Dragonflies emerging
On these hot summer days, I get a strong impulse to turn into an aquatic mammal and spend the bulk of my waking hours in the water. While indulging this urge with a refreshing swim in the Huds ...
Snapping turtle nest
On the evening of the summer solstice, we encountered a snapping turtle along the trail. We gave the turtle a wide berth as we passed and continued on our way, assuming the turtle would contin ...
Sunken barge update: a big bite
After days of a metallic banging and clanging, the demolition crane was relatively silent yesterday. The crane barge Newark Bay took a time out from barge busting to do some scrap hauling. It was jo ...
Sunken barge update: bits and pieces
After the remaining contents of the sunken barge were emptied onto another barge using a clamshell crane, the recovery of the sunken barge entered a new phase last week. Apparently, the attemp ...
Springtime natural happenings
The wintering mergansers have departed for northern climes while cormorants have arrived to fill the diving bird niche. The resident pair of eagles alternate between their nest on the other side of th ...
Open Water
A week ago Sunday, ice floes still drifted in the river, but a few dedicated kayakers ventured out and paddled down from Malden. On Monday, full moon tides lifted the remaining piles of ice from the s ...
Freshets & Ice Gorges
Recent storm surges raised the question of when the Lighthouse last saw flood levels anywhere near these heights. In addition to storm surges, floods in the Hudson are often due to freshets. A fre ...
Post-Sandy Update
River crested overnight with 6 inches of water covering the first floor of the Lighthouse. Mopping up has begun but will take several days. The B&B will be closed this weekend. If you have a reservati ...
Hurricane Preparations and Storm Update
In anticipation of high winds and flooding associated with Hurricane Sandy, the Lighthouse Trail will be closed for a period of time during and after the storm. Also, with expected power outage, the f ...
First aid to navigation on the Hudson?
A volunteer onboard the sloop Clearwater recently posed the question: when was the first aid-to-navigation established on the Hudson River? To address this question, I relied on Jim Crowley's Ligh ...