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Natural History

Nutting Season: An Old-Time Ritual

November 24, 2021 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

blackwalnutwikipdThanksgiving, with food a major holiday component, calls to mind a time of year that was once the subject of great anticipation: nutting season. I’m not old enough to have experienced it first-hand, although back in the 1980s I did explore many natural edibles. Among my favorites was beechnuts, which we harvested and used in chocolate-chip cookies. Outstanding!

But in days long ago, when many folks earned a subsistence living that utilized home-grown vegetables and wild foods, nutting season was an important time. [Read more…] about Nutting Season: An Old-Time Ritual

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature Tagged With: Culinary History, Natural History

Birds of New York: Scientific Cataloging In Historical Context

January 3, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Birds of New YorkIn 1844 New York State published a volume on birds in Natural History of New York. Written by James E. DeKay with hand-colored lithographs by John William Hill, it was the State’s first attempt at a comprehensive scientific cataloging of New York’s birds. At the time about 301 species of birds were known to be present in the state.

Sixty years later another effort was made to bring together the State’s bird knowledge. The first of the two-volume of Birds of New York – Water Birds and Game Birds – was published to much acclaim. The book was a collaboration between wildlife artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes and author Elon Howard Eaton. Birds of New York listed an additional 100 species  – several of which were then “well known,” but unknown in the 1840s. The book would serve as a model for those that followed.

[Read more…] about Birds of New York: Scientific Cataloging In Historical Context

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New Exhibits, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: birding, birds, Climate Change, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, DEC, Environmental History, John James Audubon, Natural History, New York State Museum, Office of Cultural Education, Science, Science History

Early Images of the Adirondacks: Science, Art, Tourism

October 22, 2020 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

View of Caldwell, Lake George, by William Tolman CarltonThe first Europeans to see the Adirondack landscape of Northern New York came to explore, to document important military operations and fortifications, or to create maps and scientifically accurate images of the terrain, flora, and fauna.

These early illustrations filled practical needs rather than aesthetic ones.  In 1818, the Adirondacks was still a mysterious “wild, barren tract…covered with almost impenetrable Bogs, Marshes & Ponds, and the uplands with Rocks and evergreens.” [Read more…] about Early Images of the Adirondacks: Science, Art, Tourism

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Museum, Adirondacks, Art History, Early America, Instagram, Maps, Museums-Archives-Historic Sites, Natural History, Tourism

Catskills Sporting Legend Nick Lyon (Podcast)

July 13, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

KaatscastThis episode of Kaatscast features 85-year-old Nick Lyons, writer and publisher on fly fishing.

This episode was recorded at the Jerry Bartlett Angling Collection in Phoenicia, NY, as part of the “Sporting Legends of The Catskills” series. [Read more…] about Catskills Sporting Legend Nick Lyon (Podcast)

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Catskills, fishing, Natural History, Podcasts

Red-Winged Blackbird Epaulets Play Important Role

March 30, 2020 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

red winged blackbird by adelaide tyrolAround the middle of March, I begin to feel that springtime urge to hit the road, to lace up the winter-neglected running shoes and start slogging through some miles.

My early-season jogs take me past a wetland area that stubbornly spans both sides of a road near my home. It’s a usual – and very welcome – happening to spot red-winged blackbirds here, even while snow lingers around the cattails and brushy willows. [Read more…] about Red-Winged Blackbird Epaulets Play Important Role

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: birding, birds, Natural History, nature, Spring, Wildlife

Frontiers of Science in Early America

August 21, 2019 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

ben_franklins_worldWhat did early Americans think about science? And how did they pursue and develop their knowledge of it?

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Cameron Strang, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Nevada, Reno and author of Frontiers of Science: Imperialism and Natural Knowledge in the Gulf South Borderlands, 1500-1850 (Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press, 2018) joins us to investigate the early American world of science and how early Americans developed their scientific knowledge. [Read more…] about Frontiers of Science in Early America

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Early America, Early American History, Frontier, History of Science, Indigenous History, Native American History, Natural History, Podcasts, Science

Sir William Johnson and the Mohawk Valley Fur Trade

October 17, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

mohawk-valley-fur-tradeOn Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 7 pm, the Fort Plain Museum will present “Sir William Johnson and the Evolution of the Mohawk Valley Fur Trade by Michael Perazzini. The presentation will take place at the museum located at 389 Canal Street in Fort Plain. This is the second of four lectures that will take place at the museum.

Perazzini will discuss the evolution of the fur trade in Upstate New York as well as the changes implemented by Superintendent of Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson. He will also display and lead a discussion about many of the artifacts involved in the fur trade. [Read more…] about Sir William Johnson and the Mohawk Valley Fur Trade

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Environmental History, Indigenous History, Native American History, Natural History, William Johnson

Woodmen’s Festival at Hanford Mills Museum Saturday

October 13, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Hanford Mills in summerHanford Mills Museum will hold a family-friendly Woodsmen’s Festival on Saturday, October 15 from 10 am to 5 pm. The daylong event, included with regular Museum admission, features lumberjack skills, woodworking demonstrations, exhibits, local vendors, live music, BBQ, kids’ activities, and the historic water-powered mill. [Read more…] about Woodmen’s Festival at Hanford Mills Museum Saturday

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Environmental History, Hanford Mills Museum, Industrial History, Natural History

A Short History of The Beaver River Club

October 12, 2016 by Edward Pitts Leave a Comment

Joseph Dunbar’s Hotel at Stillwater, the original Clubhouse From its founding in 1893, and over the next 30 years, the Beaver River Club was the destination of many of the visitors to the Stillwater area.

It was the summer retreat of wealthy and influential families from Syracuse, Utica and to a lesser extent from throughout New York State. The decision to enlarge the Stillwater Dam and create today’s Stillwater Reservoir utterly destroyed this glittering outpost in the wild. Here is its story. [Read more…] about A Short History of The Beaver River Club

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Beaver River, Environmental History, Natural History, Public History, Utica

Event Highlights ‘Bunnie Papers’ Collection, Cherry Hill Pets

August 4, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Cherry HillHistoric Cherry Hill in Albany is inviting the public to travel back in time to the “Bunnie Kingdom” on Saturday, August 13, 2016.

The “Bunnie Papers” collection, gathered and named by Cherry Hill matriarch Catherine Rankin, immortalizes her children’s pet keeping hobby and their fascinating agricultural club. [Read more…] about Event Highlights ‘Bunnie Papers’ Collection, Cherry Hill Pets

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Cultural History, Historic Cherry Hill, Natural History

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