Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan
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Rizzoli
In 1979, interior decorator Bunny Williams and her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli, had a fateful meeting with a poorly cared for — in Williams’s words, “unspoiled” — 18th-century white clapboard home.
“I am not sure if I believe in destiny, but I do know that after years of looking for a house, my palms began to perspire when I turned onto a tree-lined driveway in a small New England village,” Williams wrote in her 2005 book, “An Affair with a House.” The Federal manor high on a hill, along with several later additions that included a converted carriage shed and an 1840-built barn, were constructed on what had been the homestead property of Falls Village’s Brewster family, descendants of Mayflower passenger William Brewster, an English Separatist and Protestant leader in Plymouth Colony.
Williams has written extensively about the renovation of the Falls Village home where she and Rosselli still reside, but in a new book published Tuesday, March 5, from Rizzoli, Williams takes readers to the great, green outdoors. “Life in the Garden,” featuring principal photography by Annie Schlechter and additional photography by James Gillispie, combines matte and glossy paper, color and black and white imagery, as well as essays, seasonal maintenance steps and plant guides to chaperone readers through spring, summer, fall and winter on the Falls Village land. It’s an intimate tour of the gardening efforts that dwell beyond the white border fence on Point of Rocks Road.
“Life in the Garden,” however, is a slightly deceptive misnomer, for there is not one but many unique gardens to discover on Williams’s property, each with their own character.
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For the lovers of planting composition as a form of botanical embroidery, outside of the conservatory is the parterre garden, a formal garden that takes its name from the French for “on the ground.” This style came into English fashion in the 17th century after Claude Mollet, “premier jardinier” for the kings, first introduced the design for French royal gardens at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Fontainebleau. In Williams’s parterre, a pergola covered by the growth of a vigorous William Baffin climbing rose that produces deep strawberry pink semi-double cluster blooms overlooks a rippling sea of blush and berry petals belonging to tall, late-blooming tulips framed in neat patterned squares of boxwood hedges.
Offering appeal for the more rustic and adventurous, hidden beyond the trees is a secret garden found by following a dirt path trail where woodland peonies and Japanese wood poppies will lead you to a cast iron bench overlooking a small pond graced by the extending white flowering branches of dogwood trees.
There are many more spots to discover, each a little world of its own, whether it’s the clucks emanating from the lively chicken coup, the twisting branches of the apple trees, the columns of arborvitae, the Guy Wolff handcrafted clay pottery or the greenhouse where Williams inhales “the delicious scents of jasmine and citrus.”
For the book, Williams and Rizzoli publisher Charles Miers have thrown out strict organization — Claude Mollet be damned — in favor of surprising juxtapositions that place candid family portraits next to quiet snapshots of life on the New England land: a lone limestone chicken sculpture blanketed in snow; a table springing to life with floral arrangements set for guests; a congregation of old watering cans. Per Williams, this anti-organization of photos is for readers to get lost in as they discover contemplation, inspiration and a new visual experience each time the book is opened with fresh eyes.
Whether Bunny Williams’s many Falls Village gardens are set in stone or will continue to evolve, destined to be updated in a future volume, is not for us to know. But if there’s any hint, Williams has included a quote from the late Gertrude Jekyll, the famed British horticulturist and garden designer closely tied to the Arts and Crafts decorative movement of the late 19th century. Perhaps best known for her designs for Munstead Wood, a Grade 1 house in Surrey, Jekyll, an author herself and Country Life columnist, wrote: “In garden arrangement, as in all other kinds of decorative work, one has not only to acquire a knowledge of what to do but also to gain some wisdom in perceiving what it is well to let alone.”
Rizzoli
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Jennifer Almquist
On Saturday, March 9, the people of Norfolk, Connecticut, enjoyed a dance performance by northern Connecticut-based Garet&Co, in Battell Chapel, titled INTERIOR, consisting of four pieces: “Forgive Her, Hera,” “Something We Share,” “bodieshatewomen,” and “I kinda wish the apocalypse would just happen already.”
