Teatown’s 6th Annual Hudson River EagleFest 2010

It was so cold today that I can’t believe we actually braved the 25° F temps (with wind chills of about 17°F) to attend Teatown’s Hudson River 6^th Annual EagleFest at Croton Point Park (Croton On-Hudson, NY) but we did, and I must say, I am truly glad we did!

EagleFest 2010

Of course, growing up along the banks of the beautiful Hudson River, I have seen many eagles soaring overhead, perched in trees around the shore line of Lake Meahagh in Verplanck, NY and of course floating on the ice drifting down the river.  Yet, I was thrilled to attend this event where I learned a few things that I may not have otherwise known about these wonderful birds of prey and our national bird. 

First we sat in on an informative lecture (check out a few sound bites from the lecture below) where we learned that the female eagles are usually the largest of the pair.  And, did you know the word “Bald” is from the Middle English word balled, meaning shining white. Some of the previous names are American Eagle, White-headed Eagle, and American Fish Eagle.   Did you also know that eagles generally take a mate for life; eagles will only separate if after a few years they are not able to have their own eaglets.   So how many of you know that eagles do not like to get their wings wet?  I knew that, but I can honestly say, I didn’t know the real danger it could pose – if an eagle’s wings get too wet as they dive into water for food it could actually prohibit them from flying.  If an eagle’s wings get too wet, they would actually have to swim/paddle to shore (which could be quite a distance) and then hope they can keep warm long enough for their wings to dry out – amazing!

Other interesting activities during the day included an Eagle Exploration Bus Tour, Hudson River Eagles talk by Christopher Letts, and Jonathan Kruk Storyteller (who we seen recently saw at the Knickerbocker Ice Festival) and more! 

We took the Eagle Exploration Bus tour which was a two hour tour of the “hot spots” best known for eagle spotting.  Funny thing is, my mom called me about 8:30am this morning to tell me to look out my window as there were two eagles sitting on the ice of Lake Meahagh (my backyard) LOL! Maybe next year’s EagleFest should include a trip to Lake Meahagh in Verplanck, NY.  Our tour stopped at three well known eagle spotting sites. 

1.  First we stopped at Croton Boat Ramp at Croton-Harmon Train Station.  Here we spotted a young eagle perched in a tree (too far away to get any good pictures unfortunately).  Here we also learned that the eagles not only dine on fish, but they will also scavenge for food and are often seen picking at a deer unfortunately killed by the passing trains.  The sad fact here is that eagles don’t react fast enough to sounds and/or light and it is estimated that approximately 2-10 eagles are killed each year by fast moving trains.

2.  Second stop was George’s Island Park Dutch Street, Montrose, NY.  Here we spotted a young eagle perched in a tree.  It was so bitterly cold along the river’s edge we were grateful for the warming tent serving hot cocoa!

Looking for Eagles-George's Island-Montrose

Young Eagle Perched In Tree-George's Island Park

As with the lecture, we learned more interesting facts about the eagles while on our bus tour.  For instance, did you know that Benjamin Franklin didn’t want the Bald Eagle to be our nation bird but instead fought for the Wild Turkey!  Who knew!  All in all we enjoyed the bus tour and the additional knowledge we learned from Lisa and Aaron our tour guides—thank you Lisa & Aaron! 

Informative Bus Tour

 I have always had a strong appreciation for the beauty of the area in which we live.  Attending today’s event only increased my awareness of the beauty that surrounds us each day and the fact that we need to do our part in preserving nature.  As it was stated today, the land or natural surroundings here along the Hudson River are the bald eagles home.  You wouldn’t go into your neighbors’ home and be disrespectful by littering or worse, so please, don’t be disrespectful of the homes of our national bird, the bald eagle!

For more information please consider contacting and/or visiting the

Teatown Lake Reservation 1600 Spring Valley Road, Ossining, NY? – (914) 762-2912?

DIAL - LISTEN & LEARN

As always, I wish you days filled with happiness and “wonder” – take the time to “wonder” what it is that made you smile today!

