I'm Dreaming Of A White.......Halloween??

All is well in the valley this morning. I think the worst of the storm passed to the east of us. We didn't really get much more than the 8 inches that I reported last night. The snow started to melt almost right after it stopped falling. The sun has been out all day and even more of ground is showing than this morning.

Another piece of great news is that we never lost power, phone or internet. One of the things that I think saved us (besides a lot of the leaves being off the trees) is that we haven't gotten the high winds that were reported in other places. We had some light breezes but that was about it. Whatever the reasons, this storm has come and gone without causing too much trouble in the valley.....yipeee!

October Snow

I am at home tonight and feeling very bitter that I have to take out the snow ruler so early in the season. Oh well, I measured and we have about 8 inches so far. It didn't start to snow here until about 1:30 and I am not sure when it is going to stop. The good thing about our area is that a fair amount of the trees have already lost their leaves. So, although some are straining under the weight of snow plus leaves, a lot of the others are fine. Anyway, we still have power, phone and internet. I hope you all have them where you are. I will post again when the snow stops (hopefully). If you don't see a message from me sometime tomorrow you can assume we lost power (like a lot of the northeast).

Please stay home if possible tonight, I am sure the roads are slippery. I have only heard the town plow come up the road once so far. I am sure they will be back, but it is wiser not to drive in this mess unless you absolutely have to.

Stay warm and dry!

Tomorrow's Candidates Forum Cancelled

There was supposed to be a candidates forum tomorrow in Town Hall so that voters could meet all those in the race and ask questions. It was sponsored by the Watershed Post and was going to be moderated by a representative from the League of Women Voters. Unfortunately, due to weather concerns it has been cancelled. Here is the email I received from Julia Reischel, publisher of the Watershed Post.

Dear Shandaken candidates and residents,

I've just received the latest email from Ulster County Emergency
Services, which is predicting up to 11 inches (!!) of snow in the
Catskills tomorrow. Due to the large safety issues posed by this kind
of snowfall, especially for drivers, we are cancelling the candidates
forum scheduled for 1pm tomorrow at the Shandaken Town Hall.

Unfortunately, we aren't going to be able to reschedule this forum
before election day -- the schedules of 13 candidates and our League
of Women Voters moderator won't match up.

Thank you all for your cooperation and help, and my apologies for the
cancellation. Please stay safe out there tomorrow.

Cheers,
Julia

--
Julia Reischel
Publisher
Watershed Post

Light Snow In The Valley

The first snow of the season fell yesterday.....ugh! It started around 4:00 pm and continued into the evening. It was large wet flakes and only added up to around 3/4 of an inch then began melting. The temps are in the 20's and the weather forecast is calling for 2-4 inches in the next 36 hours. Let's hope that the snow doesn't stick around too long and this is not a harbinger of things to come.

Fawn Hill Road Repairs

You all probably already know that Fawn Hill Road was badly damaged in Hurricane Irene. The first part of the road was slipping into the stream and without repair would eventually collapse. The town highway crew has been working diligently to make sure that doesn't happen. They are installing rip rap on that section and two other sections just below the bridge to stop future erosion that would require more costly repairs. I talked with highway supervisor Eric Hofmeister and he said that the repairs will take a few more weeks but the whole crew is working very hard to get the job done. I was at a political event the other night and it was stated that town wide, the damage done to the roads in Shandaken by the recent flooding has totaled over 4 million dollars. Hopefully the town will receive federal dollars to cover those costs.

Weather Cam Weirdness

Some of you have noticed that the weather cam link on the right side of the blog has been showing San Francisco in certain browsers. Weirdly enough, I was getting the SF link in Safari and Chrome but not in Firefox. I don't know about Internet Explorer because I am on a Mac. Anyway, I went in today and re-posted the link to the WV cam. I think it is working now. In trying to find the HTML code to re-embed into the site, I came across a way to also link to a 24 hour video loop of the weather here in the valley. The screen size was too BIg to put on the right hand side so I put it on the bottom of the page. It is pretty cool. You can stream the images from the last 24 hours into a stop action video. Although it goes black during the night, it still gives you a pretty good idea of the current weather conditions in the valley. Check it out.

Another Night Visitor

Dennis Havel caught this crafty fellow (it is a red fox) with his night cam a few days ago. Dennis' daughter Betsy had this to say when Dennis sent her the photos:

"Wow you are getting some really great pictures with that camera. They may even rival the woodland valley weather webcam!"

