Tapping Tivoli

On a walk around the Village these days, you'll find taps on a few of your neighbors' maples. With the cold earlier this week, there was just a smidgen of sap in the bottom of the buckets, but the 10-day forecast has daytime temps above freezing all next week. With a little boiling, this means maple syrup in our near future. Life is worth living again.


And, this being Tivoli, you will find all manner of taps. With our can-do attitude (and a little plastic twine and an old water jug or two), we can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, or sap into syrup, anyway.


Do I even have to say it? I love this damn make-do bucket.

Thaw

The ice is melting. And, this week the maple sap began to run. If your taps are in, you know that already. It's a little early, but we'll take it. Cold weather in the next few days will slow things down, but by late month collection (and boiling) should hit high gear. My friend Jo will be out there flipping pancakes and drizzling them with fresh maple syrup in a few weeks. Go over to the farm and get some. Really. If you miss it, you'll kick yourself.


And, there's green out there if you know where to look. Believe me, I've been looking. These little beauties will surely open their snowy faces very soon. Don't worry. I won't let it pass you by.

Ice Yachting

There's a sheet of clear ice locked in place on the banks of Athens, just 20 miles north of Tivoli on the Hudson's west shore, and ice boats are taking full advantage. If you've been around here any length of time, you've heard about ice boating. You may even know that FDR had a boat named The Icicle. You probably also know that the ice just doesn't set up every winter, but this year the wicked cold nights have been kind to the yachting set.

The ice in Athens is so good, in fact, that cars from as far away as Maine and Quebec are parked in the DEC Boat Launch this weekend. And a half-dozen boats from the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat & Yacht Club are in the mix. (I hear the guys from Montreal are itching to race, and they were just pulling in when I left.)

If you don't know ice, you'd think this year's snow would make skating along in an ice boat impossible; but sunny days melt fresh snow, thickening the ice and forming a perfectly level surface. Good thing, too, because these boats can get up to 70 miles per hour with the right wind.

Today was a little gusty, but tomorrow's another day.


The guys ('cause it is mostly guys) who own these boats love the history of their sport as much as they love wind, ice and speed. You'll see rigging that reminds you of the schooners that used to grace the River, and the sound of wind-whipped sails will make you grin. The Hudson River Ice Yachting Club keeps tabs on ice conditions off Rhinecliff, Tivoli Bays and Athens, and the guys can fill you in on the local lore of their sport, which has been going on here since the 19th century.

Parking's tight this weekend, but don't let that deter you. Head up to Athens, now. Cross the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Turn right onto 385 North. Through the Village to the DEC Boat Launch just north of town, and get out on the ice. Dogs, kids, sleds and skates encouraged.

Addendum: The guy out on the ice with the big camera must have been from the Times. Camera envy.

Get Out There

This time of year if you don't get yourself outside, you're just going to be cold. Reverse logic, but with the thermostat set somewhere around 60, it's always chilly inside. (Clearly, I am living without a woodstove.)


At the house on the hill east of the village, we've been sledding. And, this week, if you're on the toddler side of the scale, you don't even need a sled. You can skim right along on your back on this amazing crust.

So, come on over. We've got about a quarter mile run out back, and it's FAST. Just remember, you'll have to stomp your way back up the hill. (Think of it as cardio.)

Oh, and be patient. Your cross country skiis will no doubt get more powdery stuff soon enough.

Ghost of Xmas Past

(just passed) In life, I was a Christmas tree.


Now I'm just waiting for the Village pick-up to come along and chip me out of the ice.

Crispy Crunchy Cold

Early this morning the thermometer on the hill east of the Village read -3. Last night was the coldest night of the winter, but tonight is going to give it a run for its money.


Though my upper lip went numb within ten minutes, I had to go down to the river to check the ice. As you well know, the Hudson is the River that Flows Two Ways. On winter days, if you catch the tide coming in, the ice flows up river. And ice is noisy. Scratching and grinding against raw edges.

If you are lucky enough to be down there when the Coast Guard Ice Breaker is chugging up the shipping channel, you'll catch the wake rolling under the ice. Oddest thing. Even the biggest expanses of ice appear to flex and bend over the crests.

Not today. It was beautifully quiet and not a thing moving. The shipping channel was iced over and deep blue and the choppy tidal edge was locked in place too. It'll be early next week before the scratching and crunching begins again.

Get yourself down there and enjoy the silence. And I'll bet there'll be ice boating at Rokeby this weekend!