Sheep get rid of their winter coats at Philipsburg Manor

It's spring. We are shedding our winter coats, and so are the animals.

The annual shearing of the sheep takes place this weekend, April 18-19, at Philipsburg Manor's Sheep-to-Shawl festival. And it will be done the old fashioned way -- by hand -- the way the 18th century residents of his historic working farm would have done it.

There are 19 newborn lambs to see, as well, including a rare set of triplets born on the farm this spring. They are beyond cute, and the kids will love watching them play like happy puppies. This is a record number of newborns for Philipsburg Manor and its proud poppa, the ram named, “Lucky,” who is truly living up to his name.

Other new additions to the farm this year include Maebell the milk cow’s new heifer calf, Marigold. The site’s four-year-old working oxen, Josh and Jake, will also be part of the day’s events.

“Spring at Philipsburg Manor is a really special time, and this event really gives visitors the full flavor of what we do here,” said Thom Thacker, site director of Philipsburg Manor. Tours and programs reflect the daily lives of the 23 enslaved individuals known to have lived and labored there, including slaves. Philipsburg Manor is the country’s only fully staffed living history museum to focus on the history of northern slavery. The farm includes a working water-powered gristmill and a 'new world' Dutch barn.

Philipsburg Manor’s farmers will be shearing the sheep in the barnyard by hand while costumed interpreters continuously demonstrate wool dyeing, spinning, and weaving, and lead special hands-on activities for children. You can watch the entire process of making woolen cloth and participate several of the steps in the process after the sheep are sheared. That includes picking and carding the wool, spinning and dyeing the yarn, and weaving it into cloth.

Interpreters, wearing costume of the 18th century, also demonstrate the labor-intensive process of making linen from the flax plant. And, popular storyteller Jonathan Kruk will be on hand to share his tales.

The Sheep-to-Shawl is held rain or shine. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $6 for children ages 5-17. Members of Historic Hudson Valley and children under 5 attend for free. Tickets can be purchased online. Philipsburg Manor is at 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., two miles north of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

This is a great year to learn about what life was like for the original Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley. After all, this is the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's discovery of a particular river and river valley. You know the name. Hudson River, Hudson Valley.

More about the Quadracentennial events -- that's the dictionary word for 400th anniversary -- in upcoming postings.

photo courtesy Historic Hudson Valley

Valentine's Day Escapes in the Hudson Valley

Several Hudson Valley hotels and resorts are offering great, romantic Valentine's getaway packages to encourage you to visit and enjoy.

The Ritz Carlton Westchester in White Plains believes 'Love is Here to Stay', which is the name of their getaway. Upon check-in, head for the ninth floor Spa for a choice of treatments, including a couple’s massage or special Valentine’s Day treatments. I like the sound of The Champagne Sugar Scrub. to exfoliates the body and contains antioxidants that provide the appearance of youthful skin, or The Pure Decadence Facial, to help reduce all those fine lines and wrinkles I got by worrying about the economy, the environment, and the election. Now calmed and revitalized, get ready for dinner at BLT Steak, where there's an exclusive chef’s tasting dinner on Sunday, Feb. 15th. Seating is limited and reservations are required.

The historic Thayer Hotel in West Point is offering a special dinner and overnight package for you and that special someone. The dinner is a special four-course extravaganza in the beautiful and elegant Gothic-style main dining room. Afterwards, you and your sweetie can snuggle by the roaring fire in the lobby, after nibbling your way through such decadent desserts as a chocolate heart for two, chocolate tuile with berries and zabaglione or homemade cheesecake with foster sauce. Valentine’s dinner is just $130 per couple. Add an overnight stay with champagne and chocolates for just $329 per couple with breakfast buffet or $369 per couple with Sunday Champagne Brunch.

The Ritz-Carlton and the Thayer are two very different Hudson Valley hotels. The Ritz is brand new and ultra-modern, in the heart of White Plains. The Thayer was built in 1926, on the grounds of legendary West Point and named for Sylvanus Thayer, superintendant of the Academy from 1877 to 1833. It has breathtaking views of the Hudson River, and over the years has hosted a long line of dignitaries and celebrities including General Tommy Franks, General Douglas MacArthur, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President John F. Kennedy, Her Royal Highness Princess Alsha Bint-Huessen of Jordan, singer Luciano Pavarotti, actors George C. Scott, James Earl Jones and Gregory Peck, the Philadelphia Flyers, and many others.

