Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Photographer's Log Photographer's Log



NORTH CAMBRIDGE HILLS

This lovely vista can be seen as you come over the crest of Stevensen Road looking across Route 372 as it goes between Cambridge and Greenwich, NY How excited I was to see this breathtaking view for the first time. I have since been there several times. It changes constantly with the light and clouds, making the shadows rise and fall amongst the hills and valleys. This particular day the light was such that it made the photograph look more like an oil painting. -June Mohan
(Photo: Copyright Mohan 2005) If you would like to contact the artist and purchase one of her works, send an email to: junemohan@hotmail.com

Cambridge Life #13 Cambridge Life #13


John Carlson and Katy Schonbeck united in love (Photos: Bill Creitz (c) 2006)

Life in Cambridge, NY was truly joyous this past Memorial Day weekend. BuzzWaver John Carlson was officially handfasted to Katy Schonbeck. I know you all know John and Katy from the various postings on this blog so sharing their happy day with you feels like a celebration for the entire Cambridge, NY community.



After spending the morning hiking up Mt. Greylock, Katy blew the conch shell to announce their arrival. Friends could not stop smiling as the couple joined the celebration.



Friend Meg Cottam passed a blessings candle through the guests and asked us to put our wishes into the candle. Emery Forest then had the couple light the candle and entwined their hands in wool as a symbol of their joining together.

For over a year John and Katy have talked about Gideon's Restaurant in North Adams and now I know why. Master Chef, Bill Gideon, prepared an amazing feast for us to enjoy. He even made a vegan dish for Katy's daughter that she could not stop commenting about. Of course, I ate too much and drank too much, but life is too short to diet at celebrations as happy as this one was.

We do things with tradition here in Cambridge, NY; just not always in the usual traditional way.

Send your wishes to John and Katy by writing a comment on the blog. Life doesn't get any better than this in Cambridge, NY.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Jack's Outback Rendezvous #13 Jack's Outback Rendezvous #13


1890’s Cast Iron Glue Pot. Sand-casted glue pot used to melt "glue tablets" (tablets were bought at the local hardware store). The two-part pot consists of a container for the tablets and an outer container that contained water heated to melt the glue. This set up was kind of a workman’s double boiler. The resulting melt was a gluey consistency, which the old timers said, "smelled horrible". The glue was made from all kinds of animal body parts. In fact, Jack says, "did you ever here the expression, "if that horse doesn’t straighten up, it’s going straight to the glue factory". Wow, very sticky business. "This glue was the precursor to Elmer’s, and just might be the best glue ever made" for a host of applications. To this day, Jack has stuff made in the 1700’s cemented with this type of glue, "and it is as strong as the day it was made".

Visit Jack’s Outback, 30 West Main Street, Cambridge, NY 518-677-2929.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Memorial Day 2006- Cambridge, NY Memorial Day 2006- Cambridge, NY



PICTURES at a PARADE
all photographs, copyright: John Carlson 2006




With all the color and pagentry this day offers our fine town, let us not forget those who have died in bloody conflict.

These photographs are dedicated to the memory of all the Fathers, Sons and Daughters, Husbands, Wives, Friends and Mothers who lost their lives and their futures to the tragedy of war.

Treasures of Cambridge #13 Treasures of Cambridge #13



Joshua Slyman pictured in front of the vault in the former Bean Head’s Coffee House has lived in Cambridge for most of his life-- some twenty-six out of his twenty-eight years. Joshua loves the “small town feel” along with the sense of community he has here, "the closeness I have with others and the artistic accessibility of the area". His fondest memories of living here are growing up on Main Street, "running the town from one end to the other... it is safe and a fun place to be and my parents did not have to worry about me."

After working for a advertising agency in Manchester, Vermont, Joshua began to realize the majority of the publications devoted to selling real estate in the area left room for improvement, and so he left the security of working for someone else to pursue the dream of becoming a publisher. He now publishes the Hearthstone Guide right here in Cambridge, a guide that has quickly become the finest quality publication for people looking to buy or sell real estate, with a circulation of approximately 25,000 throughout New York's Capital District, the Saratoga / Lake George region, and Southern Vermont.

"Starting my own business has probably been the most interesting, exciting… and scary thing I have done in my life. It has been a lot of fun and a huge learning experience". Joshua would like to be remembered as being a fun person to be with, "I am not trying to achieve anything huge, I just want to hang out with my friends and have fun".

