Historic Landmark on the Hudson River

Category: Keepers Log

  • Testimonial: "Bountiful breakfast"

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    The lighthouse was profiled in the article A Home Away From Home in a regional magazine The Chrongram.

  • Question for the Keeper: Oldest Lighthouse in the U.S.

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    The Saugerties Lighthouse is 140 years old this year, built after the Civil War. As old as it is, it’s a young light compared to Colonial era lighthouses. What is the oldest lighthouse in the U.S.? Two lighthouses vie for this title. The first lighthouse built in America was the Boston Light on Little Brewster…

  • Osprey mating fails

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    The opsrey pair gave up the nest in the treetop near the mouth of Esopus Creek. After sitting on the nest for two to three weeks in late April/early May, they started a second round of courtship. They made a half-hearted attempt at a nest on channel marker #93. The previous nest has since fallen…

  • River neighbors

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    I walked down to the Tivoli landing carrying a portable drill. As I strapped it on the back of my kayak, a man standing nearby gave me a quizzical look and asked what I was doing. Short answer: “My neighbor in Glasco needs to borrow a drill, so I’m on my way to meet him…

  • Cranes, hoists and winches

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    The winter took its toll on the lighthouse dock. River ice bent and tore the steel pilings. After spring thaw, the dock was sagging at one end and off-kilter at the other. The pilings for the ramp were bent like pretzels. I attached some temporary supports to shore up the sagging portions and waited for…

  • Winds of change

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    As the season switches from winter to spring, the winds of change blow fiercely. Lately, the wind has been gusting over 30 mph and creating white caps and 3-foot swells on the river. Anything not lashed down is at the whim of the wind gusts. Today, I received a phone call from the Coast Guard.…

  • Question for the Keeper: tide

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    How does the tide clock work? Does high tide occur at the same time everyday? At the lighthouse, a tide clock adorns the kitchen wall above a regular analog timepiece. The tide clock has a single hand that sweeps around its face pointing towards high tide or low tide or somewhere in between. The hand…

  • First swim of the season

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    Sunny afternoon. After a long run, I took a quick dip in the river. I didn’t linger underwater for more than a second. Water temperature: an invigorating 46 degrees F.

  • Osprey nest

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    The resident osprey pair is back, and this time they are building a nest not on the channel marker across from the lighthouse where they often perch but in a treetop a few hundred yards up the Esopus Creek. This looks like the real deal, not the false starts we’ve seen in past years. I…

  • Shanties and strawberries

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    Last night, the crew of the sloop Clearwater came over to the lighthouse for dessert. We ate homemade strawberry shortcake. Then, we sang sea shanties. The crew is getting ready for another season of sailing on the Hudson River. Tired of singing the same two or three sea songs all the time, they wanted to…