At the sold-out show in the round, the dancers, whose strength, grace and athleticism filled the hall with startling passion, wove their movements within the intimate space to the rhythms of contemporary music. Wierdsma choreographed each piece and curated the music. The track she created for “Something We Share” eerily contained vintage soundtracks from life guidance recordings for the perfect woman of the ‘50s. The effect, with three dancers in satin slips posing before imaginary mirrors, was feminist in its message and left the viewer full of vicarious angst.
Following their performance, Wierdsma and her dancers sat on the dance floor and answered many questions from audience members, regarding subjects such as how long they have been dancing. The six young women have each been dancing for more than 18 years, a lifetime of sweat and discipline, perfecting their craft.
Website: garetwierdsma.com
INTERVIEW:
Jennifer Almquist: What first inspired you to become a dancer?
Garet Wierdsma: I was put into dance when I was 2 years old, in a baby ballet class. My mom was a dancer, my aunt was a dancer. I had the option of choosing between many sports, yet I gravitated to dance because it was quieter. I was very quiet as a child. Dancing gave me a place where I could just be and express myself quietly.
I wasn’t aggressive when I was a kid, but I have become more competitive as I’ve gotten older. I was also lucky enough to have cousins around my age that also danced. Whenever we got together, we made up shows and forced our families to sit and watch us. Those shows were fun, and creating our own thing, then presenting it, planted the seed that made me want to continue and be a choreographer when I got older.
JA: Was there a teacher who inspired you?
GW: I had teachers that I loved. Being a dancer can be difficult. I remember that when I was 7, I was disappointed by not being asked to be in a certain group. When I was 11, in response to losing a part I felt I deserved, I went on a journey to prove them wrong. I switched to a different studio and really connected with my new teacher. I owe a lot of my passion for dance to her. She recognized my quiet personality, my determination. She recognized that I wanted to be as good as I possibly could, even if I wasn’t loud about it.
Her name was Brenda Barna of The Dancing Slipper in Southwick, Massachusetts. Her passion for dance and her passion for movement resonated with me and lit a fire for what I was doing. It wasn’t all about the tricks or skills. She was a person that loved to move and loves music.
JA: Did she help you develop your body physically in a healthy way, build your muscle, your ability to handle what dancers must endure?
GW: So much goes into that training. For me to get to the level I achieved I had to train at that studio as well as at my high school and a ballet school elsewhere. I was also doing intensives all summer long and master classes any weekend that I could. Plus, I was training myself at home by clearing out our living room.
We didn’t have a living room for probably seven years because it was my dance studio. With dance you are also training your brain. You must sit and think about things or discuss things. As a teacher now, I stop class and try to help my students understand the concept, which takes a lot longer. It’s a huge time commitment. It means you must be taking even more time to be able to build up the strength to do it.
JA: Physical strength is essential. How do you sustain that?
GW: Dance is very physical. I think it’s just about that base training, like making sure that you have all the training to back up what you’re doing. I personally don’t take class as much as I used to. I’m not in class every day, but because I was in class every day for six hours a day for more than over 10 years, I have the foundation now to be like, ‘OK, I remember those muscles and I can do it.’
JA: Does that help you know how much you can ask of your dancers?
GW: Exactly! It is important because your dancers look to you for that — how do you know your own body, too. Dancers are really in tune with knowing their limitations or where they can push.
Garet WierdsmaJennifer Almquist
JA: Tell us about creating your dance company, Garet&Co. Are social media, the use of AI [artificial intelligence], and photography or film tools for your business now?
GW: I started my company based on a film. During the downtime of COVID I realized I really love choreography. I’m grateful they had a lot of choreographic opportunities at NYU. I was supposed to create a solo for a show at school, then suddenly we’re all shut down. I decided to make it a film instead and had a fun experience doing that. I submitted the film to a festival; it was accepted.
When I graduated from NYU in 2021, I had been teaching whenever I was back home. I grabbed three of the students I had taught at one of my workshops during the winter — ‘Hey, do you want to make a dance film with me in my backyard?’ We made the film, which I submitted to a few festivals, where we won a couple of awards. Then I accompanied my film to live dance festivals with the intention of saying, ‘Here’s my film but I want to make it a live piece.’ That is how the company started. At festivals I kept being asked what company I was with, and I answered Garet Wierdsma. I finally said that is our name: Garet&Co.
