News from Roses Hill

GHOST HUNTERS© TOURS RETURN TO HYDE HALL!

This candlelight tour visits all places in the Mansion where ghostly manifestations have been reported over 150 years, including those identified by Ghosthunters(c) in their Halloween 2013 special.  $20 per person; call 607.547.5098 for reservations.

Last year’s popular “Ghost Hunters© Tours” focused on events and places featured on the Syfy cable channel network’s popular investigative series, Ghost Hunters in 2013, will return to Hyde Hall this Halloween season.

These exclusive candlelit tours will be held on Oct. 24th, 25th and 30th at 5:30, 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00pm, and are limited to 15 participants each. The cost is $20 per person, and tickets must be reserved in advance.

In early 2013, The Ghost Hunters team spent over a week in Hyde Hall in the chill of March, where they set up ultra sensitive equipment in empty rooms to record continuously through the nights. What they found at Hyde Hall was revealed on their Halloween special, in one of the best Ghost Hunters episodes ever. This year’s special candlelight ghost tours on will feature the areas Ghost Hunters found were most haunted.

Coming up this weekend at The Farmers’ Museum!

Saturday & Sunday, October 11–12 • 10:00 am–5:00 pm

Learn about the world of tractors and all the activities they powered on New York farms. See classic tractors and new tractors, small engines, and other machinery, representing the advance of farming technology.

• Over 60 classic tractors.
• See tractors at work thrashing and baling
• An exhibit of antique milking machines
• Wagon rides pulled by the Ford Golden Jubilee tractor
• At 2:00 pm both days: Kiddie pedal-tractor contest for kids age 7 and younger, with prizes for all participants
• Tractor parade (starts at 9:00 am on Sunday)
• Activities for children presented by Hanford Mills will show them the power of steam.
• Activities that promote safety presented by the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health.
• NYCAMH offers free blood pressure screenings to the public.
• New this year: Enjoy tastings of beer brewed locally by Council Rock Brewery from hops grown at The Farmers’ Museum.

Take advantage of all the delightful activities that happen every day at The Farmers’ Museum:

• Firing the brick oven for bread baking
• Roasting on the open hearth
• Try your hand at the Liberty Press
• Take in the Mighty Military Band Organ concert
• Processing flax fiber to yarn
• Try rope making
• Milk the cow
• Play traditional games
• And all the activities in the historic buildings, too numerous to mention!

Tractor Owners: Learn about showing your classic tractor at Tractor Fest. Or contact Mary Kuhn at (607) 547-1423.

Crossroads Cafe: Fuel up from a choice of barbeque pulled pork, half-pound burgers, sausage-pepper-onions, apple cider doughnuts, and fresh apple-cider slushies.

Todd’s General Store: Original and reproduction 19th-century products such as ceramics, glassware, band boxes, tinware, brooms, candles, soaps, candies, toys and games.

The Farmers’ Museum Store: Merchandise based on the history and culture of New York State and rural America. Handcrafted items produced by our highly skilled staff and local artisans are featured. A section containing toys, games, books and crafts will please children of all ages!

Admission to Tractor Fest is included with paid museum admission: $12 adults (13+), $10.50 seniors (65+), $6 children (7-12). Children age 6 and younger are free, as well as members of the New York State Historical Association.

Franklin Mountain Hawkwatch is Underway

The Franklin Mt. Hawkwatch on the DOAS Sanctuary began its 26th consecutive season on August 19. Becky Gretton recorded 14 birds, including 8 Broad-winged Hawks and 4 Bald Eagles—a good opening day!

Counting will continue over the next four months, with near full-time coverage for September through November. Our dedicated volunteer counters record thousands of raptors each season. The count for the 2013 season was 4860 birds of 16 different species, 8% below the average since full-time counting began at the site. The middle two weeks of September are particularly productive at the hawkwatch. The great majority of Broad-winged Hawks pass through in this period. This is a species which is often sighted in sizeable flocks or “kettles”.

