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Small Farms in April in the Nineteenth Century

April 6, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

S. Timmons farm, Walla Walla County, ca. 1892  Photo by F. Fortin, Courtesy UW Special Collections (WAS0304)April is the month when Spring weather typically calls out, “Ready or not, here I come,” and compels nature and humans of New York to come out from winter hiding.

“Happy is the farmer who has got everything ready for the active labors of the coming season. But no matter how thoroughly he is prepared there will always be plenty to do,” the agriculture columnist wrote in the April 25th, 1874 Ticonderoga Sentinel.

The task list was long and varied in the month of getting ready to make hay while the sun shines. [Read more…] about Small Farms in April in the Nineteenth Century

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, local farms, local food, Newspapers, Spring, weather

Our Hibernating Jumping Mice

March 17, 2021 by Tom Kalinowski 1 Comment

Woodland jumping mouse courtesy Wikimedia user D Gordon E RobertsonWinter is the time when wildlife activity ebbs. Many residents of our fields and forests have retreated to shelters beneath the surface of the soil in an attempt to escape this season of low temperatures, snow and ice, and little if any food.

The woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignis) is one member of our wildlife community that retires to the seclusion of a cushiony nest underground and lapses into a profound state of dormancy, known as true hibernation, for roughly six months beginning sometime in mid-October. [Read more…] about Our Hibernating Jumping Mice

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: nature, small mammals, weather, Wildlife, winter

Diapause: How Insects Survive A Winter Thaw

February 27, 2021 by Tom Kalinowski Leave a Comment

frozen lakeMost of the invertebrates that populate this climatic zone are well suited to deal with sudden thaws in winter by experiencing a type of dormancy known as diapause.

In summer, when temperatures are ideal and there is an abundance of food, the countless species of bugs continually eat and then reproduce. But as environmental conditions begin to change, most species prepare for that time when food eventually vanishes and when temperatures cause the transition of water into ice. [Read more…] about Diapause: How Insects Survive A Winter Thaw

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: insects, nature, weather, Wildlife, winter

Deep Snow And White-Tail Deer Mortality

February 7, 2021 by Tom Kalinowski Leave a Comment

White-tail deer in winter Courtesy SUNY-ESFWith its long legs, the white-tail deer has the ability to travel through a snow bound forest when there is up to 12 to 16 inches on the ground. As the snow pack becomes denser, crusted, or deeper, the mobility of this hoofed creature becomes greatly restricted. [Read more…] about Deep Snow And White-Tail Deer Mortality

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: nature, weather, whitetail deer, Wildlife, winter

The Borscht Belt in Winter: Catskills Winter Resorts

February 6, 2021 by John Conway Leave a Comment

toboggan run was at the Laurels in Sackett Lake.Although the number of Sullivan County hotels open during the winter months increased significantly beginning in the 1940s, there were attempts to market the county as a winter resort long before that. [Read more…] about The Borscht Belt in Winter: Catskills Winter Resorts

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Recreation Tagged With: skiing, Sullivan County, weather, winter, winter sports

How Insects Spend A New York Winter

January 23, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_Insects_MourningCloakI consider the lack of biting insects and other invertebrates, to be a wondrous gift of the winter season.

I can wander unmolested through wood and field absent the attentions of mosquitoes, deer flies, and ticks. And aside from a short list of “usual suspects,” insects are a rarity to be encountered in the winter woods. [Read more…] about How Insects Spend A New York Winter

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Western NY Tagged With: insects, nature, weather, Wildlife, winter

The Wild Turkey in Winter

January 20, 2021 by Tom Kalinowski Leave a Comment

There are only a few dozen species of birds capable of surviving the rigors of an Adirondack winter, and of these, the wild turkey is one that is more closely associated with the warmer and less snowy regions of New York than those to the north. [Read more…] about The Wild Turkey in Winter

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

The Joys of a January Freeze, 1887

January 19, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Lake Champlain froze completely on January 8th, 1887, missing by just two days the seventy-year record for earliest freeze.

“Saturday morning (January 8th) was the coldest of the season, the mercury registering 26 below zero – in the shade,” The Granville Sentinel reported on January 14th. [Read more…] about The Joys of a January Freeze, 1887

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Granville, Lake Champlain, Washington County, weather, 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

Solstice Sky Show

December 19, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_SolsticeSkyOne night just before Christmas last year, my youngest daughter and I opted to walk the short distance home from dinner at my parents’ house, rather than drive with the rest of the family. Our eyes adjusted to the night, and the snow beneath our feet shimmered, even in the winter darkness. As we emerged from the cover of trees into our open field, we were thrilled to see so many stars shining brilliantly in the night sky. [Read more…] about Solstice Sky Show

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

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