First Summer in Poughkeepsie

I can't say this entry will be very entertaining. Just wanted to wrap up my first Summer here in Poughkeepsie and this feels like a good way to do it.

Onward....




(Looks like one of my photos made the cover of Satya magazine!
Cool! Thanks Satya and Jen!)


This was a terrific Summer! The odd thing is, it was also incredibly busy at work as we've been short-staffed for a while now. I wound up working many six-day weeks but still got time in to take a lot of walks in new places, get to the farm mid-week, get to some concerts and meet a bunch of new people.

Some Summer stuff:

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Saw Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young play at the site of the original Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York. Max Yasgur's family sold part of the land to the state and it's now a performing arts center.

Oh my god what a concert!

They played for 4 hours with one 20-minute break. If you remember it, they probably played it! Plus lots of their solo stuff, Buffalo Springfield stuff, and many songs from Neil Young's new album "Living with War". And yes, Stephen Stills re-proclaimed they were all "scared shitless!" and Graham Nash warned everyone not to eat the brown acid!

Oh my god what a concert!!!




The Smithereens

Saw "The Smithereens" on the "Blues Cruise". For those of you who aren't so local, the "Blues Cruise" is a fairly large tour boat that's normally known as the "Circle Line". It travels daily around Manhattan for a 2-hour tour. At night though, they sometimes have name bands perform.

You can't get much closer to a band than on the Blues Cruise. You are literally "inches and feet" from the band! It was a perfect night weather-wise as well. The band was more loosey-goosey than I've seen them in the past but it was still a good show.




Grey Fox and Falcon Ridge (Bluegrass)

Got to the "Grey Fox" Bluegrass festival in Ancramdale, NY which I had been wanting to get to for a few years. There were some good moments to remember but the "Falcon Ridge" Bluegrass festival in Hillsdale, NY was awesome! I was at Falcon Ridge for only one day (Sunday) and was helping to man a table that the farm had set up for the weekend. But I did manage to walk around and listen and definitely want to go back next year!

If you like Bluegrass, "Grey Fox" is the far bigger show but the spirit at the Falcon Ridge festival is infinitely cooler!


The Ashokan Reservoir

The Ashokan is a monster reservoir that feeds lower reservoirs that eventually feed NYC (I think). The only reservoir in NY State that's bigger is the Pohacton which is 28 miles long (figure from Brewster to the Bronx.) When the Ashokan was built, several towns had to be relocated.

Anyway, it's surrounded by equally monster-sized hills and has a 2-mile long, blacktopped walking path near it's spillway. I walked there numerous times this Summer and recently rollerbladed there with a friend from work.



Catskill Animal Sanctuary

I haven't been to the Catskill Animal Sanctuary since July. It's been a combination of them not needing as much help and me not able to get there as it's been so busy at work. Any extra time I have I give to Woodstock. I'll pick up with Catskill again after the Holidays.



Farm Sanctuary

Spent almost two days at "Farm Sanctuary" near Watkins Glen. "Farm Sanctuary" is the original sanctuary for abused farm animals and is over 100 acres with a large staff. Jen (Director of the "Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary") worked there for a time before starting the Woodstock sanctuary with her husband Doug who also worked there.

I had forgotten how gorgeous the Finger Lakes region is and enjoyed the experience of seeing a third farm's operation.



My Cat "Boris"

My cat "Boris" who lives with Noreen is going blind. The vet doesn't know why he's going blind but Boris is adapting. I saw him the other week at Noreen's. He's basically moving as fast as his whiskers and ears will allow him to. He's navigating very well and one has the sense that he still has partial vision. If you met him you'd probably not notice that he has vision trouble.

The funny thing is, the first thing I noticed about Boris was his eyes. When he showed up at the back door one day I said to Noreen's mother "Did you see the cat outside with the bright eyes?" Sunlight makes his eyes literally explode with light and until we got him into the house and named him, I called him the "Bright Eyes Cat".

I'm sad. But he'll be okay with Noreen and her mother.



Girl

"Girl", our house German Shepard had to be put to sleep. She was about 14-years old and couldn't walk anymore. The house still doesn't feel the same without her. "Festivus", our most silly house cat, has bounced back after going through some sad times looking around the house for Girl.



Water

I never got into the water once this Summer! Not once! No ocean, no lake, no pond, no river, no nothing with the exception of washing my face in several Catskill mountain streams, which though nice, was not exactly all I intended on doing in water when the Summer began!

I'm buying a Kayak for next Summer!




4th of July

And speaking of "water", does anybody here drink "Crystal Rock" water? I can't tell you if the water itself comes from crystals, rocks, or Chris Rock's backyard but the distribution plant sits on a high hill that overlooks several towns near Watertown, CT (where the water, oddly enough, does NOT come from). It was a cool vantage point to see different fireworks displays simultaneously. Went with "Runaround Watertown Sue", who no matter where we go, people just start talking to her out of the blue! Maybe it's the nursery school teacher face. Or the ribbed top.


My Birthday

Got treated to ice-skating (in August!) by Sue, her daughter Amy, and a friend of Amy's. I'm a sucker for "things silly" and it was one of the best nights of the Summer! Just skating around, trying not to wipe out from lack of skating muscles, and just being, well, silly. It was the perfect birthday present!


Again, a good Summer!

I'm also looking forward to Winter more than I have in the past. Winter has always been kind of a flat spot on the calendar for me but I'm going to have a lot to fill it up with this year- dance lessons, a photography class, and of course the farm. (And Sheila's coming back from Scotland for a bit!)

Oh yes, and I'm moving again! Ken's selling the house so it's time to go. I've already moved most of what I own to self-storage. The house is already listed and there's a sign on the front lawn but it'll take a while to close even if the house sells immediately. I know I'll stay in this general area. Will update.


Yours in seasonal transition,



Bob