Knickerbocker Ice Festival 2010 @ Rockland Lake

We attended the lecture The Rise & Demise of the Hudson River Ice Industry: Urban Needs & Rural Responses presented by Speaker: Wendy Harris, Principal Archeologist, Craigsmoor Consulting.  There where two points that stood out to me; the very same factors that were responsible for the rise of the ice industry were the very same factors that were responsible for its demise.  Two of these factors were the demand and technical advances.  The demand for ice became more and more important; first enabling the growth of the industry, later, unable to keep up with the advances with electricity (ice boxes, then refrigerators), lead to the demise.  It is also amazing to me that the life cycle of such an important era of time only lasted approximately 30 years from start to finish (approximately 1835- 1865).  Read more about the Story of Knickerbocker Ice Company and Rockland Lake and visit The Friends of Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain, Inc. or one of the many local historical groups.      

 Additional resources:

Palisades Parks Conservancy
Parks and Trails New York
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
New York – New Jersey Trail Conference
Hudson River Valley Greenway
Hudson River Valley Heritage. Type “Rockland Lake” in the search box for great photo archives of Rockland Lake 

 Then it was on to see the ice sculptures.  This year, four competing Ice Sculptors (Dan Bergin, Earl Covington, John Hedbavny, and Rob Patalano) were scheduled to participate.  Unfortunately when we were there only three sculptors were sculpting and we were only able to see two of them.  By the time we walked to the third sculptor, the sun (while making for a nice day) was too warm, making it dangerous for the ice sculptor to work unless wrapped in a covered tented area….darn.  But, we did enjoy seeing two sculptors and their works of ice.

Drawing of Woolly Mammoth Ice Sculpture

Woolly Mammoth In the Making

Woolly Mammoth being attacked by Saber Tooth Tiger in the Making

Woolly Mammoth being Attacked by Saber Tooth Tiger in the Making-

As an added pleasure, we were delighted to see and meet so many local artists as they set up their easels and painted the beautiful landscapes surrounding the lake!  We enjoyed meeting Phyllis Tarlow of Phyllis Tarlow Fine Art / Portraits from Hartsdale.  We watched and listened as Phyllis shared with us her love of painting landscapes and discovering new areas around the Hudson Valley to inspire her next painting!  Thank you Phyllis for sharing your love of the Hudson Valley with so many of us through your paintings!

Phyllis Tarlow at Knickerbocker Ice Festival 2010

We also enjoyed meeting Marylyn Vanderpool local artist from Harriman, NY.  Marylyn’s love of the Hudson Valley, her energetic spirit comes alive through her watercolors as she captures the beauty that surrounds us so eloquently.

Marylyn Vanderpool at Knickerbocker Ice Festival 2010

We briefly stopped to listen to award-winning storyteller Jonathan Kruk  Dressed in costume Jonathan tells colorful tales spun from the lore of historic Hudson Valley! Jonathan’s ability to truly capture his audience is amazing—you get drawn into his story and eagerly await the ending! Together with folk balladeer Rich Bala, they travel around the many villages & communities of the Hudson River and beyond since 1990, performing the region’s tunes, tales, and traditions at schools, museums, libraries, camps and historic sites. Thank you for sharing your storytelling talent with so many of us.  You can also purchase Jonathan’s tales on CD.

Storyteller Jonathan Kruk

Whew, as if the day hadn’t been exciting and different enough, we held true to our love of dining in the Hudson Valley and decided on Henry’s on the Hudson located at 634 Main Street, Peekskill, NY.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner overlooking the Peekskill Bay on the Hudson River all the while listening Mike play his guitar.  Mike’s selection of songs was fabulous!  Mike’s relaxing music combined with the spectacular view made for great evening. 

 I enjoyed shrimp over angel hair pasta and my honey satisfied his taste buds (and stomach LOL) with chicken breasts stuffed with spinach, garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables.  But wait, oh yes, those of you that follow my dinning in the Hudson Valley excursions know that we love dessert!  My honey’s famous line is “there is always room for dessert”!  Tonight being no exception we shared the   Chocolate Explosion which was a dark, dense chocolate decadence in an individual dessert with a rich creamy ganache oozing from the center and served with creamy vanilla ice cream…. oooohhh the most “wonderful” ending to a “wonderful” day!

