Yoga Classes Resume

Here is a message from WCA member Cardi O'Connor.

Hi Everyone,
Just a reminder that my yoga classes begin THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 2ND. Here, again, is the schedule and pertinent info. Looking forward to seeing you back on the mat!
Best Wishes, Ricarda

Here's the full schedule:

Sunday: Open-Level Yoga @ 9:30 am till 11:00 am
Monday: Open-Level Yoga @ 9:30 am till 11:00 am
Monday: Stretch Class @ 5:30 pm till 7:00 pm

Place:

Catskill Mountain Physical Therapy
Located in the 1890 House, corner of Bridge St. and Main St., Phoenicia

Logistics:

After entering the front door, go through the sliding doors on your left to enter the waiting room. The classroom is just beyond it.

Price:

My classes are still just $15.00, but if you're financially stretched then come to class anyway and pay what you can.

Weekend Fun Reminder

There is a lot of local fun to be had this weekend. WCA member Rick Altman will be appearing with David Oliver at The Arts Upstairs Gallery in Phoenicia on Friday night at 7:30 pm. There will be a special guest appearance by Miriam Rose (see older post for more details).

On Saturday there is the much awaited and world famous Dershowitz summer party. The party goes on rain or shine from 1:00 pm until whenever. All WCA members are invited. You can bring a non-meat dish or beverage to share. Desserts are welcome too! Remember to bring your bathing suits and a tennis racket (if you play). It is always big fun!

See you out and about this weekend!

Eco-Art Exhibit

Natural and Recycled Art

You are invited to attend an art exhibit this Friday, July 31 from 1-3pm at the Parish Hall in Phoenicia. View works by local children! Enjoy live music and bring a potluck dish to share. Suggested donation $5.

Catskill Woodland Camp
P.O. Box 647
Phoenicia, New York 12464
(845) 688-2068

www.catskillwoodlandcamp.com

Mind - Body - Wellness Workshop

This message is from Woodland Valley resident MJ Reiss

Mind - Body - Wellness Workshop

“A disease free body,
quiver free breath,
confusion free mind,
inhibition free intellect,
trauma free memory,
ego that encompasses all,
a sorrow free soul….
are the birthrights of every being”

H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankar

Eliminate Stress with Breathing Techniques & Meditation

Date: Saturdays, August 1st & 8th
Time: 6:00 PM - 7 PM
Where: Copperhood Inn ( at Spa Entrance)
7039 State Route 28
Shandaken, NY 12480
(845) 688-2460

Questions? Call MJ Reiss 845-688-5601

R.S.V.P to stressfreephoenicia@gmail.com

Bring your family and friends

Part I Art of Living Course - Aug 14th - 17th 2009

Hi Folks,
Just wanted to let you know I'm excited about the next upcoming course. It will run from Aug 14th to the 18th, at the Copperhood Inn, just outside Phoenicia.
The Guided Meditations that will take place at the same venue on Saturday from 6-7 PM, before the long kria. Please feel free to print up a few and give them to your friends or email them.
If you are thinking about taking the course as a repeater, this is an excellent time to do so. Let me know if you are interested.
If there is that someone special whom you think would be perfect to take the course, drop your considerations as to why they can't and simply consider the possibility of "Yes" they can, and ask them. Tell them about your experience. Additionally, I have the whole week of Aug 3rd - 13th off, so, think about getting a group of people together, and we can arrange to have an Intro talk in your own home.

Finally, if you haven't been doing your breathing, but would like to bring yourself back to your center... then now is the time to join us up at the Copperhood Inn. The yoga studio is just beautiful, with a stream side view and wonderful moments are awaiting you. We are holding a weekly long kria at 4:30 on Sundays.

I hope to see you there soon!
- MJ

Remembering Uncle Walter

As the world mourns the loss of one of television's great newsmen I thought I would post this excerpt from an article written by Paul O'Neil, the late great writer, Roxmor resident and father of WCA member Mike O'Neil.

"Millions of people would find a political convention, a state funeral, a national election or a moon shot as curious, if Walter Cronkite did not describe it to them on TV, as a World Series without an umpire. Armies of them consider him their one constantly credible source of information in an era of complaints, deception and social uncertainty. Columnist Art Buchwald was less facetious than he may have believed, during the Apollo 10 flight, when he described Mrs. Buchwald's reaction to the words “son of a bitch” as muttered from deep space by Astronaut Eugene Cernan. “What's happening?” she cried (or so Art told his readers). “What is it Walter?” And, on being reminded that Cronkite was not, after all, in charge of the mission: “He's the only one I have faith in. What do the rest of them know?”

