What could be more quintessentially autumn than apples?
Greetings! First off I would like to extend my appreciation for the responses I got on my last post. Yes, a big focus of this blog is food and kitchen-related things, but authenticity was a conscious decision I made when starting this up, and my depression has to be included in that. I know I’m always grateful to find discussions on depression, anxiety, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) elsewhere on the web, because mental/emotional health has historically been such a taboo topic– I’m here to figuratively and literally help bring it into the light 🙂
On to this morning’s post! Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom has an ongoing series called Love the Place You Live, each post highlighting things of local interest– for Gabrielle, “local” happens to be the beautiful countryside of Lower Normandy, France (!!). I was excited when she asked readers to participate, because a.)highlighting the Hudson Valley in the fall is such a fun, easy thing to do, b.)several events were scheduled for this weekend, and c.) the rain stopped during the day and started up again at night, yay!
Okay, so I took this in October 2009, but it’s one of my favorite fall shots in the Hudson Valley 🙂
Let’s start with Saturday morning: It was gray and chilly and therefore a bit difficult to get an actual start on the day until about 11. The Kingston Farmer’s Market in the Stockade District always has enticing wares. This includes not just fruits and vegetables but also fresh cheeses, flowers, wine and honey, pastries, falafel, and pickles. Since we’re on a bit of a budget lately, I walked forlornly passed the fresh mozzarella and headed for the veggies. My favorite thing to do at the farmer’s market is pick one new veggie each time- we now love patty pan squash. Saturday’s new pick was sweet dumpling squash, from Rexcroft Farm up in Athens:
Further down was Migliorelli Farm, which is based across the river in Tivoli. I bought a bunch of rainbow kale and took pictures of the other produce:
Just think of all the zucchini brownies, muffins, bread, salads, and veggie paninis to be made!
Two blocks away was a cute little event that we arrived juuuust too late for: Scarecrows at Frog Alley (basically, build your own, in a community setting), which was sponsored by Friends of Historic Kingston. Most people had already taken their scarecrows home, but this was my favorite of the ones that were left standing:
I would actually like to wear this outfit…do you think being a sailor is necessary to pull it off?
Despite living in and around Kingston for the past several years, we noticed this inn on N. Front Street for the first time:
Made me think of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place (Quick! Name that reference!)
The quirkiest part of our weekend was the Third Annual Rosendale Zombie Festival. Haven’t you always wanted to march down the Main Street of your tiny town with a bunch of freaks all dressed in fake wounds and dripping blood? Where everybody perfects their undead shuffle, hungry moans and unfocused stares into nothingness? Well, then, this is the event for you! It’s sort of hard to believe since most of the year, the village of Rosendale is quite sleepy: there’s the street festival every year in July, and then…a zombie parade! Seeing everyone dress up was like a nice pre-Halloween sneak peek (thanks to Andy for the following photos- and the apple photo at the top!):
These two were pretty much always in character
Piper the zombie baby was an amazingly good sport with all the creepy-acting people around her- not a single tear!
I obviously hadn’t found my prey yet…
Basically, this is how I looked when my bio professor was lecturing on urine formation two weeks ago.
We slept in Sunday morning following the zombie escapades and then had some homemade breakfast wraps:
Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, black bean and corn salsa, crushed garlic, cumin, and lime juice on whole wheat wraps
I’m a big fan of Black Creek Preserve, the location of our late-afternoon hike. It’s on a beautiful piece of land that borders the Hudson River: the hiking path starts off at a suspension bridge over the eponymous creek and, in the middle of the loop, awards hikers with stunning river views. It was a lovely time of day to capture the woods- and it never fails, whenever I’m hiking, I always wonder why I don’t do it more.
Oddly enough, I didn’t even notice that this spelled out ‘Black Creek’ until I looked at my own photo.
This little guy was right in the middle of the path, and he never moved an inch. SOOOO CUTE
Andy waits patiently for me while I snap the bridge from all possible angles
Aaaand, we’re at the river! Say hello to the mighty Hudson, kids!
After the hike we drove a bit further north on Route 9W and enjoyed the more dramatic light from Lighthouse Park; Esopus Lighthouse was perfectly illuminated:
It was an itty bitty teeny weeny lighthouse
And even teenier! (Those clouds are giving it an inferiority complex)
That concluded my weekend here in Ulster County, New York– Next weekend is the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in nearby Saugerties, which just happens to feature one of my favorite foods. I’m so excited! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
- Heather Armstrong’s take on seasonal mood changes
- Wonderful interview with my friend Megan, yoga and fitness instructor extraordinaire
- Best of Hudson Valley 2012: food, heath & beauty, shopping, fun, kids and more
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All that is within me cries out to go back to my home on the Hudson River. —Franklin D. Roosevelt
![A Marriage of Love and Travel - Sweet and Savoring [photo by Andy Milford]](https://i0.wp.com/sweetandsavoring.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/8777002888_69fed8459e_h.jpg?resize=440%2C294&ssl=1)
Thank you for the weekend share, save the zombies. eeeewwwweeee!
Farmer’s markets are the best, I agree. This morning I’m off to pick up yellow & purple beets, sweet potatoes, kale and some squash. Oh, and more garlic too. Hmmm. A familiar bounty. Oh, and apples too. I am about to learn what apples are grown here on the Cape. Maybe something different?
Betsy and I are going to enjoy the cool, fresh, sunny morning with a walk before getting ready for the rest of the day.
Enjoy yours, Christy Eliz!
Sounds like a nice plan- I’m looking forward to meeting Betsy! Of course she would have to sign a waiver to be featured on the blog 😉
Beets! Good point; I always forget that I like them in salads- raw and shredded. Nice that we have a market in another part of town on Tuesdays so I can go get some!
That little guy is so cute – a salamander? Radioactive by the looks of it. I love farmers markets too, I’m terrible for coming home with more than a family could rationally eat. Then I’m making soups to freeze for a week.
A garlic festival sounds awesome. Just make sure you leave before everyone starts digesting. Stinky!
Yup, it’s a salamander. It’s not often we see them (they like going incognito :), so when we do, it’s an “oooohh look!” moment, haha.
I hear you on bringing home too much fresh produce- right now I’ve got some wilting kale and a 1/4 of a cauliflower that I’ve left alone for too long :\
Excellent point about the garlic digestion!
Ohhh. Fuel for my dream of living half in the Hudson Valley and half in TN. Just lovely.
Thanks, Jill- I’ve still got to visit Tennessee!
What a cute salamander! And lovely colours – almost makes me excited for autumn… And a zombie festival?! Awesome.
I’m so glad I didn’t step on the little guy- would have been quite the different picture!
Yeah, the zombie festival was so weird and out of the ordinary it almost feels like it was a dream, haha.
Loved your post! This is my first visit to your blog, thanks to Design Mom. I’ll definitely be visiting again!
Thanks, Julia- I appreciate the visit- and your photos are GORGEOUS!