As always, I wish you days filled with happiness and “wonder” – take the time to “wonder” what it is that made you smile today!

According to a NYTimes.com article “…last year, Bald Eagles were once plentiful in New York. But by 1976, only one pair of eaglets remained. Environmentalists blamed pesticides, particularly DDT (which was banned in 1972), for interfering with the raptors’ ability to reproduce.

Today, roughly 500 bald eagles winter in New York (they migrate here when the waters begin to freeze in Canada and Nova Scotia), and 143 pairs remain in the state during the summer. Dr. Koontz said that eight pairs had stayed year-round in the lower Hudson Valley.”

With so many places to choose from, we decided to check out the places best known for spotting eagles.  On our list, Croton Point Park in Croton-On-Hudson, NY. While we did not see to many eagles, we did enjoy a great walk (of course we lucked out with Saturday being Spring like with temps nearing 50° F) along the Westchester RiverWalk which is a 51.5 mile pathway paralleling the Hudson River connecting some 14 towns/ villages/municipalities in Westchester.  More details about the Westchester RiverWalk.

On our way out of Croton Point Park we (and many many others) were shocked to see this hawk (we believe a Red Tail Hawk) just sitting in the field.  So many people were walking around him (at a safe distance but none-the-less) and he didn’t move.  I don’t think that was a good sign that he didn’t move or seem to be bothered by everyone lurking around and taking his picture.  Beautiful as he is, I’m fearful he was sick.

Then Sunday morning we went out early (leaving the house by 8:00am is early for us on a Sunday LOL!).  We headed to Fleischmann Pier in Peekskill, NY.

Here we were successful in our eagle scouting adventure! 

Eagle on the Hudson @ Fleischmann's Pier

Eagles @ Fleischmann's Pier

Then it was off to Charles Point Marina just a short distance down the road from Fleischmann Pier.  There we saw a beautiful eagle perched in the tree! I was so excited! I only wish it wasn’t such an overcast / gray day and the picture was a bit clearer, oh well, it was still a great day!

Then on to my hometown of Verplanck, NY to steamboat dock.  There we were thrilled to see the most eagles we’d seen so far.  We watched as the eagles (about 4 or 5) enjoyed a ride down the river on the ice! 

It was a wonderful weekend!

As always, I wish you days filled with happiness and “wonder” – take the time to “wonder” what it is that made you smile today!

Winter's sunshine

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2010

Okay so many of your already know that my fiancé (a.k.a. “my honey”) and I enjoy traveling around the Hudson Valley and we enjoy eating at the many delectable restaurants (especially those along the Hudson River providing waterfront dining) we are surrounded by.

Lucky for us the 4^th Annual Hudson Valley Restaurant Week begins March 15^th and goes through March 28^th! During these 14 days, your can enjoy three-course prix-fixe lunches for $20 and/or three-course dinners for $28 (excluding beverages, tax and gratuity).  With so many “wonderful” farms across the Hudson Valley, many of the chefs include locally grown products to compliment your meal and provide an even greater sense of all the pride and beauty the Hudson Valley has to offer.

Hudson Valley

So whether you are in Ulster or Westchester, Columbia or Dutchess or any of the 7 surrounding counties, why not try a few of the nearly 90 restaurants participating in this “wonderful” event.

We have had the pleasure of dinning at four of these restaurants and are looking forward to adding as many more as we can to our list of dinning experiences during Hudson Valley Restaurant Week.  As always, we look forward to sharing our dinning experiences with you and encourage you to share your dinning experiences with us by leaving a comment below.

2010-hudson-valley-restaurant-week-participating-restaurants3

As always, I wish you days filled with happiness and “wonder” – take the time to “wonder” what it is that made you smile today!:)

Striped Bass Restaurant

I enjoyed tasty seafood ravioli – fresh ravioli stuffed with shrimp, crab and lobster – my honey enjoyed seafood linguini – shrimp, crab and lobster over linguini. Both were delicious! But of course we didn’t (or is it couldn’t) stop there, we thoroughly enjoyed / shared the most delectable molten lava chocolate desert! You know what they say; there is always room for desert!.

