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Holidays

Recycling Electronics This Holiday Season

December 24, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

electronics reclyingMany will give or receive new electronic equipment this holiday season. As you switch out of the old and welcome the new, remember to recycle your old electronics responsibly.

Examples of common electronic equipment that must be recycled: [Read more…] about Recycling Electronics This Holiday Season

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: environment, Holidays, pollution, solid waste

Holiday Gift Ideas for Anglers

December 16, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Christmas lights at sunset.The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) polled their Fisheries staff across the state for their recommendations for non-traditional holiday gifts for anglers and received a bunch of great ideas.

Here are some of them: [Read more…] about Holiday Gift Ideas for Anglers

Filed Under: Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Christmas, DEC, fishing, Gift Ideas, Holidays

A Guide to Green Gift Giving and Decorating

December 8, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

green gift givingThis is the perfect time of the year to add the environment to your gift giving list and implement simple holiday habit changes.

Here is a guide to “green” gift giving and decorating: [Read more…] about A Guide to Green Gift Giving and Decorating

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Christmas, DEC, environment, Holidays, nature

Yule Logs: Some History & Science

December 4, 2021 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

A 19th century painting by Robert Alexander Hillingford showing the Christmas tradition of preparing the Yule log at Hever Castle, Kent, EnglandThe tradition of burning a Yule log has largely fizzled out in most parts of the world. While holiday cards often feature cute, picturesque birch rounds in the hearth, old-time Yule logs in 6th and 7th century Europe were monster tree trunks that were meant to burn all day, and in certain cultures for twelve continuous days, without being entirely used up.

Apparently, if you didn’t have a leftover bit of this log remaining after the marathon burn, you were doomed to misfortune in the upcoming year. The remnant piece of charred wood was tucked away in the ceiling and was used to light the following year’s Yule log. I assume it was extinguished before being squirreled away in the rafters or some really bad luck would ensue. [Read more…] about Yule Logs: Some History & Science

Filed Under: History, Nature Tagged With: Christmas, energy, Forestry, Holidays

Balsam Fir: A Native New York Christmas Tree

December 4, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Ballsam Fir cone courtesy Wikimedia Cephas Every year my husband and I cut a Christmas tree on family land. We look for a young balsam fir growing in the power line right-of-way or in a forest clearing.

Fir is our favorite type of Christmas tree because of its delightful, pungent fragrance. While Christmas tree farmers cultivate a variety of fir species, balsam fir is the only type of fir native to Northern New York. [Read more…] about Balsam Fir: A Native New York Christmas Tree

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Christmas, Forestry, Holidays, nature, trees, Wildlife

Talkin’ Turkey: 19th Century Thanksgiving Newspaper Reports

November 24, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

A 19th century Thanksgiving postcard“Let us talk about turkey,” proclaimed a New York Tribune humor column republished Nov.23, 1888 in The Granville Sentinel. Not Turkey in Europe, nor yet Turkey in Asia. But turkey in America – the esteemed bird that goes so well with cranberry sauce.”

The bald eagle, national bird of the United States, gets prominent attention for months at a time once every four years, when there is a presidential election, but the turkey is heralded every year, the columnist quipped.

“The eagle has had his full fling this year. He has ruled the roost ever since early summer, when the presidential conventions were held,” the columnist wrote. “Now that the election is over, let the eagle fold up his wings … and give way to the turkey. … The turkey stands for the refreshing calm that succeeds a quadrennial election. The turkey holds himself aloof from political parties, cares nothing for public life.” [Read more…] about Talkin’ Turkey: 19th Century Thanksgiving Newspaper Reports

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Food, History Tagged With: Holidays, Thanksgiving

Recycling Electronics This Holiday Season

December 30, 2020 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

holiday recyclingWith holiday cheer and gifts galore, many will give or receive new electronic equipment. As you switch out of the old and welcome the new, remember to recycle your old electronics responsibly. [Read more…] about Recycling Electronics This Holiday Season

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Christmas, Holidays, solid waste

George Washington At Christmas

December 24, 2020 by James F. Sefcik Leave a Comment

George Washington and Family by Thomas Pritchard Rossiter, 1858-1860Christmas conjures up images of festivity, family, and especially sumptuous dinners but it wasn’t that way for George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He served as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from May 1775 to December 1783 or about 104 months.

During that time, he visited his beloved Mount Vernon just once, in 1781 following the victory at Yorktown before returning to his home for good in 1783. [Read more…] about George Washington At Christmas

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: American Revolution, AmRev, Christmas, George Washington, Holidays, Military History, winter

Elliot Roosevelt’s Christmas Tree Sales At Val-Kill

December 24, 2020 by A. J. Schenkman Leave a Comment

Elliott Roosevelt and 3 Year Old in NYC 12-11-1948“Last week I acquired from my husband’s estate about two-thirds of the land which he owned here in Hyde Park. My son Elliott and I have gone into partnership and we are going to farm the land on a commercial basis,” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column on August 19, 1947.

This would be the beginning of a joint venture with her third child Elliott to turn a profit from the estate lands of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. [Read more…] about Elliot Roosevelt’s Christmas Tree Sales At Val-Kill

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Christmas, Eleanor Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, FDR, Forestry, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Holidays, Val-Kill, winter

Santa’s Reindeer Hit Hard By Our Warming Climate

December 24, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

Reindeer courtesy Wikimedia user Are G NilsenReindeer have been soaring since long before Christmas came into being. For some reason, the fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), a lovely red-and-white polka-dotted ‘shroom bearing an uncanny resemblance to a Christmas ornament, is attractive to these creatures. It’s also hallucinogenic, and Comet, Cupid, and loads of other blitzed reindeer have been observed lurching about after munching the mushrooms (Santa’s sleigh makes more sense after you learn about this little reindeer game).

Regrettably, flights of any sort will become less frequent for these animals, as their population is in steep decline as a result of a warmer Arctic. [Read more…] about Santa’s Reindeer Hit Hard By Our Warming Climate

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Christmas, Climate Change, Holidays, nature, weather, Wildlife

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