Tag Archives: I love NY

The 2025 AMR Open Studios Tour

For the second year, I will be participating in the AMR artists’ open studios tour here in the Catskills where 45 artists will be welcoming visitors over the last weekend in July: Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27, 2025.

It’s a self-guided driving tour of private art studios and public art galleries in the scenic Catskills of Delaware County.

The aim of the tour is to connect people to art, and expose more visitors and residents to the expansively vibrant arts and cultural life of the Catskills. I’m so honored and pleased to be included.

Last year, I decided that I would focus on original art and print journals to counter the rising risk of AI possibly using my online work: my photography and my writing voice. I wanted to live and work more in real time – in real life – and less on the internet, but I will continue to write stories about the local community like my recent piece on Estro New York, in Andes. I needed a presence to show my work – a base of operations – so I got a studio in Margaretville.

Please visit me in the studio at the following dates and times to view watercolors, paintings, photography and print journals, plus a special new project that I will be debuting.

Time: 11am – 5pm

Dates: Friday July 25th, Saturday July 26th & Sunday July 28th, 2025

Address: 785 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Margaretville, NY 12455

Maps are available at The Commons Building and at Upstate Dispatch and the Longyear Gallery and at businesses across the Catskills.

There’s also a party at 1053 Gallery the prior Thursday, 24th July 2025 from 5 – 7pm. Hope to see you there!

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Estro New York: A New Store in Andes

There’s something for everyone in this beautiful little hamlet.

Last month, Estro New York opened in the former Wilson’s Bread premises on Main Street in Andes. This eclectic new design store with “furniture, art and objects”, mostly vintage, joins coffee shops, diners, a grocery store, book store, a working farm, art galleries, a hotel-restaurant-bar owned by one of the community’s most committed members, the tasting room of a local cider-maker, library, historical society, vintage clothing stores, record shop, wine store, a yoga studio, and finally, an art space, where weekly figure drawing classes are held during the summer by the cool, babbling brook that runs through the town.

*Pauses to take a deep breath* Have I left anything out?

All these businesses make this gorgeous little hamlet one of the Great Western Catskills’ most diverse small towns.

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The Knotweed Project

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When I first began to explore Jake’s farm, Lazy Crazy Acres, in that winter of 2020, I noticed what looked like old, dead bamboo by the river – very tall beige rods with those distinctive horizontal ridges – but it was actually Japanese Knotweed, a member of the buckwheat family. This imported Japanese ornamental is everywhere and is as exceptionally difficult to eradicate as any living pest like the emerald ash borer or hemlock wooly adelgid. It’s a problem because it’s so incredibly voracious, growing by feet in a day, and its roots can destroy the foundation of a house. The stems can grow up to 15ft tall, and they block natural light for any other plant beneath it. The plant quickly takes over large areas and smothers everything on the forest floor below and disrupts wildlife habitats. It has beautiful large spade-shaped leaves with their deep blood-red stems, all shooting from hollow green bamboo-like rods.

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Upstate Dispatch Gallery & Studio Update

The Sandy Finkenberg art exhibit was a success with over 70 people turning out to view Sandy’s work in the last month and five pieces were sold. This Saturday June 22nd, is the last chance that art lovers will have to view Sandy’s work, as the show will be taken down after that, but before that happens, we’ll be having a little party to celebrate. From 2pm – 4pm, Saturday June 22nd, come and sit in my air-conditioned studio, sip a glass of bubbly and take in Sandy’s exceptional work. Any excuse for a party really.

Meanwhile, on June 23rd 2024, I will be turning the gallery back into a studio in preparation for the AMR Open Studios Tour in July in which Upstate Dispatch Gallery & Studio will participate and co-sponsor. Artists all over the Catskills will open their studio for three consecutive days from Friday July 26th to Sunday 28th, 2024 11am – 5pm. In July, I will be working in oils again, practicing portraiture which I haven’t done since high school, and will be offering photography, sketches, watercolor, postcards and magazines. The photography will be limited edition large and small works, framed and unframed. It’s going to be a busy art-filled July.