Franklin Mt. had 1993 broad-wings in 2013, the third highest total in the history of the site, and 40% above the average. This total included 916 Broad-wings on September 19, 2013, a single day record for Franklin Mt. Other species that show in good numbers in September include Osprey, kestrels, and the first wave of Bald Eagles.

Visitors, spotters and counters are always welcome at the hawkwatch. For more information, contact:

Andy Mason, (607) 652-2162, AndyMason@earthling.net, or Tom Salo, (607) 965-8232, salothomas@gmail.com.

Forecasts of anticipated good flights at the hawkwatch are sent out by email a day or two in advance. To receive these alerts, visit www.pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/hawkcast/ to sign up. Daily tallies from Franklin Mt. are also available by email—contact Andy Mason as above.

More information and directions to the hawkwatch at the DOAS Sanctuary can be found at http://www.franklinmt.org.

Join us at Fieldstone Farm Resort this fall and make us your base of operations for your fall foliage getaway!  There are some great fall festivals scheduled for our area in September.  Call today for reservations!

The 36th Annual Harvest Festival at The Farmers’ Museum on September 13 and 14.   This Festival is a regional favorite. Enjoy great food, music, animals, and activities your family will love. The event will feature live performances and family activities such as crafts, demonstrations, story time, and contests.

• Marvel at demonstrations of dog obedience and agility.
• Meet therapy dogs.
• Watch a parade of champion animals from the museum’s annual Junior Livestock Show.
• See cuddly alpacas and watch their agility in an obstacle course. An entire tent is home to these domesticated animals raised for their fiber.
• Take a horse-drawn wagon ride

Many artisans demonstrate their skills.

• Spinning and fiber art demonstrations.

Harvest time means farm and food:

• Help with harvesting potatoes and hand-scything hay.
• Apple cider pressing demonstrations.
• Savor an abundance of delicious foods from the season’s harvest.
• Relish the taste of pulled pork, chili, hot dogs, and salads.

Children will especially enjoy:

• Rides on the Empire State Carousel
• Agricultural activities such as corn shelling and grinding, and grain flailing and winnowing
• Historic games and races
• Rope making
• Apple bobbing
• Craft activities for the entire family
• Nineteenth-century games in the one-room schoolhouse

Admission to Harvest Festival is included with paid museum admission: $12 adults (13+), $10.50 seniors (65+), $6 children (7-12). Children age 6 and younger are free, as well as members of the New York State Historical Association.

Don’t miss the sixth annual Harvest Festival in Sharon Springs on September 20 and 21.  This event celebrates the harvest of local farmers, the arrival of Autumn and is a time to bring the community together. It’s an exciting time in our area, so come and be a part of Sharon Springs.

Although the season is beginning to wind down for the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival, there are still some great performances coming up!  Founded in 1999 with three events, the Cooperstown Music Festival has grown to offer the region a myriad (over 100) of performances from classical to contemporary, jazz, bluegrass, cabaret and concerts geared specifically for children.  Under the direction of Artistic Director and flutist, Linda Chesis, the Festival’s 16th season is sure to be another success.

Two performances remain (information below from press release)

On Sunday, August 17, Trio da Paz brings its virtuosic jazz and driving Brazilian rhythms back to the Festival, having performed there in 2007.  The Trio was formed in 1990 by Romero Lubambo, guitar; Nilson Matta, bass; and Duduka da Fonseca, drums.  All three are seasoned masters of both jazz and Brazilian music with impressive resumes. Following their performance in Cooperstown, the Trio will have a two-week summer residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. This will be the seventh year the Trio has performed at Dizzy’s to consistently sold-out crowds.

The Festival finale is “Let’s Dance” on Sunday, August 24 featuring the Momenta Quartet, Linda Chesis, flute; Moran Katz, clarinet; and Olga Vinokur, piano. The program is a tour of dance-infused music, spanning the continents and the centuries, with works by Schubert, Strauss II, Bartok and a 2014 arrangement by Elizabeth Brown.

Tickets are available online (with no service charges) through the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival website , through Brown Paper Tickets and at the door depending upon availability.