Gift & Artist Studio Tour - Dec 5 & 6

Coming December 5 & 6 - The Shandaken Gift & Artist Studio Tour.

The holidays are fast approaching and Shandaken is having a Gift and Artist Studio Tour. I would like to encourage everyone in Woodland Valley to shop locally this holiday season. Especially in these hard economic times, it is important that we support the artists and businesses that make this community so interesting and rich. Woodland Valley's own Wendy Grossman will be part of the festivities so there is even a studio to visit right here in the neighborhood. You can find a map of everyone on the tour if you follow the link below. So get out on December 5th and 6th and check out the great things that this town has to offer! I am sure you will find gifts for everyone on your shopping list.

Go to www.ShandakenArt.com for more information.

Brochure with tour map will be available at participating shops.

BettySoo Tonight at the ESRM

WCA member and President of the ESRM Dakin Morehouse sent this announcement regarding the concert in the Museum this evening. Check it out!

Flying Cat Music Presents
Austin-Based Recording Artist BettySoo in Concert
Phoenicia Railway Station
Sunday, November 22
7:30 PM (sharp)
At the Empire State Railway Museum
on Lower High Street off of Route 28, Phoenicia, NY
Door opens at 7:00
(There will be no opening act. Please be punctual.)
$12 requested donation or $10 with RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com
This is an intimate space. Seating is limited.

Flying Cat Music is pleased to present Austin-based singer/songwriter and recording artist BettySoo at the Empire State Railway Museum in Phoenicia on Sunday, November 22, at 7:30 pm. A winner of the 2008 Kerrville New Folk, Big Top Chautauqua, and Wildflower Festival songwriting contests; she comes to Phoenicia on the heels of a three-week tour of Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands.


BettySoo is the daughter of Korean immigrants who settled in the Bronx before moving to Texas when she was a baby. Audiences don’t always know what to expect when they first see BettySoo on stage. As she herself observes, "It's true that most Asian-Americans grow up with a lot of pressure to fit into a certain career path, but" – and she laughs – "this is not that path, in case anyone was wondering." But as a voice from the crowd at a Texas venue exclaimed loudly one night, she's blessed with "a voice like an angel!"

Greg Roberts, writing in Country Line Magazine, captured the BettySoo phenomenon perfectly when he wrote: “It's almost like there are two people here, there is the small, soft spoken, demure person that is offstage, friendly and warm, talking to everyone. Then, in the seven steps it takes to get to the stage, another person appears. When she opens her mouth to sing, out comes this gargantuan voice captivating you with these soul-stripping, emotional songs that are all original compositions. After listening to her CD, I was even more impressed….I think we're looking at a future multi-platinum, Grammy-winning star here and I want to be the first to say, “I told you so”.”

BettySoo’s Web Site

Fishers

Since it has been widely documented that Fishers are ferocious killers that will attack, kill and eat small dogs and cats I thought it was important to make you all more aware of the animals. I got the information below from the NYS DEC site and from Wikipedia. I urge all residents of Woodland Valley not to let their pets out of the house unsupervised since I have personally seen them here and their numbers are reportedly growing throughout the state.
- Carol Seitz

The fisher, also known as the "pekan cat," "fisher cat," or "black cat," is a large, dark, long-haired member of the weasel family. They have short legs, small ears, and a long well-furred tail. Their color varies from dark brown to nearly black. Fisher fur is long and luxuriant. Females are more valuable than males because of their more uniform color. The males often have a "grizzled" appearance due to the many tri-colored hairs along their neck and shoulders. Fitchet is a name derived from the Dutch word visse which means 'nasty'.

Adult males weigh from 7 to 12 pounds and may be 40 inches long, including their 13 to 15 inch tail. Adult females are smaller, weighing from 4 to 5.5 pounds. Extremely large male fisher may approach 20 pounds, but that is very unusual.

Fisher have large feet with five sharp toes. This makes them well adapted for walking on snow, climbing trees, and killing their prey.

Like their cousins, the skunks, both sexes have large scent glands near their anus, possibly used for marking territories.

They avoid open spaces. Fishers are solitary, only associating with other fishers for mating purposes.

