Wassaic tree replaced with native bur oak

Wassaic tree replaced with native bur oak

Some of the local volunteers who planted a native tree on Arbor Day, Friday, April 25, gathered around the tree for a photo to mark the occasion. Left to right are Ana Hajdak, Maryanne Pitts, Christy Gast, Leo Blackman, Ken Monteiro, and Vicky Doyle.

Photo by Leila Hawken

WASSAIC — Local tree enthusiasts assembled in Wassaic village center to plant a young tree at the entrance to the rail trail in observance of Arbor Day.

The event on Friday, April 25 was co-sponsored by the Amenia Conservation Advisory Council and the Amenia Town Enhancement Committee.

Volunteers were attracted to help with the project led by Maryanne Pitts, CAC member. Some set to work to accomplish the task, others advised, and still others photographed the progress.

Bringing a wheelbarrow to the session was Wassaic resident Edwin Erreyes who saw the group of volunteers and wanted to help.
The new tree, a bur oak donated by the Amenia Garden Club, replaced a non-native dogwood that had failed to thrive at the location.

Garden Club president Ken Monteiro noted that the bur oak, native to eastern North America, produces acorns, each sporting a tiny burr.

“Oaks are a key help to native species, including their tendency to host insect larvae that feed birds,” Pitts said before the work began. “Birds need to feed their young the caterpillars because very young birds do not eat seeds,” she added. “They need protein.”
Pitts said that the interval between the egg and the fledgling is only two weeks in duration.

“So, it is critical that they have native trees and shrubs available to them,” Pitts said, adding that she is a supporter of the Homegrown National Park program.

“The gardens of today are the natural world,” Pitts commented. “Everything else is choked with invasives.”

As Pitts is working toward earning a designation of being a “Tree City,” she said that 2025 is the first step in what will be an annual event.

“We’ll do it every year,” she said.

Latest News

Car crash blocks traffic on Old Route 22

A white Subaru sits on Old Route 22 after a collision with a Volkswagen at the intersection of Powder House Road and Old Route 22 in Amenia on Tuesday, May 19.

Photo by Nathan Miller

AMENIA — A car crash closed the intersection of Powder House Road and Old Route 22 for an hour Tuesday, May 19.

A white Subaru and a grey Volkswagen collided on Old Route 22 shortly after 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Dutchess County Sheriff's deputies on scene said the drivers were transported to the hospital with injuries but are in stable condition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trade Secrets: a glamorous garden event with a deeper mission

Heavy stone garden ornaments, a specialty of Judy Milne Antiques from Kingston, at Trade Secrets 2025.

Christine Bates

Tucked away on Porter Street in downtown Lakeville, Project SAGE is an unassuming building from a street view. But cross the threshold a week before Trade Secrets — one of the region’s biggest gardening events, long associated with Martha Stewart and glamorous plants of all varieties — and you’ll find a bustling world of employees and volunteers getting ready for the organization’s most important event of the year.

“It’s not usually like this,’ laughed Project SAGE director Kristen van Ginhoven. “But with Trade Secrets just around the corner, it’s definitely like this.”

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Two artists, two Hartford stages, one shared life

Caroline Kinsolving and Gary Capozzielo at home in Salisbury with their dogs, Petruchio and Beatrice

Provided
"He played his violin, I worked on my lines, we walked the dog, and suddenly we were circling each other perfectly."
Caroline Kinsolving

Actor Caroline Kinsolving and violinist Gary Capozziello enjoy their quiet life with their two dogs in Salisbury, yet are often pulled apart to perform on distant stages in far-flung cities. Currently, the planets have aligned, and both are working in Hartford, across Bushnell Park from one another. Bridgewater native Kinsolving is starring in “Circus Fire,” the current production of TheaterWorks Hartford, while Capozziello is a violinist and assistant concertmaster of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. While Kinsolving hates being away from home, she feels the distance nourishes their relationship.

“We are guardians of each other’s confidence and self-esteem,” she said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Summer exhibition opens at Wassaic Project

Nate King, “When I Was Younger And Now That I’m Older,” 2026, Digital projection, digital animation, photography.

photo courtesy Nate King

The Wassaic Project, the 8,000-square-foot, seven-story former grain elevator transformed into a vibrant arts space, opens its 2026 Summer Exhibition, “Because, now is the time of monsters,” on Saturday, May 16, from 3-6 p.m. at Maxon Mills, launching a season-long presentation featuring 39 artists working across installation, performance, video and sculpture.

The opening celebration will include an afternoon of exhibitions and live programming throughout the historic mill building and its surrounding spaces. Gallery and Art Nest hours run from 12-6 p.m., with special presentations scheduled throughout the day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss to host inaugural International Piano Competition
Murong Yang ’08, a founding supporter of the Hotchkiss International Music Competition, helped establish the program through the Yang and Hamabata families to support young musicians and artistic excellence.
Provided

The Hotchkiss School will launch a major new addition to its arts programming with the inaugural Hotchkiss International Piano Competition, a three-day event taking place May 15–17 in Katherine M. Elfers Hall.

The competition will bring together young pianists ages 10 to 18 from around the world, with participants representing the United States, Thailand, Korea, China, Canada, and Azerbaijan. Performers will compete across multiple age divisions, culminating in final rounds that will be open to the public, offering audiences the opportunity to hear a wide range of emerging international talent in performance.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.