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We had a mostly happy Thanksgiving, although we were very sorry not to have Julie and Stacey with us. They stayed home out of concern for Rinda’s health. It was wonderful to have Sarah back with us for the week. She was in high spirits throughout. Lew was in good form, tucking into a Thanksgiving […]

Jen, reigning marmalade champion, has decided not to defend her title this year at the Dutchess County Fair. That does not mean, however, that she won’t be making a big batch of peach-lemon marmalade.

This weekend we had a visit from babysitter emeritus Lauren Ballback, who stopped with her dog Hamilton on her way from Brooklyn to Maine. Jen gave Lauren a tour of the secret garden, which is looking quite spiffy these days. It was great to see Lauren with Sarah again. Daisy also enjoyed visiting with Hamilton. […]

We celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary Saturday with a sailboat ride on the Hudson, including a festive boxed dinner from Popeye’s. Hoping for more smooth sailing!

Jen has created a beautiful and orderly home for the peonies in her secret garden using only mulch, a few rocks, and several hours of backbreaking labor under punishing heat and humidity. She used the same formula to create this garden in front of the cottage. On Friday, we returned from drinks at Chris Rosekrans’s […]

We braved the smoke from Canadian wildfires to attend a barbecue at the Kaimal/Lawson’s Friday night. The Ostroys and the Perkins also attended, and everyone brought their daughters and dogs. It was nice to see the collegiate set assembled, and all the dogs behaved tolerably well. Daisy knocked over a couple of items (a soda […]

Skies are blue and the grass is high – it must be summertime. Jen inspected our nano-orchard, which appears poised to produce as many as four apples this season. Rather than rely on our domestic fruit production, she set out to pick wild black raspberries. The brambles provided, ensuring we will have jam this summer.

Sarah’s horse for the summer, Sully (formally known as Lanchello), a Dutch gelding, arrived at Southlands Friday morning after an overnight drive from Georgia. By Saturday, Sully had acclimated enough to be ridden. He seems like a fine fellow. In unrelated news, Jen’s secret garden has awakened for spring, with blooms including this fancy Blue […]

Jen enjoyed her customary Mother’s Day breakfast in bed, including an asparagus and wild scallion omelet (also known as the Lawn & Garden omelet). Of course, having Sarah back home is the best gift of all.

The first day of spring is not March 20, it’s the day Jen harvests enough asparagus and forages enough morels to make fettuccini with morels, asparagus and parmesan (and a little garlic). This year, that day was May 7, and I would be surprised if any among the multitudes reading this had a better Sunday […]