Fishers are generalist predators. They will feed on any animal they can catch and will eat carrion. They are also known to supplement their meat diet with insects, nuts, berries, and mushrooms. Their primary prey includes snowshoe hare and porcupine. Since they are solitary hunters their choice of prey is limited to their size. Analysis of stomach contents and scat have found evidence of birds, small mammals and even moose and deer. The latter food sources shows that they are not averse to eating carrion. Fishers have been observed to feed on the carcasses of deer left by hunters.
Fishers are one of the few predators that seek out and kill porcupines. There are some stories in popular literature that fishers can flip a porcupine onto its back and "scoop out its belly like a ripe melon." As early as 1966, this was identified as an exaggerated myth. However, observational studies show that fisher will make repeated biting attacks on the face of a porcupine and kill it after about 25-30 minutes.

In some areas fishers can become pests to farmers because they will get into a pen and kill large numbers of chickens. Fishers have also been known to eat feral cats and dogs and small pets left outdoors. However, a study done in 1979 examined the stomach contents of all fishers trapped in the state of New Hampshire; cat hairs were found in only one of over 1,000 stomachs. Attacks on domestic cats may be documented, but zoologists suggest a bobcat, coyote, or dog is more likely to prey upon domestic cats and chickens.

Distribution and Habitat:

During the past two centuries fisher populations have been extirpated across parts of North America due to what was once a high demand for their furs. Furriers were paying up to $345 per animal in 1922. Their soft brown pelts can still fetch sometimes high prices. Fishers are shy, secretive, and difficult to breed in zoos.

Fisher live in a band of forested habitat extending across North America. They do not occur on any other continent. In the east, they are found from Virginia north to Quebec and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. It is thought that they were once more widespread. Reintroduction programs have been successful in reestablishing them in some of their former range.

In recent years, they have spread from Vermont into southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and have recently been artificially reintroduced into dozens of areas across the United States, including in Montana, Oregon, and Washington. As of 2009, reports indicate the fisher population has returned to areas from which they were previously extirpated, such as Connecticut, the Hudson Valley in New York, and New Jersey.

In New York State, they are found in over 26,000 square miles of habitat in the northern, eastern, and southeastern parts of the state. It is believed that fisher also were native to central and western New York but they are only occasionally seen in that area of the state.

Behavior:

Fisher are sexually mature in about one year. However, because the implantation of their embryo is delayed after fertilization, a process called "delayed implantation," they don't have their first litter until they are two years old. They breed immediately after having their litter. Births and breeding peak in March. They have an average of 3 young per litter.

Fisher usually use two types of shelters. Fisher dens used for giving birth to their young typically are found in large trees, high off the ground. They make use of natural cavities frequently found in older trees. They also use cavities in rocky areas. Dens for general cover and protection consist of hollow logs, turned over stumps, brush piles, or ground burrows.

There does not appear to be a single habitat type that can be called "typical fisher habitat." They are found in hardwood, softwood, and mixed stands throughout their range. They do not like large open areas, such as clear-cuts. However, they do hunt for small rodents in fields and meadows.

Star Trails

Dennis Havel has been having great fun with his new digital camera. The photo above is one of several time exposures he did of the stars in the night sky. Here is what he said about it.

"Stars appearing to rotate like a pinwheel around Polaris, the North Star. This effect is due to the Earth's rotation about it's North-South axis. Polaris is the bright object in the center. This was taken Saturday night from my back yard. My house is visible to the left."

Cool shot Dennis! Thanks for sending it!

Cream of Pumpkin Soup du Boreegard

I received this the other day from Woodland Valley's own master chef Mike O'Neil.

"Comes the time in autumn when those of us obsessed with pumpkins want to do something different with the Cucurbita pepo harvest. Pies and puddings, breads and roasted seeds are fine and all that, but I am a soup cook as well. In an attempt to create a soup that does NOT taste like pumpkin pie, I present the following":

Ingredients

2 tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
2 cups cooked, pureed pumpkin
2 ½ cups of chicken stock
¾ tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. soy sauce
½ a jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup light cream or half and half

To Do

In a large heavy pot, melt the butter and sauté the onion until tender.
Add remaining ingredients, except the cream.
Cover and simmer 25 to 30 minutes.
Transfer mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.
Add cream and reheat, but do not allow to boil.
Garnish with chives and croutons and serve.