With all the time and dedication Joshua puts into his business venture, it takes a place like Cambridge to allow for that balance of hard work and play. You can contact Joshua at The Hearthstone Real Estate Guide (518) 677-3912 josh@hearthstoneguide.com

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Cambridge Farmers' Market/Tehya's Botacanicals Cambridge Farmers' Market/Tehya's Botacanicals


(Design by: Paul Gower)

The Cambridge Farmers' Market is in full swing every Sunday from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM in Railroad Park at the corner of Main & Broad Streets, Cambridge, NY.

The Market is a producer only market with over 22 vendors selling a variety of locally grown farm produce. Flower arrangements, organic skincare products, gardening advice, painters, potters and cooking demonstrations can also be found at the Market. Each week will have special guests and/or demonstrations. May 28th, The acoustic trio Fast Forward will be entertaining Market visitors.

FEATURED VENDOR - Tehya's Botanicals



Carole Liggett at her booth (Photos:Debra Pearlman)

This week's featured vender is Tehya’s Botanicals. Owner Carole Liggett has been producing herbal products for over 5 years.


Tehay's Product Line (Photos: Debra Pearlman)
Her botanicals and dried herb mixtures are a Market favorite. Carole grows all of the herbs in her greenhouse and has created an array of formulas for all skin types.


Shoppers visit Tehya's Booth (Photo: Debra Pearlman)

Famous for her Bum Salve and Baby care products, Carole also sells a wonderful lip balm (my personal favorite), fresh herbs like basil and cilantro, and a mixture of Italian Seasoning. Carole takes special care to use only the purest ingredients in her herbal products and organically grown herbs in her spices. Check out Tehya’s Botanicals when you visit the Cambridge Farmers’ Market this week.
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Visiting the Market is a wonderful family outing. Rain or shine, come meet your neighbors and friends at the Cambridge Farmers’ Market.

Upcoming Market entertainment: 6/2/2006 - Almost Awake
6/11/2006 - Bob Warren

We love your comments and feedback. Let us know what you would like to see happening on the cambridgebuzz.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Artist Profile - Karen Koziol Artist Profile - Karen Koziol


The art show entitled, “Seeming Possible,” featuring the work of assemblage artist, Karen Koziol, just closed yesterday. If you are someone like myself, who got used to being able to walk over to the Valley Artisans Market to delight in a whole room full of her work, and are sad to see the show finish, perhaps this post will help cheer you. For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of encountering her work, here is a small introduction to a unique and prolific area artist.


Koziol makes art using discarded materials and items she finds at flea markets and antique shops. Her eye for beauty, grace and form, and her mind for an edgy narrative, merge to create some of the quirkiest, and finest, artworks around. Her work is not only visually interesting, at times stunning, it also incites thought in the way items are juxtaposed. The historical relevance of an item as symbol of a bygone day, plays against the way time itself, and environment, have altered it, creating wonderful, ironic visual and physical metaphors. These images illuminate personal and cultural assumptions on the meanings of things.

Although there is no mistaken the influence of Joseph Cornell’s boxes in her work, Koziol removes the glass that separates viewer from artwork and invites you into the piece. Allowing a more intimate and personal connection with the symbols and form confronting you. There is also the sense of play and humor that is brought to her work, in an intelligence that allows us to take a deeper look into the discarded pieces of our human condition and be able to laugh, often out loud, at ourselves in that reflection.


You can view and purchase a small collection of Koziol’s artworks at the Valley Artisans Market, a cooperative gallery of the fine art and crafts of area artists located at Hubbard Hall at 25 East Main Street. For more information and to contact the artist, call 518-677-2765.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Photographer's Log Photographer's Log


RAINBOW OVER WHITE CREEK

My daughter, Karibeth, called me from where she was working at Benson’s Dairy Bar on Route 67 in Eagle Bridge, NY and said I must come over right away and bring my camera to see an awesome rainbow right over the Dairy Bar! She knew how I loved rainbows and was always scouting for them. I was with my photography mentor, John Carlson, at the time, so we both went scooting over to my daughter to see the rainbow. At that moment it was running right down Route 67 towards North Hoosick and was the most densely colored rainbow I’d ever seen.

