There’s not a lot that’s affordable in Highland. One of our readers pointed out that perhaps folks were getting priced out of New Paltz, driving the real estate prices higher in the surrounding towns. Sounds about right. This house seems like a bargain compared to the other properties we’ve found. Cute, well-kept, nice stone porch, two enclosed sun rooms, on nearly an acre of land close to the center of Highland. We liked the wood trim and archways and the high ceilings on the inside. But the carpets. Oh, that green carpeting is really something, isn’t it? We’d probably want to know what’s underneath, because whatever it is, it’s gotta be better than the carpets.

1 Tillson Avenue, Highland (J. Phillip Real Estate) GMAP
Asking Price: $225,000
Beds: 3
Baths: 1.5
Square Feet: 2,695
Year Built: 1900
Land: .92 acres
Taxes: $8263
Features: 2 enclosed sun rooms, living room fire place

Farming over a thousand acres, McEnroe Organic Farm is one of the largest certified organic farms in the region, and a place I am continually awed by. It is also the farm I call home, and where I am employed as the farm educator.

The sizable operation is not the bucolic, dreamy homestead fantasy of living off and one with the land that lured me upstate, but in the four years that my romantic idealism has been tempered with reality, I have come to respect this farm and its farmers more and more.

The heart of the operation is a commercial compost facility. Recycling food waste from Hunt’s Point (the country’s largest food distribution center) in the Bronx, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and supermarkets, cafeterias and office buildings and manure and bedding from large dairy operations and horse farms, McEnroe models a sustainable practice for the world we live in by diverting organic waste from landfills to produce compost, the key to our healthy fields and productive greenhouses.

I’m impressed by the annual experiments to extend the growing season and produce more food for the year-round farm market, and the practical humanity of the livestock farmers who take the time to bottle feed piglets, lambs or calves whom for whatever reasons are neglected by their mothers.

Looking at the barren fields of a nearby conventional farm, I hurt for the soil exposed to the elements and erosion since the harvest last fall. I empathize with the farmers convinced conventional is the only way to farm, and admire McEnroe even more for demonstrating there is another way.

Organic isn’t just a buzz word. It’s a philosophical difference that begins with caring for the soil, and includes creating a healthier environment for laborers and livestock, and the multitude of microorganisms and wildlife with whom we share this ecosystem.

The open farmscapes seduced me to move upstate, and I desperately hope working farmland remains working farmland, but I also hope in the coming years to see less evidence of Round-Up, GMO corn and soy, and misguided conventional ag.

If you’re a Revolutionary War buff, love nature, antiquing, old houses or just about anything else that can be found somewhere in New York State, then you’ll find something to enjoy during New York State Heritage Weekend, May 19 and 20. Events range from bike tours of Erie Canal structures to slideshows on the history of Ulster County architecture. And there are plenty of things that don’t have to do with our history as much as our present: farmers’ markets and craft fairs among them. Full list of events here. They’re separated by category, not geography, so you’ll have to do a bit of poking for the events closest to you.

Don’t forget that if you have a great property for short-term rental, or are looking to swap your upstate house for something else in downstate or beyond, you can list for free over in our classifieds section. The listings expire after 30 days, so some of you who posted earlier might want to renew. We at Upstater want to keep looking at them!

It’s not secret that Newburgh has many abandoned homes. But, there are people restoring homes, one at a time. This home took more than a year to get from A to B. The impact it makes on the neighborhood is huge. One old resident said that this home was in decline since 20 years ago. What a difference a restored home makes! To see more homes like this check out Newburgh Before and Afters.

We’ve been flirting with Cairo (Greene County) since we took a drive through there last fall, when the trees were bursting with color and the sky was deep blue and perfectly clear. We liked the quiet little town immediately, even though there’s really not much there, and we’ve been keeping our eyes on the real estate market ever since, hoping for some cool stuff to crop up. Not much luck. But we did find this adorable 1920s Craftsman located on Main Street, less than a mile from the Trailways bus station in town and walking distance to both schools and a few businesses.