SOUP’S ON!

Boreegard aka Mike O'Neil
November 11, 2009

WV Business Celebrates 10th Year

TASK FORCE INC. is celebrating its 10th year in business under the leadership of WCA member Karen Hugue. TASK FORCE specializes in all facets of home caretaking and maintenance, catering to second homeowners along the Route 28 corridor from Woodstock to Pine Hill.

Services include: exterior and interior house checks, arranging for plumbers, electricians, or any other type of contractor, housekeepers, wood deliveries, pool maintenance, turn on heat/AC prior to your arrival. I also serve as primary or secondary contact for home security systems.

Fees are negotiated on frequency of visits and distance traveled.

For further information contact Karen Hugue 845-688-9816 or email at khugue@hvc.rr.com

Welcome Maya!!

The WCA has a brand new member. Here's a first photo of one-day-old Maya, beautiful daughter of Julia Rose and John Raffaele. She was born on November 12th. Both mom and baby are doing great! Happy Birthday Maya and welcome to Woodland Valley! May your life be blessed with many wonderful things!!

New Members Alma Rodriquez & James Kopp

Alma Rodriquez, James Kopp and their two lovely and talented daughters Paloma and Victoria have joined the WCA!!

Alma & James have a lovely house in the area (called the Winne Lodge) that they are renting. Check out the link below to view it. I have also put the link on the right (permanent) side of the blog so that you can find it if you have any friends who are coming to the area and need a place to stay.

Alma Rodriguez & James Kopp
www.CatskillGetaways.net
info@CatskillGetaways.net

In addition, James owns a business that specializes in grant writing and related services. You can view his website and get a full idea of the services he provides at the link below.

James Kopp
www.jkoppassociates.com
jkopp@hvc.rr.com

I am very excited to welcome Alma, James and their daughters to the association! The WCA has some great community minded new members in the Rodriquez/Kopp family!

Unitard - Nov 12th & 24th in NYC

For those of you who will be down in the city tomorrow Nov 12th or Tuesday Nov 24th Woodland Valley's own David Ilku will be performing with Unitard.

Coming to the rescue in this time of turmoil, like cash for your clunkers or extra-pure heroin, the Unitards (Mike Albo, Nora Burns and David Ilku) will bail you out of your dreary little lives with an evening of humor, wit, song and sarcasm. Following their sold-out evening at Joe’s Pub, Unitard returns with a brand-new twisted take on life in urbania. Spanning the gamut from Vampires to Burlesque, Hudson to Hindus, and Dungeons to DUMBO, their newest show promises to be brilliant, bawdy and hilarious, of course.

"Go see this!, a satirical triumph with no time to apologize for it's hipness" - The Boston Globe

WHEN: Thurs Nov 12th 9:30pm and Tues Nov 24th 8pm
WHERE: Laurie Beechman Theater/WESTBANK CAFÉ 407 West 42nd Street @ 9th Ave.
Reservations: 212 695-6909
TICKETS: $20
www.brownpapertickets.com

Harvesting Bamboo

WCA member James Wolf sent me these photos. They are shots of him harvesting bamboo in Vietnam for his Boo Bicycles and many other projects. Here is what his email said: "Howdy, here are some fun and beautiful shots at the bamboo plantation today. A hot and very sunny November day as we get into the Hot/Dry season for the next few months here." I think the "Rambo" photos of James are especially funny knowing how kind and gentle he is in person. His new nickname should be "Rambamboo"!

I found this information on bamboo on Wikipedia "Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world. Their growth rate (up to 60 centimeters (24 in.)/day) is due to a unique rhizome-dependent system, but is highly dependent on local soil and climate conditions. They are of economic and high cultural significance in East Asia and South East Asia where they are used extensively in gardens, as a building material, and as a food source." These facts make bamboo a highly renewable resource. Very interesting! Thanks for sending us these photos James!