77F by the afternoon, with mostly clear skies. Birds chirping. Blooms and leaves continue to bud like they weren’t covered in snow yesterday. Most of the snow melted by dusk, even on the ski slopes.
© J.N. Urbanski 10am – Usage prohibited without consent
75F by mid-afternoon, warm and humid.
© J.N. Urbanski 6.30pm – Usage prohibited without consent
70F by mid-afternoon with a summer breeze and a blue sky naked except for sporadic, plump clouds.
© J.N. Urbanski 4.15pm – Usage prohibited without consent
56F by mid-afternoon, overcast, with heavy rain clearing up late afternoon. Still chilly, but perfect for mushrooms and ducks.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm – Usage prohibited without consent
48F by mid-afternoon, overcast and gloomy.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm – Usage prohibited without consent
68F by mid-afternoon, with hazy sunshine and breezy. Tiny rhubarb emerges.
© J.N. Urbanski 2pm
79F by mid-afternoon with a cool breeze and cotton wool clouds that turned grey and burst early evening.
© J.N. Urbanski 4.20pm
60F by mid-afternoon, clear skies and sunny with a slight chill in the air.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm
55F, humid with overnight rain, mist lingering in the valleys. 61F and sunny with an afternoon armada of clouds sailing quickly like they’re on their way to somewhere much colder.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.30pm
80F scorcher, hazy, humid. Wading in cool streams, under waterfalls, shaded by pine trees.
© J.N. Urbanski 5.40pm
© J.N. Urbanski
Letters to a Young Farmer is both a compelling history and a vital road map – a reckoning of how we eat and farm; how the two can come together to build a more sustainable future; and why now, more than ever before, we need farmers”. And: “We are about to witness the largest retirement of farmers in U.S. history. There are now more farmers over the age of 75 than between the ages of 35 and 44″.
A story with a happy conclusion – an urban farmer saves his “gangsta garden”.
An article on how to combat ticks around your property.
The New Farmer’s Almanac Volume III from The Greenhorns, “360 pages of original agrarian content, essays, cartoons, imagery and historical snippets—harnesses the wisdom of over 120 contributors from our community of new farmers and ranchers”.
Will our senator, farm-friendly Kirsten Gillibrand run for President?
The US military “marches forward on clean energy”. New York State sees an 800% growth in solar power according to CNBC. On solar power and renewable energy for new jobs; a new solar experiment in Brooklyn; Panasonic makes a new solar panel for Tesla.
I have thought that a good test of civilization, perhaps one of the best, is country life.” John Burroughs
© J.N. Urbanski
Seedling potatoes stored in a paper bag in the basement started shooting straw-like tubers over the winter. Apparently, this is a vegetational hazard; you’re supposed to check your spuds mid-winter. If they sprout you can add soil to the bag and plant them in spring. We’ll see if these spuds survive.
42F at 8am with heavy rain all morning, and rising to 52F by mid-afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
42F at 9.30am, overcast, misty and raining for most of the day.
© J.N. Urbanski 4pm
© J.N. Urbanski 2pm
© J.N. Urbanski
The Seager trail starts at the parking area at the end of Dry Brook Road, just past the covered bridge, in Arkville and it’s two miles of probably the most picturesque valley that I’ve ever hiked in the Catskills. New to both hiking and the countryside in general, I was introduced to the Seager Trail back in 2007. It was my maiden hike, if you like, and one of the most beautiful introductions I’ve ever experienced.
It’s an easy hike alongside a very wide brook with large stones of various shades of grey, with the faintest hints of pink and purple. A short distance from the parking area, the trail opens up into a wide open expanse that is a carpet of smooth rocks at a confluence of two waterways. Yesterday it was covered in a multitude of yellow coltsfoot and a magical sight to behold when emerging from the dark trail into the sunlight. A large downed tree has completely changed this part of the trail, having created a reasonably sized swimming hole that’s very attractive to furry, black Labradors. Further along, there’s a waterfall that fills a deep watering hole that’s about five to six feet deep, and bone-numbingly cold even in the summer, into which you can flop after a hot day’s worth of hiking.
