PINE PLAINS — Hoffman Road resident Kyle Sundberg got a surprise message on Tuesday, May 18, when a friend sent a photo of a young bull moose sauntering around the marshy grounds of his backyard in the morning hours. When Sundberg peered out the window to take a look for himself, he was out of luck. But he staked out the scene throughout the day, and by that evening the young moose had returned.
Out came Sundberg’s camera; he snapped a number of shots of the magnificent moose — not an everyday sight in the Harlem Valley.
The moose, which is a protected animal in New York State, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), “is the largest member of the deer family (Cervidae), and the largest land mammal in New York State. Bulls weigh from 600 to 1,200 pounds and stand up to 6 feet tall at the shoulder.” Their primary predator is the black bear.
Sundberg’s sister, Laura Holmes, lives in neighboring Stanfordville but works in the Pine Plains Post Office. She said she’s never seen a moose in all her years growing up and living in the Hudson Valley — many of those years spent residing in Pine Plains. She stopped by her brother’s house that evening.
“No, I never thought we’d be spotting a moose,” she said. “It’s great to see. Other people saw it in town, too… My brother saw it in person. He was very excited. He was so excited you can’t believe it.”
Holmes has been handling most of the publicity, sharing Sundberg’s photos on social media and with friends and neighbors. In two day’s time photos of the young moose have been viewed more than 3,500 times online, she said.
“I had no idea this would happen; I thought I’d share a couple pictures with a couple of people; now it’s out of hand.”
Out of hand, possibly. But exciting? Definitely.
“It’s really, really cool to see a moose,” said Homes. “Everyone is so excited to see it. It’s really rare around here.”
For more information on moose in the Empire State, go to the DEC’s website at www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6964. There is also a link to report moose sightings at that address, to assist in the creation of a moose management plan for New York.
Falls Village – Amelia Rosalie (Betti) Wright, 91, of Falls Village died September 30, 2024 at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was the wife of the late Robert Kenneth Wright.
Amelia was born September 6, 1933 in Torrington, CT, daughter of the late Benjamin and Mary Eliza (Passini) Betti. Amelia worked at Camp Isabella Freedman as the Head Housekeeper. She was employed there for 35 years. She attended the Falls Village Congregational Church and had been very active at the Senior Center in Falls Village. She enjoyed collecting. She also enjoyed the craft classes offered by Adult Ed at the Housatonic Valley Regional High School. She enjoyed traveling, especially to the Cape, Vermont and New Hampshire. An avid flower person, Amelia had traveled to the major flower shows in both Boston and Philadelphia.
She is survived by her daughter, Susan Osborn and her husband David of Falls Village, her son, Robert H. Wright of Falls Village and her son, Donald Wright and his wife Kate of Millbrook, NY; her sister, MaryAnn Betti of Falls Village; her grandchildren, Benjamin and Katie Osborn and Jacob Wright. Amelia is also survived by her great grandson, Gunner Osborn. Amelia was predeceased by her brother, Donald Betti.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024 in the Mountain View Cemetery, Sand Road, North Canaan, CT. Calling hours will be held at the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home, 118 Main Street, North Canaan, CT 06018 on Friday, October 4, 2024 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Falls Village Volunteer Ambulance Association, 188 US-7 South, Falls Village, CT. 06031
Makayla Robinson, no. 3 of Pine Plains, dribbles the ball down midfield past Rhinebeck’s Ellie Firestone, no. 13, at a soccer match at Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains Wednesday, Sept. 25.
“Use your head,” is particularly good advice in soccer, and Pine Plains senior Madison Spann, no. 7, obviously takes the advice to heart to win the ball from Rhinebeck senior Maddy Santoro, no. 6, in a girls’ soccer match at Stissing Mountain High School Wednesday, Sept. 25. The game ended 6-1 Rhinebeck, marking Stissing Mountain's second loss to the team.Photo by Nathan Miller
The Stissing Mountain Bombers went head to head with the Rhinebeck Hawks for a girls' varsity soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 25. The Bombers fought hard, but Rhinebeck's oppressive offense kept the ball on Stissing Mountain's half of the pitch for most of the game, racking up six goals before the final whistle. The game concluded, uninterrupted by light drizzle, with Rhinebeck winning 6-1.
Rosa Mejia, no. 2, found the back of the net to make the Bombers’ only goal of the soccer match against Rhinebeck at Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains Wendesday, Sept. 25. Rhinebeck won the match 6-1.Photo by Nathan Miller
Jane Lucas, who holds a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology, at right in all black, leads an educational hike through the woods at the Cary Institute in Millbrook Sunday, Sept. 29. The group followed Lucas down the trail to Wappingers Creek, where she explained the nitrogen cycle, the phosphorous cycle and the carbon cycle and the important role soil microbes play in each.
MILLBROOK — A crowd of nearly 30 went undeterred by cool rain for a hike and lecture on soil ecology at the Cary Institute Sunday morning, Sept. 29.
Jane Lucas, who holds a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology, led the group on a brief hike in the frigid mist and discussed her research focus: microbial communities.
Lucas said scientists have started to look more closely at soil. In the past, soil science was largely focused on agriculture. The main concern of practitioners and academics were improving yield and reliability of crop harvests and grazing. Now, Lucas said, there is more study on soil’s role in the environment as a whole, and as it’s own environment.
That’s Lucas’s research focus at the Cary Institute. She said soil is host to trillions of microbial critters that are responsible for turning dead leaves and branches into dirt, plus about a million other critical things. “In a spoonful of dirt there are more microbes than people on the planet,” Lucas said to the crowd, sheltered in Cary’s carriage house to escape the drizzle.
Soil microbes are microscopic critters like bacteria, viruses, fungi and algae, and they’re essential in making dirt do what it does best: grow things. They break down organic matter, making nutrients and minerals available in the soil for plants to use.
Soil microbes also bear a lot of responsibility for carbon fixing. When a plant absorbs carbon dioxide from the air it breaks it down and releases oxygen, storing the carbon for use in food. Up to 30% of that carbon is then excreted from the plant’s roots into the soil in substances called exudates, Lucas said. The microscopic critters in the dirt feed on the exudates, locking the carbon in the soil and keeping it out of the atmosphere. The rest of the carbon that’s stored in the plant makes it into the soil when the plant dies and decays.
Microbiomes are diverse and soil conditions have a huge impact on their composition and health. Lucas has been studying the effects of climate change on soil ecology. Experiments at the Cary Institute are testing how elevated soil temperatures, varying pH levels and drought affect microbiome performance. Lucas said microbiome health has huge implications for the health of plants and animals in an environment, and the impacts of climate change have the potential to impact soil ecology negatively.
Lucas made a point to emphasize a holistic view of soil ecology. She gave phosphorous as an example. Phosphorous is a key nutrient to plant health, but most of the phosphorous on Earth is locked in hard rocks below the surface. However, Lucas said, the sands of the Sahara desert contain a lot of stored phosphorous. Winds and currents carry this phosphorous rich sand across the pacific ocean to South America, where it supplies the Amazon rainforest with phosphorous for its lush vegetation. Even when it isn’t traveling thousands of miles across an ocean, dirt is an essential part of our environment, and inextricably linked to to agriculture and public health, Lucas said.
Cary Institute hosts regular lectures hosted by its researching scientists and associates. More information and upcoming events can be found at www.caryinstitute.org/events.