Upstate Dispatch Gallery & Studio, 2nd Floor, Commons Building, 785 Main Street, Margaretville, NY 12455. Open Saturdays and Sundays 1-4pm and by appointment by emailing info@upstatedispatch.com.

Protecting our Water in the Catskills

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Water is ubiquitous in the Catskills, flowing along side us everywhere we go: rivers, streams, and creeks provide nature’s musical summer backdrop as we drive the roads and hike the mountains. Country homeowners – outside village municipal water supplies – are delivered this precious resource via wells and springs. Residents and business owners of the Catskills are tasked with protecting the water and sending it down to New York City as cleanly as possible.

Things you may not know about the Catskills when you move here: constant work is needed to protect our groundwater. The Catskills Watershed Corporation hosts conferences, events, and organizations like the Water Discovery Center in which you can educate yourself and help to protect the water.

Coming on June 7th is Groundwater in the Catskills: Challenges and Solutions, a one-day conference presented by the Catskill Water Discovery Center with the Margaretville Rotary Club, and Rotary District 7170 from 10 am to 3 pm in the auditorium of the Catskill Watershed Corporation, 669 Hwy 38, Arkville, NY 12406. Tickets are $10 including lunch, and are available at: Eventbrite directly or access Eventbrite through the Water Discovery Center’s website.

According to the CWDC: “Globally, groundwater is an essential drinking water source that is at risk in many places. Locally, residents in the Catskills, including those in the NYC watershed, encounter variable drinking water conditions via private wells or municipal systems, seemingly illogical given that the NYC’s surface water reservoir system provides exceptional drinking water to nine million people.”

The conference will explore the problems Catskills municipalities, and residents, farms and other users of groundwater, encounter – problems such as arsenic, sulfur, iron, lead, copper, chlorides, coliform/E Coli, nitrates and gasses including methane, and carbon dioxide. Speakers will examine where contaminants come from and how they can be addressed.

Featured speakers include representatives from the State’s Drinking Water Source Protection Program (DWSP2), led by NYSDEC and NYS DOH in collaboration with other state agencies.

Residents living within the NYC watershed, may benefit from measures put in place for protection of the surface water. A representative from NYC DEP will speak to those protections.

The afternoon panel session will include the morning’s speakers plus municipal leaders from Andes and Middletown and representatives from the Catskill Watershed Corporation, Watershed Agricultural Council, and the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Gallery Show: Sandy Finkenberg’s Nudes. Opening Reception Saturday May 25th, 2024 2 – 6pm

Upstate Dispatch is thrilled to present a solo show of Sandy Finkenberg’s Nudes. Sandy is a long-time member of the arts community of the Catskills, and a member of the local figure drawing group. This is a new body of work and much anticipated. Sandy’s gorgeous, dreamy nudes rendered in oil on board, many done with a live nude model at the figure drawing group, are some of the Catskills’ most coveted art pieces.

The reception is May 25th, 2024 from 2pm – 6pm. Small bites and beverages will be served. Preview: Friday May 24th. The gallery will be open all Memorial Day weekend from Friday to Sunday with opening hours to be determined. Watch this space!

The show runs from May 24th, 2024 – June 22nd, 2024. Upstate Dispatch Studio, Upstairs at The Commons Building, 785 Main Street, Margaretville, NY 12455. May 24th, 2024 – June 22nd, 2024.

About the Artist

Sandra Finkenberg, a resident of Bovina Center, received her training at the Carnegie Mellon School of Art in Pittsburgh and the Art Students League in New York. She has received a number of awards including second place at the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club (2007), Best of Show Cooperstown Regional (1997), and Best of Show and 2nd Place, UCCA (1993,1992 respectively). Her work in egg tempera was featured in the 2000 summer edition of American Artist Watercolor Magazine. One person shows include the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in Narrowsburg, NY, and the Walt Meade Gallery in Roxbury, NY. Group shows include the Vivianna Hansen Gallery in Delhi, NY and the Windham Fine Arts in Windham, NY., The Catskill Center Erpf Gallery in Arkville NY, the CANO Gallery in Oneonta,NY, and the Salmagundi Invitational in NYC., The Smithy in Cooperstown, NY, and has shown in the Stagecoach Run at Blue Farm Antiques and at the Freck/Beal Studios.