The sun was beginning to set as we sat and relaxed enjoying the view and a wonderful evening. As always, I wish you days filled with happiness and “wonder” – take the time to “wonder” what it is that made you smile today)!

We enjoyed an afternoon of fun, sun, shopping (of course), great food and entertainment! Today we watched the Championship Bull Riding event. This action packed show features top riders pitted with top bulls. Bull riding is a popular rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted for at least 8 seconds while the animal attempts to buck off the rider. The rider tightly fastens one hand to the bull with a long braided rope. It is a risky sport and has been called “the most dangerous eight seconds in sports. (http://www.dutchessfair.com/grandstand-performances.php)

I have to tell you of the most wonderful all natural bath and body products from Scentastics! I purchase the soap practically every time I see Pam and Ken at one of the Hudson Valley fairs! Today I couldn’t resist the Cool Breeze Shea Butter & Goat’s Milk soap – completely transforms me to a 5 star resort & spa – I would encourage you to give their products a try today!

Now I admit I am not an huge fan of cooking. But even I couldn’t resist the delicious flavored creamed honey from Remsburger Maple Farm and Apiary! I purchased the Blueberry Honey and the Cranberry Honey; heck even I can spread on toast! No, honestly these wonderful honeys can be used as glazes also so believe it or not, I’m planning on use the Blueberry Honey tomorrow night on a pork tenderloin (I’ll let you know the results next blog!).

I am also a huge dog lover I have a Pekingese and while I love her with all my heart, I know she is not as talented as these amazing dogs from Dock Dogs. This is very real sport with competitions and all!

All in all it was a “wonderful” day!

I will leave you with one of the most spectacular sunsets – this is sunset over the majestic Hudson River (that I love so much!) in Hyde Park, NY. As always, I wish you days filled with happiness and “wonder” – take the time to “wonder” what it is that made you smile today:)!

Cold Spring-Garrison NY-street pole flaf

The Hudson House River Inn located at 2 Main Street on the serene waterfront approximately 100 feet from the beautiful Hudson River in the quaint village of Cold Spring, NY in Putnam County.  Cold Spring is well know for being a quaint antique shopping village.

Hudson House River Inn

Entrance to Hudson House River Inn Restaurant

Dinner was  absolutely amazing and delicious.  I enjoyed fillet of sole stuffed with crab-meat and summer vegitables!  Of course we started with a spectacular appetizer for two which included homemade Maryland crabcakes, shrimp cocktail, fresh mozzarella and beefsteak tomato w/basil, baby arugula drizzeled w/extra virgin olive oil – what can I say but Oh My Gosh! Between the garlic bread and brushuta, then the appetizeer I was already impressed!

Filet of sole with crabmeat stuffing and seasonal veggies!

Then off to a unique concert in Mesier Park in Wappingers Falls, NY featuring the Riverbank Banjo Band.  Totally an unexpected pleasure to learn from our new friend “Mary” down in Cold Spring-thanks Mary for letting us know about this concert and it was great sitting next to you and enjoy the sounds of this very unique band.

Mesier Park-Wappingers Falls NY

Here is a tiny sampling of this amazing band – I would encourage eveyone to check out the Riverbank Banjo Band’s calendar of events.

I’m looking forward to exploring more summer concert series in the Hudson Valley this summer – what about you?  Share with us the events you’ve attend or those that may be upcoming!  Until next time, happy concerting!

I love sitting on my deck listening to the many sounds of nature on a beautiful summer evening or enjoying my first cup of coffee early in the morning.  The sounds of the winds blowing the trees, the many birds (nuthatches, gold finches, woodpeckers, cardinals and more) singing and the geese, swans ands ducks swimming happily in the lake–who could ask for more!

 Flowers, flowers, flowers, who would not enjoy a beautiful summer evening sitting on a deck overlooking a lake enjoying the sounds and beauty of flowers blooming/shinning in the evening sunset.  For the first time ever I mixed lobelia and impatients in strawberry pots and the results–well spectacular to me! 