Those of us who know Dennis don't have to wonder where she got her sarcasm from! But I think the Botchford clan would argue with the idea these photos are in competition with the action packed WV weather webcam! LOL!!

Library Referendum On The Ballot

Besides the various town government elections there is a referendum on the ballot to increase funding for the library. The referendum reads as follows:

SHALL THE ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE TOWN OF SHANDAKEN FOR THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE PHOENICIA LIBRARY BE INCREASED BY ELEVEN THOUSAND ( $ 11,000 ) DOLLARS TO THE SUM OF NINETY-FOUR THOUSAND ( $ 94,000 ) DOLLARS ANNUALLY

This increase will mean (on average) a $3.00 contribution per household/per year. The library has not had an increase since 2006.

This is another reason why every citizen needs to vote. Please remember to voice your opinion on this issue.

Absentee Ballot Application

Election time is coming up and there are some important town positions on the ballot. We will be voting on Town Supervisor, 2 Town Board Members, Town Clerk, Highway Superintendent and 2 Assessors. It is always important to make your voices heard but it is especially important in a small town like ours. Even the elections that happen in the years when there is not a Presidential race can dramatically change town government. So it is important to VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION!! Those of you who will not be in the area on election day can vote by absentee ballot. The ballots are being mailed out now. You can download an application from the link below.

http://www.co.ulster.ny.us/elections/absenteeapp.pdf

Or you can call the Ulster County Board of Elections at (845) 334-5470. The applications must be postmarked by November 1st. Individuals may apply in person at the Board of Elections through Monday, November 7th.

The Board of Elections will be open extended hours for absentee ballot applications on the following dates:

Tuesday, October 25th (open 9am - 7pm)
Thursday, October 27th (open 9am - 7pm)
Saturday, October 29th (open 9am - 7pm)
Tuesday, November 1st (open 9am - 7pm)
Thursday, November 3rd (open 9am - 7pm)
Saturday, November 5th (open 9am - 12pm)

Please remember to get your ballots and to make your voices heard!!!!

Support Shandaken Animal Volunteer Effort

There will be a sale and auction this weekend to support S.A.V.E (Shandaken Animal Volunteer Effort). Please drop by and help support our town shelter!!

Yard Sale and Auction
Saturday October 22nd
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Shandaken Town Hall
Rt 28

Unitard at Dixon Place

Unitard, featuring WCA member David Ilku and his fabulously funny friends, will be performing this Thursday at Dixon Place in NYC. Those of you who find yourselves in the city this week go and check out the show. I have seen them in the past and they are irreverent and super funny. But don't take my word for it, go see them and decide for yourselves!! Here are the details:

UNITARD: New and Abused This Thursday 10/20 at Dixon Place
Thursday, October 20 at 7:30pm
Location: Dixon Place Lounge 161A Chrystie St

Boreegard Gooses Chicken Paprika

Here is another fabulous recipe from Boreegard aka Mike O'Neil

The only vegetable you’ll find in most classic recipes for chicken paprika is sliced onion; though the more daring ones may have you add a little chopped garlic as well. With all that delicious simmering stock, the cook would be remiss if he or she did not add other items from nature’s cornucopia as well. As you’ll see, that’s just what I have done, to good effect if I do say so myself. I admit, the recipe is a little busy, but it’s worth it. I salivate just thinking about the end product.

INGREDIENTS

Two tablespoons butter and two tablespoons olive oil.
A medium onion sliced thinly.
3 cloves of garlic, minced and chopped.
½ a jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and chopped.
A pound of hot Italian sausage, cut into ½ inch portions.
A small fryer chicken, brined and cut in pieces.
4 tablespoons flour.
2 cups chicken stock.
½ pound mushrooms sliced thinly.
A small zucchini –sliced and diced.
A large horse carrot—sliced and diced.
A small parsnip—sliced and diced.
A tomato—sliced and diced.
1 bay leaf.
¼ cup sweet Hungarian paprika.
1 tsp. salt.
Ground pepper to taste.
Fresh lemon zest and a teaspoon or so of lemon juice.
1 to 1 ½ cups sour cream.

