Upstate At Large

Cow Parade

Every year, cows across the Hudson Valley skip, prance, spin, and leap into grassy pastures for the first time of the season. At Hawthorne Valley in Ghent, New York, this event is a rite of spring. To kick off my annual CSA series (A Content Series on Agriculture), I head to the cow laneway, standing out of the way and hoping Dolomite the bull doesn't run me over, to share the experience of watching cows sprint to fresh grass after an especially long winter in the Loafing Shed. And to help us experience this more fully, Stacy Szymaszek reads from their poem, "Epilogue: Cow Parade," from their collection "Essay." You can purchase "Essay" here: https://asterismbooks.com/product/essay-stacy-szymaszek [https://asterismbooks.com/product/essay-stacy-szymaszek] To learn more about the Hawthorne Valley dairy herd, visit: https://farm.hawthornevalley.org/our-dairy-herd/ [https://farm.hawthornevalley.org/our-dairy-herd/]

Monique 250

Independence Day in America, the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. I spent the morning riverside at Umpachene Falls with my friend Monique Tyndall. Moniqe (Lynx Clan [maternal], Citizen of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans; We’zhinshte-Earth Clan [paternal], Umoⁿhoⁿ) is an Interdisciplinary Cultural Worker. These are her thoughts on "America at 250." Come sit by the river with us.

A Break For Local Summer News

While producing an upcoming series on agriculture, I'm sharing this special episode featuring local news and gossip from the Rough Notes newspaper of the 1800s, available through the New York State Newspapers Archive. I'll be back to normal programming soon. These news items are from the following issues: * May 22, 1875 [https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=kh18750522-01.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------] * June 22, 1878 [https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=kh18780622-01.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------] * June 29, 1878 [https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=kh18780629-01.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------] * May 9, 1879 [https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=kh18790509-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------] This episode is sponsored by: Reuter's Life Syrup. Discovered by Old Nurse Bertrand, it purges the bowels. It purifies the blood. It invigorates the liver. It heals the kidneys. It strengthens the stomach. Old Nurse Bertrand used to give it away for free to crowds of people outside her house. And now I'm able to give it to you at a discounted price of 10% off your first order when you use code James Cave at checkout. You can find it at Allen Cady, Veterinary Surgeon, Member of the Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Surgeons, Malden Bridge, Columbia County, New York, while supplies last.

The Old Ball Game (Re-Jiffy)

While I produce the next batch of new episodes for the feed, I want to re-share a previous episode that's become a listener favorite. It's a trip to the ball field for the season-ender, double-header vintage base ball game between the Kingston Guards and the Ulster Nine. If you want to join The Jiffy Book Club and get those Book Club Podcast Episodes, join here: bookclub.thejiffy.xyz [https://bookclub.thejiffy.xyz] ~ ~ Flashback to October, 2025 ~ ~ It’s a brisk October afternoon in Kingston, New York, for the final game of the Vintage Base Ball 2025 season between the Kingston Guards and the Ulster Nine. We're at Herzog Field, beside the Catskill Mountain Railroad Station and the  Hannaford parking lot, to watch two teams play baseball by 1864 rules. From “ballists” and “muffins” to hand-caught fly balls and gentlemanly arbitration, this episode dives into the language, spirit, and spectacle of vintage base ball culture. We hear from: * Dan Torres, co-founder of the Kingston Guards * Jon Palmer, team historian and player * Brady, youngest ballist * Holley Boncek, vintage baseball umpire * Max, musician and Kingston Guard * Brock, and additional members of the Ulster Nine and Kingston Guards We get to know about: * The rebirth of 19th-century baseball in the Hudson Valley * 1864 rule differences: no gloves, fair/foul quirks, gentleman’s umpiring * The community appeal of vintage sports Music played: "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (1908) — Edward Meeker, Edison Records Digitized by the Internet Archive. Public Domain (U.S.). Links & References: * Kingston Guards — kingstonguards.com [https://kingstonguards.com] * Instagram: @kingstonguardsbaseball [https://www.instagram.com/ingstonguardsbaseball/] + @ulsterninebaseball1864 [https://www.instagram.com/ulsterninebaseball1864] * Vintage Base Ball Association: vbba.org [https://vbba.org] * Rules of Base Ball (1864 edition) — Library of Congress archive * Jon Palmer’s photography: @joninthewoods [https://www.instagram.com/joninthewoods] The Kingston Guards are a nonprofit organization. Donations help fund their community outreach, education programs, and historical research. Visit their website to join, volunteer, or contribute. Conan Plays Old Timey Baseball [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS39vMhag-A] Inside Conan: Kevin Dorff Revisits Old Timey Baseball [https://podtail.com/en/podcast/inside-conan-an-important-hollywood-podcast/kevin-dorff-revisits-old-timey-baseball/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2512053/support] "The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week. Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us. Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave [https://www.instagram.com/jamescave] Subscribe to the newsletter here [https://thejiffy.beehiiv.com/].

