On May 14, the day of Bans off Our Bodies rallies around the country, my friend Judi and I decided to ditch our plans for a morning hike and headed north up Route 28 to Long Lake New York, where a rally had been planned. We had given some thought to heading to Albany, where …
Garnets on the Soles of My Shoes: Adirondack Rubies
Judy Brown’s red Subaru Outback has a simple vanity plate. It says “Garnets”. At the end of her road is her sign: “J+J Brown, Garnet Studio”. Garnet jewelry has been a thread through her rich life. Her garnet jewelry is ubiquitous in the Adirondacks, in every gift shop from Glens Falls to the Champlain Valley. …
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What I Learned from Skiing and Tortillas
My friend Judi recently broke her shoulder bone. An expert skier, she fell on a very steep slope at Deer Valley. When I saw her finally, back home, white plastic brace wrapped around her shoulder like a shield, I asked her if the Ski Patrol had to carry her out on a sled, she whipped …
Reaching out to Others Through Collage: Excavations and Layers of Lisa Collado
A tiny work at the entrance to Lisa Collado’s exhibit greets visitors with: reaching out to others through collage. As I peered, mesmerized, at Lisa Collado’s work on display at Tannery Pond Community Center —this series of frenetic, almost dizzying, brilliantly colored collages—I could feel Lisa Collado reaching out to me, sometimes whispering, sometimes screaming …
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Lessons from an Adirondack Spring
It’s hard to love Spring in the Adirondacks. Indeed, “Spring” is a bit of a misnomer. The season I had come to think of as “Spring”--warm days, lush with the lavender crocus, yellow forsythia and the magenta azaleas—arrives in the Adirondacks but a few days before Summer. Until then, the snow lingers, disappears slowly, then …
My Senior Early Bird Special — on the Mountain
I know I’m late to the party, but I found it. I’m talking about the mid-week season pass at Gore Mountain. I live a few miles away from the mountain and this year, finally, I joined the weekday early morning skiing crowd. I’m 65 years old and I feel like I’ve joined one of those …
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There’s No Place Like…Home
The view from my home Not long before the world went into lockdown, I traded the city for the country. For almost 40 years, I lived on busy Philadelphia streets, awakened at times by sirens and horns. For all those years, I reveled in the messiness and color of urban life and prowled many corners …