Six years ago, Craig Chapman noticed that nobody was renting kayaks by the Wallkill. “I wanted to be outside full-time, so I figured I’d hang out by the river one summer with some kayaks for rent, and the business took off from there.”
It’s not my time to stop. Not yet. I still have plenty of bounce in me.
The high number of caterpillars dead or dying this late summer (especially fall webworms) is almost certainly attributable to the stiflingly hot and humid weather we had, and the stretches of abundant rain.
If you are interested in supporting local cancer resources, here are my recommendations.
Saturday, October 6: Book talk at Slabsides with historian David Schuyler about his new book, Embattled River. Some of the conflicts that Schuyler documents are universally known: General Electric, the PCB contamination of the Hudson and the cleanup debate, for example. Others are news – startling news – to me: a major nuclear power facility with cooling towers proposed for the Esopus/Lloyd town line in the 1970s?
Lichen Walk this Saturday, October 6: This public garden situated on 178 acres above Tannersville is a stunning nature sanctuary. The nearly finished timber-frame Education Center designed by architect Jack Sobon features 21 native tree species.
Although the Mohonk Preserve and Mountain House are famous for the Lemon Squeeze – a steeply pitched, tight rock scramble that lies above the skylake and just under the Sky Top Tower – a lesser-known cousin, Rock Rift, rests just a few short miles away without any of the labyrinth-loving crowds.
A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer’s wave good-bye… The heat begins to sustain itself, balance. Like the equinox I am honoring. The teens leave, I remain. I want to be reflective but I’m just grateful to have had a summer. I thought I’d be long gone in March.
Wednesday, Sept. 26: It’s said that, in centuries past, the spiral tusks of narwhals were regarded as proof of the existence of unicorns. Marine biologists studying this elusive cetacean today are discovering that this “horn” – in fact, an overgrown tooth – has ingenious if not magical properties.
As we headed outside, summer temperatures and a rain-free day meant that none of us had shoes on. Suddenly I channeled John McLane, the lead character in Die Hard, who performed most of the movie with bare feet, including the brutal scene where he walks on broken glass. “Hey!” I shouted to my family. “Take your shoes!”