Betsy Jacks On Legacy And Life After The Hudson River School

This is part three of my three-part series on Frederic Church, on the life and legacies of Church, Thomas Cole, and the Hudson River School. Betsy Jacks spent 21 years as executive director of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York. Under Betsy's leadership, they restored Cole’s 1839 Old Studio, totally reconstructed Cole’s 1846 New Studio; they restored the interiors in the Main House (I have links below to a two videos on the James Cave Instagram Feed where Betsy walks us through what we're calling 'forensic interior design'). She oversaw the publication of over 30 books, mapped a hiking trail to the places that Cole painted, and opened their new all-season visitor center designed by architect Stephen Shadley. Betsy retired in 2024 to finally give herself time to focus on her own art, and you can see the lineage of the Hudson River School in the ideas she presents, sometimes even reinterpreting the very same trees that Thomas Cole painted. Cole was Church's mentor and teacher, and here we get to know him through Betsy's life and work -- and life after Cole. "Glorious Country" is our first Jiffy Book Club selection. Sign up: https://bookclub.thejiffy.xyz [https://bookclub.thejiffy.xyz] To learn more about Betsy's work, visit: https://www.betsyjacks.com [https://www.betsyjacks.com] Related links: "Variations on a Theme," a group show in the Gallery at Spencertown Academy: https://spencertownacademy.org/event/variations-on-a-theme/2026-04-10/ [https://spencertownacademy.org/event/variations-on-a-theme/2026-04-10/] Apollo Pursuing Daphne: National Gallery of Art – https://www.nga.gov/educational-resources/greco-roman-origin-myths/apollo-pursuing-daphne [https://www.nga.gov/educational-resources/greco-roman-origin-myths/apollo-pursuing-daphne] "This Old Vibe" featuring Betsy Jacks (Pt. 1): https://www.instagram.com/p/DAElf4HSsFR/ [https://www.instagram.com/p/DAElf4HSsFR/] "This Old Vibe" featuring Betsy Jacks (Pt. 2): https://www.instagram.com/p/DAT7JF_S59M/ [https://www.instagram.com/p/DAT7JF_S59M/] About the guest: Betsy Jacks is a visual artist and writer who served as Executive Director of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York, from 2003 to 2024 — a tenure of more than two decades leading one of the Hudson Valley's most important cultural institutions. Before that, she was Director of Marketing at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her paintings have been shown in New York City and across the Hudson Valley, and her writing has appeared in both academic and commercial publications. She holds degrees in Studio Art and Art History from Duke University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her family. Subscribe: Get the newsletter at thejiffy.xyz [https://thejiffy.xyz] – photos, behind-the-scenes extras, interviews, and a monthly curated list of arts and sciences events across upstate New York. Until next time, I'll see you over on the James Cave Instagram Feed. [https://www.instagram.com/jamescave]