Whether you choose the Ritz or the Thayer for Valentine's Day, know that you will get four-star and five-star service, even if you aren't wearing those stars on your dress clothes.

Ski Season Packed with Flurry of Fun

The 2008-2009 ski season is off to a successful start, with several big storms pounding the Hudson Valley and making skiers --and ski resort owners -- very happy, indeed.

Belleayre Mountain celebrates the holiday season with $25 lift tickets on Christmas Day, December 25, 2008, and a Hanukkah Candle Lighting Ceremony on Sunday December 28, 2008. The The Holiday Training Camp begins on Monday, December 29, 2008. This camp is a great way for intermediate skiers and riders to get back into shape for the winter.

Reservations are required. Sign up online or by calling 845-254-5600 x2474.

For the second consecutive year, Hunter Mountain and neighboring Windham Mountain are joining forces to offer the Wintercard. The cooperative deal allows for four total days of skiing and riding -- two at each resort -- for $129. That's just over $32 per day. The Wintercard is the result of a partnership with Greene County Tourism. Hunter and Windham are the two largest ski/snowboard resorts in the Hudson Valley and Catskills region, and offer a total of some 100 trails. So there's something to appeal to any levael between them.

And don't forget Plattekill, where there's skiing by day and after the chairlifts close. It's a wonderfully friendly family-owned ski and snowboard resort with some great downhill runs. Such as the double-diamond Freefall, which feels like it ends at the plate glass window of the Plattekill lodge. Slam on the brakes, please! I did.

Photo courtesy Windham Mountain

Hike Under the Stars at Frost Valley

A unique guided after-dark hike at the Frost Valley YMCA in Claryville will give participants the chance for star gazing, and perhaps see some night-time animals such as bats.

The hike is being held on Saturday, November 1st, under the guidance of biologist Reid Bauer, who is not scared of the dark, and wants you not to be. He's an expert on how humans and animals adapt to a nighttime environment. The excursion also will educate participants on how to view planets, stars and constellations with the naked eye and with telescopes that Bauer is bringing along. The hike includes a stop at Frost Valley's Raptor Center to look at and learn more about night predators, including the rescued animals at the center.

It's called a hike, but it's really a walk on easy terrain, suitable for adults and children. Space is limited to 30, so reservations are recommended.

Visit Henry Hudson's Half Moon in Yonkers

Just in case you didn't know -- next year, 2009, is the 400th anniversary of the discovery of a certain river by a Dutch explorer named Henry Hudson. And an important part of the year-long celebrations from New York City to the upper reaches of the Hudson River Valley is the plank-for-plank replica of Hudson's ship, the Half Moon.

The Half Moon is now docked at The Pier in Yonkers, and will stay there for two weeks. Students from schools throughout Westchester take part in educational programs on the boat, to learn what it was like to live and work in the early 1600s, including the life of a sailor aboard Henry Hudson's ship of discovery during the week. And on weekends, the Half Moon is open for public tours. Remember to watch your head when you go below deck -- people were a lot shorter in the 1600s than we are today.

The original ship, called the "Halve Maen," in Dutch, was commissioned in 1609 for the Dutch East India Company, which hired an Englishman, Henry Hudson, to find a passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He thought he had found it when he sailed up the river that was later named for him. His mistake -- our history.

The Half Moon is just one of hundreds of activities, festivities and celebrations for the Quadricentennial of Henry Hudson's discovery. Check the ExploreNY400 website regularly for updates so you can start planning now.

Hudson claimed the area for his Dutch employers, and soon Dutch farmers, cattle ranchers and fur traders began arriving to settle the Hudson Valley. Hudson's voyage here in 1609 was 10 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

The Half Moon replica was built in Albany, the New York State capital city on the shores of the the Hudson River. It is 85 feet long. Can you imagine sailing across the Atlantic into the unknown today in an 85-foot wooden boat, with no GPS, no iPod, no credit cards, no ice for the afternoon social hour and no balcony to enjoy it on?

