This summer solstice was magical. We strolled along with the dogs to buy a yellow hibiscus tree from the old Italian flower shop owner and then took a leisurely scenic drive up the Hudson valley and along the steep cliffs of The Palisades. We stopped at the top of Bear Mountain to take in the panoramic vista. The Palisades and Bear Mountain Park have an interesting history that is told in historic photographs fired onto ceramic tiles that line the inside of the Gerge W Perkin look-out Tower.
After a light picnic we descended deep into Sullivan County to to visit my favorite colleague who lives in Jeffersonville, which lies within what remains of the Borscht Belt, close to Bethel, site of the legendary Woodstock festival.
We have known Gert and Doris for nearly thirty years. They bought their farm for a song many years ago as a weekend escape from the city and have restored it lovingly. They grow apples to make home-made cider and mow their 40 acres of pasture for hay.
They love art and music as much as science and have befriended the artsy intelligentsia who mingle among the rural Green organic farming community. Every year Gert and Doris host a benefit concert in their barn as part of a “Weekend of Chamber Music” run by a group of talented musicians (in this case Judith Pearce, Andrew Waggoner, Nurit Pacht and Pavel Vinnitsky) who take a break from their day jobs at the Met and in teaching colleges during the summer months to give performances throughout the Catskills.
The music was eclectic and interesting. The setting in Gert’s big restored barn was soothing. After the concert was over we sat around and ate Doris’s home made supper, sipping wine in good company into the long sultry summer evening – until the sun set behind the lilies and bulrushes lining in the pond.
For more pictures and more information on Weekend Chamber Music
