Waterways and watercolors:

How many times has an angler come upon the perfect pool, with expectations of hoodwinking a big trout, only to have those hopes dashed?  Such a place like this exists on the upper West Branch of the Neversink.  It’s known as Heartbreak Hole, where more than one large, wily brown trout has kept the fisher’s fly, parting his tippet never to be encountered again.  Can you sense a trophy brown hanging under those tangled tree toots, a piscatorial heartbreak in the making.

Heartbreak Hole:

Have you ever been diagnosed with A.B.S., therapeutically referred to as “around the bend syndrome?”  No matter how far one travels, it seems it’s always the footbridge beyond that beckons the journey continue.  Below is a watercolor that has been enhanced with pastels.

Footbridge beyond:

There’s a river in western Maine, near the historic Rangeley Region, where large native brook trout reside.  The Magalloway downstream of US 16/Wilsons Mills Road, and the Aziscohos Dam, is a cold, thunderest, wild tailwater, home to big brookies and landlocked salmon.  The upper portion of this river is a technical class V flow with vertical drops up to eighteen feet, offering the most physically fit flyfisher a challenging wade.

Magalloway:

Esopus Creek landmark:  Hurricane Irene destroyed this old Ulster and Delaware landmark, a railroad bridge where often Onteora high schoolers would jump from into the chilly waters below, every spring.  Plus many a wild rainbow trout were caught within its shadows by lucky Esopus Creek anglers.

Trestle, Esopus Creek (DtC):

Trout Unlimited donations:  Below are two recent watercolor donations to the Ashokan-Pepacton Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and their 31st Annual Conservation Dinner in April 2019.

The first is of autumn on Chimney Hole, the mouth of New York City's Ashokan Reservoir and part of the Esopus Creek, where in 1923 T.E. Spencer of Shokan caught a 19 lb., 14 oz. brown that was the NYS record for many years.

Chimney Hole, Esopus Creek II (DtC)

For a fly fisher, there's no reel quite like a Hardy fly reel and no Catskill trout like a wild brook trout--- Salvelinus fontinalis.

Hardy and brook trout II (DtC)

  

Blueberries and birch:  Whether it’s the Shawangunks, the Catskills, the end of an artist’s paintbrush, or one’s creative imagination, perhaps there’s nothing as compelling as an autumn wooded scene of blueberries and birch.

Blueberries and birch (sold):

Mid-Hudson Valley – Catskill landmarks:  The Mid-Hudson Valley and Catskills are blessed with a rich history, and many noted landmarks.  Perhaps two such are logged below.

Within the fertile confines of New York’s Minnewaska State Park, some 2000+ feet above sea level on a Shawangunk Ridge, resides Gertrude’s Nose.  It’s picturesque and a hiking destination of many, seen from various trails and vistas.  The name dates back to 1682 and Gertrude Bruyn a Dutch settler.  It's a rugged, rocky terrain and till a prominent gratifying landscape these days.

Gertrude’s Nose:

Oliverea is a tiny mountain hamlet located within the Town of Shandaken, in Ulster County.  Native American names celebrate the elevated valley.  And, early American Catskill mountain men like James Dutcher made this landscape home.  These days it’s still a place of exquisite beauty and wild trout.

Oliverea (sold):

Recent 2019 watercolors: Below are several recent watercolors of various landmarks, some noted and some not so much.

The Saugerties Lighthouse has been a Hudson River beacon since 1869.  It sits at the mouth of Esopus Creek with the Catskill Mountains at its back.  The Lighthouse can be found after a half-mile trek along a nature trail down to the Hudson and currently serves as a much desired Bed and Breakfast.

Saugerties Lighthouse:

Indian Grove Brook is a small tributary to the Passaic River, less than three miles in length and often only a few feet wide.  It flows through central New Jersey across private holdings and a portion of Jockey Hollow National Park plus the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary.  Little wild rainbow trout make this tiny creek their watery home.  Below it is ablaze in autumn colors.

Indian Grove Brook:

Is there any landscape structure that catches one’s eye like an old barn set alone among nature?

Blue-gray barn:

And while speaking of nature, how about long winter shadows from a white birch tree stand?  The scene below is part of an almost daily neighborhood trek, when snow covers the landscape.

Winter birch (sold):

Lake Placid is perhaps best known for Winter Olympics and numerous year-round outdoor activities, plus the rugged terrain unsurpassed on the east coast.  Mirror Lake is at the hub of the Village of Lake Placid, and offers a panoramic view from Whiteface Veterans’ Memorial Highway that ascends New York’s fifth tallest peak at 4,867 feet in elevation.

Lake Placid:

Ashokan winter:  While many a snowbird heads south for Catskill winter months, those left behind enjoy a season of chilly solace, crisp air, and extraordinary seasonal beauty.

Ashokan winter: