News and Views from the Empire State
The term psithurism (sith-er-ism) doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it’s not meant to. The word, from the Greek psithuros (whispering), indicates the melody that rolls off pine needles in a gentle wind. It also means the sound of “proper” leaves shaking in the treetops.
Obviously, we need another word, because these two things – whispering pines and rustling leaves – may both soothe us, but they sound quite different. [Read more…] about The Wind in The Trees, or Learning to Speak Pine
A half-century of controversy over two popular bird species may have finally come to an end. In one corner: the Bullock’s Oriole, found in the western half of North America. In the other corner: the Baltimore Oriole, breeding in the eastern half.
Where their ranges meet in the Great Plains, the two mix freely and produce apparently healthy hybrid offspring. But according to scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, hybridization is a dead end and both parent species will remain separate. Findings from the new study were published in The Auk. [Read more…] about Bird Study: Oriole Hybridization Is a Dead End
Down by the Pond
When I was 10,
I had a gift. I knew
what silence
meant to frogs.
Blueberry Mountain in Keene, Essex County, is a moderate hike that offers excellent views and a unique summit, on which sits an 8-foot glacial erratic. [Read more…] about Featured Adirondack Hike: Blueberry Mountain
Oneida County History Center’s 2020 Historical Selfie Scavenger Hunt is now underway through August 31st.
This interactive event invites the public to explore local history and document their journey with a selfie at historic sites, monuments, and markers in Oneida County or Utica. [Read more…] about Oneida Co Historical Selfie Scavenger Hunt Underway
Humanities New York’s (HNY) has announced the Amended podcast, a six-part series about the ongoing struggle for women’s voting rights.
Launching on August 26, 2020, Amended travels from the 1800s through to the present day to explore the quest for women’s full equality, one that has been as diverse, complex and unfinished as the nation itself. [Read more…] about ‘Amended,’ A Women’s History Podcast Series
The 2020 Great Adirondack Garage Sale is set for this coming weekend, August 7th, 8th, and 9th. In the past, the event was traditionally held on Memorial Day weekend, but due to safety concerns, it was pushed back to August for this year.
The 11th annual event consists of residents selling their items along a 150-mile trail stretching from Tupper Lake to Speculator, and Old Forge to Newcomb in the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Great Adirondack Garage Sale This Weekend
To a highly mobile species like humans, the fact that other animals relocate their families – or entire populations – isn’t a big surprise. We know historical migrations have been the norm, though the fossil record shows that generally these changes happened at a snail’s pace.
The “Great American Interchange” in which northern animals spread southward and South American critters expanded north during the Pliocene Epoch, took a million years. Give or take a few, I assume. [Read more…] about Northern Tree Migrations: Nature on the Move
NYS Environmental Conservation Officer George LaPoint reported that he responded to a residence in the town of Hague, Warren County, for a report of a trapped timber rattlesnake at residence where a family was vacationing on August 2nd. [Read more…] about Rattlesnake Surprises Warren Co Vacationers
Daredevil stunt man and movie actor Rodman “The Human Fly” Law had been shot out of a “monster sky rocket” and had jumped in a specialized “aeroplane parachute” from the Brooklyn Bridge and the 792-foot Woolworth Building, the tallest building in the world at the time.
For his next feat, Law came to the Adirondacks. [Read more…] about Early Stunt Men, Daredevils ‘The Human Fly’ & ‘Hurricane Hutch’ in NY