We do our normal morning newspaper read and cafe. Then we catch a train at 1.25pm from Penn Station to Poughkeepsie.
Bryant who we are visiting had told us to sit on the left hand side - it was great advice.
We go through the Hudson River Estuary.
From Wikipedia: "Lined seahorse, Northern pike, Striped searobin, and Naked goby are four species of more than 200 fishes that have been found in the Hudson and its watershed. Some are abundant, others are strays from the ocean that have appeared only once or twice. But all told, the diversity and numbers of fish here are impressive.What accounts for this diversity? Most important is the fact that the lower Hudson is an estuary – a body of water open to the sea, in which salt and fresh water come together. The rather salty water off Manhattan is home to seahorses, searobins and flounders. Moving upriver, salinity decreases; where the water becomes fresh, anglers catch sunfish, black bass, yellow perch, and a few northern pike."
History of the river (taken from a great kids' facts site).
"The Hudson River is named for the European explorer Henry Hudson, who explored it in 1609. Hudson was looking for a passing to the Asia when he discovered the river. In 1524, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano first entered the Hudson but mistook it for an estuary.
The Hudson River flows both North and South. Near the Atlantic, the river flows north, and near its origin in Lake Tear of the Clouds, it flows south.
The Native American tribe of the Iroquois called the river Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk also known as the Great Mohegan. It actually means “the water that moves both ways”. Before the river was explored by Henry Hudson (travelling for the Dutch East India Company), the river was used for travel by the Native Americans. The river connected them and was a major source of food. Travelling in dug-out canoes that held forty people, they'd visit and trade with each other. In smaller dug-outs, they'd set and pull fishing nets, harpoon the whales and seals that often came upriver, and shoot duck with bow and arrow.
Knowledge of and respect for the river was essential for survival. While women planted maize along the shore, and men hunted deer, Lenape children were taught to take only what they needed from the environment. If the thousands of years of Lenape history seems to have been erased from the Hudson Valley, that's partly due to the disease and intolerance that European settlers brought with them. But it's also a result of how lightly the Lenape lived on the soil: generations of river dwellers left little more environmental change than some ancient oyster middens, rock drawings, and scattered arrowheads."
This photo is on their tribal area (the mountain bridge is just up from White Plains on the map above).
The Hudson River valley runs primarily north to south down the eastern edge of New York State, cutting through a series of different rock types. These pictures from the left side - Hudson Highlands.
Beacon.
Wappinger.
The train trip is an hour and a half, Bryant picks us up, and it is 20 minutes drive to their Summer Fox Farm. For those of you who have been reading my blog we met Bryant and Rebecca at the Palio in Siena. They invited us to stay. Never invite a New Zealander unless you really want them to come - they come! So here we are. Bryant commutes Mon-Fri to NYC (same train trip we just did).
My horsey friend Shayne would love to meet Rebecca. Before she married Bryant she was on the cusp of being an Olympian horse rider. She fell in love with Bryant, but said she would only marry if she had a farm. They bought the farm and here they still are. The farm is 90 acres with 30 acres of bush. Here is Rebecca with an older horse.
We have a tour of the farm. This was a photo on the wall. I think this was her favourite horse, which was New Zealand bred. So she has good thoughts about New Zealand. Wow that jump is high!
They told us the story of this horse. Rebecca bought it for $5,000. She trained him, and someone offered her $40,000, and then $80,000. But to Bryant's dismay, she turned them all down as she says it was the best horse she ever had!
Below, medals won!
Stables with house in background and Bill.
Inside the stables.
Beautifully kept land.
The wonderful guest house, where we stayed.
We drive up to have drinks and nibbles at a look out point on the farm. Rebecca tells me people have said to them to rebuild the house here. They have a son who for 15 years the big occasion was the annual Halloween party. All the neighbours and their children came here to party (it became more than 100 people every year).
This is a paradise. Bill must have been saying so. Bryant is a great listener.
Rebecca's super dog.
Bryant told us stories of a bear being caught in the region and Rebecca once spotted a mountain lion on a horse ride in the paddock just behind us. Rebecca and Bryant both go hunting on their horses in the weekend.
A bush path in between the guest house and lookout (where we had drinks.) No mountain lions today.
This evening was so special. We had a beautiful three course meal, starting outside and including mozarella, basil and tomatoes - to remind us of Siena. We had so much fun sharing stories and getting to know one another. They have asked us back! "Be careful who you ask back" we said.
Rebecca does unpaid work as the Chair of the Dutchess Land Conservancy. This is what it does. "Dutchess Land Conservancy is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to preserving the rural character, important resources, and open lands of Dutchess County, New York. We encourage sound, well-planned growth balanced with the conservation of our important natural resources and working landscapes to ensure healthy and vibrant communities for the benefit of all generations."
The work that Bryant and Rebecca have done to their property is a model for this. I love this picture on their website.
