The title of this piece describes this last week perfectly - it seems like we went from spring to SUMMER! in just a few days, with everyone dressed down and plodding around in the 80- degree heat and humidity. There is no doubt anymore that Summer has finally come to the Southeast Catskills. I say it that way because in early May Summer seemed so far away. The first couple weeks of May were colder than average and wet, but the last half of the month flip- flopped on us to bec

THE SEASON OF NEW LIFE - As the days get longer and the sun moves higher in the sky, slowly the Arctic jet-stream that brought forth our record cold temperatures retreats northward. Finally, the Spring of 2026 is becoming free to unfold. The vernal season is a notoriously fickle one in our part of the world and this year is a perfect example, oscillating warm and cold, sun and cloud, three steps forward, two steps back. With the recent warming trend it now looks like the myri

Now that winter winds are no longer whipping down our mountain slopes, and the icy snows are melting fast, the green carpet of life can start threading its way inexorably, steadily upward into every nook and cranny, every gully and hidden quarry of our southeast Catskills. Little shoots of Wild Chives, that somehow survive - even thrive - under the snow, gladly reach for the sky, alongside wide leaves of Ajuga - itself always one of the earliest plant-harbingers of Spring. Br

THE SNOW MOON, Waghkonk Notes, February, 2026 Polar winds plunge over the southeast Catskills, freezing all before them and casting frosty whiteness about as they continue to bring real winter down to Waghkonk. The desiccated and sere husks of last season’s Beebalm, Goldenrod and Milkweed, bent by those gusts, seem to nod in agreement. The peaceful White Pines and the wise northern Oaks also bow before the all-powerful North Wind - for it rules this time. It is both King an

As the polar winds plunge south, driving summer into a faint memory, all of us - animal and plant - hunker down, waiting for warmth. We dream of warmer days to come and watch as the lost light slowly returns. It’s that typical winter conundrum - that which can be so uncomfortable - the cold, ice and snow - can also be a source of comfort and safety for many well-adapted native animals and plants. Winter has great beauty, as well - sometimes subtle, other times overwhelming in

Northwest winds sweep through the hills, bringing their cold message of winter, transporting snow from Lake Ontario all the way down here to the southeast Catskills. Swirling snow-devils dance their white dervish dance, tearing reluctant leaves, themselves remnants of this season past, from branch and bough. Only the brazen small-birds - Cardinals, Chickadees, Bluejays, Sparrows, Titmice, Juncos and the like - venture forth, hardy creatures bred through the millennia to perse

THE GAME OF WINTER should be on for real by now, but we keep getting enjoyably warm teases. November is usually cold (hence the Frost Moon) and the time when we get our first snow in Waghkonk. The Black Bears, Chipmunks and Woodchucks should be denning up for the winter, not to be seen again ‘til Spring, but since the forecast for this month looks to be mild, they all may not go down ‘til December. Turtles normally would be long-buried in the mud, dreaming Turtle-dreams and W

My experience of hiking numerous trails in the southeast Catskills, as well as bushwhacking from one corner of Woodstock to the other (approx. 10x20 miles), and following its many old roads, has made me very familiar with the state of our forest and I am extremely concerned with the potential for devastating forest fires, wildfires, and even firestorms, here. This is what has led me to write this in an effort to share those concerns and hopefully to find a way to address the

I love to watch dust-motes floating in the clear, soft, forgiving light of Autumn, shining specks dancing. They drift over quieting...

The summer light wanes, sending an ancient signal to all beings in the northern hemisphere that it is time for each one in their own way...