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
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
20F by midday and still with cloud cover moving on by the afternoon exposing a vivid blue sky.
© J.N. Urbanski – 4pm Usage prohibited without consent
60F humid, overcast with blustery winds and dashing rain getting stormier going into the evening.
© J.N. Urbanski 9pm – Usage prohibited without consent
80F, very humid and overcast with forbidding cloud that dulls the vibrant, new oranges that accompany the reds. Sultry.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm – Usage prohibited without consent
Morning cloud dispersed by the afternoon. Sunny with a cool breeze with a high of 73F. A significant reddening of the landscape overnight. Fall seems to have begun in earnest.
© J.N. Urbanski Noon – Usage prohibited without consent
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
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
A high of 80F with scanty cloud and warm in the sun. Happy Autumnal Equinox! The first day of Fall.
© J.N. Urbanski 4.11pm – Usage prohibited without consent
© 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
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
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.
50F by noon after a moody morning with swirling cloud, clearing up by mid-afternoon
© J.N. Urbanski 9am
37F at 8.30am and chilly.
© J.N. Urbanski 9am
55F by noon, overcast, gusty and humid. 60F by mid-afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.50pm
© 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.
© 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.
41F by mid-afternoon and windy with rolling cloud.
© J.N. Urbanski 4.40pm
48F by noon and overcast with high winds.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm
64F at 8.30am, warm, cloudy and wet after overnight rain.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.30am
34F at 8.30am rising to 64F by 2pm, with mostly clear skies and sunny.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.40am
67F by mid-afternoon with mostly sunny skies.
© J.N. Urbanski 10am
66F by 2pm and warm with clear skies.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.15pm
55F by 3pm with clear skies and a cool breeze.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.45pm
63F by 2pm, humid and overcast with late afternoon showers.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.30pm
50F at 8.30am, nippy with thick fog steaming out of the valleys.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.30am
64F by mid-afternoon and gloomy. More explosions of red.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm
© 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
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:
50F at 8.30am and cloudy, rising to 61F by 2pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 2pm
© 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.
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
31F at 8.30 with hazy sunshine, rising to 43F by 3pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 12.50pm
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
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
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
34F at 8.30am, dull, grey and overcast.
© J.N. Urbanski 12.30pm
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
35F at 8.30am, cloudy and humid rising to 41F by mid-afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
45F at 8.30am with the sun twinkling through the gaps in the shimmering cloud.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.40am
53F at 8am, cloudy humid and warm. Almost 60F by noon: t-shirt weather.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am
54F at 10am, mild and warm all day with hazy fog hanging over the mountains and multifarious cloud cover.
© J.N. Urbanski 12.40pm
54F by 1pm, balmy and overcast.
© J.N. Urbanski 1.15pm
© J.N. Urbanski 1.20pm
52F at 2pm with a mixture of cloud and the occasional twinkle of sun.
© J.N. Urbanski 2pm
40F at 8.30am and partially cloudy.
38F and cloudy by noon.
31F at 8.30am with brilliant sunshine in clear skies and a hazy horizon rising to 42F by 1pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.30am
29F by 8.30am with a frost burning off in the clear skies. 47F by mid-afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski Noon
A clear, cloudless day and a balmy 44F by 3pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
A morning layer of overnight snow had melted by by mid-afternoon. Overcast and 40F by 3pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.30pm
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
47F at 8am and gloomily overcast with layers of fog cloaking the mountains, and rain.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.10am
35F at 9am with steady rain melting overnight icy patches and fog smothering the mountains.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.40am
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
41F by 9am and frosty, with thick, rolling fog hugging the mountains. Clear skies at dusk.