JA: How do you find your original dancers?
GW: I found my dancers a couple of different ways. I asked some of my students to join me. Then the stars lined up when a colleague took a gap year while I wanted to do festivals. She was the first adult professional that joined my company. I put notices for dancers on Facebook and Instagram — ‘Hey I’m looking for dancers. Email me your dance reel and your resume.’ I got some great dancers from that, two of whom are performing in this show tonight. Garet&Co is in our third season, and I held my first audition this year.
JA: What is next for Garet&Co?
GW: We will be continuing to share the joy and catharsis of contemporary dance through offering lots of classes and performances throughout the Northeast this spring and summer, culminating with our Season Four audition in August.
Our upcoming events:
March 24: “Something We Share” at Spark Theatre Festival in New York City
April 7: Garet&Co Contemporary Community Workshop
April 11: Garet&Co Open Company Classes (classes open to all)
April 28: “bodieshatewomen” at Central Connecticut State University
May 4: “bodieshatewomen” at Artistic Dance Festival in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Read the full interview on www.lakevillejournal.com
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Judith O’Hara Balfe
On meeting Kevin McEneaney, one is almost immediately aware of three things; he’s reserved, he’s highly intelligent and he has a good sense of humor.
McEneaney is the wit and wisdom behind The Millbrook Independent, a blog that evolved from the print version of that publication. It's a wealth of information about music venues in this part of Dutchess County interspersed with poetry, art reviews, articles on holidays and other items, and a smattering of science.
Having acquired degrees from the University of Dayton in Ohio in 1970, Middlebury College in Vermont in 1975, and a master’s in philosophy from Columbia University in New York City in 1977, McEneaney was an adjunct college instructor from 1989 until he stopped teaching to write a book in 2009. He taught freshman composition, Introduction to Literature and Russian literature — he and his wife, Veronica, had adopted three children from Russia — at several schools including Marist College, University of Hartford, Quinnipiac University, and SUNY Purchase in White Plains.
Born in Hicksville, New York, McEneaney lived in Ohio, Vermont and Manhattan before finding his way to Dutchess County.
He's been a literary consultant and writer for Encyclopedia Americana; the executive director of the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan; the owner of a successful bookstore on West 55th Street, just off Fifth Avenue. Facsimile Bookshop specialized in Irish literature and history, as well as music recording, carrying books and recordings imported from Ireland and England. When the landlord wouldn’t renew his lease he tried another location, then, in 1987, decided to close.
The next year, his wife got a job in Danbury, and the family left the Upper West Side for Union Vale. They rented a small cottage at the Marion Epley Estate on Route 9, recommended by his friend, novelist Thomas Gallagher.
McEneaney began his career at The Millbrook Independent as a truck driver, delivering newspapers, in 2011, just two years after the paper was first established. (The town's local paper, The Millbrook Round Table, had folded in 200.)
“2011 was the year after my critical book on Tom Wolfe was published, and I had just completed my book on novelist Russell Banks and was beginning my book on Hunter S. Thompson,” he said.
McEneaney is the author of three books: “Hunter S. Thompson: Fear, Loathing, and the Birth of Gonzo”; “Russell Banks: In Search of Freedom”; and “Tom Wolfe’s America: Heroes, Pranksters, and Fools.” He is also a poet and has published two collections: “The Enclosed Garden” and “Longing.” Both were published in French and Japanese as well as English. Unsurprisingly, he also answers to Poet Laureate of Smithfield. His poetry is often found in The Millbrook Independent.
“I was interested in The Millbrook Independent because it was the only venue in the area that offered arts critique as well as local news.”
McEneaney began writing for the Independent when the former owner, Stephen Kaye, asked McEneaney to cover a musical event at Bard College one evening in his stead, in September 2012. He has been writing for the paper ever since.
When circulation for the paper dwindled, Kaye went online; that led to even fewer print sales, and it seemed to be judicious to go completely digital; that happened in 2018.
When Kaye retired, McEneaney took on the blog.
