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It was icy cold on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but we had a had a warm weekend with a visit from David Upson and his family. Many kitchen gadgets were pressed into service: we made Chicken Adobe in the somehow back-from-the-dead Instant Pot, a perfect 136 degree beef tenderloin courtesy of the sous vide […]

Sarah presided over a very merry Christmas in her traditional elf capacity, with a little help from her assistant, Daisy. Despite our rather short, pudgy tree, we had a festive time with the entire Burleigh clan. We feasted on gravlax, herring, stollen, and fruit salad. For Xmas dinner, we had country ham and biscuits, as […]

Our Thanksgiving this year included Rinda, Lew, Julie, Stacey, and the Perkins family, four visiting Australians celebrating their first Thanksgiving.  We had an 18-pound turkey from Salt Point, together with pecan stuffing, green beans with slivered almonds, creamed onions, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, strawberry jello mold, three kinds of cranberry sauce, and four pies. We […]

While investigating the secret garden, Jen and I heard a wobbly sound overhead.  It turned out to be our former swans, Frank and Susan, returning for a visit to the pond. We spent much of the weekend harvesting (tomatoes, basil, peppers), cooking (hot sauce, pesto), and eating.

Jen, Sarah and Erica cooled off in the pond on Labor Day. Jen was industrious over the weekend, hanging aluminum pie tins in the garden to scare off the birds that had been eating our tomatoes.  So far, it seems effective, although it’s not clear whether the clanging is worth it.

Jen began her birthday with breakfast in bed. It looked like it might be a washout, but the rain stopped in the afternoon to allow a birthday barbecue feast with salmon, London broil, and ribs (surf & turf & sty).

Jen returned from a writer’s retreat this morning, just in time for a Mother’s Day brunch at Le Petit Bistro.  This afternoon, Jen and Sarah met horses and riders visiting our trails, including Rich Contini, past president of the Landsman Kill Trail Association.  Sarah has in fact ridden this horse before. We had a chilly […]

Daisy thinks every year is the year of the dog, and she’s probably right.  Still, there was an extra spring in her step this weekend. We celebrated the Chinese new year with a dumpling feast, taking full advantage of Sarah’s (and Jen’s) Montessori-derived fine motor skills. We also had a turnip cake, courtesy of Sue […]

Somehow, improbably, Sarah turned 14 on Saturday.  She celebrated with dinner at Aroi (Rhinebeck’s Thai restaurant) with the Lawson twins, followed by a movie and a sleepover.  Jen made a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake for the occasion. Earlier on Saturday, Daisy and Ringo surmounted Burger Hill and mauled each other.

Here is Jen’s beautiful picture of a sliver of moon above a lovely Saturday evening sunset. I remained inside, stymied trying to make turnip cakes, a dim sum treat Sarah has enjoyed at the Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Doyers Street in New York.  Sadly, despite having assembled a long list of ingredients (including dried […]