I spent a few minutes phtographing it and then John and I split up to go in different directions to catch the rainbow. He went up Route 67 towards Cambridge and I chose to go left up White Creek Road. I will be forever glad I did so because I was able to follow it to its completion for the next fifteen minutes. Some of my favorite shots were obtained over this cornfield on White Creek Road. It eerily resembles the fiery trail of a landing comet or rocket ship. The sky was filled with these low hanging clouds, which were reflecting the light perfectly, and bringing out all the richness of the surrounding colors. What a lovely experience this was for me. -June Mohan (Photo: Copyright Mohan 2005) If you would like to contact the artist and purchase one of her works, send an email to: junemohan@hotmail.com

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Cambridge Life #12 Cambridge Life #12

It's been another busy week here in Cambridge, NY.

The Farmers' Market opened this past Sunday. Rain kept the crowds to a dull roar, but the vendors were open for business.

We've been getting some great feedback about this blog. I know what I love about life in Cambridge, but what do you like about living here? We invite every resident or visitor to Cambridge, NY to add their thoughts about Life in Cambridge. Send me your thoughts and I'll post your musings of Cambridge Life. I can take some photos for you or you can send me photos. Just email me at debra@earth-rising.com. Photos should be 72dpi and no larger than 5.5" at the longest side. Cambridge Life is posted every Wednesday so send your emails by Tuesday to make the posting.

Upcoming events in Cambridge are the annual Memorial Day Parade on Monday 5/29 and the Balloon Festival, June 9-11. If you want to ride in a balloon, I suggest you reserve a ticket now as rides are filling up fast.

We love reading your comments. If you love the blog, tell your friends about it. We are CambridgeBuzz - building community one link at a time.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Jack's Outback Rendezvous #12 Jack's Outback Rendezvous #12


Tin Candle Molds. Very popular in the late 19th century. Jack says, "Everyone made their own candles, you could not go to a store and buy candles". In fact, candles were a luxury of the rich. "If you weren’t wealthy, you had to use smelly whale oil lamps for light". Tin smithing was a highly skilled trade in the 1800’s, "they were like the mechanical engineers of the time". Candle molds came in all sizes and were designed to pour single or multiple candles. Today, Jack likes them for their beautiful, sculptural form.

Visit Jack’s Outback, 30 West Main Street, Cambridge, NY 518-677-2929.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Treasures of Cambridge #12 Treasures of Cambridge #12

I am available to photograph you and your prop for Treasures of Cambridge. Please contact me at jdcarlson2001@yahoo.com. to schedule a time: there is evening, daytime and some weekend time open. This has been a great project so far and not to be missed. Please drop me a line. See you at Bean Heads!

Kathryn Norton, also known as, "plain ole, Taffy". "When my niece was young she could not say, Kathy, so it came out, Taffy, and it stuck!" (No pun intended, she assures me). Taffy, who is pictured in front of the vault in the former Bean Head's Coffee House, has lived in the Cambridge area for about twelve years.

Kathy sees Cambridge as a very involved community, "it's country, it's rural, but everybody knows each other, it is very friendly-- very community-- and there are a lot of opportunities here, too". One of her favorite places to be in the area is the Dionondehowa Wildlife Sanctuary and School, which is a non-profit organization located on 175 acres bordering the Battenkill River outside Shushan, "it's beautiful there".

About her props, "I guess I am kind of an incarnated fairy. I have always thought so, and something has lead me on that path, so I kind of honor it." The drum is from New Mexico from a circle of people there, and is made in a Native Indian tradition. "I love drumming, I do it now and then to offer prayer or to heal things". She says the wings are playful, the drum, more serious.

She would love to be remembered as a free spirit! "Definitely she says, I still love to play at forty-five, I will always love to play, so I would like to be remembered as a playful, free spirit".

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Cambridge Life #11 Cambridge Life #11


What a week it has been in Cambridge, NY. I haven't been able to get out into town much. Why you ask? Along with BuzzWave member John Carlson, I have been working on organizing the first fund raising event for the documentary film A Question of Justice.

The documentary started when filmmaker Mike Camoin read an article about David Kaczynski, brother of Ted Kaczynski (A.K.A. "The Unabomber"). Mike talked with John; John talked to me; and the QofJ Team was formed. That was over 3 years ago. We added Marketing Director Paul Farina to the gang a year ago. Friday, May 19th, we will hold our first major fund raising event at the Chancery in Albany, NY (465 State Street).

