Historic Landmark on the Hudson River

Category: Keepers Log

  • Last Cactus Blossom

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    The Christmas cactus in the kitchen window started blooming in mid-November. Today, it dropped the last of its pink blossoms. I suppose that makes it a “Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years” cactus.

  • First Ice

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    With temperatures in the low 20s during the day and teen overnight, ice formed in the river coves.

  • Slippery slope

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    Early this morning, I emerged groggy-eyed from the lighthouse. I noticed the icicles hanging from the bird-feeder, the result of freezing rain overnight. However, I did not notice the thin coating of ice on the ramp to the dock. I took one step onto the ramp and quickly accelerated. I slid the length of the…

  • Common Goldeneye

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    An overcast and misty morning on the river. North of the lighthouse, a dozen or more common goldeneye waterfowl congregated–black and white feathered bodies against a uniform gray background. Aside from padddling around and occasionally diving underwater, the males stretched their necks and performed back bends, touching head to tail–a courtship display for a few…

  • Dirty Job

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    This post is dedicated to those who envy me my job as lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse basement is wet and dank. It could be described as an “inter-tidal zone” since it often floods at high tide. Fortunately, the high tide usually does not reach basement during the first and last quarter moon, which makes for…

  • CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT

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    On these unseasonably warm January days, small talk about the weather quickly shifts to big talk about climate change. It’s certainly on my mind as of late. In early December, I attended a conference in Poughkeepsie about the impacts of climate change on the Hudson Valley. Some of the information presented at the conference is…

  • Record Temperature

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    A south wind blew out the fog this morning, wisping through the reeds and trees. When the fog bank cleared, a bald eagle appeared in the treetops. The sun also appeared from behind the clouds. By mid-afternoon, the thermometer outside the kitchen window read 70 degrees. The water temperature was 38 degrees.

  • Sunny day

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    Water temperature: 35 degrees Farhenheit Air temperature: 55 degrees Farhenheit Wind: calm

  • New Year's Day

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    A thick shroud of fog enveloped the lighthouse for most of the day today. Oftentimes, the fog was so dense that I could not even see the other side of the river. The air was completely still, and the surface of the water was mirror smooth. The fog broke briefly at sunset, and the golden…

  • New Year's Eve

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    It is a maritime tradition that whoever has watch on New Year’s Eve fill out the night’s logbook entry in rhyme. In that same vein, here is a rhyming re-cap of the final moments of 2006: Clouded moonlight casts an eerie glow and the clock on the wall is a few minutes slow, calling to…