The age of TV has not yet produced that race of creatures predicted by the late Fred Allen: “People with eyeballs as big as grapefruit and no brains, no brains at all.” Many Americans no longer read newspapers, however, and communicate with the world solely through their picture tubes. Cronkite is appalled by this reliance on so narrow a channel of information-even though a great many of the wrongdoers are getting their news from him. Cronkite's professional reputation is based on rigorous objectivity-a refusal to inflict his own opinions of the viewing public-but the real flavor of the man stems from those very areas of private conviction and personal anomaly which never emerge on the TV screen."

- Paul O'Neil
Life Magazine March 26, 1971

Register to Vote

With both the Republican and the Democratic caucuses happening lately I thought I would remind everyone who is not registered yet to do so as soon as possible. You can get the forms right here in Phoenicia at the post office. It is a very simple process. We have two town board seats as well as the supervisor position to decide on this fall. The town board elections are very important to everyone in Shandaken so please vote and make your voices heard!

For more voter registration information go to this website:
Project Vote Smart
You can download a PDF version of the voter registration form for NY from this site.

Rick Altman & David Oliver at Art Upstairs

Rick Altman and David Oliver
Special Guest Miriam Rose

An Evening Of New Music For Vibes and Marimbas
Inspired by Jazz, Folk, Ska, Afro-Cuban
and many other World musics.

Friday, July 31, 7:30-9:30 PM
the Arts Upstairs
60 Main St. Phoenicia, NY 12464
845 688-2142
$3 donation

Mike Todd – Catskill Woodsman

Mike Todd was a Catskill woodsman who spent seven summers at Camp Woodland until he died in 1960. A noted bear hunter and teller of tall tales, Mike Todd described Mike Todd – Catskill Woodsman himself as the biggest liar in Ulster County. He was also an observer at Balsam Lake Fire Tower from 1919 to 1947. He had an uncanny ability to describe the exact location of fires he spotted.


He usually dressed in an old long sleeve lumberjack shirt buttoned tight to the collar (even in the summer), pants baggy above his knees, held up by suspenders, and gathered tightly at his thighs by long laced boots. His broad brimmed round hat set off his craggy, worn face. At age 75, he still played the harmonica, holding it in his left hand accompanied by “bones”, musical instruments consisting of two flat, hardwood maple sticks that he held between his fingers and cracked together for rhythm and danced a jig all at the same time.

Mike Todd had, as did many others who Camp Woodland came to know, a great respect for craftsmanship. Respectful care for tools was important to him. Even the appearance of a tool became connected to its use. When complemented on the attractiveness of a tool he had forged, Mike said “It ain’t nice fer purdy, but it’s hell for stout.”

Below Mike demonstrates a shingle-shaving “horse” which he made for the Camp Woodland Museum.













One of the tricks that Mike taught campers was how to locate honey bee hives. He placed a bowl of sugar water on a flat piece of wood attached to the top of a post. Once the bees discovered the sugar water, Mike watched the direction they took back to the hive. Then he would move the post with the sugar water to another location and watch the new direction taken by the bees back to the hive. Where the two bee lines intersected was a pretty good approximation of the hive’s location.

This was sent to me by WCA member and former Camp Woodland camper Bill Horne. It is a great piece of Woodland Valley History. Thanks for sending it Bill!

Stargazing Event A Great Success

We were lucky last night that the sky was clear and stayed that way until some where around midnight. A group of about 25 people gathered in the dark to look into the heavens. With Alexander as our guide we saw many wonderful things and had great fun viewing the stars and gallaxies. It was all amazing! Thanks to Alexander for generously volunteering to share both his vast knowledge and his impressive equipment!! It was a wonderful, informative evening!

Stargazing Event TONIGHT!

OK folks, we are going to try and do the stargazing event tonight. I just got off the phone with Alexander and he felt that tonight's weather could still go either way but the forecast looks pretty good so we are going to give it a shot. Remember to DRESS WARMLY and BRING A FLASHLIGHT!!! The Larkin Farm property is down at the end of Woodland Valley road about a quarter mile before the campground. It is on the right. For those of you who know Terry Savage it is the property that formerly belonged to him. It is just past the Holz farm. You access it by going down the road just before the small bridge (Dougherty Brook for those who know). I will put out a sign with balloons. Remember to park on the road and walk back. Alexander plans on arriving at dusk (around 8:30 - 9:00). See you there!!

PS - We will be out for a while so remember to bring a blanket or chair for sitting. Remember whatever you bring into the property you must bring back out with you.

Stargazing Event - NOT Friday Night

I just spoke with Alexander and he said we are definitely not going to do the stargazing event tonight because the weather is calling for possible thunderstorms. The NOAA site is saying clear skies for Saturday night so we are keeping our fingers crossed and trying for tomorrow night but with the weather being as unsettled as it has been it may change. I will keep everyone posted.