“The new online format, which is the one in existence now, began in spring of 2020,” said McEneaney. “Stephen Kaye had financed the online site and then gave it to me, so I was then sole publisher and editor,” said McEneaney. It remains free.
This is technically McEneaney’s “retirement job” — he’s 76 — but one that he loves and intends to keep on doing for as long as he can. He attends an event and writes it up almost immediately, sometimes posting articles at 1 or 2 a.m. It costs little to keep the blog running, he said, though he dislikes night driving. He can do it all from home, with no inconvenience to his wife or his cat, and he has no editors to answer to.
People love his articles because they contain bits of history, and usually a touch of humor, tongue-in-cheek or otherwise. His recent article in honor of Valentine’s Day started with Claudius II, touched on the beheading of Valentine the physician and Roman Catholic priest who later became St. Valentine, and also mentioned Hamlet, the Duke of Orleans, and finally Catherine Howard, who is responsible for the hearts-and-flowers Valentine’s Day cards we still see today.
“Over the past 20 years, there has been much growth in the arts and there are many more concerts and art exhibitions throughout the county,” said McEneaney. “Dutchess County now has three thriving bookstores. Mid-Hudson Arts now plays a vital role in the county. WMHT radio from Kingston was not available when I first moved to Union Vale.”
McEneaney writes two or three articles a week usually, maybe 100 per year, but there is not a set schedule. He has other writers who submit works from time to time — such as Jim Flaherty, Tim McGonigle and Bill Schlesinger — on topics including science, social topics, literature and the arts.
McEneaney admits that what he does is a labor of love. Interviewing people such as local artist Susan Hennelly or reviewing writer Neil Gaiman; reviewing performances and then talking about them; and writing and discussing the many concerts he attends: It’s all good, said McEneaney, and he isn’t about to give it up.
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Dealing with invasive species
Mar 13, 2024
L. Tomaino
According to Sam Schultz, terrestrial invasive species coordinator with the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), one of the best ways to battle invasive species is with a hand tool called the hand grubber.
In her work in managing invasive species, she refers to it as a “best friend.” Schultz and Colleen Lutz, assistant biologist with the New York Natural Heritage Program, delivered a lecture on invasive species at the Copake Grange Saturday, March 2.
Lutz began the presentation with this definition: “Invasive species are non-native plants, animals and pathogens that cause harm to the environment, the economy or human health.”
She and Schultz discussed a few invasive plants and insects. Japanese barberry, Oriental Bittersweet, multiflora rose, tree of heaven, and autumn olive are all invasives present in New York state. They were introduced to the United States in the mid to late 1800s to use as a hardier substitute for native plants, as ornamental plants or, in the case of the multiflora rose, to use as root stock for ornamental roses and for stabilization of soil.
Invasive plants tend to “grow anywhere” and quickly, and “out-compete” native plants. Unfortunately, Lutz said, most of the invasive species like the “warmer, earlier spring weather” that climate change is causing and that they have “increased growth due to increased CO2.”
Schultz contributed that Oriental bittersweet is known as “forest killer” because its vines climb trees, and the weight pulls the tree down.
Lutz moved on to invasive insects and talked about the hemlock woolly adelgid, spotted lanternfly, jumping worm and emerald ash borer.
The hemlock woolly adelgid is “like an aphid,” said Lutz. “It sucks into the needle of hemlock trees and sucks the nutrients out and makes the hemlock weaker and more susceptible to disease.”
Spotted lanternflies were first seen in Pennsylvania in 2014. They are known for eating crops, particularly grapes, and “love the tree of heaven,” another invader.
Lutz moved on to the jumping worm. They “excrete coffee ground-looking” castings and “jump around and act crazy.” Jumping worms deplete soil of nutrients, which kills plants. They can be identified by a milky white band and their erratic behavior.
They are spread through compost and plants from nurseries. Lutz and Schultz suggest checking compost brought to a property for these worms before spreading it and also heating it by putting black plastic over it and letting it reach a temperature of 104. This would kill the eggs, which are too small to be seen.
