All Over Albany

Forest walk for mushrooms, and a few other things do with the Rensselaer Land Trust

This could be interesting: The Rensselaer Land Trust has a mushroom walk led by mycologist Sue Van Hook lined up for August 25. Blurbage:

Sue Van Hook, local mycologist, will lead us into the woods at one of our forests or preserves. Participants will have a chance to develop their ?eld skills in mushroom identi?cation. Bring a basket or bag with stiff sides, a ?eld knife or trowel, and a hand lens if you have one.

The walk is Saturday, August 25 at 10 am.

Registration is $10 per person (kids are free) and available online. It's limited to 25 people.

More land trust events
If you're looking to get outside and learn a little bit about the natural world around here, the Rensselaer Land Trust has a handful of upcoming events:
+ August 18: Celebrate Stephentown at Robert Ingalls Preserve Hike
+ August 19: Wilderness Ways for Families and Children
+ August 23: After Work Walk-Poestenkill Community Forest - Where is the water in the woods?
+ September 8: Bird Walk and Talk About bird Census at the Poestenkill Community Forest

See the links for the details and registration info.

photo via Rensselaer Land Trust Facebook

Charlie Foxtrot at Mess Hall

It's not lost on me that a military-style eatery is serving up some of my most beloved comfort food, even though I've no military experience myself, and neither do my parents.

My grandfather was a WWII veteran, and I have uncles and cousins who have honorably served multiple tours of duty for the Marines and Army. But the food that marked their military careers had no effect on my own upbringing.

Somehow, still, the food from the bunker outpost that is Mess Hall, in Averill Park, hits me right where it counts when it comes to culinary nostalgia and edible comfort.

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Floating above the Rensselaer County landscape

This is like a short midday vacation: Check out this aerial video of autumnal and winter scenes from the Rensselaer County landscape by filmmaker Nate Simms. And the accompanying music by Rosary Beard makes it even dreamier.

You might remember Nate Simms from the documentary Brunswick a few years back.

[via Deanna]

The Poestenkill Lion

Here's a closer look.

The artwork above -- known as "The Poestenkill Lion" -- is now on display at the Rensselaer County Historical Society. It's a sharp turn of fate for artwork -- it was almost firewood a few years back.

From an RCHS press release:

The lion first came to RCHS in 2011, when long-time RCHS supporters Hughes and Eva Gemmill donated this delightful painting. The painting, which dates to c.1840 and is by an unknown artist, is done on four wide boards, thinly painted with milk paint on unfinished wood.

Discovered a number of years ago during the demolition of a summer kitchen in a house in Poestenkill, the lion was almost lost to history. The dismantled wood was slated to be used as firewood. Thankfully, before these four boards were burnt, the Gemmills noticed a bit of color peeking out from underneath layers of plaster and wallpaper. After some careful removal of the plaster and wallpaper, the complete image of the lion appeared.

The Gemmills did find evidence of at least one other animal. RCHS also has in its collection the small fragments of wood that depict another animal, possibly a leopard, which came from the same space. It is possible that there were more animal figures on other boards that did not survive.

Once the Gemmills had the complete painting of the lion, they hung the four boards over their bed, until they decided to donate the painting to RCHS.

RCHS says the lion is probably based on an illustration from a Bible or maybe the work of Edward Hicks. The artist is unknown.

The historical society got a $2,500 grant this year to restore the work, and sent it to O'Connor Art Conservation in the Berkshires for cleaning and repair.

image: Rensselaer County Historical Society

Schodack Island State Park

This summer I'm visiting local parks to bring the scoop on each one to you. Today I'm headed north to Hudson Crossing Park. I've also already visited Hudson Crossing, Cherry Plain, Moreau Lake, Grafton Lakes, and Peebles Island.

If you've never been to Schodack Island State Park, you are definitely missing out. It is an incredibly peaceful spot right on the Hudson River, and the grounds are meticulously cared for. It also scores big bonus points because it doesn't charge an entrance fee during the week, making it a great destination for families and visitors during the week.

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Cherry Plain State Park

Cherry Plain State Park -- worth the trip

This summer I'm visiting local state parks and getting the scoop on each one. Today I'm stopping at Cherry Plain State Park. I've also already visited Moreau Lake, Grafton Lakes, and Peebles Island.

I first heard of Cherry Plain State Park as an ideal place to go to avoid the crowds, while still getting a day of swimming in. The park, situated quite a distance from metro areas, certainly does deliver on the promise of peace and personal space.

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Hot? Try wearing a fur coat

Here's a larger version of the pic.

Jeff sent along this photo of bear in the town of Sand Lake today: "This bear was hot and decided to cool off in our pond."

