Outdoor Club of Port Jervis

Never too early to signup for this event, Stone Challenge 3. November 14th will be here before you know it. Visit https://pjstonechallenge.com for more info and links to register.

Remember to check your dogs & your loved ones for ticks! Ever experienced a tick bite? See our list for preventing ticks, recognizing Lyme disease symptoms, and removing ticks properly...

Anyone who knows the Almanac knows we're big fans of home remedies and pantry solutions from readily available natural materials. However, natural remedies don’t always work and can even be harmful. Here are 7 popular remedies that are not a good idea!!

Ever wondered: Is that a veggie seedling or a weed? To sort it out, check out these photos of common vegetable seedlings...

We've planted dahlias and cannas in our garden this year and eagerly await their arrival. Do you grow any tropical or warm-weather bulbs? Unlike the spring bul...bs (daffodils, tulips) which are planted in the fall, these bulbs are planted in the spring when the soil is warm for summer flowers. See our handy summer bulb chart to learn more.. See more

Chip Estenes talks activies, events and more in Port Jervis. June 1, 2021

Garth Battista was in New York's Catskill Mountains - at Manhattan Country School - when he caught the easy-to-see constellation Orion and the star Sirius (far ...left). Sirius is always easy to see. It's the sky's brightest star. Orion's Belt - the short, straight row of 3 medium-bright stars - always points to it. Thank you, Garth! Learn more about Sirius, the mythology behind it and how to spot it in your night sky:

A new smart telescope from Vaonis is about to make astrophotography more accessible than ever.

Earth's distant fate: Will it be obliterated? Not quite. But 5 billion years from now, the sun will ruin Earth for human habitation. It'll expand to become a re...d giant star and will fry our planet to a cinder. At the same time, our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy will be in the midst of a colossal collision, forever altering our galactic home in space. See more

If your upcoming plans include skywatching, here's what you might be able to see (weather permitting).

Do you have milkweed on the menu? Monarch butterfly populations have declined by a shocking 90% over the past 20 years! One easy thing we can do is to plant nat...ive milkweed. It not only provides nectar for the adults, but also it is the only plant the baby caterpillars will eat! Learn more about which milkweed varieties are best for the Monarchs... See more

Tonight, spot the very slender crescent Moon hover over Mercury in the evening twilight--just as dusk ebbs into darkness. Both are low in the western horizo...n. Saturn and Jupiter have now faded away. It's not often that Mercury is visible so enjoy! But look before twilight ends as they follow the setting sun! Want to know exactly when the moon or sun sets? Or when twilight ends? Click our tools below: Almanac.com/astronomy/sun-rise-and-set Almanac.com/astronomy/moon-rise-and-set See more

Today's date - January 13, 2021 - might be just another Wednesday in the Gregorian calendar, the one that pops up on your phone or laptop. But it's the last day... of the year by the old Julian calendar, first introduced to the world by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. Today is the Julian New Year, sometimes called the Old New Year or the Orthodox New Year. Learn more about the Julian calendar, and why the switch was made to the Gregorian one we use today:

