Mr Jim Webber, seen here with his mother Helen Webber of Hurley NY. Mr Webber lives in Texas and came to stay this weekend whilst visiting his mother who lives nearby. After he had booked Mr Webber realized that he lived in this house as a baby! His mother had rented one side of the house in 1951 just after he was born. Here we see them standing outside the "Groote Kamer" side of the house.

Sam's Paintings

 

The Stone House Bed and Breakfast is also an Art Gallery. Dedicated gallery spaces throughout the 18th Century building show the abstract paintings of Sam Scoggins, who is the owner together with his wife Nadia. Guests often comment on how well the colourful modern abstract oils contrast with the whitewashed plaster walls and wideplank floors of the 300 year old house. Many of the paintings are also for sale and sometimes guests fall in love with a particular work and leave with a larger momento of their trip than they were expecting!

New York & Hudson Valley Cider Week

Many events worth checking out up and down the Hudson Valley in Cider Week http://www.ciderweekny.com/

When Nadia met Nadia

Nadia and Arie

This is a photo of a lovely couple who stayed with us back in August for a week's vacation. Nadia and Arie were drawn to our house partly because of its Dutch architecture and origins. Coming originally from Suriname, they said some of our house's features seemed familiar to them, like the steeply pitched roof. Suriname is near the equator on the northern coast of South America, the only country on that continent with Dutch as an official language. In fact Suriname and New York are intimately linked by the Anglo-Dutch wars in the 1660s....In 1667 England offered to give the recently conquered New Netherland (now New York) back to the Dutch in return for Suriname, but the Dutch declined.... if they'd agreed, perhaps we'd still all be speaking Dutch! 

Nadia, Nadia and Arie

The colors of Fall are coming ....

So up in the Catskills this evening, just above Woodstock and about 11 miles from here, the trees are beginning to turn gold and red as Fall approaches. Looks like we're going to have beautiful colors for the next six weeks or so......There is usually more color earlier on at higher altitudes, with valley foliage taking longer to develop, so there's always something to see.

Top 10 Events for October 2013

October 2 - 6 Woodstock Film Festival
October 4 - 6 Burning of Kingston
October 4 - 31 Headless Horseman Hayrides
October 11 Hudson Valley Rail Trail Harvest Moon Walk
October 11 - 13 3rd Annual O+ Festival
October 13 Highland HudsonFest
October 13 6th Annual Italian Festival
October 20 Night Shift Tombstone Tours
October 25 Hurley Ghost Walk
October 25 - 27 The Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase

Apple time ...

The orchards are bursting with a huge crop of Apples this year in the Hudson Valley. There are many great pick-your-own orchards and farmstands by the sides of the roads on both sides of the Hudson.

We are looking forward to Cider Week NY coming up on October 18 - 27 at locations in New York City and here in the Hudson Valley, more information here http://www.ciderweekny.com/ .

It's the wedding season......

Congratulations to Adam and Richard, who had the best luck with the weather for their wedding last weekend. After torrential lengthy downpours, the informal rehearsal dinner/barbecue here was rescheduled indoors, but the clouds parted at exactly the right time for the big event. We loved these green dresses! It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying their time here, come back soon :)

Poets Walk

Yesterday evening we went for a sunset picnic and stroll at Poets Walk, just over the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge about 10 minutes by car from The Stone House. This is a great place for a gentle walk in almost any weather. Here are a few pictures from our outing:

 

Wildflowers and grasses.

 

Sunlight streaming through the woods onto the path.

 

A Cicada that has emerged from 17 years underground.

Flowers in our garden

Making scrumptious sausages....

This week we had a go at making homemade sausages, and, as we love the results, we thought we'd share! As you can see, you don't have to use casings if you don't want to, and it's especially easy if you have a meat grinder, but with perseverance, a food processor will do.

All you need is a couple of pounds of pork butt, with a ratio of about a third fat to two-thirds lean meat. Remove the skin, and cut into chunks. Grind coarsely - this is easier if the meat is really cold. Add seasonings and spices to taste (we used homegrown sage and rosemary, salt and pepper). Then, get four pieces of baking parchment, about 12 inches by 4 inches. Take a quarter of the mixture and start rolling.

Now, roll in up in the baking parchment...and place on a baking tray, open side face down. Repeat until you have done all four, then bake at 400F for 10 minutes:

Unwrap, cut them up, and they're ready for freezing, or browning in a pan to eat straightaway!