Figure Drawing Group Art Show: Sketches. February 24th 2024, 3.30-6pm Upstairs at The Commons Building in Margaretville

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Save the date! Delaware County has one figure drawing group that meets at the Andes Academy of Art in the summer months (hosted by William Duke), and at ArtUP in the winter months (hosted by Gary Mayer). Upstate Dispatch studio will be hosting a group show of the best sketches of our winter life drawing group. We artists were risking life and limb, driving in all weathers, white-knuckle style after dark, fish-tailing on icy roads, to make it to our Wednesday drawing group throughout winter.

Participating artists are Sandy Finkenberg, Jenny Neal, Gary Mayer, Steve Burnett, Sophia Teixido, Alex Wilcox, William Duke, Joe Wilson, Peter Mayer and more.

The work will be offered for sale, mostly unframed, at affordable prices, to give everyone access to beautiful original pieces. Wine and snacks will be served.

Saturday 24th February 2024. 3.30-6pm. Upstate Dispatch Studio, Upstairs @ The Commons Building, 785 Main Street, Margaretville, NY.

Join us for this reception in the same building as artist Bea Ortiz, Honeybee Herbs, The Catskills Artisans’ Guild, The Longyear Gallery and Carolann’s restaurant. The studio will be open all afternoon.

We hope to see you there.

Daily Catskills: 10/13/23

A beautiful sunrise with the summit of Balsam Mountain getting engulfed in a tiny snow storm. A sunny day with a high of 58F.

© Jenny Neal 7am – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 10/12/23

Getting crisp, but still warm in the sun, despite giant clouds and a high around 60F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/10/23

A little warmer with a high of 58F and a mixed lot of multifarious cloud cover.

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Daily Catskills: 10/08/23

A jumble of weather: giant, scene-stealing clouds, scattered showers and some sunny spells with a high of 60F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/07/23

All day rain and the ubiquitous foggy mist. Humid with a high of 66F. The dullness is muting the fall colors.

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Daily Catskills: 10/06/23

Overcast and gloomy today, and humid with a high of 78F. Dinner at the Print House.

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Daily Catskills: 10/04/23

Another scorcher: a high of 86F with a virtually cloudless sky, save for the odd scattering of cotton balls in the distance. Fall and Summer collide to make a gorgeous day.

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Daily Catskills: 10/03/23

A fall scorcher: a high of 82F with clear skies and another serene sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 10/02/23

A hot sunny day, mostly clear except for a couple of big fluffy cotton wool clouds and a high of 76F. Serene sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 09/29/23

Misty rain on the peaks becoming heavier in the valleys. Humid and foggy with a high of 66F. A muted red glow at sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 09/20/23

Warm and sunny, with wispy bits of cloud like someone didn’t clean up the sky properly and a high of 70F. Overnight lows dipping into the thirties. Frost warning.

© Jenny Neal 6pm – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 09/19/23

An overcast and gloomy morning clearing up mid-afternoon to late evening and a clear blue sunset. Chilly with some sprinkles and a high of 64F. Lows in the fifties.

© Jenny Neal 11am – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 09/17/23

A chill in the air, and warm in the sun but mostly overcast with a flat swathes of menacing cloud. Late afternoon rain and a high of 67F.

© Jenny Neal 1pm- Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 09/16/23

Warm and sunny, mostly clear with a high of 71F.

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Daily Catskills: 09/14/23

A heavily misty, dewy morning, lightening up to become sunny and warm with a high of 68F.

