INVITE: APRÈS-SKI

Welcome back, come inside, it’s cold out there. I’ve returned north after a few weeks on the road, eating gumbo and chasing sea trout as well as red drum (a fun species to target). Feels good to be back, although I did lose some plants while I was gone — RIP to my monstera. Now, let’s get right into it. Enjoy and I’ll see ya out there.

The Winter Quarterly is here, the envelopes are being stuffed, and the letters go out this week.

It’s new and it’s improved with lots of winter goodies, and even a little surprise to help you begin to plan for spring — which may seem like a distant thought but it’ll be here before you know it.

Thanks to some insider knowledge, I’m testing a new tactic to speed up delivery. For what it’s worth, the USPS calls them Forever stamps not because they last forever, but because they can take forever.

If you haven’t signed up for the Quarterly yet, hop to it. Join today and get a seasonal surprise from Catskill Crew delivered right to your door.

FYI: I’ll planet one tree for every envelope mailed. The full planting report will arrive later in the year.

The votes are in and they’ve been tallied up — with a 97.7% approval rating, THE GARDENER’S GUILD has been born.

What is the Gardener’s Guild you ask? Yeah, well, I’m not too sure yet, I suppose we will figure that out together. But…it will kick off with a community seed and cutting swap party.

A gathering to bring together the gardening experts and dirt newbies alike. I’m working on sorting out the details with Sandy, our gardening expert. Stay tuned.

CONTRIBUTED BY KEN POSNER

Reservoir Year: A Walk of Days is Nina Shengold’s account of a special project during which she visited the Ashokan Reservoir for a daily walk, every single day for a full year.  

The book is an engaging account. But underneath there lurks a question: Why? Why, if you didn’t have to walk a dog, would you visit the same place on every single day for a full year?

Nina starts the quest in September, when the days are lovely, but soon conditions change. She heads out in the rain — “Dark, dank, damp. Damn.” She heads out in the fog — “white on white on white.” On a frigid winter day, as the knife-blade wind needles her skin, she asks rhetorically, who would care if she quit this crazy project? The answer – “I would. Keep going.”  One day she heads out with a fever and stuffed head. “I guess I’m determined,” she admits.

Notwithstanding winter gloom, Nina reaches day 100 of the quest, reports herself feeling surprised — “I’m astonished I haven’t missed a day yet.” What’s the glue that’s kept her stuck? “The more I go back, the more I see.”

On one walk, the winter sunset presents as “apricot afterglow on pewter ice.” The sky is “pearlescent” or “postcard blue” or the color of skim milk or it evokes a blue-and-white lava lamp. A sunset morphs from pastel “to flamingo, persimmon, tandoori salmon, hot lava.” She witnesses “towering clouds, dark and steely” casting an “unearthly light,” and the reader feels her awe and wants to be there.

Her text contains echoes of past voices. On one walk, Nina is startled when “a shaft of blue sky emerges from turbulent gray and closes back up in an instant.” This passage calls to mind Catskills nature-writer John Burroughs, who wrote that “the sun and blue sky are still there behind the clouds, unmindful of them.”

Yet Nina’s story is more than nature writing — her quest is an “all or nothing” enterprise. She needs to get her reservoir walk done “every goddamn day.”

Soon, the year of reservoir walks is almost over. On one walk, Nina realizes suddenly — “I’m fully alive.”

Her final visit, which is number 366 (it’s leap year), consists of a full-day ramble along the shore, at the end of which she stares out across the water, “basking in weary triumph” and thinking to herself “I did it.”

She can finally say — “I’m in love with the world.”

A friend looks at her and is so surprised — “I think your reservoir year made you magic.”

Catskill Crew has teamed up with our friends over at Upstate Curious to put together a little get together — an Après Ski Happy Hour to be precise — at Foxfire Mountain House in Mount Tremper on Saturday, January 24th from 3-5pm.

Now to be clear, you don’t need to ski to attend, but you will need to après. We will have some snacks and you can wet your whistle at the cash bar.

No need to RSVP, just come on through, and if you want to stick around for dinner (which many of us will be) just make a reservation today.

The next Catskill Crew Dinner Club in Hudson is shaping up to be a good one, and a big one. So mark your calendars, take the quiz, get matched, and come out to meet some new friends. You can book your seat here!

Want to spread the good news to over 40,000+ Crew Members?

Crew Quarterly Four envelopes mailed to your door, stuffed to the brim with Catskill Goodness. P.S. I’ll plant a tree for each letter sent. Winter Edition Ships This Week.

Catskill-opoly Embark on an unforgettable journey through the Catskills. Just be sure to secure your trash to avoid the bears and dodge the snow storms so you don’t get stranded. Happy exploring.

