Day and night and night and day, things are stirring in the Smallwood woods and the Mongaup Valley now. For a week or two already, their dizzying canticle resounds around the forest floor in the late … more

Dear Readers! I recently called Town Supervisor Dan Sturm to inquire about progress on the Pine Grove culvert replacement. Sturm confirms – weather permitting – that work on this … more

Digital Travel in a Plague Year Potentially important advice for would-be travelers prepping for first-time travel after Covid: ask lots of questions as you develop and execute your plans. Even … more

If coronavirus and some dog of war do not intervene, I will be headed south in two weeks to visit some dear friends in Savannah, GA. Down there—to judge by their photographs of a lush backyard … more

We enter now the quiet and sooty weeks of February in Sullivan. During the short days we locals hurry about our daily tasks—the visit to ShopRite or the Transfer Station or Town Hall. Early and … more

Right now it is a succulent moment to be able to call oneself a Smallwoodian and say “I LIVE in Smallwood, New York.” A dear NYC friend, born in Kyiv, told me recently that a great … more

End of November, almost Thanksgiving, I was feeling exhausted. Maybe, I thought, it was just the hustle and bustle of holiday prep. On the other hand, by late November, people, some of them … more

Make your Bed. Stand in the Snow For me and those I hold most dear around me, 2021 has been a year of storms and sunshine, heatwaves and snow. Happiness this year has been a struggle. If a … more

Sustenance and SoilDecember 10 - With astounding speed that steaming turkey of Thanksgiving is now but a fleeting memory and already we look aghast at the calendar of the dying year. Three weeks … more

November 30 - With the Thanksgiving long weekend now behind us, we look forward with anticipation to the following and last weeks of 2021. November winds have shaken loose most of our colorful … more