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Daily Catskills: 09/12/23

Bright and warm with scattered clouds like a handful of odd, mismatched clouds were chucked in the air, and a high of 79F.

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Daily Catskills: 09/10/23

Muggy, still and overcast with low cloud and a high of 77F. Late afternoon drizzle gave way to some patches of blue. A barely discernible reddening of the landscape. The greens aren’t giving up yet.

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Happy Birthday Upstate Dispatch!

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Yes, I’m still here! I know some of you can’t believe it. It is, however, the 9th birthday of Upstate Dispatch and this is the 2,355th post. Yes, I persist. The Daily Catskills section began again this year on September 1st for the fall season, but it’s just too much work to maintain it year-round. (BTW, there are a few splotches of red in the foliage here and there, and in small pockets, mostly shady areas, we have piles of fallen leaves, but because of the heat, it still feels like summer. Try telling that to the tomatoes, though.)

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I have mostly been focusing on art, and writing. I’m working on a memoir, not because I’m special, but because there’s a story here that I need to tell. Part of this story was published in Farmerish and it was well-received. You can read it here.

I will be publishing an introduction, some excerpts, and companion pieces to this memoir on Substack: a “new economic engine for culture”, which is a paid newsletter that gives writers a chance to earn a living. For those of you who are interested in paying a very small subscription for my content. Here’s a chance to find out more about who I am. I hope to see you there!

Finally, I often go out for lunch, breakfast or dinner in the Catskills and hear about how Upstate Dispatch has helped local businesses. I really appreciate the feedback and thank everyone for their support.

Jenny Neal 9/9/23

Daily Catskills: 09/07/23

A steamy day. Hot and humid, with plump, fluffy cloud and a high of 89F. Mid-afternoon thunder and rain that took a pause for sunset and then continued with epic house-rattling thunder and lightning after dark. Some epic weather.

© Jenny Neal 6pm – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 09/06/23

Heavy and humid, mostly sunny with a high of 90F, but cool in the shade. Sweaty.

© Jenny Neal 7pm – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 09/04/23

Early morning sprinkles, but otherwise sunny despite big, chunky clouds like a rumpled duvet, and humid with a high of 83F. The last of the downed hay needs to be dried out before its baled because of the overnight rain.

© Jenny Neal 3pm – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 09/03/23

Warm and sunny with a high of 82F. Day 4 of haying: bringing the bales down off the mountain and “tedding” the second cutting.

© Jenny Neal 1pm – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 09/02/23

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Day 3 of haying in the Dry Brook Valley, mostly clear and sunny, a high of 72F, with late afternoon cotton wool cloud and some post-sunset sprinkles. Jewel weed is thriving down by the river.

© Jenny Neal 9.30am – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 05/21/23

A humid morning with heavy, misty cloud and rain on the peaks. Sun in the afternoon and a high of 64F.

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Daily Catskills: 05/18/23

Another sunny day: warm in the sun, cool in the shade with a high of 64F.

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Daily Catskills: 04/25/23

Cold, with a high of 48F and a chilly wind. A mostly gloomy day with the sun emerging late afternoon like it had spent all day a work. A beautiful evening.

© J.N. Urbanski 6pm – Usage prohibited without consent

Upstate Dispatch Winter Print Issue

We’re very proud to announce that the Winter 2022 Issue of Upstate Dispatch was published last year and is available for sale. It’s been a serious challenge to be a novice publisher, but the outpouring of enthusiasm has been hugely encouraging. As a writer, I was convinced that readers still wanted some print materials and I was right to take the leap.

There’s so much distraction on the internet that avid readers are moving away from it. The last month has shown me that readers consider a book or magazine to be a rare treat and a small luxury in trying times. I worked hard for eight years on the website, bringing a wealth of information on the area to thousands of readers, and I was dedicated to making the magazine beautiful. I hope you’ll invest in a copy.

Find copies at the Tree Juice Maple Syrup store, 59 Rider Hollow Road, Arkville, NY 12406, Diamond Hollow Books in Andes, and Roxbury General store, in Roxbury, NY.

