YES CHEF

Hey there friend. Take a seat, relax, I have here the latest edition. Enjoy and I’ll see ya out there.

FIELD GUIDE

In the kitchen of Deer Mountain Inn is the ultra-talented Chef Corwin Kave. An Executive Chef with over 20 years of experience and a James Beard nod — this man knows good food.

His palate understands flavors that are beyond the reach of my comprehension. What I do know is that his food is absolutely exceptional.

So I asked him to share his top 10 favorite spots in the Catskills and Hudson Valley in the latest Field Guide: Where James Beard Chefs Eat.

The list he put together has everything from restaurants and bars to ice cream joints.

So if he suggests we eat or sip something, anywhere, we should probably listen. You can check out his favorites down below.

FROM THE MOUNTAINS

PROPERTY: 40 foot waterfalls

PETS: Jarvis the Sheperd, Rubble the cat, and Jasmine the horse.

SKY: A deep partial lunar eclipse arrives Thursday night — when nearly 95% of the Full Sturgeon Moon will slip into Earth's shadow, glowing copper red at maximum coverage at 12:12 AM. Hope for clear skies because we won't get one this good until 2029.

SIGHTINGS: Ruby-crowned Kinglet Corthylio calendula

NEIGHBOR SPOTLIGHT

CONTRIBUTED BY JACKIE BUDDIE

Peak summer. Popsicles and porch swings, berries ripe for the picking, a tousle of fresh blooms for the table. Before you know it, September sneaks in the screen door with the crickets, and you’re rushing to squeeze the last juicy drops out of every creek dip and picnic. 

Flower farmer and foraged bouquet artist Willa Köerner understands that feeling well—that urge to milk each sun-kissed minute—particularly when her favorite blossoms are really popping. But if you ask the former nine-to-fiver, who left the grind in 2018 to become the steward of a rambling West Shokan farmstead, making the most of the season is just another way we pressure ourselves to stay busy. 

“What if people could just be, and didn’t have to do anything?” she asks. It’s the sort of question that led her to set up a small residency on her land, and give likeminded creatives the space to decelerate (and plant things, if they choose). “The idea is you come here and you take a break to just poke around and follow your curiosity,” she says, explaining how she has grown The Strange Foundation as a companion to her regenerative gardens.

For Willa, decelerating means shutting her laptop and sticking her hands in the soil. It means getting on the ground and cultivating relationships with her closest neighbors, from the tiniest tent caterpillar to the mightiest oak tree. It means sowing lots of seeds, then stepping back, letting go, and seeing what grows.

Today, her gardens are home to rows of showy cosmos, ruffled zinnias, and dahlias twirling their petticoats. Sticky globes of milkweed flutter with monarchs, and the echinacea hums with bees. Whether they’re native species or grown from seed, for Willa, it all comes together naturally. “My bouquets look like a wildflower meadow because I forage a lot, and I don't have a recipe,” she says. “I try to find fun things that are unexpected that’ll work together. Like, oh, this is actually a really cool seed pod, and this dried grass makes a really cool curlicue shape.” 

Wild, billowy, free. The beauty is in the spontaneity.

So sure, maybe you can't do all the things this summer. But slowing down to spend some time in the dirt might be everything you need.

P.S. Check out Willa’s Gardening Club: Garden Party

GOOD CAUSE

Since 2020, the good people at A Single Bite have cooked and shared more than 260,000 scratch-made meals with neighbors across Sullivan County. Real food, made from fresh ingredients, bought from local farms — feeding neighbors and supporting local farmers all at the same time.

And those meals are only half the mission. Their Real Food Education Program takes 7th graders into classrooms, onto farms, and into restaurants to learn where food actually comes from — and to meet the people who grow and cook it.

Now, they’re looking for Crew Members who want to volunteer:

✦︎ Prepare and package scratch-made community meals
✦︎ Support weekly food distribution and ensure meals reach neighbors who need them
✦︎ Assist with community events and food-centered gatherings
✦︎ Support Real Food Education programming in classrooms, on farms, and through restaurant experiences
✦︎ Share professional skills, knowledge, and expertise that can help strengthen and expand our programs

A few hours make a big difference — they don’t need regular commitments. And if time's not what you have, every monetary donation goes directly toward ingredients, nourishing meals, and expanding food education opportunities for children and families.

ROAD TRIPPING

I’m currently writing this edition from the deep depths of the Sawtooth Range in Idaho — almost 3 years of Catskill Crew and I can’t miss hitting send.

The forest fires and smoke are quite present — look up and you’ll likely spot Airtankers and Super Scoopers flying over to fight the good fight.

Meanwhile, the rivers are running cold at 63 degrees and the fishing has been nothing short of spectacular (reminder: if you can fish in the Catskills you can fish anywhere in the world)… although I did have an incident and lost 3 fly rods. But we don’t need to talk about that.

I added some new photographs to the Gallery — no fancy editing, just straight from the camera.

POSTED

RIVER LEGENDS: Play the game, find the legends, and claim the top spot on the leaderboard. TIGHT LINES.

PARTNER: Catskill Crew only works with limited partners — if you want to discuss teaming up you can reach out. LET’S CHAT.

BREAKFAST QUEST: Looking for the best breakfast sandwiches across the region? Look no further. TAKE A LOOK.

THIS WEEK

WEDNESDAY | Pop-Up Trivia and Chefs
Wayside Cider, Andes at 6PM
Tibetan dumplings

THURSDAY | Book Club: Casey Scieszka
Morton Memorial Library, Pine Hill at 5PM
Go Casey

THURSDAY | August Birding at Thorn Preserve
Thorn Preserve, Woodstock at 9AM
Get your Merlin apps ready

FRIDAY | Gilded Age Pirates and River Thieves
Hudson River Maritime Museum, Kingston at 7:30PM
River thieves and mercenary crews

FRIDAY | Full Moon Hike
Overlook Mountain Fire Tower, Woodstock at 5PM
Sturgeon moon

FRIDAY | Groundhog Day The Musical
Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck at 7:30PM
What if there is no tomorrow

FRIDAY | Oyster Party
Rae's, Margaretville
Yes plz

FRIDAY | Christopher Hoffman
Stissing Center for Arts & Culture, Pine Plains at 7:30PM
Sheesh the cello is great

SATURDAY | 2026 Annual Festival
Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Tivoli at 10AM
see dates

SATURDAY | Farm Dinner 2026
Star Route Farm, Charlotteville at 4PM
This is going to be very-very-very grand

SATURDAY | DJ Kristill Avalanche
Quinnies, Claverack at 5PM
Happy hour

SATURDAY | Comedy Show
Catskill Brewery, Livingston Manor at 7:30PM
Beer run comedy crew

SATURDAY | Xanadu
Skate Time, Accord at 8PM
Parking lot cinema

SATURDAY | Food Pop-Up: The Finchnest
dear native grapes, Walton at 1PM
Margaretville is pumped for opening day

SUNDAY | Wind Down Summer with an UPCO Hike
North Lake Beach Parking Area, Haines Falls at 10AM
Have fun in the great outdoors