milkweed and stinky piglets

Rainy days have their benefits. The first, most obvious benefit is the replenishment of available water for plant, animal, and human use. The second is that rain keeps people from enjoying outdoor activities. Why is that a benefit? Well, if you're visiting Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture and want to go on a vegetable tour, you may just be the only one on the tour on account of rain. And being the only ones (bf & I) on the tour last Sunday, we got special attention. Or at least that's how it seemed to me.

We went on a whim, despite the rain and forecast for more of it throughout the day. Looking at the clock, we realized we'd have just enough time to grab a bite from the cafe and go on the two o'clock tour. So up we went, to Pocantico Hills, just north of Tarrytown. It's lovely up there, just an hour's drive from Brooklyn, the leaves along the Saw Mill Parkway just starting to change into their autumnal habits. Here are some of the magical things we encountered on our tour of the educational, experimental, sustainable agricultural center:


A tasty lunch at the cafe


What's on today?


Selling the bounty at the farm market


Asclepias gomphocarpus, a type of milkweed, attracts butterflies


Happy bees on past-peak artichokes in the dooryard garden. These delicious thistles are apparently difficult to grow in the Northeast, but Stone Barns is figuring out how.


Go ahead, try one! Stone Barns encourages sampling


Super-juicy Asian pears growing in the main field are an experiment. A very tasty experiment.


Self-seeding sunflowers take over where the arugula leaves off


Purple brussel sprouts in the field...


...and yummy purple mustard greens in the greenhouse


The expansive greenhouse allows 4-season farming


Seedlings in custom compost are kept warm through water-filled, compost-heated tubes


Hoop houses on tracks also extend the seasons


Four kinds of compost are cultivated at Stone Barns


Berkshire pigs, right home in the forest mud


Hey little piggy


Sorry, we're too busy to look at your camera


Oh, hello there. These pigs sure are cute, but they were also a little stinky.

Stone Barns is a magical place where everything is grown for a reason, everything is harvested, nothing is sprayed with pesticides or grown in artificial fertilizers. And everything is repurposed, from food scraps to plastic tarps. You can visit Stone Barns for a tour, to volunteer, or to enjoy an 8-course meal at the amazing Blue Hill restaurant.

This Saturday, October 3, is their 6th Annual Harvest Festival. Get your tickets here.

Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture
630 Bedford Road
Pocantico Hills, NY
914.366.6200

fresh: the film

If you didn't get your fill from Food, Inc., Fresh looks like it takes the story of sustainable agriculture one step further. Featuring Will Allen (Growing Power), Michael Pollan (the man who needs no introduction), and Joel Salatin (Polyface Farms), Fresh looks at the solutions to the problems of our current food system.



Fresh will be screening at BAM, Tuesday, October 6, 7pm, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Gabrielle Langholtz (Editor of Edible Brooklyn) with the director/producer, Ana Sofia Joanes, plus Reverend Jackson of Brooklyn Rescue Mission, David Shea of Applewood Restaurant, and Letitia James, District 35 - Council Member.

Check out the official site.

mountains, moose, and more mountains

Deep breath in... and out. The smell of pine and sagebrush. The feeling of rock and dirt beneath my boots. Sharp mountain peaks, bright midday sun, glimmering glacial lakes. And the sounds: call of the magpie, chirping of chipmunks, gurgling and whooshing of mountain streams, crackling of moose footsteps. This is the experience of a national park. I am grateful to those who had the foresight to preserve these places. I am thankful that I've had the opportunity to visit them.

Here's some of what I saw on the latest trip - to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

of course, there are the mountains


Didn't realize at the time that this was about where Ansel Adams snapped a famous photo, I think he was a bit further upstream.


A forest fire burns at the base of Mount Moran. Fires are most often started by lightning and are closely monitored while they are left to burn. They are beneficial to many plants, such as lodgepole pine.


Mount Moran has a distinctive geologic feature -- a basalt (molten rock) intrusion.


Cascade Canyon Trail, an 11-mile hike (or 9 if you take the boat across Jenny Lake both ways, 13 if you skip the boat altogether) with breathtaking views.


Glacial till from the last ice age. We looked for marmots among the rocks, but they happen to be hibernating already.


Part of the park's "sustainable" menu: elk/bison burgers at Jackson Lake Lodge. They were delicious, and so was the view.


This view inspired JD Rockefeller, Jr. to preserve this place as part of the national park.


families of fauna


Mama and baby moose (called cow and calf, respectively), on the appropriately named Moose-Wilson Road.


Papa moose (or bull), seen on the Cascade Canyon trail.


