November is right around the corner. After the vivid colors of October, November and "stick season" can seem like a disappointment. For many, it's a time that is synonymous with depression and gloom. In Moby Dick, Ishmael indicates that going a-whaling is his antidote for...
For many of us in the New Paltz area, the Mohonk tower orients us in the universe. It is set in the west, with the tower on the southern edge of of the Skytop notch, unchanging. So it seemed as I grew up.Then one day,...
Yes, autumn is marked by the bright displays of foliage that draw the leaf peepers north. But, in its first few weeks, before the leaves really start to turn, something else is happening. Almost overnight, nature’s profusion stops. . . and waits. For what?As a...
Working on this image from the Millbrook Preserve made me wonder, do trees dance?Do they exult over the changing phases of the moon or the rise and fall of tides? Are they responding to some subterranean rhythm beaten out by glacial shifts in the tectonic...
My 2025 calendar is available at Handmade & More, with all new images for each month. Like last year, I’m donating half of the net profits to the preservation efforts of the Wallkill Valley Land Trust. This way, you can get a calendar for the...
I recently saw an exhibit of Scots painter Adam Bruce Thompson. Actually, here's the way it really worked: we were on our way to catch a train, and happened to walk by the building where the exhibit was being held. I saw a poster featuring...
As soon as people learn that I grew up in New Paltz, the next comment is often, "So, I guess you're a climber." I explain that when I was young, rock climbers tended to be these Teutonic looking men in lederhosen carrying heavy coils of...
I've been working with small towns for over 25 years. From a certain perspective, that might seem like toiling in the minor leagues or playing the hinterlands with a traveling theater company. But, there is something wonderful about it. You get to know people from all...
Of course I’m referring to Minnewaska State Park. (This image is from earlier in the Spring.) The Lake can be thought of as a sculpture garden, with boulders carefully arrayed on its carriage roads along with scenic vistas that were created for the enjoyment of...
This painting was supposed to be a straightforward rendering of Mohonk's Memorial Gateway. But, in process, it somehow morphed into a pilgrimage site. (Click on it to enlarge.) That got me to thinking.It is easy--and satisfying--to consider life as high drama. But our actual lives...