We got our our organic meat from the famous Fleischer's in Uptown Kingston for this batch, and the result was DELICIOUS! Just quite different from anything you'd find in a supermarket, and good value too. Yum, yum, yum..........enjoy.....

A Buddhist Wedding

 

Congratulations to Bob Thompson and Michael Kunz who were married this afternoon in beautiful Spring weather. The ceremony took place in our backyard overlooking the Esopus Creek. It was wonderful to meet everyone from Ohio, and we wish them all the very best for the future!

Wild happenings at the Stone House

 

Spring is well and truly here, and humans and animals alike are exploring the Esopus valley, enjoying the warm, sunny weather. Lynn Schense, an avid birder, is currently staying with us and reported seeing the following birds early yesterday morning down by the creek:

An Eastern Phoebe, a Chickadee - Black Capped, a Dark-Eyed Junco, a Black and White Warbler, a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, a Song Sparrow, a Chipping Sparrow, a White-Throated Sparrow, a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a Northern Flicker, a pair of Wood Ducks, Blue Jays, a Northern Cardinal, a Robin, a European Starling, a House Sparrow, a Red-winged Blackbird, and a Tufted Titmouse. She also heard a Carolina Wren and a Hairy Woodpecker. That makes 20 species!

We've also been seeing Bald Eagles regularly this year, and the other day Sam saw a Fisher Weasel at dawn as he was out taking photos by the river. Fisher Weasels prefer woodland, are mainly found along the Canadian-US border, and are still listed as a threatened species. Since this is more open valley than woodland, it might just have been passing through. Last year we also saw a Black Bear - a rare sight here, and doubtless on its way between the Catskills and the Shawangunk Ridge. It's a privilege to share our land with such a multitude of wildlife.....

The longest elevated pedestrian park in the world!

Walkway Over The Hudson from Sam Scoggins on Vimeo.


Here's a little video we made of The Walkway over the Hudson last weekend. The Walkway is one and a quarter miles long and it takes about 20 minutes to reach the other side. As you can see, it's popular with cyclists, joggers, hikers and dog walkers. Don't miss the unicyclist!

The Bridge is already in the Guinness Book of Records for last year's longest line dance ever recorded - this year will see another attempt on May 4th, this time for the world's longest chorus line! There's still time to be part of the event, you can find out more on the Walkway's official website.

When we walked there last weekend, we could see that work for the new riverfront park on the Poughkeepsie side was well underway. A 20-storey glass elevator will be built to take people down to the waterfront from the bridge, and is scheduled to be finished by the Fall.

Ebelskiver for Valentine's Day

 

So we made some ebelskiver pancakes for our guests this morning.... These are traditional Danish pancakes, usually in the shape of a sphere, thanks to cast iron pans with a series of half spherical hollows..... except that our pan has hearts! We found it locally at a tag sale in Red Hook, and it looks like this:

 

They tasted delicious and we can recommend a Williams Sonoma recipe for blueberry ebelskiver. If you don't mind flatter pancakes, any cast iron pan will work. Next, we're going to try the lemon-mascarpone filled ones..........yum!

We are starting to plan our gardening activities for the year now. Hoping to increase our herb garden, where we pick fresh herbs every morning in season for the breakfasts. So it was great to have Michelle Sutton staying with us this week. Michelle is a Horticulturist who writes about horticulture for our great local magazine Chronogram and the online magazine Farm House . One of her articles that I liked the best was about the place we buy our seeds, Hudson Valley Seed Library who do great work and only offer heirloom and open-pollinated seeds - no hybrids and nothing genetically engineered. You can get seeds from them here: http://www.seedlibrary.org/ . Happy gardening in 2013!

Another moody snow scene from our backyard

Winter Playground

So we had about 8" of snow yesterday and here you can see the view from the window of the Lacemaker room of some of the trees in our garden, the Lower Esopus Creek, the Winter Wheat in the fields beyond and then the foothills of the Catskill State Park. So moodily beautiful at this time of year, ideal for landscape photography. It's also an ideal time now for Snowshoeing, Cross Country Skiing, Ice Skating, Snowboarding, Downhill Skiing and all those other fun winter activities!

