusha

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

Accomplished Catskills historian, Diane Galusha, is author of Liquid Assets: A History of New York City’s Water System, which has recently been updated and expanded to include the last ten years of advancement in the delivery of the NYC water supply. It’s published by Purple Mountain Press.

What first brought you to the Catskills?

Love. What else? [Laughs] I was living in Hamilton New York, up in Madison County working at Colgate University and I met a man who lived in the Catskills. I made a move down into the Hudson Valley to be closer. Then just decided to take the leap and move to the Catskills to be with him. I had a relationship with him for eight years.

Where are you from originally?

From Broome County, a town called Windsor. I’m a small town girl and I love these small towns and these hills. I was raised about a couple of hours from here.

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Daily Catskills: 10/25/16

41F by mid-afternoon and windy with rolling cloud.

© J.N. Urbanski 4.40pm

© J.N. Urbanski 4.40pm

Daily Catskills: 10/24/16

48F by noon and overcast with high winds.

© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm

© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm

Daily Catskills: 10/19/16

64F at 8.30am, warm, cloudy and wet after overnight rain.

© J.N. Urbanski 9.30am

© J.N. Urbanski 9.30am

Daily Catskills: 10/12/16

67F by mid-afternoon with mostly sunny skies.

© J.N. Urbanski 10am

© J.N. Urbanski 10am

Daily Catskills: 10/10/16

55F by 3pm with clear skies and a cool breeze.

© J.N. Urbanski 3.45pm

© J.N. Urbanski 3.45pm

Daily Catskills: 10/07/16

50F at 8.30am, nippy with thick fog steaming out of the valleys.

© J.N. Urbanski 8.30am

© J.N. Urbanski 8.30am

Catskills Weekend: 10/1-2/16

© J.N. Urbanski

© 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

© 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:

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Daily Catskills: Fall Watch

© J.N. Urbanski 1.10pm

© 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.

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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

© J.N. Urbanski 9.40am

Daily Catskills: 02/07/16

31F at 8.30 with hazy sunshine, rising to 43F by 3pm.

© J.N. Urbanski 12.50pm

© J.N. Urbanski 12.50pm

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

© 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

© 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

© J.N. Urbanski 2.20pm

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

© 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

© J.N. Urbanski 1pm

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

© J.N. Urbanski 10am