Sculpture at the Maurice D. Hinchey Interpretive Center.
© J.N. Urbanski 4/13/15 10.30am
© J.N. Urbanski 3/10/16
The Phoenicia Diner revamped its roast beef sandwich this year. They toasted the bread, added melted brie to the juicy grass-fed beef making this classic sandwich much more delicious. Moreover, it’s a reasonable size for a sandwich, not a gigantic doorstop that’s a whole day’s worth of calories and enough meat to clog your colon for weeks.
28F at 8.30am with crunchy layer of overnight snow and a mixture of enigmatic clouds. 43F by 1pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.30am
70F, cloudy and humid by noon. Heavy overnight rains, which ruined any chance of a Soltice bonfire, had considerably damped the ground. 80F by 3pm with rolling clouds.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.50pm
© J.N. Urbanski 6/19/15 8pm
Two pals couldn’t have picked a more idyllic evening to attend Table on Ten’s pizza night: an early evening drive through the balmy, bucolic mountains of Roxbury so astonishingly beautiful in the waning light that we had to stop a couple of times to get out of the car and drink in the atmosphere. (“What’s that? Sheep. Let’s stop. Hey Ewe!”) Hay, barns, lush undulating ridges, rail trails, stone walls and bridges over roaring creeks: a gasp of admiration at every turn. A quick jaunt past the restaurant into the hamlet of Bloomville, New York, revealed a picturesque rural scene of tractors, antiques and a white-sided two hundred year old church atop a meadow.
70F by noon, breezy and cloudy with hazy sunshine. Rain forecast for this afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 12.45pm
© J.N. Urbanski 6/6/15 6pm
When he finally dragged me out camping upstate for the first time, my husband tucked his socks into his trousers and his shirt into his Christmas tree pyjamas, because NOBODY wants Lyme disease. Consequently, I had never seen a tick on him before last week. It was a wood tick that I had not expected to be that large because local lore has it that they are everywhere and that the nymphs are about as visible as specks of dust.
75F by 10.30am and damp from overnight drizzle, with sunshine barely getting through the haze. Rolling gunmetal grey skies and humid by noon. Sunshine by mid-afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
60F at 9.30am, overcast with cloud, mist over the mountains and drizzling. A gloomy morning. Update: not much of an improvement, rising to 65F by the afternoon.
© J.N. Urbanski 10am
62F, cloudy with a chilly breeze at 9am, rising to 74F by 3pm and partly cloudy.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.30pm
When I lived in the city, I regret that I hardly ever took a lunch hour. I simply wanted blaze on through and get everything done. Now I realise that a two-hour break to focus on something completely different is as essential for the mind as water is for the body. Painting with watercolour is just difficult enough for me to get thoroughly absorbed in two hours and even if I don’t get it right, which is hardly ever, the accomplishment of having practiced is exhilarating in itself. I have one or maybe two watercolours that I’m exhibiting in our show this year. Plus, the weekly En Plein Air group takes me to various places and allows me to photograph some wildly gorgeous landscape. And goats. The anxious demands of work will always be there waiting for you until, in fact, you retire. Take a break.
© J.N. Urbanski 6/16/15 12.39
© J.N. Urbanski 6/16/15 11am
70F by 9am, misty clouds moving quickly over the mountains and the wind gently shaking last night’s rain out of the trees. Humid, with gunmetal skies issuing threatening sprinkles by noon. Stormy weather forecast. Update: Rain late afternoon and into the evening.
© J.N. Urbanski 11.39am
© J.N. Urbanski 9.37am
65F at 7.30am. A gloomy start to the day with heavy overnight rain having continued into morning, but stopped at 8am. 75F and humid by 10.30am.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.20am
80F by noon with wispy clouds. A good day for a bit of antique hunting. Update: heavy rains after dusk.
© J.N. Urbanski 3.40pm
© J.N. Urbanski 5/28/15 7.46am
Good news for Farm-to-Table in New York City. Lucky Dog in Hamden receives $40,000 in grant funding for its efforts. The link details some of the NYC restaurants that receive local produce. View the news release from the Delaware County Economic Development, a video by VeccVideography.
