When Mel Bellar established his Andes, NY landscape design company, the Catskills were considered "zone 4" on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Thanks (?) to climate change and warmer winters, the region is now solidly in "zone 5." We talked with Mel about that shift and how it's reshaping our options. Join our conversation for many more Catskills landscaping considerations, like complementing the environment with natural materials, Mel's favorite plants, go-to suppliers, and things we tend to do ... but shouldn't (landscape fabric, anyone?). Thanks to this week's sponsors ... and listener supporters! The Mountain Eagle Hanford Mills Museum Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce Briars & Brambles Books --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Spring has sprung in the Catskills, and with the reemergence of our native flora and fauna, invasive species are also happy to awaken. Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP) director John Thompson tells us what to watch out for, how to report our findings, and what we can do to stem the tide of invasive pests. Plus, two emerging invasives to add to our radar! Report your findings at: https://www.imapinvasives.org/ Thanks to our sponsors: Briars & Brambles Books, Hanford Mills Museum, Ulster Savings BankCatskill Mountains Scenic Byway, and The Mountain Eagle. Photo courtesy Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

April is Financial Literacy Month! It's also National Jazz Appreciation Month, National Fresh Celery Month, Foot Health Awareness Month, World Landscape Architecture Month, and National Soft Pretzel Month. But let's just stick to finance for now, a topic that affects us all throughout the year. And for a refresher on that topic, we met up with our local bank branch manager, Samantha Awand-Gortel, for a conversation on banking and finance in the Catskills and beyond. Did we mention April is also National Poetry month? Hey, ChatGPT, how about a limerick on financial literacy to get us started? There once was a person named Jill Who never learned to manage her bill But with financial literacy in hand She could finally understand And now she's financially fit and chill! It's no Carolyn Wells, but honestly, financial literacy poetry is hard to find. Pictured: Ulster Savings Bank Phoenicia branch manager Samantha Awand-Gortel, with a poster by some appreciative (and financially literate) Phoenicia Elementary Schoolers. Many thanks to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle, Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce, and Briars & Brambles Books --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Just two weeks before the start of trout season, the Catskills lost a paragon of angling. Henry "Hank" Rope, Jr. wore out a pair of wading shoes every year, fishing Catskills creeks and tributaries. Hank shared his love of the sport through his Big Indian Guide Service and volunteered his time with Trout in the Classroom at a community elementary school. We recorded Mr. Rope on several occasions over the years, and this week we're joined by two friends –– Bethia Waterman and Jane Wolfrom –– with memories to share. Hear more from Hank in Sporting Legends of the Catskills, where he joined panel discussions for "Outdoor Guides of the Catskills: The 'Adventure Experts'" and “On the River with Authors, Guides and Catskill Characters" at Phoenicia Library's Jerry Bartlett Angling Collection. Thank you to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle, the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway, Ulster Savings Bank, and Briars & Brambles Books --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Radio Catskill hit the airwaves in 1990 and operated out of a hydro-powered station in Jeffersonville. But when a building was recently offered in nearby Liberty, WJFF shed its 30-year skin and relocated to the now fully-renovated, modern production facility. Technological advances aside, this small public radio station is still very much focused on local news and Catskills culture. Many thanks to our sponsors: Briars & Brambles Books The Mountain Eagle Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

As Catskills black bears emerge from hibernation, we spoke with three bear experts –– wildlife rehabilitator Kristine Flones, and conservationist couple Patti and Bill Rudge –– who shared some handy tips for coexisting peaceably with our Catskills bears, including ... the best time to wrap up your wild bird food (and why)the importance of taking out the trash (at the crack of dawn)equipping your Catskills home with a ... marine signal horn? resisting the urge to run from a bear!identifying a mom with cubscreating "space" on the trails Congratulations to listener Douglas Black, winner of the Attwood Bellow Signal Horn! Thanks to our sponsors: Ulster Savings BankCentral Catskills Chamber of CommerceBriars & Brambles Books Thanks also to The Mountain Eagle, and listeners like you! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

As any skier knows, squeezing into a pair of ski boots can be quite the challenge. For skiers with physical and cognitive disabilities, though, preparing for a day on the slopes can require exponentially more time and effort. But that doesn't stop skiers like Todd Reid, who lives with spina bifida, from savoring a day on skis.   At the base of Windham Mountain, the 7200 square foot Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center is headquarters for the Adaptive Sports Foundation, which, for almost 40 years, has provided "profound and life changing experiences for children and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities and chronic illnesses through outdoor physical activity, education, support, and community." Join us as we ski along with ASF's dedicated staff and volunteers, and hear from a few of their extraordinary clients. Thanks to our sponsors: Briars and Brambles Books The Mountain Eagle Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