TO DO

In a large frying pan:

Heat butter and oil.
Brown sausage and chicken parts and then remove.
Sautee onions, garlic, peppers until limp.
Add flour and mix.
Add stock, chicken (except the breast), and the rest of the ingredients (except for the sour cream and lemon juice).
Bring to boil, then lower heat to slow simmer and cover frying pan.
Let simmer slowly for ten minutes.
Add white meat, cover, and simmer 12 minutes more.
Remove chicken.
Add sour cream, lemon zest and lemon juice and heat slowly until just on the verge of bubbling.
Return the chicken and stir till all is warm. The stock should be fairly thick at this point. If it isn’t add more flour.

Goes nicely with rice, noodles, or spatzle.

Serves four to six.

The Boiceville Supermarket Is Open!!!

Since my refrigerator is fairly full of food, I went to the Boiceville Supermarket tonight simply because I could. After 6 weeks of cleaning and repair, the market finally opened today to the joy of the entire community. While there are several great markets in Woodstock and Kingston, they are all considerably farther away from the valley than Boiceville. This made shopping much more time consuming and costly in terms of gas usage. So, even though there are things in the store that still need a bit of restocking, for the most part everything in Boiceville is back to normal and the community as well as the employees couldn't be happier about it!

New Video - Phoenicia Is Open For Business

There is a new video on YouTube about Phoenicia. The merchants in the hamlet want folks to know that the town has recovered from the flood and is open for business. So pass this link around and spread the word that the Phoenicia is still a great place to visit, dine and shop!!

ESRM - First Post Flood Concert

WCA member Dakin Morehouse (who is also President of the ESRM) has gotten the Empire State Railway Museum up and running again after all the damage caused by Hurricane Irene. Flying Cat Music will do their first post flood concert on Sunday October 16th featuring Vance Gilbert. I am very excited about this because I have been a fan of his for many years. You can read below for the details of the show. Hope to see you there!!

Flying Cat Music Presents
An Event Not To Be Missed
Vance Gilbert in Concert
at the Empire State Railway Museum
Sunday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m.
Door opens at 7:00

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia
off of Route 28, just east of the village

$18 or $15 w/RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information call 845-688-9453
Artist Website: http://vancegilbert.com/


Flying Cat Music is glad to return to the now reopened Empire State Railway Museum in Phoenicia on Sunday, October 16 to feature an Evening with Vance Gilbert. We couldn’t ask for a finer artist than Vance to resume our concert series at this very special venue--now restored after a brief, flood-imposed shut down. The show begins promptly at 7:30 p.m. with the door opening at 7:00. Admission is $18 at the door or $15 with RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com or by calling 845-688-9453.

Vance Gilbert is a man of whom Music Matters Review says “He expresses yearning like Einstein expresses cosmic concepts… There’s no one like him." That last thought especially can’t be overemphasized. It’s hard to imagine an artist who both Shawn Colvin and George Carlin would ask to open for them on tour; unless of course you’ve seen Vance Gilbert perform. And few, other than Vance, could win billing as the featured special artist for both a Janis Ian concert and an Aretha Franklin concert.

Make no mistake; Vance Gilbert is a folk singer, one who started out in music singing jazz. Those intonations still show in his voice, in his guitar work, and in subtle melodic shifts within his songs. But content matters in folk music, and content matters to Vance. The Boston Globe describes Vance Gilbert’s music this way: “His catchy, pop friendly melodies support keenly crafted, hardhitting lyrics. His guitar is supple, his milk-warm tenor honest and gently acrobatic…he does not duck hard truths and never succumbs to the temptation to tie his points up in neat platitudes or truthisms. He writes powerfully and uncompromisingly about the wrenching separation suffered by single parents, the tug between love’s desire and its demands and the bitterness of being nonwhite in this Eurocentric culture.”

Dirty Linen calls Vance Gilbert, "Among the quintessential musical poets," while New Texas Magazine writes “Gilbert’s songs have the piercing quality of a dart shot right through the heart." But none of that prepares you for the warmth and whimsical humor that also floods a live Vance Gilbert show.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram hints at that when it says of Gilbert "The voice of an angel, the wit of a devil…” The Boston Globe review of Vance Gilbert cited above also notes: “He is that rare performer for whom people lean forward in their seats as eagerly between songs as they do during them.” George Carlin clearly knew what he was doing when he asked Vance Gilbert to open for him at some of his final shows.

Ever since we saw Vance Gilbert transfigure the crowd, while playing the main stage at Falcon Ridge, we wanted to someday have him at the train station in Phoenicia. Now that that day is coming we hope you can be there for it.

The Empire State Railway Museum is located at 70 Lower High Street which is about one quarter mile east of the Bridge Street entrance to Phoenicia off of Route 28.

