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As the sun set on the longest day of the year, we decided that it was so nice that we would stay Sunday night and head back to New York Monday morning. On Sunday, the Ostroys had a pool party so all Sophie could see all her friends before heading off to camp for a […]

Jen and Sarah had simultaneous riding lessons on Saturday.  I watched with Sarah’s friend Marin, who visited for the weekend – they’ll be bunkmates at Hidden Valley Camp in just a couple of weeks. In the afternoon, they planned a kayak trip, only to find a garter snake coiled in the cup holder, as well as […]

It is springtime, and everything is coming into bloom. Sarah has just two more weeks of school. On Sunday, Jen and Sarah continued their mother-daughter riding lessons.  Sarah had Cookie. Jen had Hero (the Magic Horse™). The barn swallows kept busy. This heron, rather impressively, caught a large-mouth bass in the pond. He tucked it […]

We capped off a long weekend by attending the Memorial Day Parade, something Rhinebeck does especially well.  Here are some images from the parade. Sarah watched from under her fine new hat. Jen’s parents visited for the weekend, as did Erica and Geoff.  We celebrated the publication of Erica’s first book, Intimacy and Family in […]

Jen and Sarah took riding lessons together Saturday morning at Southlands.   Susie taught Jen to ride Hero, whom I heard described as the Magic Horse. Susie was amazed that Jen had only one riding lesson since she was Sarah’s age. Sarah had a lesson with Allison on Rocky, the sweet yet balky pony. Here they are […]

In the city people wonder why they never see baby pigeons; in the country it’s the same with squirrels.  In both places the reason is the same: it’s because they grow quickly.  Here, though, is an unmistakably young squirrel. On Saturday we had a sun shower.  Everything is greening up nicely. Here is one of […]

Sarah had a happy Easter. She received her customary Easter basket. And she enjoyed an egg hunt with her friend Michaela. Other signs of spring abound.  The Ring-necked Ducks are in residence on the pond, together with a pair of Mallards. The daffodils are doing their thing, as are the bees. And, while our Daisy […]

This is one of those things that reminds us that there are powerful forces at work on the farm, which we cannot necessarily control. On the bright side, according to Wikipedia, snapping turtles prefer shallow ponds (that is, they prefer the part of the pond where we don’t swim), and, while they can be aggressive […]

Daisy is one year old today.  Here she is in Central Park, where she reminded us that she is still very much a puppy (meaning that she jumped on some five year-old kid). She’s a great dog!  

We are making the best of a seemingly endless winter through a combination of riding lessons at Southlands (Sarah), swimming at the Bard College pool (Jen and Sarah), soup-making (Bill), and musical-watching (all).  Last weekend we watched The Pirates of Penzance and The King and I; this weekend it was Oklahoma (at least until it got […]