Tag Archives: Hudson Valley

C’mon a my house —

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My “constant companion and best friend in old age” and I love where we live, and I have written about the little hamlet, the views, the river, the birds, the train, and how wonderful it is to come home to when away.  With that in mind, we have renovated the cottage next door into a Guest House, and are happy to announce our opening of “The Make Your Own Damn Bed & Breakfast”.  We will provide you with the all fixings for your breakfast, and thus offer you privacy and flexibility.

We consider it the perfect Sanctuary for One or a Love Nest for Two, but the cottage can easily accommodate four with the futon in the common space.

It is two floors & open concept. Take a look at the pictures — they speak for themselves.  It has lots of closet space and is ideal for a two person long term stay.

You will have a view of the Hudson River and the Catskills .  You will be a mere football field away from riverside Cheviot Park where you can launch your kayak, canoe or fishing rig, or fish from the pier.  From the small porch you can have coffee and watch the sun come up and the water birds and eagles hunt for fish.  In the sunroom you can enjoy an evening      cocktail and the pinks and greys of the sunset through the clouds. You can see the ice float up and down river depending upon the tides.  You can wave to the New York politicians taking Amtrak from the city to Albany. You can paint, take photos, walk, sleep, read.

Or you can leave the your nest to dine on fun or fine food, drink locally brewed beer and whisky, cook your own meal in a spotless new kitchen using local products purchased at nearby farmers’ markets in season. You can walk Warren Street in Hudson and marvel at how the prices of antiques rival if not top the prices of similar wares in the city.  You can visit your son at Bard, just 8+ miles away.  You can stroll in Rhinebeck, take in a movie, shop the many boutiques.  You can soak yourself in history, music, architecture, dance, art, and take scenic walks and challenging hikes.  All this and more — Gaskins, Tousey Winery, Upstate Films, Olana, Jazz in GTown —

And like us, you will find out how wonderful it is come home to our little neighborhood with its view, tranquility and charm.

We hope you will come and stay a night or two.

Details and Bookings

 

 

 

Deer on the Road

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IMG_0147There are a lot of deer in the Hudson Valley.  They are beautiful to see in the fields and troublesome to see five feet in front of your windshield.   I have been in four collisions with deer, the worst of which was an $8000 front-on with one that dropped out of the sky. The policeman who came to my aid asked if I wanted him — the deer that is.    

Watch the deer.  They appear to be gaining street smarts.  Some deer stop at the side of the road.  I like to think that they are looking both ways, or maybe they are listening, and if they see or hear, or maybe they feel it in their bodies, that nothing big and fast is coming, they will cross.  My theory is that in six generations the deer will evolve to the point that they can live in harmony with automobiles.  This may sound ridiculous, but the findings of University of Minnesota biologist, Emilie C. Snell-Rood, reported on in today’s NY Times by Carl Zimmer, back me up.

Dr. Snell-Rood’s research shows that mice, moles, shrews and bats living in areas where humans have changed their environments, cities for example, have larger brains than those in rural areas.   

My inspiration came from New Normal, a RadioLab program on evolution, which I chanced on while driving around the deer-rich back roads of Columbia and Dutchess County last year.  (I love RadioLab. Thank you Alan Chartock and WAMC.)  I’ve also spent time observing my dog Tuck, a mixed breed Border Collie/Shepherd/Akita.  Lately he seems to look down the tracks behind the house before we cross them   Not Jaxon, Lee’s rolling English lab.  He’ll stop to scratch right between the rails.   No contest on which bloodline will survive here.

Just making sure my theory gets into print before someone else beats me to it.