You can't make this stuff up: Police say two men, one wearing a devil mask, robbed a Mormon church in the Schoharie County town of Esperance last month, damaging the church to the tune of $18,000 in the process. 

On Monday, state police announced the recent felony burglary arrests of 26-year-old Justin Pethick and 18-year-old Roger Graham, both from the Esperance hamlet of Central Bridge. Police say that on Jan. 27, the pair broke into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Central Bridge, and proceeded to damage doors, cabinets and locking mechanisms while looking for things to steal. Pethick was wearing a devil mask to conceal his identity, police said. 

The alleged burglars didn't find much for their trouble, police said: $160 and two backpacks were stolen from Boy Scout Troop 46, which keeps a storage room at the church, and $40 was taken from the church's Family History Center. 

Above: A chickadee touches down at a backyard feeder, while an American goldfinch looks on.

Local photographer James McCracken took this shot in a neighbor's yard in South Kortright last week, with the aid of a GoPro Hero 3 camera and a color-enhancing Instagram filter. For more of McCracken's stunning mid-flight shots of backyard birds -- and more photos from around the Catskills -- check out the Watershed Post's Flickr group pool. 

A Hobart man who allegedly robbed the Express Mart convenience store in Delhi in the wee hours of Friday morning didn't get too far from the scene of the crime before his arrest. 

At 4:12 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, a man stole cash from the register at the Express Mart, at the corner of Kingston and Main Streets in the village, and then fled the scene in a vehicle. He was unarmed, police said.

"He went to purchase an item. When [the cashier] opened the register, he pushed her out of the way, took the cash and ran off," said Delhi Village Police Chief Michael Mills. 

As Delhi police were responding to a 911 call, state troopers from the Margaretville station heard the incident over the radio and began patrolling for the suspect's vehicle. At 4:36 a.m., the troopers stopped a vehicle traveling on County Road 18 in the town of Stamford, and arrested the driver: 41-year-old Jamel Wilson of Hobart.

The proceeds from the burglary were in the vehicle. Police say Wilson was found to be under the influence of a controlled substance.

Above: Photo by Bob Roney, courtesy of Willderhook Maple, Middleburgh.

Move over, Vermont: New York State produces almost a fifth of the nation’s maple syrup, and much of that comes from the Catskills, where dairy farmers looking to make a little extra income often have found it in their sugar bushes.

The mountains are home to many sugarhouses, from large operations with state-of-the-art syrup evaporators that use reverse osmosis to little shacks that still employ the old-fashioned boiling method.

Maple syrup is available all year long, but the tapping season lasts for just a brief few weeks in March, when frosty nights and warm, sunny days kickstart the sap moving. The best way to watch a sugarhouse in action is to visit one during Maple Weekend (actually two consecutive weekends), when special farm visits, syrupmaking demonstrations and pancake breakfasts abound throughout the Catskills. In 2014, the dates are March 22-23 and 29-30; see mapleweekend.com for a full schedule and list of producers.

A 13-year-old girl from the Wawarsing hamlet of Greenfield Park is missing and may be in Kingston, Kingston police announced Thursday.

Shamara Shante Sterling was reported missing by her family on Monday, Feb. 17. She was last seen at a friend's home on Pine Street in Kingston on Sunday. Police say she walked out of her friend's house and did not say where she was going. 

Sterling -- pictured above -- is described as about 5'6" tall, 145 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a red jacket, red hoodie, black Adidas pants with a white stripe, and sneakers. 

Police say that anyone with information on Sterling's whereabouts should call the Kingston Police Department at 845-331-1671. All calls will be kept confidential.