The temperature hit 90 degrees Tuesday afternoon, with a heat index of 96. That's, like, 115 if you're wearing a fur coat.*

(Thanks, Jeff!)

*OK, we might have made the second part up.

Pizza at Kay's Pizza

It is said that the pizza you grow up with is the pizza by which all other pizza will ever be judged -- regardless of how good or bad that childhood pizza was. As a result, pizzas of many types -- and a range of relative merits -- have a special place in the hearts of people.

Sure, that very poofy crust/exceptionally thin crust/sweet sauced/tangy sauced/underbaked/overbaked/whatever pizza might have its flaws, but it's your pizza. And eating it evokes memories.

No matter what type of pizza holds that place in your heart -- and no matter how good (or bad) that pizza is -- there is little doubt the pizza from Kay's will stand up to it favorably.

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Grafton Lakes State Park

I'm visiting local state parks this spring and summer and will be sharing the best parts of each spot. Last time it was Peebles Island. Today, we talk Grafton Lakes.

Grafton Lakes is the reason why I fell in love with New York State parks. While I've been impressed with some other spots, Grafton Lakes has the closest thing in this area to a real beach. That's not to mention the trails, boating, picnicking, and basically any other outdoor activity you can think of...

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The grassfed burger at Pirates Lakeside Grill

We've been blessed with a long cool spring, but soon it will get hot. And when it does you will be faced with three choices: sweat, seek air conditioning, or head for the water.

A patch of shade with some cooling breezes coming off the water is one of summer's great pleasures. Waterfront dining options far too often take advantage of the situation and charge outrageous premiums on barely adequate food.

Yet somehow in the Capital Region we've seemed to avoid the worst of that. You can eat on the banks of the Hudson at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que or in sight of the Mohawk at Jumpin' Jacks without being gouged for the view. These places are locally famous. But there is another restaurant nearby that most people probably have never heard about. And it has a nicer view than Dinosaur, uses better meat than Jumpin' Jacks, and is a veritable haven for local and regional food lovers.

Pirates Lakeside Grill is also home to the $5 grassfed burger.

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Beer Diviner Kickstarter

Quick follow up on the Beer Diviner, the "nano-brewery" in Rensselaer County: Founder Jonathan Post has started a Kickstarter campaign to expand beyond his "out in the sticks" property to open a new tasting room and retail outlet in Stephentown. Blurbage:

In order to get the outlet up and running, increase beer production and hire someone, the outlet will need start-up money for inventory, furniture and renovation. We want to make this a comfortable, community oriented space, where you can taste New York State beer, wine and liquor, try different foods, bring your laptop and get free wifi, hang out at tables inside and outside, play ping pong, foosball and darts. We plan on decorating with pictures and descriptions about the history of beer and how The Beer Diviner got its start in an indigenous village in West Africa.

Post has set a $12,000 goal -- the funding deadline is June 27.

Award: The Beer Diviner's Got Your Back Stout took 3rd place in the "Best Individual Craft Beers in the Hudson Valley" category at the recent TAP NY event. (Beers from Olde Saratoga took the top two spots.)

Earlier on AOA: Casey visited the Beer Diviner brewery in April

The Beer Diviner

For a decade, Jonathan Post -- who has a Ph.D. in English -- worked at colleges and universities around the area. But when a program he was connected to at UAlbany ended, he decided, "Fine, if I can't be a doctor of English, I'll be a doctor of beer."

So last April, he started The Beer Diviner. He now brews from his nano-brewery in Cherry Plain -- about an hour east of Albany in Renssealer County, out past Averill Park.

But Post's journey as a brewer took an important step a bit farther away than that: in a small village in Burkina Faso.

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Moxie's is more than plain vanilla

The first batch of Mexican vanilla ice cream that Moxie's ever made was technically illegal.

"But only a little illegal," Pamela Allie-Morrill explains. Ms. Pam, as she likes to be called, is the daughter of the eponymous Mohamed "Moxie" Allie -- she now runs the ice cream stand in Wynantskill. She says that original supply of Mexican vanilla hitched a ride into this country in her cousin's suitcase. It wasn't exactly an act of smuggling.

That Mexican vanilla has since been replaced with Mexican vanilla sourced via Illinois. But it's still an integral part of Moxie's Around the World of Vanilla -- a solar system of vanilla ice creams in a dish that surround Moxie's signature flavor, Blue Moon.

So, why vanilla? Pam says it's simple -- it was the most readily available flavor when she was looking to make her mark on Moxie's eleven years ago. And the vanilla sampler has been a popular staple at the stand ever since.

