Police say the man, whose body was found by canoeists, is 56-year-old James Estes of Nicholson, PA. Estes was reported missing to Pennsylvania state police on April 25.
An autopsy conducted by Dr. Margaret Prial on May 5 was unable to determine the cause of death. Police do not suspect foul play in Estes's death.
State senator Cecilia Tkaczyk, an outspoken opponent of hydrofracking, is proposing new legislation that would prohibit out-of-state drillers from disposing of fracking waste in New York State.
Senator Tkaczyk’s bill would ban “the treatment, discharge, disposal, transportation or storage of high volume hydraulic fracturing waste products in New York State.” While this type of fracking is not currently being conducted in New York, landfills and treatment facilities in the state are accepting tens of thousands of tons of fracking waste from sites in Pennsylvania. Read more
If the blossoms and buds made it through the last night's cold temperatures, they'll come out looking like these apple blossoms, shot by John of Catskills Photography in Monticello on May 5 and submitted to the Watershed Post Flickr pool.
Proof that there really are only two seasons in the Catskills -- winter and the Fourth of July. Photo taken at 1:45pm on Monday, May 13 at the Watershed Post's headquarters in New Kingston.
As if the snow falling out of the sky wasn't warning enough: Gardeners across the region should be alert for fast-dropping temperatures. A freeze warning has been issued by the National Weather Service covering a large swath of eastern New York and western New England.
On Thursday, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced that it would allow boat rental businesses to store rental vessels directly on the banks of the NYC reservoirs. The policy change will make things easier for rental companies, which had to store their boats elsewhere last season and schlep them to and from the lakes for every paddler.
The DEP, working with the Catskill Watershed Corporation, has purchased storage racks to house 120 rental boats, but it's unclear how they will be split up between the reservoirs.
Read the full press release about the change below:
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ANNOUNCES PROGRAM FOR WATERSHED BUSINESSES TO STORE RENTAL KAYAKS AND CANOES AT NEW YORK CITY RESERVOIRS
Rental Boats Will be a Boost to Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Economy in Catskills Read more
Above: WJFF video promoting their 4th annual Foodstock Food and Fine Wine Festival.
Food, wine, and song will fill the Tennis Building at the Villa Roma Resort in Callicoon this Saturday as the fourth annual Foodstock Fine Food and Wine Festival brings together over 60 purveyors of fine comestibles. Local farmers, winemakers, bakers and chefs will bring their finest to the tasting festival for four hours of community-spirited tasting and browsing. From fudge sauce to garlic vinegar, from gourmet pasta and dairy to locally-produced woodworking and fresh flowers, this is a great opportunity to sample the creativity of Sullivan County chefs and producers, while grooving to the sounds of Poison Love with Dan Brinkerhoff. Read more
Whether it's affection or guilt that motivates you, odds are you're looking to spend quality time with Mom this weekend. Julia Ward Howe founded Mother’s Day on this continent in 1870, calling out for an international celebration of peace and motherhood. Before that, there was "Mothering Sunday" in England -- working class folk were given a day off to go see Mom, and they also took a day off from Lent. We may have largely lost the knack of matriarchy and Goddess worship, but if you’re looking for a way to celebrate yo’ mama, the Catskills have plenty of options lined up.
Here's our county-by-county guide to 2013 Mother's Day events in the Catskills.
DELAWARE COUNTY
The Annual Mother’s Day Wildflower Hike to Kelly Hollow is a four-mile ramble sponsored by the Catskill Mountain Club You’ll enjoy sparkling streams and an active beaver pond, and have a chance to experience spring ephemerals like violets and jack-in-the-pulpit. Participants will gather at the Old Schoolhouse 2.2 miles west of Margaretville at 10:30 on Sunday. There’s a limit of 20 people- call Howard Raab at 845.586.3112 for reservations.
Also in Margaretville, prep Mom for a season of gardening at gardenFest, a Main Street extravaganza of gardeners, food vendors, petting zoos, live music, and all things flowering and green on Saturday from 10am to 3pm.
Mother’s Day Jazz Brunch with Lindsey Webster and an awesome menu will be served up at the Andes Hotel in Andes between noon and 3pm.
At Catskills Escape in Franklin, Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday includes a Mandarin Souffle lovingly crafted of local eggs, organic citrus, and butter, and your table will be resplendent with a seasonal bouquet.
The Roxbury Arts Group has a very special treat lined up for Mother’s Day Eve. On Saturday night, the First Lady of Woodstock, folk-rock stunner Melanie, will perform with her son Beau Jarred Schekeryk in Roxbury.
At Tay Home inAndes, the mother-daughter chef team of Mary Elizabeth (mother) and Chef Nicole Roarke (daughter) will share recipes and stories from their cookbook "Cooking Across America" from 10am to 6pm on Sunday. Tastings and demos will abound.
Around 3pm, the paper reports, state police and local officials responded to a call of a body floating in the water, and recovered the body from the river near the border between the Sullivan County towns of Tusten and Highland.
Coming soon to a whiskey near you: Mash from Ommegang's Hennepin ale. Photo from the Ommegang website.
The up-and-coming Catskill Distilling Company in Bethel has struck a deal with Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown to make Catskill whiskey with Ommegang mash.
The product of the exclusive deal will be a malt whiskey made with mash from the production of Ommegang's Hennepin, a Belgian-style farmhouse saison ale "flavored with grains of paradise, ginger, coriander and orange peel."
Coming soon to a whiskey near you: Mash from Ommegang's Hennepin ale. Photo from the 