We've been criss-crossing the country filming David Kaczynski, Gary Wright, Bill Babbitt and Bud Welch and meeting amazing people like Sr. Helen Prejean, author of "Deat Man Walking" and "The Death of Innocents."

Working on the film has been remarkable. There have been so many highlights and I know more are to come. Meeting David Kaczynski has been a real joy. At first we thought the film would be just about David and his journey. Then he introduced us to three other friends and, what do they say, history was made.

If you don't know anything about David's story, he turned his brother Ted into the FBI when he and wife Linda suspected Ted was the "Unabomber." Ted was arrested in 1996 and, at the time, was the most wanted man in America.

Amazing as you might think it is (turning your brother into the FBI), David then set-up a fund, using the $1 Million reward, for the victims of Ted's bombs. He also tried contacting victims in an effort to apologize for his brother's actions. Gary Wright was one of those victims. Gary spent 9 years not knowing who tried to blow him up. The day in November when David telephoned to apologize to Gary, has led to a remarkable friendship.

It goes without saying that our other two film principals, Bud Welch and Bill Babbitt, have equally compelling stories. Bud's daughter Julie was killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing. Bud learned many hard lessons while dealing with the loss of his only daughter. Along the way, he too found that only with compassion can healing begin. He has befriended Tim McVeigh's family and says, "The day I met Bill McVeigh, I met a bigger victim of the Oklahoma City bombing than myself."


Bill Babbitt also turned his schizophrenic brother Manny into the police when he suspected him of a robbery/beating that led to the death of an elderly woman in Sacramento, CA. Unlike David, who was able to afford a good defense team, Bill spent 18 years trying to get Manny off of San Quentin's death row only to watch his baby brother be executed by the State of California.

What brings these four men together is a story about overcoming tremendous personal pain and loss; yet it is more than a testament to the human spirit in overcoming tragedy--it is a roadmap to tapping into the strength of compassion and depth of healing that can be found in each one of us.

Please join us on May 19, 2006, at The Chancery, 465 State Street, Albany, NY. Rev. Howard J. Hubbard, Bishop of Albany; Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol (D), 50th Dist. NY; David Kaczynski and Bud Welch will be attending. Cocktails begin at 5:30 pm, presentation and screening of film trailer starts at 6:15 pm. Tickets are $50.

I'd like to add that the wine for this event was a generous donation of our own Black Dog Wines and Spirits, here on 48 East Main Street, 677-BARK! Thank you, Elisabeth and Beaver.

To learn more about what I've been doing all week in Cambridge, NY visit the Question of Justice web site.

Filmmakers in Cambridge, NY add to the zest of Life in Cambridge, NY.

Jack's Outback Rendezvous #11 Jack's Outback Rendezvous #11


Bread Box. Late 1800’s. Jack says, "I know someone could not wait for the turn of the century to be able to use the name, 20th Century Bread, to market their product". This horse drawn wagon, bread delivery box, has is a slat construction so that the warm, freshly baked bread could "breathe". There is also a routing number stenciled on the box to let drivers know which box went where. Look out FedEx!

Visit Jack’s Outback, 30 West Main Street, Cambridge, NY 518-677-2929.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Cambridge Farmers' Market #1 Cambridge Farmers' Market #1


Organic Produce and Local Artisans (Photo: Paul Gower)


Sunday, May 21, 2006, marks the opening of this seasons Cambridge Farmers' Market. The Market runs on Sundays, from May 21 - October 15, 2006, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM in Railroad Park at the corner of Main & Broad Streets.

Photo: Paul Gower

The Cambridge Farmers' Market is a producer only market with over 22 vendors selling a variety of locally grown farm produce. Flower arrangements, organic skincare products, gardening advice, painters, potters and cooking demonstrations can also be found at the Market.

This week the acoustic duo of Deena Smith and Nathan Knowles will be entertaining Market visitors. Dancing is encouraged.

Those of you who enjoy reading this blog should come to the Market and meet the BuzzWave team. We publish this blog and will be on-hand every Sunday to answer your technology questions and show you what we can do and how we do it. Come get your photo taken with our "Market Mascots."

