New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

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Slug Slime: A Secret Weapon

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slug courtesy Wikimedia user Gregory BadonGardening at night has its rewards. For me, it offers a way to stay on top of planting and weeding while balancing work and family responsibilities. It is also cooler at night, and the quiet act of having my hands in the dirt helps me unwind.

My favorite part of night gardening however, is following the starlit silvery trails of the garden slugs. These shimmery tracks are made of slug slime, whose mucus-like appearance belies its protective and locomotive qualities. [Read more…] about Slug Slime: A Secret Weapon

Georgia O’Keefe At Wiawaka On Lake George

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a new york minute in history podcastOn this episode of A New York Minute in History, Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts discuss how the poor conditions of female textile workers in Capital Region cities led to the creation of a retreat on Lake George where women could “escape” the cities. [Read more…] about Georgia O’Keefe At Wiawaka On Lake George

A Brief History of the Mohawk River

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painting of Mohawk RiverImagine the Mohawk River flowing with more force than Niagara Falls. Around 22,000 years ago, that’s exactly how it was. During the last ice age, the Laurentide Glacier began to melt, forming a large lake atop the glacier. As the glacier receded north, it opened access to the Mohawk River, which for thousands of years had been buried beneath the two-mile thick block of ice. Suddenly, all that lake water had somewhere to go.

The deluge of water that was released was so great that it carved an entirely new riverbed. It was so great in fact, that geologists gave the river a new name; the Iromohawk. Water rushed down the valley, carving away the cliffs of Clifton Park, the gorge at Cohoes, and the channel at Rexford. The river also curved back onto itself, creating the bend around Schenectady that the Mohawk follows today. [Read more…] about A Brief History of the Mohawk River

Southern Bog Lemmings

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Synaptomys cooperi courtesy Wikimedia user PaulT If you’ve never seen – or heard of – the southern bog lemming, you’re not alone. Although this small mammal scurries through our landscape year-round, it is elusive by nature.

So elusive, in fact, that the southern bog lemming (Synaptomys cooperi) is listed as a species of greatest conservation need in the northeastern states – mainly because scientists struggle to find and track these rodents. [Read more…] about Southern Bog Lemmings

Schenectady Black History & Barber John Wendell

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black barber shaves the face of a lounging white man in a barber shopIn the early 19th century, Schenectady played host to a distinctly American process through which hundreds of Black people gained their freedom. Although Schenectady County had a small enclave of free African Americans into the late colonial period, the overwhelming majority of Black Schenectadians were enslaved.

As New York State legislation gradually abolished the institution of slavery by 1827, many Black Schenectadians had to confront a new reality in which they were legally independent, but by no means legally equal.

One of these people was John Wendell [Jr.] whose birth remains shrouded in mystery. [Read more…] about Schenectady Black History & Barber John Wendell

Fallen Game Wardens of New York State

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Fallen Game Wardens of New YorkThirty-two-year-old John Woodruff of Scotia, New York was a rugged outdoorsman and a crack shot with a firearm, so it was no surprise to those who knew him when he left his job at the real estate office of J.A. Lindsley on State Street in Schenectady to join New York’s Game Protector force. The prospect of an exciting career as a Game Protector was something that appealed to many men who sought to make a living in the outdoors.

John Woodruff’s goal was achieved when he was appointed by New York State Conservation Commissioner George D. Pratt on November 1st, 1919, having finished first on the competitive civil service exam. Had John Woodruff known how short-lived his career would be, and the fate that was about to befall him, he may have had misgivings about the road he had chosen to travel. In April 1921, after missing for a year and a half, the mysterious fate of Game Protector John Woodruff would culminate with the discovery of his remains buried in the bed of Rotterdam Creek in Schenectady County. [Read more…] about Fallen Game Wardens of New York State

Macroinvertebrates: Indicators of River and Stream Health

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hellgrammite courtesy Wikimedia user DellaRay923 I have a pre-pandemic memory of a dozen high school students – armed with dipnets and wearing chest waders – emerging from a Saint Michael’s College van.

Before masks and social distancing, my collaborators and I packed vans with students from Vermont, Massachusetts, and as far afield as Puerto Rico to monitor macroinvertebrates in Vermont streams. Because they are plentiful and respond quickly to environmental change, macroinvertebrates are great indicators of river and stream health. [Read more…] about Macroinvertebrates: Indicators of River and Stream Health

One Community’s Experience of the Second World War

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Standing son Jim, Maynard Varney, wife Ruth daughter Jean, nephew Ken Petteys and Dalas Varney. Seated Audrey, Barbara and Carolyn PetteysThis Memorial Day, Wilton, New York’s town hall will begin work on an exhibit which tells the story of Wilton’s Second World War families.

[Read more…] about One Community’s Experience of the Second World War

Common Yellowthroats: Masked Bandits

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common-yellowthroat-courtesy-Wikimedia-user-Rhododendrites “Witchity, witchity, witchity.” I know that common yellowthroats have returned to my neighborhood in spring when I hear that distinctive song. With luck, I’ll glimpse the striking male as he darts about the shrubbery.

The common yellowthroat is one of North America’s most abundant warblers, nesting across Canada and the United States, including Alaska. Male yellowthroats return to the breeding grounds before females and begin defending territories. [Read more…] about Common Yellowthroats: Masked Bandits

Little Loudmouths: Small Animals That Create Big Sounds

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bullfrog courtesy Wikimedia user Carl D. HoweFrom early spring through late summer, the air trills and croaks and buzzes and chirps with the sounds of nature’s little loudmouths. Mornings are full of birdsong; evenings are the domain of frogs and crickets.

How do such little animals make so much noise? Let’s find out by looking at some of the sound-per-pound champions you can find in our forests. [Read more…] about Little Loudmouths: Small Animals That Create Big Sounds