The garden is soaking up all the rain and the tomatoes are growing big and strong. Enjoy the edition and I’ll see ya out there.
GATHERINGS
SNAIL MAIL
The Summer Edition of the Catskill Crew Quarterly has arrived — new, improved, and shipping right to your door.
The sixteen-page zine is the collective work of five amazing local contributors. Shout out to Ivy, Corey, Hannah, Jackie, and Ashley.
But the biggest update is how every-single-one gives back. Each Quarterly supports this season’s Impact Initiative:
They are currently being batched up and mailed out. So get ready to turn off the screens and thumb threw ‘em.
FROM THE MOUNTAINS
THE REPORT
CONDITIONS |
|---|
SUNRISE 5:47 AM ↑ |
SUNSET 8:17 PM ↓ |
MOONRISE 8:02 PM ↑ |
MOONSET 4:31 AM ↓ |
MOON Waxing Gibbous 99% |
AIR QUALITY Moderate 54 AQI |
FIRE DANGER Low (it’s pouring out there) |
PROPERTY: Sundown Road in Sundown
PETS: Cassie the puppy, Ballast the kitten, and Salami the gerbil.
SKY: Bamberga — one of the largest asteroids in the Main Asteroid Belt (~229 km across) — reaches opposition on the night of July 28th. Point some solid binoculars or a small telescope toward Capricornus and see if you can spot her.
SIGHTINGS: Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus
TAKE A GANDER
DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?
This year, we’ve seen an outbreak of a specific native caterpillar across parts of the southern Catskills.
They have a ravenous appetite and have stripped swaths of mountainside trees bare of their leaves.
To be clear, this outbreak is cyclical — these populations surge every 10 to 20 years — and while the trees don’t look happy or healthy, most will push out a new set of leaves later in the season.
Now, take a look at this little fella and try to guess the name of the species that is causing all the trouble.
WHAT TYPE OF CATERPILLAR IS THIS?
DINNER CLUB
LAST CALL
DING DING DING. Reservations close tonight. I repeat, reservations for the next Dinner Club close shortly.
Come on out to Hudson this Thursday, July 30th at 6:30pm to meet some neighbors and make some friends.
HOW THIS THING WORKS:
✦︎ Take a quick quiz about interests, food preferences, and what types of folks you are looking to meet — you know, that kinda thing.
✦︎ Get matched with five other Crew Members based on the result.
✦︎ Receive your invite the morning of the dinner and discover which restaurant your group will be dining at.
✦︎ During dinner, everyone across town will receive a notification with the secret location of an afterparty. This is optional, so if you’re in a food coma, you can go home and sleep it off.
BIG BUG ENERGY
THE LIFE OF
A DEAD RED OAK
CONTRIBUTED BY IVY MACKEY
A Red Oak (Quercus rubra) fell in my backyard last December. The first bug I discovered in this fallen tree was a Woolly Bear (Pyrrharctia isabella) in early spring when I was considering rolling it to a more aesthetic location in my yard. When I accidentally uncovered Woolly Bear in their astounding hibernation, I quickly tucked them back in to complete their slumber and decided the log was already too occupied to be relocated. A whole world of tiny beings has begun moving in! Now it is July and I crouch beside the dead tree. The softened heartwood, fungal consumption, and thousands of tunnels carved throughout are signaling the next life of this forest giant.
I observe beautiful swirling geometric patterns now visible beneath the sloughed off outer bark. These intricate tunnels were created by Minute Oak Bark Beetles (Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus). The adults likely chewed their way into the tree while it was still standing but so aged or stressed that the tree’s defenses had been weakened. This allowed the beetles to lay eggs under the bark and the larvae that hatched chewed their own tunnels back out.
Ants of multiple species march over my feet, using blades of grass as highways leading in and out of the tree’s tiny passageways. Red (Camponotus chromaiodes) and black (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) carpenter ants do not eat the tree, but chew the now softened wood into pathways leading to their various chambers. Carpenter ants clear the way for secondary move-ins. The much smaller Bicolored Pennant Ant (Tetramorium bicarinatum) will utilize abandoned carpenter ant galleries to begin their own colonies within the heartwood of the oak.
