Bald eagles on the Pepacton

Outdoorsman Dennis Schvejda followed a tip from the Andes Gazette to a bald eagle nest on Dingle Hill--and kindly posted driving directions for fellow birders, photographers and nature junkies.

With a good lens, you can get some good shots. REMEMBER… please be “subdued,” quiet, no loud talking, slamming cars doors, etc. Respect this Bald Eagle nursery!

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Voting Day: Our guide to village elections

It's election day in villages around New York State. Most polls opened at noon today, and close at 9pm. Here's our guide to the races in and around the Catskills. Note: Races are grouped by county (Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Ulster and Sullivan) and by whether the race is contested or unopposed. In the Candidates column, "Inc." means the candidate is an incumbent.

Have we missed a race? Let us know by leaving a comment, and we'll update the post.

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Opus 40 for sale

In the MLS database for $3.5 million: A Saugerties property with 4 beds, 3 baths, 2,860 square feet of living space, and a backyard that rivals the seven wonders of the ancient world. Opus 40, a massive bluestone sculpture that sprawls across an abandoned quarry and took creator Harvey Fite 37 years to finish, is for sale.

Real estate listings can tend towards hyperbole, but this one deserves every last fruity adjective:

Offering a once in a life time opportunity to make this magnificent haven your home and become the steward of Harvey Fite's Opus 40. This extraordinary earthwork, home, museum, gallery and amazing collection of Harvey Fite's work defies belief.

Since Fite's accidental death in 1976, Opus 40 has been maintained and kept open to the public by his family. The current owner, Fite's stepson Tad Richards, wants to sell the property so he can retire.

Irish eyes are drizzling

Looks like we got lucky. While pickup trucks were being swept away in the town of Tuxedo, in Orange county, the rain wasn't even enough to douse the St. Patrick's day parade in Kingston:

Video by Clark Richters at The Kingston News, who was onhand to record the reactions of the local pols to the high-but-soggy turnout. (Revelation: Congressman Maurice Hinchey is part Irish.)

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Millbrook Mountain Cliffs: Preserved

The Open Space Institute just bought 67 acres of cliff faces in the Gunks, to be added to the Mohonk Preserve and used for conservation and recreation.

The rock formations that comprise the cliffs on the Shawangunk Ridge feature many different microhabitats for plants and animals, making the talus on the property a rare and unique ecosystem. As such, it had been regarded as a conservation priority in the New York State and Town of Gardiner open space plans.

Unlike neighboring Minnewaska State Park--which the state is threatening to close due to budget problems--the Mohonk Preserve is privately managed. The preserve is run by a trust established by the family that runs the Mohonk Mountain House, and traces its origins back to a 280-acre land deal in 1869:

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Man vs. beast

It was with a heavy heart that Skip of Cluckin' A Critter Farm in Greene County sent a seemingly rabid raccoon to meet its maker this morning.

All I know is that I don't want to kill these animals, but I won't take a chance on loosing our own animals to sick wildlife, so act normal animals. SO......If you're nocturnal, don't be running around here in the daylight, not trying to vamoose immediately when confronted or you're a goner!

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Latest CWC funding: Lighthouse On The Hill, Maverick Health Clinic

The Catskill Watershed Corporation announced several funding decisions: a $255,000 loan for the Maverick Health Clinic in Phoenicia to relocate to Boiceville, and $36,493 in reimbursement for a Greene County motel's septic system. Press release below.

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Superintendent's star turn

Sullivan West's superintendent of schools, Kenneth Hilton, makes a surprise debut on stage as Teen Angel this weekend in the high school's production of Grease. (Remember the Busby Berkeley-meets-Liberace dream sequence? "Beauty school dropout," he croons, "go back to high school!")

“They wanted me to be Teen Angel because I’m the only one around here old enough to remember the 50s,” quipped Dr. Hilton. “I’m the only one who knew what a malt shop was.”

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Auto graveyard owner could face jail time for pollution

David Turick, proprietor of the aptly-named Auto Undertakers in Monticello, is being charged with contempt of court after repeatedly blowing off court orders to clean up his property. He faces up to $2 million in fines, and the state A.G.'s office is recommending thirty days' imprisonment. From the Times Herald-Record:

Turick owns roughly 14 acres across from his home, where numerous boats, cars and tires are scattered about in the yard. DEC inspectors estimate he must remove 24,000 cubic yards, and anticipate the cleanup will take two years. The property has been used as a dumping ground for construction debris, municipal waste, rotting deer carcasses, scrapped vehicles and thousands of waste tires — a fire hazard and breeding place for disease-carrying mosquitoes, the attorney general says.

Turick faces a hearing on the contempt charge today.

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