An old derelict house

During a recent excursion to Arden, NY I came across this wonderful, ruined house. I would probably have missed it, but my friend Karen spotted it and drew my attention to it.

You can see that it’s quite large. What you can’t see is that it’s situated right next to a brook. It must have been a nice location once upon a time.

Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about it’s history so we can only guess what it must have been like in its heyday and wonder what happened to cause it to end up in this condition.

I imagine that its only a matter of time before it collapses completely or until someone demolishes it.

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

Old house in Somers, NY

A friend of mine was recently visiting a friend at the Paramount at Somers Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Somers, NY. I decided to go along for the ride. I didn’t know the person she was visiting so I decided to wander around the grounds while she was visiting.

I quickly came across this incredible building.

Unfortunately, I have not so far been able find out anything to do with its history. I’ll keep looking.







Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

West Point Foundry Cove

A plant making batteries close to the former ironworks contaminated the area by dumping toxic waste into nearby Foundry Cove. The cove was declared a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1989, but the resulting cleanup succeeded in making what Scenic Hudson describes as a “remarkable ecological renewal.”


Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

A visit to Merestead – Lunch at Crabtrees Kittle House

Our final stop was for lunch at the famed Crabtrees Kittle House in Chappaqua, home to Bill and Hillary Clinton and other luminaries.

According to the restaurant’s website:

The Kittle House, constructed in 1790 as a barn and working farm for John Kittle and his family, has seen much over its 200 year-old history. Over the course of the next century, it was maintained as a farm and residence for the family’s descendants. In the 1880s, the barn was converted into a grand manor house, which is our main building today.

However, at the turn of the 19th century, the house and farm was sold & various establishments occupied the property for the next fifty years. If walls could talk, they would share tales of debauchery and wild nights from its brief tenure as a roadhouse during the 1920s, hosting many parties that we can only guess did not comply with the laws of Prohibition. They would speak of lesson plans and gossip from its brief tenure as a private girls school in the 1930s, & its conversion back into a tavern and exclusive guest house and retreat for citydwellers intent on escaping the crowds and prying eyes. The Kittle House hosted celebrities, actors, and public figures in the Golden Age of Hollywood — including Henry Fonda, Margaret Sullavan and Talullah Bankhead.

In 1981, the Crabtree family purchased the property and inherited all of its stories — restoring the inn and property to its historic grandeur, and bringing the art of hospitality back into the Inn, reviving its menu to reflect its farming heritage, and developing an extensive wine program that pairs well with the local, natural products provided by nearby farmers and producers. That tradition continues today, and The Kittle House has become synonymous with delicious, elegant and refined farm-to-table cuisine.

I very much enjoyed my meal, Charlie less so.


Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II