If you ask anyone the first words spoken from the Moon, they’ll invariably mention the “One small step” speech. Actually, the first lunar words were, “Okay, engine stop,” uttered by Buzz Aldrin. Less than a minute later, Armstrong said, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed!” This July 20, 1969 photo of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module interior shows Aldrin during the lunar landing mission.
Saturday, May 4: This work-in-progress will include solos, duets and trios from Barton’s piece Awáa, which The Washington Post hailed as “an extraordinary work.” There will also be champagne and chocolates.
Saturday, May 4: More than 140 state parks, historic sites and public lands will host hosting volunteer events, including beach cleanups, trail restoration, tree and flower plantings, beautification projects.
With state acquisition of a significant infill parcel, hikers are now able to walk only on state land from less than a mile off the Sawkill Road next to the Thruway westward several miles to within a stone’s throw from the Zena Road in Woodstock. A public information meeting has been scheduled for next Tuesday, May 7 at the Senate House Garage at 4 North Font Street in Kingston at 6 p.m. to discuss efforts to improve the trail network connecting the lands open to the public in the 3000-acre-plus Bluestone Wild Forest.
On Earth Day, April 22, you may have seen a plastic bag mummy, Plady, picking up trash while riding a mini plastic car, Toxicar, down Main Street in New Paltz. This was not an early celebration of Halloween, but performance art. Plady and Toxicar were created by the Taiwanese artist Maxine Leu, an MFA sculpture student at SUNY New Paltz, and enacted by performer Sanford Fels, a BFA sculpture student also at SUNY New Paltz.
Saturday, May 4: The ornithological equivalent of a walkathon and the John Burroughs Natural History Society (JBNHS)’s one fundraising event of the year, the Big Sit situates several birdwatchers in a 24-hour observation and identification of birds by sight and sound, raising money in the pledge-based style per bird or by straight donation.
This time of year, coyotes are finding dens and birthing pups, which means they need to hunt more aggressively and are more likely to attack pets they view as competitors. Humans and large dogs are, for the most part, safe, but it’s important to take precautions to protect cats and small dogs.
When Hope Nemiroff was diagnosed with breast cancer, she recalls, “There weren’t the services and information I needed to make decisions — and there still aren’t,” at least not in the standard medical setting. As a survivor, she decided to help people navigate the frightening and confusing process of dealing with such a diagnosis by founding Breast Cancer Options, which offers support groups and an abundance of information not readily available in a doctor’s office or hospital.
“Every trail has a unique challenge, so I started to seek out techniques from other trades, whether it’s rigging from sailors or from the stone-quarry industries… The rocks I set in place will still be there until the next Ice Age. That’s very rewarding.”
“The natural resources in Ulster County are still pristine,” Kim Elliman said. “Hopefully we can protect them before there’s too much upward land value. You’re protecting water resources in particular, if you build trails with less erosion and less siltation. And as studies show, the closer people live to parks, the better the quality of life.”