Fall is mostly done in the high mountains. The woods are mostly bare and your eye pierces right through them to the mountains beyond. And it has gotten very quiet. Last night, in one of my contentedly melancholy moods, I found myself singing this contentedly melancholy song, and I stepped out onto the porch to […]
Category Archives: Life in the Catskills
Solitude and Autumn.
23-Oct-10The Harvest.
05-Oct-10I have not been able to photograph the harvest in detail for various reasons, but only a few photos are really necessary. The satisfactions of growing, looking at, and consuming are well known to all, though like most pleasures the experience always surpasses the memory. The yield was extraordinary, really; certainly more than a hundred […]
Fall Peaks.
05-Oct-10Hiked in the pouring rain Monday, and was amply rewarded in the spells when the rain paused.
Fall Arrives.
01-Oct-10Peak color this weekend in the Central Catskills. Next weekend at the lower elevations, I think. Slightly earlier this year than last year, as it seems.
Hiking.
12-Sep-10“Would that I had never been to Wittenberg, never read book.” – Marlowe Back from a three-day hike, hitting Giant Ledge, Panther Mountain, Wittenberg, Cornell Mountain, and Slide Mountain. The scenery was spectacular. The view from Wittenberg is the best I have seen in the Catskills – not only remarkable distance but a remarkable foreground. […]
Technical Troubles.
07-Sep-10Lots of technical trouble here, which has slowed down the website a bit. My computer does not really work, and my camera does not work at all. Both need to be replaced this month. I have enough money to do it (barely), so that will happen. And while I’m on this topic, let me complain […]
In the Mountains.
30-Aug-10So Far Behind the Times, it’s Ahead.
19-Aug-10I’ve spent a lot of time this summer criss-crossing the Catskills in my truck, going to landscaping jobs. My only companions are my thoughts and my FM radio. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy the radio in the Eastern Catskills. There’s Woodstock Radio, where I can hear “Maggie’s Farm” or Matthew Sweet or […]
Two Days of Peace, Love, and Planting.
18-Aug-10I spent the last two days in Woodstock, planting: redbuds, dogwoods, mountain laurel, rhododendron. And killing barberry. Two of the good days. God be praised.
“Alien Brains For Dinner.”
26-Oct-10I was at a party on an organic farm last Friday, where the guest of honor was this gargantuan mushroom, found by the side of the road. And we had roasted chestnuts too, a first for me. My awe at drawing close to the processes of food growing and gathering only increases. Everything I do, […]