If the Catskills seem busier lately, you're not imagining it. According to a new report, visits to the Catskills more than doubled between 2018 and 2021, when the region welcomed an estimated 12 million travelers––that's roughly equivalent to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone, combined! The ongoing deluge, it turns out, is the very reason for this report, prepared over two years by the Catskill Advisory Group, or CAG, and recently delivered the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Goals include: 1) balancing the increasing recreational use of the Park with 2) the continued protection and science-informed management of our natural resources while 3) ensuring the experience of using the Park is welcoming, accessible, and inclusive. To get a handle on all this, we spoke with Jeff Senterman, executive director of the Catskill Center, and a member of the advisory group that authored the report. Download the report here. This episode was sponsored by: Ulster Savings Bank Catskill Mountain Scenic Byway The Mountain Eagle And listeners like you! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Washington Irving was an early author to set his fictional tale in the Catskills, but he certainly wasn't the last. If Rip Van Winkle were alive today, he'd have no shortage of contemporary Catskills suspense stories to help keep him awake. Kelli Huggins is on a mission to read all things "Catskills," and she hankers for horror. If a novel features a Catskills town, hotel, or reservoir, it will likely make it onto Kelli's reading list.  Here's a short list of Kelli's recent faves: Just Like Mother, by Anne Heltzel The Hotel Neversink, by Adam O'Fallon Price Echo, Thomas Olde Heuvelt The Grave Keepers, by Elizabeth Byrne Bellweather Rhapsody, by Kate Racculia Night Film, by Marisha Pessl Kelli was a speaker on one on Lize Mogel's Walking the Watershed tours, where she recommended some watershed horror tales! She's a social media specialist for the Fenimore Art Museum and the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown.  Thanks to our sponsors:  Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway The Mountain Eagle Photo by rikka ameboshi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/opened-book-on-tree-root-3358707/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

There's a "herd" of sewing machines in the hundreds, in Delancey, NY, and they're in the loving and capable hands of one Billy Hancock, owner of Billy's Make & Mend, an outpost for sewing machine repair and maintenance, sewing work, machine lessons, and plenty of history.  Thanks to our latest sponsor, Ulster Savings Bank, which was established the same year as the Singer sewing machine company, 1851! Thanks also to the continued support of the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway and The Mountain Eagle.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

To start off the new year, we visited Shea in the Catskills, a tarot practitioner, artist, facilitator, organizer + contemplative, for a (deeper than perhaps expected) conversation on community, tarot, inspiration ... and some insights for 2023! Check out Shea's own podcasts! They're simply produced, clean, and inviting -- rumination and curation in a welcoming voice ... Shea in the Catskills The Ritualists Many thanks to our sponsors: the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce and The Mountain Eagle --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Just off the Kingston traffic circle, you'll find a couple of gas stations, a used car dealer, and a drive-through vegetarian burger joint. But in the 1940s, this was the site of "Seal College," a training facility for some of the most famous sea lions to share the stage with the likes of Abbott and Costello, Bob Hope, and Ed Sullivan. In his new book, Sharkey: When Sea Lions Were Stars of Show Business, author Gary Bohan, Jr., delves deep into the history of his great-grandfather's trained sea lion business, situated on the Esopus Creek (water source for the sea lion tanks), with plenty of interesting crossover into entertainment and broadcast history, much of which was happening just 90 miles or so south of Kingston, in NYC, and beyond. Thanks to everyone who submitted their name in the book drawing, and congratulations to the winner, Bill Birns! Thanks to our sponsors: Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce The Mountain Eagle Briars & Brambles Books --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Charles Shreyvogel was an Eastern artist who painted famous Western scenes. His favorite model was also decidedly non-Western. Greene County’s Kenny Bloodgood recounts tales of his great-uncle Grant and his unlikely appearance in some of Schruyvogel’s most famous paintings. We produced this episode as part of Catskill Historical Views, a collaboration between Catskill Tri-County Historical Views, the Zadock Pratt Museum, and Silver Hollow Audio. After 5 years of publication, Catskill Tri-County Historical Views has sadly ceased publication, due to rising production costs and a diminished subscription base. SIDE NOTE: please support your local media -- it matters! The Mountain Eagle is just one the papers we subscribe to, and it's a great source of local news. On REAL newsprint! Delivered! They support us, too! Along with the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce and Briars & Brambles Books. We recently visited Briars & Brambles for the first time, and the selection is fantastic! As always, you can support this podcast by: subscribing on your favorite platformtelling friends and family about usmaking a donation at Kaatscast.com Thank you! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Whether you're a human who enjoys venison, or a bald eagle that scavenges a hunter's kill, lead = poison. And as it turns out, common lead bullets fragment on impact into hundreds of pepper-sized flakes that can be devastating to wildlife (and not so great for humans, either!).  Michael DiBenedetto is a lifelong Catskiller, a longtime hunter, and a passionate advocate for copper bullets. If his experience rehabilitating lead-poisoned eagles isn't reason enough to make the switch, there are plenty of other motivating factors, as he explains in our interview; plus, a convincing experiment for any hunter who wants to see first-hand how lead and copper bullets "hold up" in the wild. Bullet photo courtesy of Jeremy Roberts © Conservation Media, LLC Check out these short videos produced by Conservation Media for huntingwithnonlead.org, and see what happens when lead and copper bullets are shot into ballistic gel.  Thanks to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce Briars & Brambles Books --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

