catskills

This time last week I was waking up

at my favorite campsite in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

The previous night's walk around Little Pond.

Another Henslowe Shawl in the works,

this one is made with naturally dyed merino from the region.

A cold night with touches of frost the next morning.

Morning coffee

I sat on a small suspension bridge and knitted for a while.

The night was full of visitors as the moon was just a day from being full.

Two types of owls called, mice jumped and tried to burrow under my tent,

a fox answered the coyotes howl/bark at the moon and a raccoon tried desperately

to crawl into my tent with me!  The bears stayed away.

xo, j

campsite

Here are the last of my camping trip photos.

My tent is 30 years old and still going strong,

an extra sheet of plastic kept the heat in and the rain out.

The quilt was one of the first I made.

The colors were randomly placed but it's great

for bundling up around the campfire.

A vintage truck and camper went zooming by

looking for a camp site.

What fun!

I took a new shawl pattern and yarn with me

but struggled to figure it out.

After four attempts that were all ripped out

I went back to my glove project.

The little cherry wood box is designed to hold double point needles safely,

 I don't know how I managed without it!

No more bother over dropped stitches in transport.

More knitting to come.

hardenburgh trail

"At some point in life, the world's beauty becomes enough."

-Toni Morrison

On Saturday I took a hike up the Hardenburgh Trail

into the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest.

The rocky trail was sometimes steep and always uphill.

At times it was a challenge to find the next blue trail marker.

By the end of the hike my knees were burning!

Uphill and downhill both took their toll.

mushrooms, lichens, moss and ferns 

an afternoon spent in the company of trees

it was oh so quiet 

I wonder what it's like up there tonight,

what creatures are shuffling about the forest floor...

catskill mountains

beaver kill

underwater hole 10-12 feet deep and full of trout

looking downstream

apple trees in the wild forest

the valley

I'm back from the woods and missing it already.

I'm hopelessly enamored with the Beaver Kill 

(kill is another term for creek)

and the mountains it winds through on its way to 

the Delaware River.

Pleasantly tired but rejuvenated.

Tomorrow some photos from my Saturday hike.

xo, j

Back from the Woods

Last week I went camping in my beloved Catskill Mountains.

Upon arrival there was sun but that quickly changed

as rainy days and nights followed, but I don't mind the rain...

The Catskills

A lovely if stormy weekend in the Catskills.

There were deer everywhere, an unexpected hillside of

lupines and daisies and a mysterious old home 

all along the clearest of trout waters.

I could stay there forever...

First Night Camping

The campground was nearly empty this past weekend.

Perhaps some were put off by the stormy forecast;

there was just enough time to set up the tent and 

build a fire before it began to rain.

It rained hard all night and the temperature quickly 

dropped but there was no place I would have rather been!

Cold and damp but happy to be in the woods.

The old blue tent held fast, I did some sketches and

a little sock knitting with the help of my flashlight.

After a few days of following the natural cycle of light and dark 

it's a jolt to return to the world of abundant electric lighting.

The first night back I usually just use candles.

More about the weekend tomorrow...

Wednesday

bald eagle

abandoned in the wilderness

                                   
                                                         a few moments to call my own

                                                       missing my catskills this morning...

Catskills in October

the ground was covered with mushroom stems
deer had feasted on the caps

a favorite place

it rained all day
the trail was like a small stream

wet, cold and incredibly happy
on the mountain top