Located on Ryerson Road in Chester, New York.
I did some research but couldn’t find any info on “King”. The FJ Muggs reference appears to be a typo.
Local History
At the Park with Allie and Maggie
Bevans Rock Shelter
We took a short hike yesterday to the Bevans Rock Shelter, a 24-foot-long rock formation near Peter’s Valley Craft School in Bevans, New Jersey.
As you can see from the photo, the rock has been worn away leaving a large natural shelf as protection from the weather. Native Americans used this site as an apparently permanent living space; there have been hundreds of artifacts excavated from here over the years.
This area is open to the public (though the shelter is unmarked, and there is no trail) and federally protected, as part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which has its own interesting back story.
Peter’s Valley itself is an important part of Maiorana-family lore: my dad Tom Maiorana was unofficially the first resident blacksmith at Peter’s Valley in the 1970s, and designed the original bracket for their sign. My older brother Marc is a metalsmith as well and has taught classes at PV, even bringing dad back to help.
Charles River from the Mass Ave Bridge
College tours have started.
Indigo Bunting
Fitzgerald Falls
Fitzgerald Falls after a rainy Memorial Day weekend.
Little Bear
Iron Mine Trails
I recently found an out-of-print book documenting local iron mines in the New York and New Jersey Highlands, and have made light plans to hike each of the trails this summer.
The nearby Green and Wawayanda iron mines in Wawayanda State Park were my first priority, even though there’s not much to see (the adits and most of the shafts have been filled in for years); I’ve hiked within 50 feet of them a dozen times and never knew they were there.
I Bought a New Camera Just to Take Pictures of Birds
Entering my old-man era.
House Finch
The birds are back.
Pochuck Boardwalk
The Pochuck Boardwalk is a short section of the Appalachian Trail that snakes through the marshes in Glenwood, NJ.
It’s a popular spot, often too crowded to even find parking, but we got lucky this weekend.
Heard Helicopters? Hudson Valley Farms Fight Frost Overnight
Heard Helicopters? Hudson Valley Farms Fight Frost Overnight:
Did you hear helicopters flying low across the Hudson Valley this week? Local farms and orchards are using helicopters to protect their crops after the drastic temperature drop.
The combination of 80° temperatures last week (which set many orchards into bloom), and then 20° temperatures this week (which killed most of those blossoms), has been a disaster for our local apple orchards. Apples are a big part of the Hudson Valley’s economy: Ulster is the second-largest apple-producing county in the US, and millions of New Yorkers visit the region’s orchards every fall, impacting tourism as well.
I was surprised to learn amongst all of this that helicopters are often used to help save crops from freezing temperatures: “Helicopters mix warmer air currents with cooler air near the ground to raise temperatures and reduce frost risk. A single helicopter can increase the temperature of a 30-acre orchard by 4°F just one minute after passing over the field.”
Coney Island
Coney Island’s mascot, the Steeplechase Face. Not to be confused with Tillie, the knock off from Asbury Park.
“A pile of shit has a thousand eyes.”
Stand By Me is back in theaters for its 40th anniversary.
Small Batch
Only a small batch of maple syrup this year. We started collecting sap in March, which is later in the season for New York. Late-season sap produces a darker maple syrup.
James Turrell’s Avaar
We took a drive to the Catskill Art Space in Livingston Manor this weekend to see James Turrell’s Avaar. The installation is essentially a pitch-black room, through which you navigate by feel, for minutes, until your eyes eventually adjust and a large canvas emerges from the darkness:
As visitors enter a seemingly pitch-black space, the eyes need several minutes to adjust before the aperture becomes apparent, looming first like a flat field, then seeming to open into a never-ending abyss of pure light. The artist has compared such works to how, shortly after you turn off a porch light, your vision can penetrate the night.
I recommend it, just perhaps warn any of your claustrophobic companions what they’re signing up for. My wife and I went in completely unprepared (blind, literally and otherwise).
Making Collections
Maple syrup hobbyist, in his natural habitat (mud).
First 60° Day of the Year
Front yard vs. back yard.
Eel Man Ray Turner: End of an Era
Eel Man Ray Turner: End of an Era:
The timeworn fish weir on the East Branch of the Delaware River may have trapped its last eel. The stone-and-wood structure in Hancock, New York, has been operated for decades by Ray Turner, whom locals refer to as “The Eel Man.”
Turner is something of a recluse, a throwback to earlier times and the analog world.
We rent a house on the East Branch for a few days most summers, walking distance to Ray’s smokehouse, and have enjoyed both his stock and his stories over the years.
On our last visit he told us he’s no longer running the eel trap, the “geezerism” got him.
Tapping Trees
We took a few years off from our maple syrup hobby, and got a late start this season, but the sap is now officially flowing!