History, Natural History & the Arts
I consider the lack of biting insects and other invertebrates, to be a wondrous gift of the winter season.
I can wander unmolested through wood and field absent the attentions of mosquitoes, deer flies, and ticks. And aside from a short list of “usual suspects,” insects are a rarity to be encountered in the winter woods. [Read more…] about How Insects Spend A New York Winter
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that New York schools and youth organizations can apply to receive 30-50 free tree or shrub seedlings through the School Seedling Program from the Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery. [Read more…] about School Seedlings, A Free Program for Educators
Care and maintenance of trees ensures their health life and minimizes liability. Trees can be damaged by high winds, snow, ice, and other severe weather events. Some damage requires immediate attention, while other damage may be dealt with later. [Read more…] about The Time to Prune Trees is Now
I Went to College
To find out whether God exists.
To find out who I am.
Because I had no better place to go to.
This week on The Historians Podcast, David Pietrusza discusses his memoir Too Long Ago: A Childhood Memory, A Vanished World about his Amsterdam, NY, roots. Pietrusza is a historian who has written books about presidential elections and other topics. He and podcast host Bob Cudmore were raised in the Reid Hill section of Amsterdam, a primarily Polish-American neighborhood in the 1950s. [Read more…] about Growing Up in Amsterdam, NY, in the 1950s
The Foxy Brown X-Country Ski Trail is a 5.6-mile trail located within the Jessup River Wild Forest, in Piseco (in the town of Arietta, Hamilton County).
After traveling along the Piseco Airport runway, the trail routes users primarily through over a newly built bridge across a muddy bog and northern hardwood forest. To complete a loop, users will follow the trail just north of the runway and should be sure to check for oncoming aircraft before traveling back to the trailhead and parking area. [Read more…] about Featured Trail: Foxy Brown XC Trail In Jessup River Wild Forest
In honor of the second anniversary of the passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), the Division of Human Rights (DHR) and other NYS agencies, in conjunction with Gender Equality New York (GENY) and New York Trans Advocacy Group (NYTAG), are hosting a virtual town hall on Monday, January 25th. [Read more…] about Division of Human Rights Hosting GENDA Virtual Town Hall
Fort Ticonderoga will host a virtual living history event on January 30th looking at the citizen soldiers who brought their trades skills to Fort Ticonderoga. [Read more…] about Fort Ti Virtual Living History Event: A Day Longer in the Field
On January 5th, 2021, the City of New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission held a virtual public hearing at which more than a hundred people testified about Howard Hughes Corporation’s proposal to build a 47-story residential building at 250 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, at the heart of the South Street Seaport Historic District.
Fights over the appropriateness of tall buildings in Historic Districts are not unusual in the City of New York, but this one is uniquely centered on the purposes of historic preservation and the role cultural institutions play in helping to build and sustain communities, and themselves. [Read more…] about Controversy Over Development At New York’s Seaport Historic District
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British demands to move the northern border as far south as the Ohio River put New York on the first line of defense during the War of 1812. The leadership of Governor Daniel D. Tompkins however, distinguished the state’s contribution to the war effort, effectively mobilizing the considerable human and material resources that proved crucial to maintaining the nation’s sovereignty. [Read more…] about War of 1812: Politics, Society and Combat in New York State