Stay tuned!
Carol

Stargazing Event This Weekend

The weather for this weekend has been changing just about every few hours so we are still unsure which night will be clearest (if any) for stargazing. I will call Alexander tomorrow and let you know what he thinks. If you want me to email you directly send me a message here at wvview@gmail.com and I will put you on the list. If you don't have Internet in the valley send me your phone number and I will give you a call. Sorry for waiting until the last minute to decide on a date but the weather has been very volatile lately. Stay tuned!!

The Sidetrackers at the ESRM - July 19th

Dakin Morehouse (WCA member and (President of the ESRM0 sent me this announcement.

“Songs and Stories of the Great Catskill Moutain Railroads - The Sidetrackers”

Sunday
3-5pm July 19, 2009
Empire State Railway Museum
Phoenicia, NY

Merging their fascination with railroading with American folk music, on July 19 from 3-5 pm, the duo band “The Sidetrackers” will relive the days when the Catskills railroad was alive with hobos, heroes and villains. Performing at the Empire State Railroad Museum in Phoenicia, NY, songs and stories will include the history of the region where locomotives from the Ulster & Delaware, Catskill Mountain and other railroad companies passed through the region.

Both performers have a long history performing regional folk music. Ira McIntosh’s mother is a folklorist-ethnomusicologist and Jim’s great-grandfather was a fireman on the U&D Railroad. Together they play a variety of instruments including guitar, mandolin, harmonica and bass.

The event will be on July 19th from 3-5pm at the Empire State Railway Museum. located in Phoenicia, NY.

This concert is part of the 2009 Hudson River Quadracentennial Celebration organized by the Heritage Folk Music, Inc., a not-for-profit group that highlights regional and historic folk music, folklore and oral history of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River Valley. Admission is $8.00. For more information, please contact Bob Lusk at (845) 594-4412.

(This concert is made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Quadracentennial Commission.)

Further information:

Ira McIntosh is from Bovina, a Catskill Mountain town that the railroad never quite reached (the roadbed was built but the rails haven’t come yet). He lives two-thirds of the way up Delaware County’s highest peak with his wife and two magnificent children. As the child of a folklorist/ethnomusicologist and a Catskill Mountain woodsman, Ira spent his early days simmering in the good old time heritage of the region. In 1954, Ira’s mother and grandfather rode on the last passenger train over the U&D rails from Stamford to Oneonta. (845) 676-4727

Jim Donnelly was born in Kingston, New York where he’s been crazy about trains since childhood. Mischievous Jim is a published poet and an exciting performer of all sorts of music from Hudson River folk songs and traditional Irish tunes to rock and roll. Jim’s great-grandfather was a fireman on the U&D Railroad and later on the Wallkill Valley line. (845) 266-5734

Fifty-four years later, in December of 2008, “The Sidetrackers”, each with their youngest child, were among the first riders to enjoy service over a long-unused stretch of U&D trackage thanks to the people of the Catskill Mountain Railroad who work very hard to make that experience available to folks in our area.

Allow Extra Time

The Shandaken Highway Department is repaving Woodland Valley Road this week between Grandview and Roxmor so if you have to come into or out of the valley leave extra time to get past the road crews.

John Strauss - Furniture Design

I met WCA member John Strauss at the meeting on Saturday and he sent me a link to his website. He designs and manufactures beautiful custom built furniture. There is so much talent here in Woodland Valley! Check his site out when you have the chance!

John Strauss - Furniture Design

PS - I have added John's site to the permanent "WCA Member Web Sites" area on the right side of the blog so you can find it easily in the future.

WCA Annual Summer Meeting

The annual summer meeting of the WCA was a great success! Once again our kind neighbors at Roxmor allowed us to use their clubhouse for our gathering. Thank you Roxmor!! We had a large turnout of both old and new neighbors. Many people volunteered to help organize the snacks for the meeting so we had a wide variety of goodies to eat. Thanks again to everyone who helped with the food! For those unable to attend the meeting I will briefly recap the details. We discussed where we are in the Poncic water harvesting matter (no new news to report on that front), talked about preventing the Didymo from getting into the Woodland Valley stream, voted to made donations to the library, fire department and ambulance service, talked about the rest of the WCA summer schedule and voted on the WCA officers and directors. The election results are as follows:

Officers of the WCA:

President - Carol Seitz
Vice President - Peggy Neu
Secretary - Mike O'Neil
Treasurer - Brave Emma

The Board of Directors:

Michele Kesee
Carol Seitz
Brave Emma
Ann McInnis
Mike O'Neil
Peggy Neu
Dakin Morehouse

We also voted to create a non-voting membership in the WCA for those people who love Woodland Valley and want to join the community association but do not live here. To close out our meeting Miriam Rose once more played her violin. Thanks Miriam, you played beautifully!! Thanks also to everyone who attended. It is important that we all participate in our community! See you all soon in the valley!

