This Month’s Featured Articles…
The Ground We Walk On
History is the greatest irony that pervades the human experience. It defines who we have become and is the method of transportation toward our future – yet often forgotten in the present. For those who watch history’s tidal cycles, it has become the answer to a very familiar riddle: Die without me, Never thank me. Walk right through me, Never feel me. Always watching, Never speaking. Always lurking, Never seen. What am I? Much like the oxygen we breathe and the natural world in which [...]
Preservation, Protection & Profundity
The Siegel-Kline Kill Conservation Area is one of ten that is maintained by the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) in Columbia County, NY. It might be one of the smallest, and it might be one of the least varied, with its simple mile-long loop that is mostly flat. It’s easy to miss when you’re driving out of Ghent on County Route 21, which is a main thoroughfare to Valatie and points north. From the road it looks like, well, a big field and not much more. [...]
A Blossoming Business
Colorful blooms in shades of red, blue, white, and other vibrant hues are the focus of business for F.W. Battenfeld & Son – a family-run farm in Red Hook, NY. The company, which is currently helmed by Fred Battenfeld, his son Lance and daughter Morgan, traces its history back to 1906. Fred represents the fourth generation of the family presiding over the farm while Lance and Morgan claim fifth-generation status. It was their relative Conrad Battenfeld who planted the initial seeds for the family farming [...]
Farming for the Future
My introduction to Hudson Hemp was at a pop-up market in the round barn at Churchtown Dairy outside of Hudson, NY. It was late fall of 2018. The round barn is a marvel in and of itself, an already magical space, and having local vendors in it with a variety of handmade goodies and wares made it even more so. It’s the perfect space in which to learn about what your neighbors are making and growing. On this beautiful late fall afternoon, in the heart [...]
A Different Kind of Rescue Mission
Winter can be tough on many folks. From the moment the first frost settles in the Northeast to the early emergence of the progeny of green flora, the interim months of winter doldrums can have an isolating effect on even the most cheerful. For many, the past year seemed to have encompassed one prolonged, especially frigid winter that proved to be downright relentless. Feelings of winter’s isolation were extended through the summer months and amplified by the spread of the coronavirus. Stay-at-home guidelines implemented to [...]