Special Occasion Dinner at Xaviar's at Piermont

Taittinger produces some of the world's best French champagne. Peter X. Kelly produces some of the finest meals in the Hudson Valley. Put them together, and it guarantees a memorable dining experience.

It's called L'Instant Taittinger: La Cuisine Xaviar's. Translation -- a one-night-only extravaganza of lobster, Hudson Valley foie gras, Hudson Valley duckling, quail, truffles and more, enhanced by a bounty of Hudson Valley fall produce including squash. Plus , of course, champagne. Lots and lots of champagne. Each cru matched to the dish.

This special dinner is at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 21, 2008, at Xaviar's at Piermont, on the village's main street, Piermont Ave. It's a pricey $200 per person, so you might consider this an early holiday gift to yourself and your significant other. But the price includes the opportunity to discuss champagne with a special guest -- Clovis Taittinger, the newest generation of the Taittinger family to lead the legendary house.

Old World elegance is the rule at Xaviar's. Waterford crystal chandeliers, Rosenthal china, and Riedel champagne glasses, which will be filled from magnums of the finest Champagne Taittinger cuvees from the Côtes des Blancs, Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de la Marne.

So what's on the menu?

Reception --

Coconut Shrimp with Dijon Mustard Sauce, Macadamia Crusted Ahi Tuna with Yuzu Butter, Grilled Quail with Lingonberry, Caramelized Onion Tart with Goat Cheese & Olive,Butternut Squash Veloute with Gingered Shrimp and tiny Crabcake with Gaufrettes Potato & Avocado, all matched with Taittinger, Prestige Blanc Brut NV

Dinner Menu --

Butter Poached Lobster, Creamy Coconut Orzo With Mango & Pineapple are matched with Taittinger, Vintage 1999

Alaskan Halibut cooked “Sous Vide”, Green Onion & Black Truffle Risotto and Sorrel Butter & Volcanic Black Salt are matched with Taittinger, Prestige Rose Brut NV

Breast of Hudson Valley Duckling, Medallion of Foie Gras & Wild Mushroom Spaetzle and Organic Carrots & Sonoma Figs are matched with Taittinger, Comtes des Champagne, Blanc de Blanc 1998

Desserts --
Meyer Lemon Sabayon with Shortbread Crust, Salad of Pink Grapefruit with Acacia Honey and Pistachio & Spearmint are matched with Taittinger, Comtes des Champagne, Rose 2000

Reservations are recommended. Of course, Xaviar's at Piermont and Kelly's other restaurants, Freelance Cafe & Wine Bar, also in Piermont, and his Xaviar's on the Hudson in Yonkers, are included in my food and wine guidebook, Eating the Hudson Valley, published by WWNorton/Countryman Press.

Fall for Westchester Events

Fabulous autumn foilage is the backdrop for events throughout October throughout Westchester County, with something to please everybody -- and all great reasons to visit and enjoy the Hudson Valley.

More than 70 art galleries throughout the county are participating in All Fired Up! A Collection of Clay. There are whimsical ceramics, such as these, at the Pace Univeristy Choate Gallery, and more conventional pottery and ceramics, too. Many of the artists are local, so support them, and the galleries, by doing more than looking. Buy, too.

The annual Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze begins this weekend at Van Cortlandt Manor, Croton-on-Hudson, and every weekend this month. Tickets are required, and they are selling out. No wonder -- it is an annual extravaganza of 3,000+ hand carved jack o'lanterns. Bring your camera. And the kids, since this is a family-friendly spook-tacular.

If you've been waiting to buy tickets to the season opening performances of the Westchester Philharmonic on October 11th and 12th, you blew it. Sold out. And no wonder -- the symphonies -- at the Performing Arts Center, Purchase -- are conducted by Artistic Director Itzhak Perlman, the world-renowned violinist. He'll also be performing during the season.

The last weekend in October, the 24-26, is reserved for Legend Weekend, another annual spook-tacular, held at Washington Irving's Sunnyside in Tarrytown and also at Phillipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow. Halloween activities include storytelling, puppet shows, walks through woods that may or may not be haunted, and an appearance by the Headless Horseman.

Boo!