We should take the time to enjoy our surrounds–not worry about if we can or should go away on vacation.  Times are difficult and we need to learn to appreciate what it most likely right in front of our eyes — so to all of you I wish you a happy summer filled with breath taking views, enjoyable sounds and most importantly laughter and love from those closest and dearest to you everyday!

The flotilla started this morning with the boat and yacht clubs of Manhattan and New York City being the first to send out their memberships around the tip of Manhattan and coming round the statue of liberty led up the river by our New York State heritage flagships tracing Henry Hudson’s path to Albany. 

Along the shores at Verplanck’s Steamboat dock, we sat waiting to see the flagships; the famous Onrust, Clearwater, the Woody Guthrie, the Half Moon and the Mystic Whaler were scheduled to participate in this historic event.

Having grown up in Verplanck, it was a pleasure to see so many friends gathered around the dock on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.  As we all sat with out folding chairs, coolers, picnic lunches eagerly awaiting the ships!  The boat traffic was much more than we’ve seen recently.  Today was all about celebrating our great Hudson Valley and Hudson River.   We cheered and waved as these beautiful ships passed by us.  Flags waving, cannons fired and salutes from the Coast Guard–simply wonderful! 

So I “wonder” what did those like Henry Hudson think when they first passed our shores? 

Thanks to great activities such as this (and my age I would suspect LOL) my love for the river and the beautiful Hudson Valley grows deeper each year.

Hopefully you will get to enjoy some of the many exciting activities scheduled throughout the month of June!

Onrust-replica-June-7-2009

Mystic Whaler River Day June 7 2009

Clearwate Sloop River Day June 7 2009

Halfmoon River Day June 7 2009

Saturday started out as an ordinary day. My honey had his annual meeting of his model airplane/gliders club in Orange County.   He has been building and flying for nearly 45 years.

A sampling of my honey's gliders

Sunday was off to church then spent a great afternoon at my parents working in and around the yard!  Sitting on my parents lower patio  which on located on a lake with the majestic the Hudson River serving as it’s background.  It’s funny because my Mom and I were saying (which we have said many times in the past), people pay a lot of money to go on vacation and have views like this for a week or two, how luck we are to have this beauty in our backyard!

After leaving my parnets late Sunday afternoon, we decided yes you gueesed it, taking one of our very special “day-trips” but leaving Sunday night.  So we headed out toward Hunter Mountain in the Catskill Mountains.

Thanks to a quick Google search before we left, we found the Forester Lodge in Hunter.

Forester Lodge Hunter, NY

For a simple overnight the lodge met our needs.  The only thing I would like to see more of in the Catskills is pet friendly hotel/motels.

Then Monday morning and we were off for a day in the mountains.  First on our list was of course breakfast!  What is it about breakfast out of town that makes you more hungry for breakfast when you are out of town than when at home LOL!.. So, we headed to Windam to the Catskill Mountain Country Store & Restaurant - what can I say except WOW!   The food was GREAT! So many wonderful items to choose from we’re just going to have to go back! The service was outstanding and the country store was adorable!

Catskill Mountain Country Store & Restaurant

Next on our fabulous “day-trip” was fishing the Schoharie Reservoir.  We found a wonderful little spot just off In-Take Road where we could spend a few hours fishing and enjoying the splendar of the mountains.  RoadSo while we used our special new “trout worms” we still didn’t catch anything but some sunburn!  After a while we decided to head start towards home as we were approximately 2 1/2 hours aways from home.  Driving down 145 headed toward Route 23 — passing and or going through Prattsville, Middleburgh, Leeds, Durham and East Durham to mention a few.   Totally forgeting that this weekend was the Irish Festival in East Durham.  Being dissappointed that we missed the weekend’s Irish Festival I made myself feel better by purchasing a great new Irish/county Cd at the great Ireland Gift Shop on 23 in E. Durham NY.

Schoharie Reservoir off In Take Road

I so love the Catskills!  So many wonderful things to see/do, places to visit and wonderful people met along the way!  So I will leave you all for tonight wishing you all blessed and peaceful week ahead!