Natural History

Nutting Season: An Old-Time Ritual

November 24, 2021 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

Thanksgiving, 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

Birds of New York: Scientific Cataloging In Historical Context

January 3, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

In 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

Early Images of the Adirondacks: Science, Art, Tourism

October 22, 2020 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

The 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

Catskills Sporting Legend Nick Lyon (Podcast)

July 13, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

This 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)

Red-Winged Blackbird Epaulets Play Important Role

March 30, 2020 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Around 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

Frontiers of Science in Early America

August 21, 2019 by Dr. Liz Covart Leave a Comment

What 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

Sir William Johnson and the Mohawk Valley Fur Trade

October 17, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

On 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

Woodmen’s Festival at Hanford Mills Museum Saturday

October 13, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Hanford 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

A Short History of The Beaver River Club

October 12, 2016 by Edward Pitts Leave a Comment

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

Event Highlights ‘Bunnie Papers’ Collection, Cherry Hill Pets

August 4, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Historic 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

Heritage Tourism Lessons from Jurassic World

July 2, 2015 by Peter Feinman 5 Comments

Jurassic World, showcases the plight of executive directors of destination tourist sites in continually developing newer and more exciting exhibits to attract an increasingly bored public. The exhibits at Jurassic World are even more thrilling than our best American Revolution or Civil War reenactments. [Read more…] about Heritage Tourism Lessons from Jurassic World

Shoveling and Plowing in the Good Ol’ Days

February 23, 2015 by Lawrence P. Gooley 3 Comments

Earlier this winter, our forecast in Clinton County was light rain and temps in the upper 30s, conditions that were expected to last a couple of days. Forty-eight hours later, 23 inches of the heaviest, wettest snow imaginable covered everything in sight. Tree collapsed, power outages were frequent, and roads were a slushy mess. Removal of the stuff from driveways was best done by machine, but for some of us, manual effort was the only way to go. As I toiled, my mind wandered to similar jobs I’ve endured in decades past. [Read more…] about Shoveling and Plowing in the Good Ol’ Days

Unique Winslow Homer Exhibit At Farmers Museum, Arkell Museum

June 5, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Tomorrow, June 6th, the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown will present the opening of Winslow Homer: The Nature and Rhythm of Life, from the Arkell Museum at Canajoharie, featuring over 23 original works including oil paintings and delicate watercolors collected by Bartlett Arkell, the founder and first President of the Beech-Nut Packing Company.

This marks the first time these exceptional Homer paintings will be displayed as a complete collection. The exhibition contains two works now in other collections, including a painting owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The exhibition was organized by the Arkell Museum at Canajoharie and is on view at the Fenimore Art Museum from through August 24, 2014, and at the Arkell Museum at Canajoharie from September 2, 2014 to January 4, 2015. [Read more…] about Unique Winslow Homer Exhibit At Farmers Museum, Arkell Museum

The Lyon Mountain Mining and Railroad Museum

June 2, 2014 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

For a century, the world’s best iron ore was produced by a small Clinton County village in upstate New York. That remarkable legacy is shared in the Lyon Mountain Mining and Railroad Museum, housed in the town’s former railroad depot building. The cost to visitors “can’t be beat,” as they say—admission is free.

This community project developed into a remarkable facility dedicated to regional and town history. The focus is on iron mining, once a dominant force in the region’s economy. [Read more…] about The Lyon Mountain Mining and Railroad Museum

Signs Of Spring Photography Stroll at Val-Kill

May 14, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Spring is finally here and the National Park Service is offering an opportunity to photograph it at the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (Val-Kill), approximately two miles east of Springwood, the Hyde Park Roosevelt family home.

On May 18th from 8:00 am until 10:00 am, Park Ranger Andrew Swan will share information about the many signs of spring on a stroll through the grounds of Val-Kill. Visitors who enjoy photography are encouraged to bring cameras and capture images of the natural beauty of the season. The program is part of the continuing Community Photography Workshops offered by the park service. [Read more…] about Signs Of Spring Photography Stroll at Val-Kill

Fighting Westway:
The Regulatory War That Transformed NYC

May 3, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

From 1971 to 1985, battles raged over Westway, a multibillion-dollar highway, development, and park project slated for construction New York City. It would have projected far into the Hudson River, including massive new landfill extending several miles along Manhattan’s Lower West Side.

The most expensive highway project ever proposed, Westway also provoked one of the highest stakes legal battles of its day, the subject of Fighting Westway: Environmental Law, Citizen Activism, and the Regulatory War that Transformed New York City (Cornell University Press, 2014), by William W. Buzbee. [Read more…] about Fighting Westway:
The Regulatory War That Transformed NYC

Remembering Past Adirondack Floods

May 1, 2014 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

Refrigerators can float. There are many things that can be learned from flooding, and that’s one tidbit that stuck with me from when my parents’ house took on about two feet of water more than a decade ago. When the water subsided enough to safely wade across the road to their front door, I went alone to assess the damage—but the door wouldn’t budge. Finally, it began to give an inch or two at a time.

When I managed to squeeze in, I was more than a little surprised at what I found. As the water had deepened in the kitchen, the refrigerator toppled and then somehow floated through the kitchen doorway into the house entrance, blocking the front door. The rest of the first floor was similarly wrecked—everything was sopping wet and coated with mud. [Read more…] about Remembering Past Adirondack Floods

Gotham Unbound:
The Ecological History of Greater New York

February 15, 2014 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York (Simon & Schuster, June 2014) is Ted Steinberg’s sweeping ecological history of one of the most man-made spots on earth, from Mannahatta to Hurricane Sandy.

This is a heavily researched and well-written book that recounts the four-century history of how hundreds of square miles of open marshlands became home to six percent of the nation’s population – that’s 64,464 people per square mile.

Steinberg brings a unique view of the metropolitan area, not just one of a dense urban goliath but as an estuary once home to miles of oyster reefs, wolves, whales and blueberry thickets. That world gave way to an onslaught of humanity managed by thousands of ecological actors from Governor John Montgomerie, who turned water into land, and John Randel, who imposed a grid on Manhattan, to Robert Moses, Charles Urstadt, Donald Trump, and Michael Bloomberg. [Read more…] about Gotham Unbound:
The Ecological History of Greater New York

History Lecture Series at Whallonsburg Grange

February 10, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

An Adirondack history lecture series continues at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, 1610 NYS Route 22 in the Champlain Valley. Presentations on the early settlement, the philosophy and invention of the wilderness ideal, the history of the forest preserve and boats and boating are included in the schedule.

The series “Our Wild Home” will take place on Tuesday nights at 7:30. A donation of $5 is requested, students always free. More information is at www.thegrangehall.info. The schedule of talks is: [Read more…] about History Lecture Series at Whallonsburg Grange

Ageless Billy Spinner, Folk-Weather Specialist

January 6, 2014 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

Climate change; global warming; superstorms; extended droughts; the hottest year ever; December tornadoes; on and on it goes. Changes are happening everywhere. Below-zero temps four times before Christmas 2013. Now, a chill factor of 35 below—and 48 hours later, temps in the mid-30s and rain is expected. With all the usual craziness, we do benefit from modern forecasters using the most advanced technology to predict the weather, helping us to avoid any big surprises, or to at least prepare.

The same was true of weathermen seventy-five years ago: they did their best to predict what the weather would bring―days, weeks, and even months in advance. But they weren’t alone in doing so. Competing against them were country prognosticators who sometimes did better than the latest technology. [Read more…] about Ageless Billy Spinner, Folk-Weather Specialist

Natural History

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