See you on Sunday at the Cambridge Farmers' Market.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Treasures of Cambridge #11 Treasures of Cambridge #11

Be a part of "Treasures of Cambridge". If you are a resident of the Cambridge, NY area, please contact me by email at jdcarlson2001@yahoo.com to schedule a time of your convenience to have your portrait taken. Bring a prop that you identify yourself with. Some people have said that they believe they are not "Treasures" and therefore have not contacted me. Everyone's story is important. You are what make this area the special place that it is. Besides, it is a lot of fun, will give you a chance to meet your neighbors, and takes on average only about 15 minutes of your time. Click on the sidebar about Treasures, to get more info about the project. Thanks!


Michael G. Forss pictured in front of the vault in the former Bean Head’s Coffee House has lived in Cambridge, NY since 1991. A native of New York City, Michael remembers the awesome power of nature one day, eight years ago, that lightning struck a tree here on Main street and all the lights went out in town.

Michael likes to walk down Main Street to Stewart’s to, "just hang out". While in New York City, Michael was a messenger for the jewelry industry and worked in a clothing warehouse for the Designers Warehouse of America. He also worked for the printing and mailing company called, Minerva.

One of Michael’s props is a sweatshirt with the NYC Transit Authority logo on it. While he lived in NY he loved to ride the subway system because he "could go anywhere in the City and not have to drive a car". His favorite places to visit were Radio City Music Hall and the Sherry-Netherland Hotel. Michael’s other prop is a woodcut of the rock star Frank Zappa, from a feature column designed and conceived by local artist Stephen Alcorn for our local newspaper, Main Street. Michael, while working as an usher at the Filmore, got to see Zappa perform and enjoy his music while he, "seated people in the dark". That experience left a lasting impression on him, and so he was thrilled to see the article and Stephen's beautiful artwork in the paper.

Michael says wants to be remembered, “for his good looks”. He also says he would like to be famous someday, "although I know I probably won’t ever be". Friends and family feel differently about that, and are quick to point out that in his way, he already is a famous treasure here in our special town we call Cambridge.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Cloud Panorama Cloud Panorama

Here is a panorama of clouds viewed from the Saratoga Battlefield National Park looking toward Washington County. I love to see magnificent clouds like these. In folklore and myth, clouds are associated with rain, and life. (Of course they are also associated with storms --- the times when some spirit gets angry!) Sometimes, it's amazing how fast clouds can move across the sky. Other times, they float lackadaisically with barely perseptible movement, as they traverse the sky. There are such beautiful skies in this part of New York! I have never seen so many rainbows.

Photographer's Log Photographer's Log


WOMAN FROM THE CORN ROWS-This woman is digitally created from an original photograph of mine of rows of corn stubble in a field. Her hair is the stubble and her eyes were created from another manipulated photograph I took of a farm shed. I have quite a few women I’ve created from the manipulated photographs of other objects. It is so challenging to create something from such a dissimilar object that I often find myself looking at objects or my photographs with the specific purpose of trying to imagine them as something else altogether!June Mohan (Photo: Copyright Mohan 2005)

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Cambridge Life #10 Cambridge Life #10

As May approaches I eagerly anticipate the shearing of the sheep. Many of my neighbors in Cambridge, NY raise sheep. Some people spin the wool, others have sheep for their children to enjoy and learn from. What ever the reason for raising these fuzzy critters, I get a giggle when I leave the house seeing thickly fleeced sheep


Before the barber came I told him just a little off the top
(Photos: John Carlson; Debra Pearlman)


and return home and see "naked" sheep romping in the fields.


Mom and 2 kids at my neighbor's house (Photo: Debra Pearlman)

It's another sign that spring has really arrived. All along the back roads of Cambridge, NY sheep are getting their spring clippings, farmers are preparing their fields and I know that local produce will soon be available at the Farmer's Market. It's all just another thing I love about living in Cambridge, NY.

Let me know what you love about living around or visiting the farms near where you live.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Jack's Outback Rendezvous #10 Jack's Outback Rendezvous #10


Late 1700’s Soapstone Bed Warmer- a sign of the wealthiest people of the time. This soapstone slab was warmed near the fireplace or woodstove and then placed in the bed to warm up the sheets before getting into bed. Jack says this was a custom of the time and, "poor folks would just go out and find fieldstones to do the same". Today people buy these stones of old to make countertops or trivets.

