Thursday Thirteen #2:Thirteen Things I Love about Columbia County

Thirteen Things I Love About Columbia County 1. The Purple Mountain Majesty. Nestled between the Catskills and the Berkshires there are many view of mountains almost everywhere you go in this beautiful valley. But there might be no better view than the westerly one right off our back deck. In the morning and the evening purple mountain majesty exists in all it's breathtaking glory!! 2. The Country Sounds. It's so quiet and rural here that you rarely hear anything but nature....birds singing, crickets chirping, chipmunks scampering, frogs peeping, woodpeckers pecking, hummingbirds and dragonflies whirring. It is amazing lying in bed just listening to God's glorious symphony. 3. The People. Everyone is SO nice. The people here are so unassuming, trusting, non-judgemental and would do anything for you. The first weekend we were up here David went off to buy us a broom. Agway was having a sale on pretty blue grills so he impulsively bought one not quite realizing that it wouldn't fit in his car. Another customer in line saw his plight and said "where are you taking it?" When David told him, he offered to load it in his pickup and follow David home with it. This is just one of the many examples. 4. The Neighbors. I lived 12 years in the same town house in Westchester County. I knew only my immediate neighbors by name, never was invited over, never had anyone at my place. Here in the country, neighbors come to greet you as soon as you move in and we became friendly with three sets of neighbors almost immediately. We have each other over for dinners, share stories, laugh a lot, and of course help each other out on just about everything. It's a great feeling to know we're all in it together. 5. The Food. Farm fresh food is growing all around. As we've mentioned in our blog previously, we live in the middle of organic, biodynamic farming country. Not far from the Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park we often get graduates coming to this area to set up new restaurants. Many take advantage of being here to use the freshest local farm ingredients and the results are delectable! It's hard to stay in and cook for yourselves when the local chefs use the same farm fresh ingredients, combine them in their amazing way, with prices so reasonable! Some of our most favorites include Swoon KitchenBar, The Red Barn, Local 111, The Blue Plate, Baba Louie's and Lipperas at the Chatham House. 6. The Art. In the middle of this paradise are some of the most amazing artists. There are showcases of local work up and down the streets of the main streets of most of our country towns (Hudson, Chatham, Claverack, Kinderhook....) and in almost every restaurant there is local art hanging on the walls that you can purchase. One of the highlights just down the street from us is the spectacular ArtOMI - with a modern outdoor art sculpture park viewable from the road enticing you to stop and explore. 7. The Architecture. In addition to many fabulous old farm houses and barns dotting the area sitting on land with to-die-for pastoral views, there are some real architectural gems here too such as Olana, the perian style home of Hudson River painter Frederick Church, the Lukyas Van Alen and several other historic homes that you can tour. 8. The Music. Some call this the NY side of Tanglewood. One of the reasons we moved here was to be close to that amazing summer classical music venue. But since moving here we've found so many other things right here in Columbia County to assauge our musical cravings like the Mac-Haydn Theater, the Ghent Playhouse, the Taconic Hills Performing Arts Center the Spencertown Academy, and PS21 - Performing Spaces for the 21st Century. 9. The History. As well as the historic homes I mentioned in #7, there are museums everywhere. We have yet to explore them all but they include the Shaker Museum, the Columbia Country Historical Society Museum , the Fire Museum of Hudson and much much more. 10. The Traffic. There is none! Even when we were just weekending here, the Taconic Parkway was almost always an easy ride. The occasional accident or construction slowed you down every now and then but even on major travel days like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving you rarely hit any traffic. 11. The Train. Ok, so the trains are often late, especially those coming from Canada, but hop on that Amtrak and you're in NY City in 2 hours. There are only 5 stops max, and some are express trains with even fewer. You get a glorious view of the Hudson River out the window, there are electrical plugs in every seat for charging those attention splattering appliances, and the parking is still free at the Hudson station!! I have found it a great way to gear up or wind down from my day. 12. The lack of Starbucks. Believe it or not, there is no Starbucks that I have come across yet anywhere in Columbia County. Thank Heaven! We are particular about our coffee - grind our own beans fresh every morning - but we much prefer the local organic at the Muddy Cup or free trade beans we get at Hawthorne Valley Farm to the overroasted acidic taste of the popular coffee chain's. Heresy, I know. 13. The Peaceful Feeling. There's a feeling of peace here that you can feel just driving up. You step onto our deck, catch a glimpse of the unobstructed mountain view and the stresses all melt away. Sitting on the deck with a cup of joe in a zero gravity lawn chair, all seems right with the world. Guests have told us this is why they keep coming back. And that, my friends, are just thirteen of the things we love about Columbia County! There are so many many more. The four seasons, the beautiful hiking trails, the quaint little towns,.... I could go on and on. But enjoy these thirteen. And Happy Thursday!!!

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Spring in the Valley

Winter came late to the Hudson Valley, waiting until January to really get started, and then striking really hard with some really big snow storms. It snowed and rained all the way into April, and then the sky seemed to clear. Spring came to the valley in the course of what seemed like a few days. The tulips survived the deer with a little help.


Most of the land in the valley was part of the Livingston land grant, and it has been preserved in orchards bearing Apples, Cherries, and other fruits. Many of the farmers grow their produce, fruit, and livestock with organic methods. We thought for a while that the Organic label was just a way to paste a higher price on the food, but once you taste an organic tomato you can't go back. Well, at least you can tell the difference in the middle of the winter when someone brings you a tomato that's been shipped in a rail car from Mexico.

Kathy and I have met Jeff Gimmel, the chef at Swoon Kitchenbar in Hudson, NY. Jeff is determined to use the local supplies from the organic farms in the area, and when matched with his culinary skill, the result is outstanding. I had the opportunity to make the rounds with Jeff as he went to his suppliers on a Thursday morning. As we drove south from Hudson, the cherry trees were in bloom and the trees had been recently trimmed. The branches on the ground were loaded with flowers. The whole field glowed.

With the bloom of spring come more changes for us. We are about to hire a contractor to renovate the house, and we have rented a house within a couple of miles for the duration so a move is afoot. I retired from IBM at the end of April, so I am onto the next thing in my career. With spring comes the promise of all things new.

Cibus the Rooster - Part Deux

Poor Cibus. If you remember from our last episode of the news from The Independent, Cibus the rooster was evicted from his home, lost his wives, and was almost done in. There was an update in last Friday's paper, you can read the Full Story here.

News from The Independent

The Independent is one of the very local newspapers serving our area. We thought we would share some of the really good stories. The best story to share was about the miscreant boys putting frogs in cars in the town of Ancram. It was a terrible crime wave. We saved the story, and when we find it again, we'll post it. This week's news: Cibus the rooster.

The story, on the front page, begins by describing life in rural Columbia County as idilic with, "...more encounters with cows than people..." It continues, "Somewhere along the way, things changed in the Land of Rural Charm..." and then begins to tell the story of Cibus the rooster who, "... Just over a year old, his young chicken life has been stuffed with trauma and crime... "

Please, please, please read the Full Story

be well