Assembling Flood Data

There is a group just formed that is collecting data on the recent flood to get a clearer picture of the damage incurred in our area. The group is being spearheaded by Faye Storms and Kathryn Haber. Below is there request for information. Those of you who would like to participate in this effort can see the details below.

SAVE OUR SHANDAKEN

Our newly formed group of Shandaken residents (all are welcome) has decided to better understand flood damage sustained by the town at large. Toward this end we are asking for your help. No one will benefit financially from costs reported. This data will only, yet very importantly, give us a more global perspective on how our town was affected by the recent flooding events. All data reported will be marked on one inclusive town map located in the Ruth Gale Realty office in Phoenicia.

Please help your town create an updated and relevant FLOOD MAP

Provide us with 5 simple facts

NAME
LOCATION
CONTACT INFO
DESCRIPTION OF DAMAGE
COST OF REPAIRS

Email your information to Saveourshandaken@gmail.com or fill in a form at Ruth Gale Realty in Phoenicia

For more information on Save Our Shandaken visit our Facebook Page

Phoenicia Halloween Parade

Mark your calendars now for the upcoming Halloween festivities right here in Phoenicia. The Phoenicia Halloween Parade will be held on Sunday October 30th. I always love this event! The marchers start at the Phoenicia school, march through town and then end up in parish field where the Rotary provides snacks. It is a wonderful homespun tradition. I hope to see you there.

Sunday, October 30
Phoenicia Halloween Parade (rain or shine)
1:30 formation at Phoenicia School; 2pm Parade; 2:30-4:30 Goblin gathering outside of Parish Hall
No cost, but wear an awesome costume.

Eccentric Portraits - Curators Talk

Speaking of the Wolf family, WCA member Sylvia Wolf has recently co-curated a show called "Eccentric Portraits" with Nancy Azara for the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. She and Ms. Azara are giving a curator's talk this Sunday October 9th at 3pm. Guest artist Carl Van Brunt will also be on hand. The talk will be at the Byrdcliffe Kleinart/James Center for the Arts - 36 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY. The exhibition will be on view through October 16th, 2011. Gallery Hours are Friday - Sunday 12 - 6 pm. For more information go to www.byrdcliffe.org or call 845-679-2079.

The Bamboo Baron

Here is a link to an article from a Vietnamese newspaper about WCA member James Wolf. James owns property in the valley and, until very recently, his mother Sylvia Wolf lived on Pantherkill Road. James lives in Vietnam with his wife Lam and the beautiful daughter Maya. James and his family visit the valley as often as possible. But his factory is in Vietnam where he designs and produces many products made from bamboo (bikes, toys, furniture etc.). Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth. It is an easily renewable resource and so it makes great ecological sense to use it instead of slower growing hard woods. Check out the story about James in the Thanh Nien News.

The Bamboo Baron

Boreegard's Tomato Soup

I got this message (including the recipe) from Boreegard (aka Mike O'Neil) a few days ago. Here is what he had to say:

Boreegard uses some of his fall tomatoes
(Is it soup yet?)

The start of fall is upon us, and happily we are blessed with a plethora of beautiful ripe tomatoes. Last year the neighborhood deer herd had eaten not only our tomatoes, but the plants—right down to the ground. This year Bambi seems satisfied consuming just the hostas. Go figure.

Here’s how I used 3 pounds of the ‘maters last night. SOUP—beautiful, prize winning soup. I freely admit borrowing the outline of the recipe from Marian Morash’s marvelous VICTORY GARDEN COOKBOOK. Thank you Mrs. Morash, wherever you are.

Ingredients

3 lb. ripe tomatoes
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped carrots
2 TB butter
2 TB oil
1 TB chopped garlic
1 TB tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Ground pepper
2 cups chicken broth
3 TBSP rice
½ cup heavy cream

TO DO

Cut washed tomatoes into slices or chunks
Slowly cook the onions and carrots in the butter and oil until they are limp.
Add tomatoes—cover pan—and cook for 5 minutes.
Add garlic, tomato paste, bay leaf, sugar, salt, pepper.
Cover and simmer slowly for 15 minutes. Stir once and awhile.
Add broth and rice—bring to a boil—then simmer, covered, for 15 or 20 minutes.
Add heavy cream; stir until it’s hot, but not boiling.

Makes 5 or 6 cups.

Garlic bread goes well with it.

Boreegard
September 25, 2011