Durand Preserve Behind the North Salem Library
A few weeks ago…okay, actually a few days before Christmas…I was looking for a short, easy hike to take the kids on while our house was being readied for company and food was being...
Squantz Pond State Park Hike
I have a Putnam-centric view in running this website. What that means is not all the destinations showcased on this website are IN Putnam, but they are all conveniently located for someone that lives in...
Old Field Preserve in Waccabuc, NY
Right after Thanksgiving we visited the Old Field Preserve in Waccabuc, NY. I had read that there was a guided hike scheduled for that day, but we ended up just doing our own thing. (Why...
Garden of Ideas – Ridgefield, CT
I recently taught a class through the Brewster Community Learning Center about Putnam’s history and hikes. One of the things I like about giving talks and lectures is that I always seem to pick up...
Mead Memorial Chapel – Waccabuc, NY
Just across the street from the Long Pond Preserve in Waccabuc, NY, Mead Memorial Chapel was built between 1905 and 1907 in the late Gothic Revival style. It was build as a memorial to George...
Long Pond Preserve – Waccabuc, NY
SYNOPSIS: Long Pond Preserve is a short walk that takes you along the edge of a field, then through the woods along the shore of the western tip of Lake Waccabuc in Northern Westchester. APPROXIMATE...
Of Greenville, Gettysburg & Hilton Head
So I recently visited three places that had me thinking about Putnam County. I visited Greenville SC, Hilton Head SC and Gettysburg PA. Each of these towns made me think about how to make Brewster...
A planetarium five minutes from Putnam
WCSU Planetarium & Observatory Danbury, CT SYNOPSIS: This is definitely one of those places that so may people say “I never knew that was there.” Just about five minutes outside of Putnam, Western Connecticut State...
HEARTHSTONE CASTLE IN TARRYWILE PARK
Danbury, CT Castles are one of those things that capture our imagination and curiosity. I have yet to find someone that isn’t at least a little fascinated by them – the permanence of the construction...
Farrington Woods on the NY/CT Border
SYNOPSIS: Just over the CT border, Farrington Woods is a 192 acre open space that has great (off-road) biking trails, a pond for fishing, canoeing or kayaking (no swimming, though), some old ruins, and plenty...
June Cemetery in North Salem for July 4th
A visit to June Cemetery in North Salem. Rather appropriate for the 4th of July since there were quite a few Revolutionary War Veterans buried there, including John Wallace who made it to 103...
Legoland Discovery Center in Westchester
®Yonkers, NY Ok, so I just need to remind everyone before I get a nasty-gram from someone about how I am covering places that are not in Putnam. The name of the website is Adventures...
How Jewelry is Made…
I recently had my wife’s watch repaired at Jewelry Designs in Danbury. I am not a ‘jewelry person’ so I hadn’t been there the 12 years or so I have lived in Putnam. But what...
Borrowing ideas from a cemetery in Maryland…
I visited family in Maryland over Easter weekend. During the visit, we stopped at an old cemetery near my sister-in-law’s house. What I found was one of the best ‘restorations’ of an old cemetery I...
Bad for the Body, Good for the Soul…
There is a time to eat healthy. And there’s a time to throw caution into the wind, and enjoy something that tastes really good, even if its not that good for you. As I like...
The Way of the Sword…
A new fencing center, called “The Way of the Sword” has opened in North Salem. Check it out at their open house on March 24th from 3 to 5pm. Here’s how the owner describes his...
Union Hall General Store in North Salem…
On a recent Saturday, I took my kids down to Union Hall General Store in North Salem. I bribed them with the promise of candies at the recently opened store, knowing full well that our trip would...
The connection between the Civil War’s USS Monitor and Pawling, NY
I just finished reading a children’s book – yes, a kids’ book. But hey, I picked it up for a few pennies at a book sale, and it happened to be on a topic I wanted...