Downhill Skiing/Snowboarding/ Snow Tubing

Belleayre Mountain, (45 minutes away)
Off Rt. 28, Highmount, NY 12441, tel 1-800-942-6904 www.belleayre.com
171 skiable acres with 96% of terrain covered by snowmaking; 8 lifts, 47 trails & glades, Rail Park, Terrain Park & Half Pipe; 4 lodges; equipment rentals & lessons; open daily, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Lodges; 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM. 

Sawkill Family Ski Center (10 minutes away)
167 Hill Rd, Kingston NY 12401, tel 845-336-6977 www.sawkillski.com
Small family ski center very close to us. Open weekends and holidays for skiing, snow tubing and snow boarding.

Cross-Country Skiing/Snowshoeing

Belleayre Mountain (see above) also has 9.2 kilometers of groomed cross-country trails

Minnewaska State Park Preserve (25 minutes away)
Rt 44/55, New Paltz, NY 12561, tel 845-255-0752 www.nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/127/details.aspx
Located in the Shawangunk Mountains just outside of New Paltz. Minnewask hosts winter nature programs, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowshoe rentals. Open 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM daily. Fees:$7/car; snowshoe rentals; $15/person.

Mohonk Mountain House (20 minutes away)
1000 Mountain Rest Rd., New Paltz, NY 12561, tel 845-256-2197 http://www.mohonk.com/Activities/Day-Guests/Winter-Activities
30 miles of trails; Ski Shop with ski and snow shoe rentals on premises. Day fees: Midweek– $18/adults; $13/children under 12; Weekends & Holidays– $23/adults; $18/children under 12. Ski rentals: $20/adults; $14/children. Snowshoe rentals: $16/adults; $12/children

Mountain Trails Cross Country Ski Center (40 minutes away)
6198 Main Street Tannersville, NY 12485, tel 18-589-5361 www.mtntrails.com

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Nestled on the northern border of Tannersville, located in the beautiful Northern Catskills.
National ski patrol, lessons, equipment hire, 35 kilometers of quiet nature trails on 300 acres that are groomed, track-set, and marked to degree of difficulty. Highly recommended

For other cross-country skiing options which may or may not be groomed, you can also check out:
The Hudson Valley Rail Trail (30 minutes away) www.HudsonValleyrailtrail.net , The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail (30 minutes away) www.gorailtrail.org , The O&W Rail Trail (right next to our house) http://www.traillink.com/trail/d--h-canal-heritage-corridor-(ow-rail-trail).aspx , and the Mohonk Preserve (20 minutes away) www.mohonkpreserve.org

Ice Skating

Kiwanis Ice Arena (20 minutes away) tel 845-247-2590 http://kiwanisicearena.com/skatingdrop_in_hockey_schedule
Fully enclosed refrigerated Olympic-size ice rink facility. Daily. Sept-April.

Mohonk Mountain House Ice Skating Pavilion (20 minutes away)
1000 Mountain Rest Rd., New Paltz, NY 12561 http://www.mohonk.com/Activities/Day-Guests/Winter-Activities
18,000-square-foot ice rink. Outside pavilion with open sides, wooden roof beams, stone columns, and a 39-foot-tall stone fireplace overlooking the enchanting lake. Highly recommended.

Moriello Park Ice Rink (30 minutes away)
Mulberry St, New Paltz 12561 www.townofnewpaltz.org (go to Recreation Dept – then choose: Recreation Updates)
Newly opened outdoor ice rink set at the town of New Paltz Moriello Pool/Park. Open daily for skating: 11:00 AM-2:00 PM; 4:00 PM-7:30 PM. FREE! Outdoor pond skating and sledding is also available at New Paltz Sports Park (across from the Ulster County Fairgrounds), Libertyville Rd., New Paltz. For ice and sledding conditions, you can check the town website listed above.

Last Minuite Gifts

It's never too late to purchase one of our very own Gift Certificates, you can easily order them online here: http://www.webervations.com/magic-scripts/giftcert.asp?memberid=11827 . (You can also click on the icon top left on our home page). A great gift for friends, family or business associates you can buy them in any multiple of $25. They can be redeemed against a stay at any time in the following 12 months (or longer by request).

Getting into the holiday spirit!

We're getting our seasonal decor together in the house....

Meanwhile, we found this neat interactive map of activities here in Ulster County to help you plan your stay:
http://co.ulster.ny.us/recreation/