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So people actually do get stopped for texting while driving

Almost 21,000 tickets for texting-while-driving were issued by police in New York State over the last year, according to numbers from the Cuomo admin. And, look, county-by-county numbers for the past year (year before that):

Albany County: 539 (75)
Rensselaer County: 163 (21)
Saratoga County: 326 (42)
Schenectady County: 69 (18)

(It appears that Albany County racked up that total thanks in part to a sweep this spring by the county sheriff's office that netted 230 tickets for talking or texting while driving. [Troy Record])

The totals were released to mark one year since the state law making TWD a primary traffic offense took effect. That means police can now pull a person over just for that -- before you had to be doing something else to get stopped (like swerving over the double yellow because you were sending email). And it looks like people are getting pulled over for it.

You might think you can text and drive with no problem -- we're all above average drivers, right (oh, wait...) -- but probably not. There's research that indicates a distracted driver is about as bad as a driver with a .08 blood alcohol level, which is the legal limit for drunk driving. (The New York Times produced a good series about the risks of distracted driving.)

All county totals after the jump, if you're curious.

photo: Flickr user mrJasonWeaver (cc)

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Slidin' Dirty

Lunch customers today in the East Greenbush Tech Park.

After hearing Danika and David rave about a food truck in downtown Troy -- "perhaps the best lunch in Troy" -- we figured it was worth tracking down. Also: we were hungry.

So today we caught up with the Slidin' Dirty food truck at the East Greenbush Tech Park and talked with its owners about sliders, fried avocado, tiny kitchens, and how the Capital Region could be a bit more food truck friendly.

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Barberville Falls closed for summer

Beautiful. And for this summer, closed to the public.

The Nature Conservancy is closing public access to the Barberville Falls in Rensselaer County this summer because it says people aren't following the rules there. From the org's press release:

Despite effort to prohibit swimming and other activities not allowed at the preserve, misuse of the preserve and disrespect for the preserve neighbors continues to be a problem.

"The decision to close the preserve, especially during the summer months, is a difficult one," said Rick Werwaiss, executive director, The Nature Conservancy Eastern New York Chapter. "In past years, the Conservancy has hired a security force, utilized volunteers, and had staff on site to patrol the preserve. Despite our efforts to discourage and control the misuse of the property, the problem has persisted and we feel closure is the only option currently available to us."

Closing the preserve will give the police the ability to strictly and consistently enforce the recurring issues of trespass, disturbing the peace, littering, swimming and climbing on the falls, and alcohol consumption.

The Nature Conservancy owns one side of the falls -- the other side is owned by a private homeowner. And as we found out when writing about the falls a few summers back, the homeowner is very serious about people not cutting across their property to reach the falls. That's understandable -- we wouldn't want hordes of people walking through our backyard all summer, either.

The conservancy says access to the falls will be closed from Memorial Day until Labor Day.

The whole situation is unfortunate. It really is a beautiful spot.

Earlier on AOA: Capital Region waterfall walks

photo: Sebastien Barre

Melody Howarth's Nassau toy hospital

Researching and restoring

She started out using simple techniques of filling and smoothing -- techniques she'd learned from her father, an auto body repair man who taught her how to fill and sand damaged car fenders when she was a teenager. After that, she studied with professional conservators to perfect her skills. A few ad hoc apprenticeships and correspondence courses advanced them further.

Along the way Melody Howarth discovered she had a talent for bringing crumbling antique playthings back to a more youthful life. Today, that skill has made the Rensselaer County resident sought after by private collectors and museums worldwide.

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Dyken Pond

My hiking partner saw the Pileated Woodpecker through the naked beech and maple trees just before I heard it. Alternately calling in a kek-kek that starts slow but speeds up into a laugh, and drilling into trunks like a jackhammer with its three inch bill, the crow-sized bird flitted from tree to tree as we tried to get closer. Crashing through the brush a startled buck cut our chase short, dashing across the path behind us and trotting to a safer spot deep in the woods.

This is late fall in the Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center -- 600 acres of public land in Rensselaer County where you can witness an abundance of nature.

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Brunswick

Debuting soon: Brunswick, a documentary by Nate Simms about the tension between development and farming in the Rensselaer County town. From the blurbage:

Brunswick is a film about landscape change, told through the personal story of a farmer's lifelong connection to his now-threatened land. The film weaves together the plight of Sanford Bonesteel, an aging farmer in his 90s, with the dynamics of small-town politics as a residential development is planned on Sanford's former land.

The film takes place in Brunswick, New York, a small country town facing the challenge of balancing economic growth with the preservation of its rural character. It is a story both specific to Brunswick and yet recognizable to rural communities all over the United States.