- Carol Seitz
President WCA

All photos are by Cardi O'Conner (thanks Cardi!!)

More Photos From The Annual Summer Meeting

Jeff Schwartz sent me more photos of the annual summer meeting. Thanks Jeff!!

Astronomy Club - Second Meeting

Here is a note from Lauren Altman and Miriam Rose

Hi all,

Get ready for meeting #2 of the Catskill Astronomy Club. The next meeting is at 4:30 (please note time change), on Monday July 13th, upstairs at the Phoenicia Library. Please bring your newly discovered fact about the moon to share. We have some stuff to start working on our planet-mobiles, feel free to bring some other bits of trim, glitter, glue, etc.

Hope to see you there,

Lauren & Miriam Rose

Camp Woodland Event

This was sent by WCA member Cara Cruickshank.

Camp Woodland: 1959
An Evening of Stories and Songs

Saturday, July 11
7:30pm
At the Pine Hill Community Center
287 Main St., Pine Hill
Free Admission
A Legendary and Historical Event

Camp Woodland was a summer camp in Phoenicia, N.Y. from 1939-1962. Interracial and progressive, it helped to preserve much of the folklore of the Catskills.

Alumni Sue Rosenberg, Pat Gordon Lamanna, Karl and Greg Finger, and (possibly) Eric Weissberg will give a Camp Woodland Multi-Media Presentation through photos, stories and songs.

(After-Party and Music Jam at Cara's House)

For more info. call: 845-452-4013, email: patla@hvc.rr.com orinfo@pinehillcommunitycenter.org
www.pinehillcommunitycenter.org

Shandaken Artist Studio Tour July 17th-19th

The 2009 Shandaken Arts Festival and Studio Tour will take place from July 17th to 19th. The festival begins on Friday night with a performance of "Liz Sargent Installations" at Mount Tremper Arts on Plank Road. (Information on The Mount Tremper Arts Summer Series can be found at www.MtTremperArts.com). On Saturday and Sunday you can visit over 30 artists and craftspeople in their homes and studios and see their current work. You can get maps for the event around town or visit www.shandakenart.com for maps, driving directions and a description of all the activities. I went to several studios last year and it was great! Here in Woodland Valley, WCA member Wendy Grossman will be opening her studio. Try to get out and see some fantastic art in your own backyard!

Meeting Reminder

This is just to remind everyone that the annual summer meeting of the Woodland Community Association is this Saturday, July 11th at 4:00 pm in the Roxmor clubhouse. Since it is our only big meeting of the year I hope you will all attend. See you there!

Carol Seitz
Blogmistress & President of the WCA

Concert at the ESRM

Here is a announcement sent to me by Dakin Morehouse, WCA member and ESRM President, regarding an upcoming concert at the museum. Check it out if you are going to be around that day.

A. J. Roach
in Concert
Phoenicia Railroad Station
Sunday, July 12
7:30 PM (sharp)

At the Empire State Railway Museum
on Lower High Street
off of Route 28, Phoenicia, NY
Doors open 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.

About A. J. Roach:

There's a sad beauty, a bittersweet melancholy that runs through the songs of A. J. Roach, as pure and welcome as an Appalachian spring."
-Paste Magazine

A. J. has been selected for a Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase at this year's Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, NY.

"Roach took the audience packed into the estimable Fallen Angels club, on a backwoods travelogue that was virtually a masterclass in illustrating how much sophistication goes into creating so-called primitive music."
-The Glasgow Herald

My Apologies

Let me apologize to anyone who has tried to email me through my personal email account last week regarding the upcoming annual meeting and didn't get an answer. My server went down for a day or so and I wasn't getting my messages. So if I didn't respond to you please know that I didn't get your message and try again. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

Your Blogmistress,
Carol Seitz

Rainbow Over The Valley

Here is a message from WCA members Jeff and Aileen Schwartz. Thanks for sending us this great photo!

"Since we got to our house in Woodland Valley this weekend TCM has been showing "The Wizard of OZ" and for the life of me I could not figure out why, then today Friday July 3rd at approximately 7:30 PM my wife Aileen shouts "there is a rainbow in the Valley and is going right into the mountain". Here is the picture that she took of it, proving that the pot of gold that is supposed to be at the end of a rainbow must be Woodland Valley itself."

Jeff and Aileen

Bamboo/Carbon Bike

Here is an update from WCA member James Wolf about the current design innovations to his bamboo bikes.

"I just completed my first bamboo/carbon bike frame today. Not bad for the first try, but I know I'll get it even nicer in the very near future."

- James