Nice details inside, like leaded stained glass and an adorable retro kitchen with a checkerboard floor. The price is right at less than $100/square foot, and the taxes are under $3,000. Lot size is pretty small but looks woodsy.

472 Main Street, Cairo (Century 21) GMAP
Asking Price: $199,900
Beds: 4
Baths: 1.5
Square Feet: 2100
Year Built: 1925
Land: .34 acres
Taxes: $2,940
Features: Detached garage, backyard landscaping

This contemporary is located south of the center of Highland, out in the middle of farm land and open space. Not a whole lot of trees to give it some privacy, but the 4.7-acre lot size kind of takes care of that on its own. It’s situated up on a hill, giving you a good view of the valley. The interior is shiny and modern; although, there weren’t a whole lot of pictures of anything other than the kitchen and bath. Both look new, but a few shots of the bedrooms and living room would’ve been nice, too. The views from the deck look pretty spectacular!

30 Gabrity Road, Highland (Westwood Metes & Bounds) GMAP
Asking Price: $379,900
Beds: 3
Baths: 2.5
Square Feet: 2692
Year Built: 2006
Land: 4.7 acres
Taxes: $11,202
Features: Cedar siding, chef’s kitchen

The NY Post had a story yesterday about the grand estates north of NYC that rival the fictional Downton Abbey (and rumor has it that a bit of season three will be filmed here in the states on one of these upstate New York mansions). Some we’ve covered before — Olana near Hudson; Rokeby in Barrytown, which are both spectacular. Others, like the Mills Mansion in Staatsburgh, we haven’t had the pleasure of taking in before. Check out the full list here.

A reader has a post in the Forum, wondering if anyone knows of organizations dedicated to the preservation of bungalow colonies. We know of only location-specific groups, like the bungalow preservation group in Rockaway, Queens (here’s an article we wrote about it years ago), or the Catskills Institute, which is, oddly, housed at Brown University. Anyone else have suggestions? If so, leave ‘em in the Forum! (You gotta register first, but it only takes a second.)

In the on-going city v. country debate, the city usually wins on the “stuff to do” list. Yeah, yeah, the city’s got endless opportunities, workshops, festivals, fairs, happenings,  etc, which the country could never compete with in terms of sheer, vast quantity.

But I’ll tell you where the country ekes out a lead: in the quality of the events. Living in the city, I had gotten to where I didn’t even try to go to special events. There was either a four- hour line for the free concert, or the pianos were broken by the time you got there, or the materials were lame and cheap, and there weren’t enough of them. (Sorry, city people, and please do leave comments attesting to your opposing experience. I would love to know that it’s different now.)

One of our first weekends living upstate we went to an Easter egg-dying event at Art Omi. Oh my god: there was actually space at the table for my kids, there were enough eggs, the dyes were good quality… After 14 years in the city, it blew me away. There was even parking!

The wooly workshop I recently attended at Olana was no exception.

Olana is a the former estate of Hudson Valley painter Frederick Church; it’s now a state park that is maintained by the Olana Partnership. Over the last couple months, Olana offered a series of classes on the “Art of Farming”. In a partnership with the Hawthorne Valley Farm (a bio-dynamic educational farm in Harlemville, NY) the $45 three-part workshop took participants through various stages of wool-working. I missed Part One, about carding and twining.

But I made it to Part Two, and I’m so glad I did. This one was about felting. There was an abundance of beautiful brown wool which had already been carded — combed out into even, airy sheets of wool. We chose a rock from an assortment that was provided, and then we wrapped our rocks.  We wrapped one way, we wrapped the other way, then back the first way. When the rock was neatly enclosed, we tucked it into a stocking, tied a knot and soaped it up. With natural dish soap, of course.

About 20 minutes of scrubbing and rubbing and massaging ensued.

Those lucky rocks. A million years of kinks and knots were surely worked out. We rinsed, we dried, and we cut open. Voila! A felted pouch. (more…)