All we've seen of the doc is what it's in the trailer embedded above, but it appears to be about the proposed Highland Creek development, that was to be built on farmland acquired in a deal involving the town supervisor. The development was the subject of multiple lawsuits and allegations of conflicts of interest. Bonesteel passed away at the end of 2008. [Troy Record 2008] [Wikipedia] [Troy Record 2006] [Troy Record 2008]

The first screening of the doc will be December 7 at the Spectrum. Tickets are $6.

Bonus bit: The soundtrack for the documentary was composed and performed by Matthew Carefully, who will be performing the music at Caffe Lena on December 4.

Turkey time at Coldwater Creek Farm

Gobble. Gobble.

James Kromer doesn't talk turkey.

So as he was driving 200 squawking, day-old chicks by car from a 50-year-old turkey farm in Boston to his Coldwater Creek Farm, his family's 26-acre property in southern Rensselaer County, he just cranked up the tunes.

"They just chirped the whole time. After about an hour and a half it bothered me so I turned up the radio and opened up the windows for some white noise," laughs Kromer, an accountant by day, who is marking his second year raising antibiotic-free, pasture-raised white Broad Breasted turkeys for Thanksgiving.

So, how does an accountant end up raising 200 turkeys?

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Shaker Mountain Canning Co.

Kristen Greer wanted to to help increase access to fresh foods in New York City.

That's how it all began.

Greer, a New York City food policy advocate and part-time Rensselaer County resident also had a background in finance. She was volunteering with the board of Just Food to help bring more fresh foods into the city, when she discovered a need: a way for farmers and food entrepreneurs to turn their bounty into products that would last well past the growing season.

The idea for Shaker Mountain Canning Co. was born.

Today this small company near the Rensselaer County/Columbia County line cans everything from tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to fruits, jams and butters and it's opened up a valuable conversation between farms and food producers.

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Roli's Auto

Inside Roli's Auto

When someone says Schaghticoke you probably think of the fair. At least I do. Other than cow pastures and corn fields, there's not a heck of a lot else out that way.

Well -- except for a mural-covered muscle car showroom/garage.

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Drive-thru caffeine

Flavour2Go's Joe Mancino.

Updated

I'm going to blame my love of coffee shacks on a story I read as a kid.

A sister and brother who'd gone to stay with their grandmother for the summer were captivated by an old garden shed by the roadside. They cleaned it out, tidied it up, hung checkered curtains in the windows, and voila! A tiny shop. They sold homemade cookies through the window to lines of hungry neighbors.

It just seemed so industrious, so compact: They had everything they needed, in miniature!

Add coffee into that equation and it gets even better.

Go out to the Pacific Northwest and you see them everywhere -- little shacks perched in parking lots or on roadsides, offering drivers fabulously strong coffee with on-the-road convenience. How useful! How small!

As far as I've been able to find, the Capital Region has two drive-up espresso huts. Sure, I like walking to my neighborhood coffee house for a leisurely cup. But when I'm out in my car, there are times when a coffee is the difference between finishing the errands and crumpling into a tiny ball. And I'll take an independent over the Starbucks drive-thru any day.

Sadly, neither of these coffee shacks is anywhere near my neighborhood. But maybe one of them's in yours.

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Man of Kent: A toast to a roadside oasis

Pull up a stool.

Man of Kent is the best secret pub that everyone's heard of.

With a comfortable atmosphere, great beer and convivial staff, it's the sort of place you wish was in your neighborhood. But probably it's not. It's on a wooded stretch of Route 7, just minutes from the Vermont border. The words "middle of nowhere" come to mind.

If Man of Kent is your local? You have my envy.

It's one of the Capital Region's best pubs. And we drove out there recently to remind ourselves just why.

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A tank of gas, a cup of coffee and a history lesson

Who could resist an invitation like that?

Incongruity pleases me. So when I saw an old stone building cheek-by-jowl with a Stewart's shop in Hoosick, where Route 7 meets Route 22, I had to pull in and have a look.

Even before you notice the date of 1842 carved above the doorway, it's clear the place is very old. It's built of weathered stone, with a heavy lintel and a sloping roof. Along the Route 22 side of the building is a peeling sign: "Stewarts Shops invites you to visit our 150 year old school house." Curiouser and curiouser.

So I walk into the Stewart's. "What's up with that schoolhouse? Do you own it?"

"It's on our property," says the cashier. "I don't know much about it, but I can let you in if you want."

She gets the key, goes out to unlock the place for me, and leaves again.

And from one side of the parking lot to the other, I've stepped out of Stewart's and into the past.

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