She also said to check and rinse all plants brought in down to the roots and to throw away the dirt: “Wash boots off with a hose so that eggs clinging to them are not spread to other properties.”
Of the spongy moth, Lutz said, “They will go after 300 species of trees, but have 150 primary host species that they prefer to eat,” oaks being the most favored.
Lutz explained how the Heritage Program classifies invasive species with a tier system, with Tier One aimed at prevention of invasives, Tier Two aims at eradication. At Tier Three, the aim is to contain the invasive and at Tier Four, it is here to stay, and the focus turns to long-term management.
This system allows program biologists to “decide which species are here and not here and how impactful it is.” They then share their information with the PRISM so that a plan can be made to manage invasive species.
Oriental bittersweet, Japanese barberry, tree of heaven, multiflora rose, and autumn olive are all Tier Four. Also in Tier Four are the emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid, spongy moth and jumping worm.
Schultz began her part of the presentation by describing methods to combat the invaders. She explained Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which uses an “adaptive ecosystem- based approach exploring multiple control options targeting invasive species.”
The methods used, she explained, come “from a range of manual, mechanical, cultural and biological control methods with the goal to maximize effective control and minimize negative environmental, economic and social impacts.”
She listed mechanical methods as “hand-pulling, grubbing, girdling, grazing, hoeing, mowing and/or excavating.”
At this point, she introduced, with a flourish, a hand tool which she called a “best friend”: the hand grubber. She extolled its virtue of getting roots out.
Cultural controls “are practices that reduce pest establishment, reproduction, dispersal and survival, and limit exposed soil with restoration.” This is as simple as tamping soil down so seeds can’t easily grow and monitoring for regrowth. She recommended planting native species in places where invasive species have been removed so that any seeds left can’t take hold.
Biological controls involve realizing and encouraging natural “predators, parasites, pathogens and competitors to feed on or disrupt an invasive species.” Schultz assured the audience that these “predator species were researched for 10 or more years so they know they won’t hurt the environment.”
She gave the example of the release of the silver fly, which feeds on the woolly adelgid. The silver fly, however, has had problems thriving in the cold winters in New York.
Chemical control, Schultz said, is a last resort and must be used carefully while following label instructions. She suggested using a small paintbrush to apply the herbicide to the cut stem or stump of invaders. The herbicide is absorbed by the plant and kills it.
Schultz said control plans are prioritized. It is best, she said, to “start with low-density satellite populations” and then go “into the core of the infestation.” She said this prevents the satellite infestations from spreading seeds and becoming more populous.
She said it is important to implement any of the strategies that are “most effective before seed” and it is important to “attack the root ball and deal with the seed bank” when using the digging-and-pulling strategy.
The mowing, cutting and grazing methods will weaken the root systems and cause them to die out. They must be done repeatedly and must be done before the plants go to seed.
Another method is to cover the plant with a “contractor’s black trash bag,” which will kill it and its roots. “Make sure none creeps out,” she said.
Invasive trees can be girdled all the way around, exposing the inside to disease and pests, which will eventually weaken and kill them. They can also be drilled or cut, and herbicide placed inside to kill them or painted on the girdled bare space.
For the hemlock woolly adelgid and the ash borer, a tree can get a basal bark application. The bark at the base of the tree is sprayed all around the base and the spray is then taken up by the tree and goes up into it and keeps the insects away for a year or two. With spongy moths, Schultz suggested using burlap to wrap around trees, particularly the oaks that they favor, to discourage the larvae from climbing into trees and eating foliage.
She said to dispose of invasive plants after pulling or cutting by “solarizing” them, which means to bag them and put them in the sun for two weeks. For woody plants, she recommends mulching, chipping or burning if allowed. She said that “non-fruit-bearing trees can be propped against or suspended” with “their roots exposed to decompose or arranged into brush piles for wildlife habitat.” If chemicals are used, plants should not be touched for two weeks.
Schultz and Lutz concluded by saying people could help with invasive species by joining the iMapInvasives network at www.imapinvasives.org to report any that they find, and go online to New York Natural Heritage Program at nynhp.org or Capital Region PRISM at capitalregionprism.org for more information.
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