A Pure Green Sweatbee (Augochlora pura) peeks their head out at me with astounding curiosity. These metallic green gems use old beetle tunnels as starting points, then excavate further to create burrows and brood cells where females will lay their eggs. Mated females will hibernate deep within the tree through the winter and emerge as one of the earliest spring pollinators.
Greenhouse Millipedes (Oxidus gracilis) sit half emerged from their burrow openings in graceful S-shapes. They act as beneficial detritivores, meaning they feed on the decaying wood. They are converting rot into nutrient-rich humus that will in turn feed the surrounding ecosystem.
As tiny as they are, these bugs are essential components in the life cycle of the forest: transmuting death and decay into a whole new world. It feels both humbling and reassuring that a living Red Oak, as magnificent and hardy as it is, will one day be slowly consumed by the tiniest mouths, made into the tiniest apartments, and become a nourishing feast that feeds the forest floor and mycelial web that raised that tree.
POSTED
THE BULLETIN
TROUT CAPS: A completely custom design that comes with a 100% guarantee that they’ll help you catch more fish. LINK
RIVER LEGENDS: The first video game designed and developed by Catskill Crew. Currently being tested and launching as soon as next week.
PUZZLES: Sold out. Big thank you to all the folks that bought and the shops that continue to carry these goods.
HAPPENINGS
FEATURED EVENTS
Pack your bags, we’re going to SUMMER CAMP at Hilltown Commons.
The weekend will be wild, and it will be fun. There’ll be four teams competing for points across various activities from archery to tug of war and javelin throwing, just to name a few.
We’ll stroll through the woods, identify trees, craft tinctures, and gather around the fire. We even have a professional storyteller to share spooky local lore — and unlike when we were kids, this summer camp has a pub.
In the end, only one team will have enough points to claim victory and eternal bragging rights, but we’ll all be winners.
Come for the the main event or stick around the entire weekend.
The inaugural Catskills Book Festival is coming to West Kill Brewing on Saturday, August 8th from 12-6PM and the lineup is stacked. On-stage interviews and readings from authors — Jo Piazza, Isaac Fitzgerald, Andrea Bartz, Casey Scieszka, Olivia Muenter, and more — plus a Kids Hour with Jon Scieszka and Steven Weinberg.
Between readings there will be books for sale, wood-fired pizza, live tunes, custom chain stitching, and — for the fully committed — literary flash tattoos. RSVP HERE.
TEN’ISH FUN THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY | Pop-Up Trivia & Chefs with my friend Leah
Wayside Cider, Andes at 6PM
Enjoy the tacos
WEDNESDAY | Hideaway Comedy with Myq Kaplan + Jill Weiner
Avalon Lounge, Catskill at 7:30PM
As seen on Conan
THURSDAY | Benefit for Catskill Animal Sanctuary
Tubby's, Kingston at 7PM
Celebrating their 25th year
THURSDAY | Old Crow Medicine Show
Bethel Woods, Bethel at 8PM
Rock me momma
FRIDAY | July Birding
Shawangunk Grasslands, Wallkill at 9AM
Spot some purple martins
FRIDAY | Queer Connections: A Mixer for Those New to the Area
Unicorn Bar, Kingston at 6PM
Welcome home
FRIDAY + SATURDAY | Shakespeare: Measure for Measure
West Kortright Center, East Meredith at 6PM
Indoors and outdoors
FRIDAY + SATURDAY | The Goddess Party Presents: The Wedding
TEMPO, Kingston at 8PM
Find out what it means to marry yourself
SATURDAY | Meet the Owls: Ecosystems + Habitat Preservation
Catskills Visitor Center, Mt Tremper at 11AM
Together with Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center
SATURDAY | Land Camp: Build Your Own Rabitat
Columbia Land Conservancy, Chatham at 10AM
Learn about “kataphygics”
SATURDAY | Andes Community Day
Andes from 11AM-7PM
Celebrate the town and the people
SATURDAY | Rock the Quarry Festival
OPUS 40, Saugerties at 6:30PM
Local legends and rising stars
SUNDAY | The Office Marathon and Trivia
Night Swim, Kingston from 1PM to 8PM
Dress as your favorite character