Farmers Almanac explains all those seed copters that are flying around this week.
Ever come to the country, been woken up by birdsong and wondered who was singing to you? Browse for birds by name and listen to their call from The Cornell Lab for Ornithology.
Travel the Milky Way on June 21st when Catskills Creameries open up their gates to the public.
The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown is due a visit.
Outdoor cinema in the Catskills looking for funding.
The old asparagus plant that was planted three years ago is now over six feet tall as is the rhubarb. Only a few spears were cut in its second year and this year we harvested over twenty spears. The point of letting the asparagus go wild in its third year is to allow the long stalks and buds to transfer nutrients to the roots which will improve yield for forthcoming years.
© J.N. Urbanski 6/13/15 2pm
75F at 10.30am, warm and sunny with hazy clouds on the horizon. Last night’s rainfall still lingering in the shadows.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.45am
© J.N. Urbanski 8.15am
72F by 10am, cloudy, hazy and humid. A sultry morning. Update: a sultry afternoon at 82F by 3pm. Rainfall early evening.
© J.N. Urbanski 11am
64F at cloudy at 9am. No tornado, but an onslaught of snails.
© Margaret Helthaler 10.48am
55F at 8am, raining, overcast and gloomy. Update: 77F by 4pm with low rumblings of thunder in the air. Rain late afternoon, with a tornado watch in effect for the Catskills.
© J.N. Urbanski 7.45am
© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm
In season now, are wild strawberries. That’s a teaspoon, so they’re tiny, but delicious. Look for the serrated-edged leaves and if the grass is low, just run your hands over it and you’ll reveal the berries lying against the ground. Notice that the tiny ones have just as many seeds. Don’t worry if you tread a patch into the ground. You should leave some behind to proliferate in the same place next year.
© J.N. Urbanski
72F by noon, breezy and sunny. The red and white clover bloomed this week.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
© J.N. Urbanski
60F at 10.30am, overcast and breezy, rising to 70F and partly cloudy by noon.
© J.N. Urbanski Noon
© J.N. Urbanski 1.15pm
63F and cloudy at 9am rising to 75F by 1pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 11.30am
68F at 10am with hazy sunshine and damp grass. Last night’s unbelievable full moon yielded to a glorious day.
© J.N. Urbanski 9.46am
50F at 7.30am, damp and overcast with mist over the mountains, quickly rising to 68F by noon and hazy sunshine.
© J.N. Urbanski 8.14am
50F at 8am, gloomy, damp and chilly.
© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am
75F by 11am, cloudy and humid, with the landscape soaked by last night’s much-needed rain. And more rain again at 12.45pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 2.45pm
Already 80F at 2400ft by 10am, breezy and humid. Thick, rolling clouds interspersed with periods of sunshine. Scorcher. Update: at 7pm heavy, continual rains throughout the night.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
70F and sunny cloudless skies at 10am rising to 80F by 2pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 1pm
64F and damp at 7am with last night’s thick, post-rain mist lingering in the valleys.
© J.N. Urbanski 7.30am
70F at 8am, humid and cloudy: a steamy morning. 80F with thunder and showers by 2pm: a sultry afternoon with too much cloud and not enough rain. Update: with a crack of lightning, torrential rain began at 3.30pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
A very damp morning with dawn showers and 70F at 9am. The morning sun burned through the hazy cloud. More morning showers and 80F by 1pm, brightening up by 2.30pm with cloudy skies and breeze in the trees.
© J.N. Urbanski 9am
72F by 11am and breezy with bright sunshine burning through very hazy cloud cover. 85F and mostly cloudy by 3pm.
© J.N. Urbanski 3pm
74F and warm in the sunshine. Hazy, wispy, cloud. Gorgeous Sunday for Memorial Day Weekend.
© J.N. Urbanski Noon
60F by midday. Clear skies and very warm in the sun. Yard sales abound on Memorial Day weekend. Update: last night’s frost, which saw temperatures in the twenties, killed off the tomatoes, potatoes and some asparagus. The broccoli is also looking very poorly.
© J.N. Urbanski 11.30am