You will soon find the magazine in select independent book stores in New York City, but for now, those outside the Catskills area can order their copy by emailing info@upstatedispatch.com. The price for mailing within New York State is $20, plus $5 postage and packaging.

Please watch this post for changes as we expand our availability.

In the magazine, you’ll find winter recipes, interviews, essays, recommended reading and some of the best images of Catskills winter hiking in one beautiful issue.

Daily Catskills: 10/31/22

A grey day, overcast and humid with a high of 61F. A tinder polypore on a hemlock bench perfectly reflects the day’s colors.

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Daily Catskills: 10/29/22

Sunny and warm with a high of 62F. Leaves hanging on.

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Daily Catskills: 10/27/22

A cloudy morning, clearing up to a sunny afternoon with a high of 57F. Fall is over at higher elevations, but there are still hardwoods hanging on to their leaves downhill.

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Daily Catskills: 10/26/22

Misty and humid with blustery afternoon rain and a high of 71F. Fall is on the wane, but the oaks, beech and ironwood are still hanging on.

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Daily Catskills: 10/24/22

Mostly overcast with a low blanket of mist, and humid with the occasional peep of sun, a sprinkle of rain carried over from last night and a high of 65F. 2022 is having a spectacular, drawn out fall and now we are deep into the earth tones of the giant oaks: copper, gold and brassy brown.

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Daily Catskills: 10/23/22

Overcast with the odd glimmer of sun and still balmy for the season with a high of 61F. The fall colors are now the golden, brassy, maroon and copper tones of the oaks and ironwood, and some of these trees are still green.

© J.N. Urbanski 5pm – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 10/22/22

Another clear, fall day with a high of 70F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/21/22

Another crisp day under a bowl of clear blue, warming up to a high of 60F. The flaming red oak tree holds its ground with its yellow and green neighbors amidst the brush of a waning fall landscape.

© J.N. Urbanski 5pm – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 10/20/22

Bright and sunny with a nippy wind and a high of 53F. Big dome of clear blue with the odd remnant of wispy cloud.

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Daily Catskills: 10/19/22

An overnight frost coats the last remaining rose and the temperature only rises to a high of 44F. Mostly clear blue skies for the rest of the day.

© J.N. Urbanski 8am – Usage prohibited without consent

Daily Catskills: 10/18/22

A frosty morning with dew steaming out of the valleys, a fresh dome of azure sky, chilly but humid, rising to a high of 55F with giant clouds moving in mid-afternoon. Fall is falling.

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Daily Catskills: 10/17/22

A dingy start to the week, with a sky like washed ink and a high of 55F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/16/22

Bright and breezy, mostly clear skies and a high of 63F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/15/22

A frosty morning, warming up to a high of 65F. Clear and sunny with leaves fluttering like confetti in a light breeze. Coral-colored sugar maples line Andes’ Main Street.

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Daily Catskills: 10/14/22

Another gorgeous misty, cloudy morning, clearing by noon and warming up to a balmy high of 65F. Warm in the sun.

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Daily Catskills: 10/13/22

A gloomy, chilly morning warming up to a humid, rainy day with a high of 62F. Falling leaves tossed around by gusty winds. Torrential rain into the evening.

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Daily Catskills: 10/12/22

Sunny and humid, mostly clear skies and a high of 66F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/11/22

A crisp morning with thick mist sinking into the valleys. Clear sky for the rest of the day, balmy with a high of 67F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/10/22

An overcast morning giving way to an afternoon of big, dramatic clouds, the barest sprinkle of misty rain and a high of 59F. Two farm dogs declared cancer-free and loving the view from their mountain.

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Daily Catskills: 10/09/22

Peak fall colors, but only brief periods of sun in which to showcase their glory. A nippy wind and a high of 58F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/08/22

Chilly and overcast with brief periods of sunshine and afternoon rain. A high of 50F.

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