Friday, December 19, 2014

Last minute gift ideas!




Our gift certificates now come beautifully packaged with lots of information about things to do in the local area. There's still time to send one for the holidays! You can order them here , or find the Gift Certificate logo top left on our homepage .

Happy Holidays!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Fall Festivals

Some great local festivals coming up.

Hudson Valley Harvest Festival - http://www.hudsonvalleyharvestfestival.com

Hudson Valley Garlic Festival - http://hvgf.org

NYS Sheep and Wool Festival - http://www.sheepandwool.com

Monday, August 18, 2014

In the fields around our house


Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Come and stay with us and visit Stone House Day, Saturday July 12th 2014!


Saturday, July 12th, 2014
10:00 A.M.–4:00 P.M., rain or shine
 
(Houses close promptly at 4 P.M.)

 
Each year on the second Saturday in July, some of America’s oldest stone houses —all private homes— are opened to the public. This year, several of the 200–300-year old homes in the old Dutch village, settled 350 years ago, will be open for your enjoyment. The time you spend in each house is at your discretion.
 

Other attractions include:
  a 1777 Ulster Militia Encampment, 
  guides in colonial attire, 
  crafts and demonstrations, and 
  a Town Library Fair, with collectibles and books sales.   
 
Other support services include free parking (this includes tour buses) and a cafeteria.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Groote Kamer (Great Chamber)




Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Free Bird ID App from Cornell

 
 
Last week we had the privilege of hosting Anu Rangarajan from the Cornell Small Farm Program/ College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Greg Delisle from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Anu's research on vegetables is contributing to development at the exciting Sustainable Farm Hub of The Local Economies Project that now surrounds us here at The Stone House. You can find more information on that here: http://localeconomiesproject.org/ .
 
Greg introduced us to Cornell's great free Bird ID App called Merlin ( http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ ), and mentioned that he could hear a Great Crested Flycatcher (pictured above). As we were sitting on the porch we inadvertently lured it to us as we played its song on the app! We're going to use this app a lot, it's so easy to learn names and start to be able to identify birds by their calls......we'll let you know what we find as we finally get more familiar with the wildlife on our doorstep! Thank you Greg for helping design such a useful tool.


Friday, March 21, 2014

Portrait of Annetje Kool 1740


Portrait of Annetje Kool, attributed to Peter Vanderlyn (1687 - 1778)
Ulster County N.Y. Circa 1740
Oil on Canvas 30-5/8 x 25-1/4 inches, with original painted frame
Jane Katcher Collection of Americana

We believe that this house was built by Cornelis Kool, and this painting may be his granddaughter Annetje Kool who married Mathew Newkirk in the Dutch Reformed Church of Kingston, NY, in 1740. Her wedding ring is prominent on her left hand and in her right hand she holds a silver box marked "A.K."
See more here: http://www.afanews.com/articles/item/737-inspired-traditions-selections-from-the-jane-katcher-collection-of-americana#.Uyy6SlJOVaQ

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Birding at The Stone House

       Male Wood Duck, photo Wikimedia Commons

Today one of our visitors spotted two male Wood Ducks on the Esopus Creek in our backyard. These very beautiful ducks are amongst the most colorful in North America. We were reminded what a great spot this is for birding. Three smaller streams come together into one great pool and this place on the creek has a special, rather magical quality, surrounded by woods, adjacent to the Hurley Flats and with the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in the distance. We heard our Pileated Woodpecker moving around all day, jackhammering the older trees. Sometimes guests have reported seeing or hearing up to 20 species of birds here at one time. We've even seen Bald Eagles cruising down the Esopus. Here are some great birding sites nearby listed by the John Burroughs Natural History Society http://www.jbnhs.org/birding-in-the-hudson-valley.html .

Friday, February 28, 2014

Spring is in the air!


Well the Amaryllis in The Girl With A Pearl Earring room is now in full bloom, so Spring must be coming. It inspired our March Madness special offer: weekend stays at mid-week rates, and there will be a free welcome gift in your room on arrival - a bouquet of spring flowers - as well as sparkling wine - and a large bar of special chocolate! (You can book at www.hurleystonehouse.com or by calling 845 339 4041).

Sunday, February 16, 2014

The Food of Love



Top: Hudson Valley Egg Bake with Herbs
Bottom: Chocolate Cherry Muffins

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Come and play in the snow

 


This was the house this morning, after 12" of snow yesterday! Conditions are now ideal for Snowshoeing, Cross-Country Skiing, Downhill Skiing and Snowboarding. Great for Landscape Photography too!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Winter Frittata

 
We regularly produce two kinds of Frittata for breakfast, in the summer Zucchini Frittata and at this time of year Winter Frittata. It's a variation of a recipe by Mollie Katzen from her book Sunlight Cafe. With its hearty, strong flavors and colors, it's ideal for a cold winter's morning!

You will need: a bunch of red/ruby swiss chard, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cups sliced red onion, 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced red potatoes (washed, not peeled), 1 tsp salt, 3 tsps dried rosemary, 9 large eggs, freshly ground black pepper and 4 oz soft goat cheese.

1. Remove the swiss chard stalks, and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces. Roughly chop the leaves, and store them in a bag in the fridge to keep fresh.
2. Fry the onion, potato, salt, rosemary and chard stalks in the oil for 5 minutes stirring continuously, then cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the potato is tender. You can do this in the evening, and store the cooked vegetables in the fridge.
3. In the morning, wilt the chard leaves for a few seconds in a little boiling water and drain. Then beat the eggs, add the cooked vegetables, wilted chard leaves, and some black pepper. Crumble in the goat cheese.
4. Pour into an oiled preheated ovenproof skillet (cast iron is ideal) and cook until the bottom is set and the edges are starting to firm up.
5. Finally, broil under high heat until the top is set and just beginning to brown. Enjoy!