About Red Hook's Upper Red Hook

One reason I love the Hudson Valley is because of the variety of trees. Come fall you can truly enjoy the vibrant colors. It is not all fun and games, once these leaves fall then you have to get busy raking. I personally spend hours raking and throwing the leaves in a compost heap to use on my garden come springtime. I make the best of this chore by examining the leaves; and this morning while raking, I came across these red leaves.

There is much to admire in nature even in fallen leaves, and these red leaves sure makes my point.

Wordless Wednesday Red Leaves

Is there Soccer in Red Hook NY?

Where I grew up soccer was the number one sport although it was referred to as football. It caught on in the US much later than in other parts of the world. So is there Soccer in Red Hook NY? I can answer yes because when I go down Rockefeller Lane I often see children of all ages playing and the parents cheering them on.

When there is soccer around you will always find a soccer club and there is a Red Hook Soccer Club. The club plans the intramural games and makes arrangements for travel and competition.

There is also a soccer team at the Red Hook High School. The team is called the Raiders and they compete against other High School teams.

Soccer is also played at Bard College and their team is called the Raptors.

So as you can see there is much soccer in Red Hook. And if you are interested in the sport you will want to contact the Red Hook Soccer Club .

To get started in soccer you should first learn the 17 basic rules of soccer

Copyright © by Jennifer Fivelsdal, all rights reserved-Is there Soccer in Red Hook NY?

I decided on apples for my Speechless Sunday. Why? Because an apple is a fruit that almost everyone is familiar with, either in the form of baby food, pies, or salads, you name it.

Apples come in many varieties. It is estimated that world wide there are over 7,500 varieties. Here are more apple facts.

Did you know that New York State is the second largest producer of apples? That will come as a surprise to many who might think of New York as the land of Skyscrapers. Actually, the state has a vast amount of farmland.

So, apples happen to be an important part of the farming economy in New York. This year's harvest was expected to be a good one but I have no idea how it was impacted by hurricane Irene.

Want to know how many acres it takes to make New York the second largest apple grower? For that answer and many others such as the type of apples grown in NY check out the New York Apple Facts.

So, what can you do with all the apples? Here are some suggestions from the Food Network

The apple photos below were taken recently when I took a family whom I recently sold a house to blueberry picking at Greig Farm. They had such a good time we decided to take a look at the growing apples, but, we knew we would have to come back to pick apples as the season does not start until September. Picking apples is great family fun and there are many pick your own farms in Dutchess County

Copyright © by Jennifer Fivelsdal, all rights reserved-Speechless Sunday-Apples

On Sunday the double rainbow and wind post-Irene was a real treat after a day couped up in the house with no electricity. Even at such a time nature still displays lovely eye candy. Since I did not have electricity I could enjoy the moment as I was unaware of the misery my neighbors to the west were enduring. Irene might not have lived up to the hype but that's what storms do, they are unpredictable. Who would have thought Vermont would have gotten hit so hard? This was just a reminder to us all that there are things we have no control over. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the double rainbow, nature's eye candy, as much as I did.

It is Wild Raspberry season in Red Hook NY. The first time I saw these berries I would not touch them, I didn't know what they were, so as far as I was concerned they were poisonous. My young son on the other hand was always picking berries and I was terrified he would be poisoned, so I kept the poison control number close by.

One person told me if the birds eat the berries then it was okay for human, seem there was some truth to that statement.

I was happy to finally learn that these berries were wild raspberries and could be eaten.

So what do I do now when it is Wild Raspberry season in Red Hook NY? I walk the perimeter of my property collecting these berries which are really very good.

Here are some of the ways I used these berries:

• I use the berries in pancakes

• I make wild raspberry pie

• Use the berries in smoothies

• Or just eat them as I pick them

So enjoy the Wild Raspberry season in Red Hook NY.