Visit Jack’s Outback, 30 West Main Street, Cambridge, NY 518-677-2929.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Treasures of Cambridge #10 Treasures of Cambridge #10

Be a part of "Treasures of Cambridge". If you are a resident of the Cambridge, NY area, please contact me by email at jdcarlson2001@yahoo.com to schedule a time of your convenience to have your portrait taken. Bring a prop that you identify yourself with. Check out the posting "About Cambridge Treasures" on this blog for more about the project. It is a lot of fun and takes on average about 15 minutes of your time.


Gerry Holzman pictured in front of the vault in the former Bean Head’s Coffee House has lived in Cambridge on and off since 1989.

When asked how he made his way to Cambridge, he replied, "My car, quite literally, my car!" He was driving on his way to Saratoga Springs and found a shortcut through Cambridge. "I got to about the railroad tracks and I did a classic Hollywood double-take. I said to my wife, "What a lovely little village", and we turned around in the Hotel parking lot, went back to Route 22 and drove even slower through town”. They went immediately to a real estate office and stayed overnight at the Rice Mansion to look at houses the next day. The following spring they came back and found the home that they live in today.

Gerry loves Cambridge because, "there is so much here, so much potential and so many wonderful people doing wonderful things". Gerry grew up in Armenia, NY, and likes the feel of a small town, says it makes him feel "his youth again."

Gerry’s props are a carved walking stick and a tee shirt with the Empire State Carousel logo on it. As a woodcarver, Gerry refers to pieces like the walking stick as his "frustration pieces". Whenever he has difficulty with the politics or economics of a project, he retreats to his workshop grabs a piece of cherry or maple and carves a face. Carving to him is completely absorbing as he forgets about his troubles focusing on the task at hand.

A retired public school administrator, Gerry got tired of the bureaucracy and wanted to do something with his hands that he wouldn’t have to depend on others for his success or failure, so began to teach himself how to carve. Five years later, he went to England and studied with master carver, Gino Masero, who taught him traditional carving practices. He fondly remembers Masero as a teacher and a friend and once wrote an essay about him where he envisioned that only his hands came to work one day, "because they themselves were so powerful and competent".

His career includes having carved the Empire State Carousel that became a featured news story on Tom Brokaw’s national news program. Gerry would like to be remembered as "a person who has brought some joy into a world that is too often sad".

Friday, May 05, 2006

Jack's Outback Rendezvous #9 Jack's Outback Rendezvous #9


Scraper, circa 1880. Carved out of one piece of wood with a drawknife, Jack likes the simplicity of this strong and useful item. He likes it because the design of this tool has not really changed over all the years. Jack says, "you can go into a hardware store today and get a tool that looks a lot like this, only made much cheaper… it would probably break the first time you used it if you applied any pressure at all".

The design predates even this piece as the American Indians made similar scrapers fashioned from wood with a shell or sharp stone attached to the handle with sinew.

Visit Jack’s Outback, 30 West Main Street, Cambridge, NY 518-677-2929.

Treasures of Cambridge #9 Treasures of Cambridge #9

Be a part of "Treasures of Cambridge". If you are a resident of the Cambridge, NY area, please contact me by email at jdcarlson2001@yahoo.com to schedule a time of your convenience to have your portrait taken. Bring a prop that you identify yourself with. Check out the posting "About Cambridge Treasures" on this blog for more about the project. It is a lot of fun and takes on average about 15 minutes of your time.


Donna Wynbrandt pictured here in front of the vault at former Bean Heads Coffee House, has been a permanent resident of Cambridge, NY since 1992. But before that, she would travel up from New York City to visit her good friend George Forss.

Donna calls herself a modern artist who does drawings that can be loosely characterized as cartoon or caricatures. She is always on the look out for new subject matter for her art. Although she mostly does art containing people, recently she was asked by a local shop owner to make a series of architectural studies of famous Cambridge, NY building sites.

She loves having the Cambridge, NY community as a resource for her work. When she runs out of ideas for her art she says “every place I go I know people; I can go to a place like Bean Heads (when it was open), and know there would always be someone I could talk to”.

Donna’s prop is her sketch pad, an item just about every resident of Cambridge who knows her has witnessed her using, making art wherever she finds herself. She wants to be remembered as someone who: loved her life, being an artist, the community, was a dedicated friend and someone true to her Buddhist faith.