An elk bull and his harem.


One of 5 or 6 bald eagles we encountered on the trip. They like to hang out by waterways, like the Snake River.


A "least" chipmunk. Tiny and adorable.


pollinators aplenty, and maybe some pests


Butterflies abound.


Bees, too.


This may or may not be an Asian longhorn beetle. If it is, I'm sorry I didn't report the little bugger (I didn't know they frequented these parts). I was too busy trying to get this shot as he was perched on my shoulder.


lovely flora




Leafy spurge, I think. One of the wanted weeds.


Thistle or spotted knapweed?


This one's not a weed, it's a columbine.


Sagebrush bathed in sun.


adventure!


Hot air balloons launched right near where we are staying (Teton Village).


If we were staying one more day, I think I might have wanted to try paragliding. We watched this guy take off from Rendezvous Mountain.


Weeeeeee!!

off to the wilds of wyoming

Bison in Yellowstone, the Tetons neighbor to the North.

Howdy y'all!

I'm off to wrassle some dogies out in the wilds of Wyomin'. Well, okay, not really, but a girl can pretend a little, no?

In reality we are heading to Grand Teton National Park and the Jackson Hole area for some fresh air, nature loving, hiking, rafting, and horseback riding. A lot to fit into a 4-day itinerary! I'll be back in a week to report on all of our adventures.

Happy Labor Day and enjoy the week!

x L

september in the city - UPDATE!

I love September in New York. Dry sunny days, crisp clear nights. A perfect time to enjoy the great outdoors. Yes, we do have great outdoors in NYC. Here are some great ways to experience them this month.

I've added a couple things I thought you should see:

Queens County Farm BBQ & Campout
This weekend!
September 6 to 7


Here's your chance to nosh on some tasty chicken BBQ'd by none other than celebrated butcher Tom Mylan while sipping on some local suds courtesy Brooklyn Brewery. And if that's not enough, there'll be delish pie, a DJ spinning tunes, camping, and wake-up bloody Marys! Hello?! Why haven't you bought your ticket yet? Get 'em here.


Central Park Bird Walks
brought to you by the Nature Conservancy
September 3 to October 26



NYC is a big stopping off point for birds migrating south for winter. Learn the ins & outs of bird watching with Kellye Rosenheim in Central Park. Get the full schedule and details.

Reservations are required. Please contact (212) 381-2194 or nycbirdwalks@tnc.org for reservations and cancellations.

Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance Events
September 4 to 26


Waterfront walking tours, kayaking Staten Island, tugboat races, and many more activities are on MWA's calendar this month. Check it out!


Governors Island Art Fair
brought to you by 4heads
Every weekend, September 5 to 27



Over 150 independent artists and galleries from around the world come together on Governors Island – free ferry to and from Manhattan and Brooklyn. Get the details.


Solar Powered Film Series
brought to you by GreenEdge NYC & Solar One
September 10 to 19



Get your fill of sustainable films in this series of serious documentaries – screenings powered by the sun.

Doors open at 7:00 pm each night at Solar One (23rd St. & FDR Drive)
Films start at 7:45 pm, followed by Q&A

September 10: Addicted to Plastic (trailer)
September 11: Who Killed the Electric Car (trailer)
September 12: Flow (trailer)
September 17: A Sea Change (trailer)
September 18: The Garden (trailer)
September 19: Burning the Sun (world premiere!)

Plus, every night of the series features a segment from Brooklyn filmmaker Michelle Vey’s From Elegance to Earthworms. Get more info.


National Parks Week NYC
September 19 to 27



I'm a big fan of National Parks. I've only been to 5 of them (soon to be 6!), but I've got my sites set on many more. Luckily, this month, the National Parks are coming to me – and everyone else in this fair city. The National Parks Conservation Association is hosting a full line-up of events all over NYC, including coastal clean-ups in Queens, a tour of Grant's tomb after dark in Morningside Heights, and screenings of clips from Rick Burn's latest documentary about the parks in Central Park. There are just too many events to list here, so here's the full schedule.

i made a new friend

His name is Sanford.

Sanford may have been living in our vegetable drawer since Friday. Or maybe Saturday. Or maybe just yesterday. Those are all of the days we visited the farmers market in the past week. I say Friday, because I found Sanford sleeping on the cauliflower which we picked up that day.


I sequestered Sanford in this glass container.


He napped while I cooked.


I like escargot, but I'm glad Sanford didn't end up in the stir fry.


After dinner, we relocated Sanford to his new home. Prospect Park.


He was reluctant at first, but then made a break for it.


See ya later, Sanford.