RhinebeckFarm.com

We just finished a two-week vacation at the farm.  (Or, rather, I finished it.  Sarah and Jen continue to vacation.)  Here’s Sarah having a sip of water after hiking through Ferncliff Forest, just outside the village of Rhinebeck.

It’s part of the old Astor estate.  Jen and I climbed the fire tower, which gives spectacular views in every direction.  Behind Jen you can see the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge.  Sarah, not having any of it, remained on terra firma.

During the first week, Sarah attended Camp Kindness, operated by militant vegans at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary.  The campers spent a week caring for rescued animals and being brainwashed as to the evilness of all farming.  Sarah was forced to sign a written pledge that she would try her hardest to become a lacto-vegetarian.  At one point, a bacon-eating child was told that he was “outside the circle of compassion.”

We had lots of visitors.  Lauren, Sarah’s babysitter emeritus, stopped by for the weekend with Hamilton, a sweet and energetic Black & Tan Coonhound.  Hamilton and Daisy got along swimmingly.

We also saw the Harris boys, and took them to pick yellow donut peaches.

Erica and Geoff spent the night on their way to Maine.  They were game for a jam tasting.

The second week, Sarah attended Mill Street Loft, where she created works of art without the benefit of air conditioning.  (Fortunately, it was pretty cool last week.)  The week culminated in a camp-wide stage performance, in which Sarah was a box.

In between all these camping adventures, she and her mom swam in the pond.

Jen cleared phragmites from the front of the pond.

And our Bee Balm bloomed.