Photographer's Log Photographer's Log


VLY SUMMIT VISTA-On a misty May 3, 2005 I decided to drive up another of my favorite roads, Vly Summit Road, where you can see much of the valley and surrounding mountain ranges. This day the mists hung low upon the mountains as a light drizzle fell. It was a beautiful example of early Spring in our Cambridge/Greenwich area. The translucent light mingling with the mists on the mountains gave the sight an aura of quiet majesty, mystery and beckoning to one such as I viewing it from afar. -June Mohan (Photo: Copyright Mohan 2005)

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Harbingers of Spring Harbingers of Spring

I saw these Canada geese yesterday, in a bright spring field of dandelions, in the company of a crow. I think of Canada geese as harbingers of spring (and autumn too, of course), and a reminder of the endless cycle of the seasons. I never cease to marvel at the vees of geese flying in formation overhead, spurred by an amazing shared imperative to return home --- just like the Emperor penguins featured in last year's wonderful documentary "March of the Penguins."


I have paid more attention to Canada geese since reading the wonderful book, "The Last Algonquin" by Theodore L. Kazimiroff. This is the story of a lone Algonquin Indian, Joe Two Trees, the last of his family, who tried in the mid-1800s to find a place in the world around him in the region around New York City, taking jobs on a farm and in a coal mine, but facing unfriendliness and lack of welcome, he retreated to the woods by Pelham Bay, an isolated corner of New York City, where he lived alone, hidden, for almost 60 years. In the last year of his life (1924), he was befriended by a young Boy Scout. Joe Two Trees shared his story with the Boy Scout, whose son wrote this book. In his "Afterthoughts," author Kazimiroff writes:

In his telling, Two Trees asked no more of my father than that he remember and retell these exploits. In that way, believed Joe, he would never be completely gone from the trails and trees of his beloved land. When you go to the quiet places that still remain within our steel and stone city, it is just possible that you could meet him. I know you won't see him as a person, but the vee of Canada geese obeying their ancient migratory imperative, or the furtive glance of a racoon, the blaze of a gorgoues sunset, one of these, or all, will be Joe.

Don't lose him. When we allow the new to replace the old to such an extent, we will lose more than an ancient Indian story. Keep in mind that in our rush to meet the future, we must be sure to keep the past. Without its foundation, no structure stands for very long.

Whenever I see Canada geese, I think of Joe Two Trees. I am reminded always of the power of our stories.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Cambridge Life #9 Cambridge Life #9

Last weekend was absolutely spectacular. I couldn't wait to get out into the yard and do some clean-up and pruning of the fruit trees. So what did I do, I spent all of Saturday mastering a database program. It was great fun, but I really needed to get some work done around the house because my "Swiss brother" Andres was arriving on Sunday.


Andres and Mom enjoying spring in Cambridge, NY
(Photo: Debra Pearlman)



Andres was an exchange student that lived with my family in the 1964/65 school year. Since then, we have exchanged families. His brothers have lived here with us, my brother and sister and I have lived in Switzerland with him...he is my "Swiss brother." What's really great is that he comes over to see Mom every November for her birthday. But this year he came over for his 41st high school reunion and then drove up to Cambridge, NY to visit us. After spending the morning doing yard work and finally pruning the fruit trees, Andres, Mom, and I sat down to enjoy our lunch.


Just like lunch in Brione, Switzerland (Photo: Debra Pearlman)

Andres loves visiting Cambridge,NY because he says it reminds him of the house he has in Brione on Lago Maggiori near Locarno. Feeling like I'm back in Switzerland, surrounded by the Swiss-Italian Alps is just another thing I love about Life in Cambridge, NY.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Waiting for Balloons Waiting for Balloons

Each June, Cambridge, NY is host to a Balloon Festival. It's one of my favorite events of the year. Early in the morning or just before sunset, you can watch the balloons fill up with hot air.


Watching balloons as they prepare to launch over Cambridge, NY

You'd be surprised how many of us get up at 5:30 am to witness the show, then go to the Cambridge Diner for one of Dawn's hearty breakfasts. I loved the sausage, egg, and cheese that Bill made at Bean Heads Coffee House. I'll miss sitting outside and watching the people go by.


Enjoying a favorite past-time at the cafe tables at the former Bean Heads Coffee House, Cambridge, NY (Photo: John Carlson)

Once they are airborne, all over town crowds gather to watch as the balloons float up, up and away.


Rising above the Cambridge Valley, Cambridge, NY

You can take a balloon ride or enjoy any of the Festival events.
This year's Festival is slated for June 8-11, 2006. See you there!