Puzzles Now that winter has officially arrived, it’s time to keep the fire going and break out a good puzzle. You can get yours at the provisions shop.

Pocket Tees Good for the trail, by the fire, or six feet under a sugar maple. Screen printed on Comfort Colors. Get one.

Last week’s Scramble: COYOTE (too easy?)

PROPERTY: Nice views

PETS: Cooper the dog, Oscar the cat, and Janet the chicken

SKY: On January 10, Jupiter reaches opposition (opposite the Sun from Earth), making it the brightest it'll be all year. If you dust off your binoculars, you can spot four Galilean moons and my friends with a telescope will even be able to see the cloud bands. Additionally, from my research, it also seems that there will be a chance to spot Comet 24P/Schaumasse in the early hours on January 8th — it may appear greenish due to diatomic carbon emissions.

SIGHTINGS: Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

Catskill Crew is 100% free to read, independently owned, and locally operated (heck, it’s just me).

Your contributions go toward keeping the Crew going so we can have more fun and build more community. I appreciate any and all support my dear friends! - Michael

ADD AN EVENT

Colony, Woodstock – Happy New Year, Paul Duffy Extravaganza at 7pm tickets

Avalon Lounge, Catskill – Open Mic Night at 7pm discover

Tubby’s, Kingston – Ace of Cups: Hot Po Food Special at 5pm check it out

Blue Duck Brewing Company, Kingston – Trivia Night at 6pm

Rough Draft, Kingston – Read Like a Writer Book Club at 6pm more books

Tubby’s, Kingston – Chicha Libre at 7pm enjoy

Unicorn Bar, Kingston – Writing Group w/ Teresa at 6pm see more

Tenth House Health, Athens – Restorative Yoga at 6pm down dog

Pegasus Restaurant, Coxsackie – Happy Birthday Elvis at 7pm tix

Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre, Hurleyville – Senior Cinema: Hope Springs at 1pm watch a movie

Clemson Bros Brewery, Middletown – Auction A Friend & Speed Dating at 6:30pm unhinged

Scribner’s, Hunter – Winter Pupstater Weekend 2026 see dates

The Pull, Stamford – Live tunes with Northern Soul and West Kortright Center at 7pm discover

Andes Hotel – Karaoke at 8pm check it out

Unicorn Bar, Kingston – House & Disco Dance Party at 9pm all night long

Colony, Woodstock – Andrea Maddox and the Hey Y’alls with Sweet Petunia at 7pm tickets

Pearl Moon, Woodstock – Dinner Show with Journey Blue Heaven at 6pm enjoy

Laugh It Up Comedy Club, Poughkeepsie – Ben Bankas at 7pm see show times

Ommegang Brewery, Cooperstown – Music Bingo at 7pm have fun

Assembly, Kingston – Stand-Up Comedy with Isabel Hagen at 8pm laugh more

Slopes, Tannersville – Snow Daze at 2pm day and night

Tinker Street Tavern, Woodstock – Capricorn Dance Party at 9pm capricorn szn

Seelig Theatre, Loch Sheldrake – Met Opera in HD: I Puritani (Bellini) at 1pm tickets

Belleayre, Highmount – Potter Brothers Ski & Snowboard Demo Day try it before you buy it and the USA Luge Challenge go for gold

Catskill Fly Fishing Museum, Livingston Manor – Saturday Fly Tying classic nymphs

Dette Flies, Livingston Manor – Beginner Fly Tying Class at 12pm tight lines

Hunter Mountain, Hunter – Live tunes with Blu Cha Cha at Main Stage at 2pm

Pearl Moon, Woodstock – 5-Year Anniversary Celebration with Boreal at 6pm happy anniversary

Return Brewing, Hudson – Live Music with Astroband at 4pm P.S. there will be lobster rolls

Avalon Lounge, Catskill – Concert with Chavez + Ismaily + Saunier at 8pm show details

Tubby’s, Kingston – 30,000AD, Ali Berger, Greem Jellyfish, and Pamela_ and her sons at 7pm mycelial networks

Oliver’s, Mt Tremper – Annual Xmas Tree Bonfire at 3pm BYOtree

Pearl Moon, Woodstock – Drag Bingo with Cookie Doe at 5pm queerly

Colony, Woodstock – Yacht Rock Tribute at 7pm new yacht city

Kingston Standard, Kingston – Game Day at 2pm see more

Story Screen Cinema, Hudson – Tommy Boy Screening at 8pm brothers don’t shake hands

West Kill Supply, Kingston – Trivia at 6:30pm drink a brookie

Athens Cultural Center, Athens – Gather and Sing at 6pm registration open 'til friday