Over the Christmas holiday we took a scenic excursion along the old Delaware and Hudson canal. Between 1828 and 1902 it’s main purpose was to transport anthraci...te coal from Pennsylvania to New York City. It was 108 miles long and it stretched from Honesdale PA to Kingston NY and used 108 locks to get there. One of the most interesting features of this particular canal was that they had built wooden bridges that they filled with water to carry Canal traffic across major river points. One of these aqueducts built by Roebling still survives and is now used for vehicular traffic. This was one of the focal points during our trip. We started in Port Jervis which got its beginnings from the canal rather than the railroad which is more prominent now. Our next stop was of course Hawks Nest to look down at what used to be the canal along the New York side of the river. With binoculars in hand we could locate the site of one of the locks out in the distance. From there we continued traveling the scenic byway of Route 97 which lies mostly either on or next to the canal bed itself ! The next stop was the Roebling bridge. In 1847 John A.Roebling who was the future engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, supervised the building of this wood and cable suspension bridge that he had designed. (I can remember crossing this bridge when it was in a bad state of repair and soon closed to be rebuilt and preserved). This site is now part of the National Park Service and allows you to take a stroll across this unique piece of history. On the Pennsylvania side you can explore the quaint little town of Lackawaxen and on the New York side you can explore a section of the canal which includes 3 locks. In the past I had walked along here and saw smaller remains of the canal system but Angelina insisted that we had not reached the locks yet. She said we needed to climb the hill between the river and the current roadway to check out that area. Wouldn’t you know she ended up above the largest lock that I had ever seen along this route! This right here was worth the trip alone! (Photos below) This huge lock constructed of dry laid stone has to be at least 75 feet long and probably 12 to 15 feet high. These locks had large wooden doors that would close to keep the water inside, some of the wood and nails still remain all these years later. Exploring this area alone can give you a pretty good idea about the details of a canal if you’ve never visited one before. The canal bed, the aqueduct, the locks, the towpath and even the little canal town itself are still intact. We then left the little town of Lackawaxen and followed Towpath Road along the river of the same name. As you meander its twists and turns you see remains of the canal bed everywhere, even a snubbing post ! There are some original canal buildings along this route and even a little industrial spot connected to the canal which if I remember correctly was a boat repair facility or something like that. Hawley, Pennsylvania was the next town that we ended up in and was the site of a canal basin and a canal boat building company, along with a beautiful Canal House situated at lock number 31. All the sites along the canal are pretty in their own way but I would have to say this was the most picturesque. This Canal Park is complete with a family farmhouse, a lock, a long strip of the canal and it’s towpath, a snubbing post and its most recent addition is the creation of a replica canal boat. The cabin of the boat is complete and stands under a pavilion which will be the actual boat when the project is finished. This park also has a walking path loop along the canal and the Lackawaxen river. You can easily spend a couple hours here and learn a lot about the canal itself while you are exploring the property. Heading west on Route 6 will bring us to the beginning of the canal in Honesdale,Pennsylvania. As you traverse the 9 miles between Hawley and Honesdale you will again spot many sections of the canal bed and towpath, i’ve heard there are plans to connect these old canal towns with a recreational walking trail utilizing most of the old towpath. The canal itself started just behind the Wayne County Historical Society building which was originally the D&H Canal office. This is where the coal started its journey of being transported by water to New York City after being brought to this spot via the gravity railroad. We decided to take in this town with a birds-eye view from Irving Cliff. This is a pretty spot to look down on this little city occupied by brick buildings, church steeples and grand homes of that era. This cliff was named in honor of Washington Irving. While during a trip to Honesdale, this well-known author of the day reached this summit and was so delighted with its view, Philip Hone insisted that the ledge be known as Irving Cliff ! Philip Hone was the first president of the Delaware and Hudson canal company and was also the mayor of New York City. Honesdale is also named after him. Sunset at Irving Cliff was the completion of this scenic tour. Sussex County Excursions

Thank you Debbie for this wonderful fundraiser to the Club. A heartfelt thank you to all the contributors.

Why on Earth (!) do the sun and moon sometimes look so unusual next to the horizon? Photographers often capture beautiful sunrises, sunsets, moonrises, and moon...sets. But near the horizon, the sun and the moon can look distorted in the most fascinating ways, appearing jagged, flattened, or shrunk. Why? EarthSky has answers - and don't miss the photos. See more

Exciting news! Astronomer Greg Leonard discovered the comet that now bears his name - C/2021 A1 (Leonard) - on January 3 at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in ...Arizona. Discovery images show a tail for the comet, suggesting we might see a nice tail as Comet Leonard draws closer to the Earth and sun. The comet is still far away, currently between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, heading inward. See more

Where o’ where could we put this?

Rime ice occurs when super cooled water droplets (water vapor in cloud or fog) freeze onto surfaces. Because the water droplets are so small, they freeze almos...t instantly creating a mixture of tiny ice particles and trapped air. #UpperDelaware #RimeIce #ScenicWildDelawareRiver #RoeblingBridge #NewYear2021 #MotherNature Photo Caption: Rime Ice on trees overlooking the Roebling Bridge on the Delaware River.

Happy New Year! The station orbits the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour) enabling the crew to see 16 sunrises and sunsets each day.

This week, our volunteers used restored historic military vehicles to deliver some toy donations to the Toys for Tots warehouse at Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, N...J. This warehouse, usually bursting at the seams with toys at this point in the season, was alarmingly empty this year. With so many additional families in need due to the events of 2020, the Marines are struggling to meet the demand. Please, if you have any money to spare this holiday season, please consider a donation to the Toys for Tots Foundation. We are working closely with DonateAToy, which is graciously matching every toy purchased through our web portal at www.operationtoytrain.org/2020, doubling the number of toys sent to the Marines. Even a single toy will brighten a child's holidays this year, and Operation Toy Train and the USMC Toys for Tots Foundation appreciate any help you can give! See more

December Meeting & Activities - https://mailchi.mp//day-before-and-the-days-after-christma

Happy 2021!!! Here’s why January 1 starts our new year! Janus am I; oldest of potentates; Forward I look, and backward, and below I count, as god of avenues a...nd gates, The years that through my portals come and go. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (180782) See more

2020 Nov 27 -Please remember our local area small businesses this holiday season.