When the Wiltwyck Cemetery and family crematory started following us on Instagram, instead of getting ... well ... creeped out, we decided to reach out, and learn about this unique establishment. Kingston's Wiltwyck Rural Cemetery goes back to the mid 19th-century, with tombstones artfully occupying some 60 acres of beautiful rolling hills. A crematory was added in 1984, and it's the only one in Ulster County. Wiltwyck's appeal extends beyond county lines, though, as its unique "witness cremations" allow friends and family to be present for their loved one's cremation. We had a lot of questions for cemetery superintendent Matthew Sirni, and he answered them all with transparency and grace.  Thanks to our sponsors: Briars & Brambles Books The Mountain Eagle Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Catskills writer Violet Snow is the author of To March or to Marry, an historical novel about the lengthy fight for a woman's right to vote, both here in New York, and nationally. As we prepare to cast our ballots in 2022, it's hard to imagine that just over 100 years ago, women were excluded from that process. In this episode of Kaatscast, I talk with Violet Snow about the inspiration for her novel, and the fictional characters that she placed in a very non-fictional time and place preceding women's suffrage in 1920. If you'd like to buy a copy of Violet's book, we recommend Briars & Brambles Books, right here in Windham, NY. Thanks also to the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce and the Mountain Eagle for their support of this podcast! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

Overlook Mountain is a popular Catskills hiking destination, complete with a scenic fire tower and the ruins of an historic hotel. According to researchers, and bolstered by groundbreaking scientific evidence, the mountain's popularity precedes modern hiking; 19th-century tourism; even colonial settlement. A parcel under the protective watch of the Overlook Mountain Center hosts an array of stone cairns and structures believed to have been constructed by Indigenous Americans centuries ago. In this episode, join us for a hike with researcher Glenn Kreisberg and an exploration of Overlook Mountain's tangible pre-colonial past.  Thanks to our sponsors: Briars & Brambles Books Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce The Mountain Eagle --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

If you've ever heard (or even ... uttered) the word "cidiot," to describe an urban transplant, likely that term wasn't used in a positive light. Podcast host Mat Zucker has been doing his best to rebrand the word in a podcast that bears the name. Cidiot is a popular biweekly show about "learning to live in the country," and last year it won "Best Regional Podcast" in the Chronogrammies Readers' Choice Awards. This year, we nabbed that honor, so Mat and I decided to profile each other on our respective podcasts. Cidiot covers the Hudson Valley and a bit of the Catskills, and Kaatscast covers the Catskills and a bit of the Hudson Valley, so we met on neutral ground, on the deck of a waterfront restaurant in Kingston, NY, where we took turns asking questions between bites. In this episode, hear why Mat is a self-proclaimed and proud "cidiot," lessons he's learned since moving up full-time, and handy tips for newcomers. Then, tune in to Cidiot episode 77 (releases 9/29/22) for Mat's take on Kaatscast, and host Brett Barry's own relationship with the Catskills. And of course, subscribe to both shows on your favorite platform for continued Catskills/Hudson Valley entertainment every two weeks! Many thanks to our sponsors: Hanford Mills Museum Briars & Brambles Books Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway The Mountain Eagle --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

In our last episode we took a ride on the old Ulster & Delaware rails with Rail Explorers, a pedal bike experience in Phoenicia, NY. This week, we're at the neighboring Empire State Railway Museum, at home in the historic 1899 Phoenicia train station since 1983, for a look back at Catskills railroad history. Curator Tom  Comito tells us about the 1913 peak of travel on these tracks, restoration projects underway, and the museum's evolving relationship with rail tourists. Many thanks to our sponsors: Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway Hanford Mills Museum Briars & Brambles Books The Mountain Eagle  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support

From the late 19th- to the early 20th-century, passengers could board an Ulster & Delaware train in Kingston and ride straight up through the Catskills, to Oneonta. These days, you can still experience a 4-mile stretch of that track, between Mt. Tremper and Phoenicia, with one small caveat. You have to pedal! Rail Explorers has repurposed a few such stretches of track nationwide, including in Rhode Island, Cooperstown, Las Vegas, and the Catskills. Join us as we pedal a "quad explorer" (the "Cadillac" of the fleet) on a scenic "River Run" tour above the Esopus creek. We'll hear from Catskills division manager Casey Farrell, tour guide Fatima Duque, and Empire State Railway Museum curator Tom Comito. Lots more from Tom in our next episode, so stay tuned! Many thanks to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway Hanford Mills Museum Briars and Brambles Books --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaatscast/support