The Old, Crooked Outhouse

Photo Credit: Mark Burstein

This decaying, crooked thing is the old privy, or outhouse, at Penwood. Thankfully, we no longer need to use this, but it remains on the property as a small historic reminder of the fact that plumbing was not part of the original package. In the winter, it looks a little more attractive than it does in the summer -- covered in snow, it could be a hunter's cabin or a warming hut for wayward hikers. But the door doesn't open any longer, and there is no fireplace inside.

A Perfect Place for Sculpture

The forest of the Adirondack Park is, of course, a great place for trees, plants and animals, but it is also an excellent place for large outdoor sculpture. Here is a spot in the woods near our house where we think we will put a large, dramatic piece of sculpture. We need more good sculpture in the woods and throughout the Park. One modern sculptor who makes outstanding pieces is Tash Taskale, whose work can be viewed around the world or on the web at www.taskale.com. Also visit the five hundred acre great outdoor sculpture collection at Storm King Art Center for ideas and inspiration.

Snow Transforms the Landscape

With winter upon us, I have been thinking of how dramatically the landscape changes in the Adirondacks at each season. This little boathouse, at Twin Coves, looks and feels like a different place in the winter than in the summer. You can see it out the windows from one of our guest rooms and I always snap a few photos of it when I have the chance. Standing in the same spot, taking the photo, it even feels as if I am in a different place - the silence surrounds and penetrates the forest when it snows. The boats and fishermen are gone. The waves no longer lap up against the shore and the breakwater. The beach is frozen, mute. This boathouse is in a small bay called Pine Bay and is eerily quiet when the snow comes. Isn't it grand?