What I Wake Up To

I'm pleased to see some readers of this blog pushing back against the chronic nay sayers in the post below, "Three Year Supply, What Does It Mean?". A number of folks have stepped up to the plate to trumpet that they bought places here for reasons other than money, that they like being here and have no regrets.

This is the view I wake to every morning off of my back deck. This is my coffee view. Sometimes there's a flock of wild turkeys or literally a herd of deer in the field below my house. I don't hear any traffic, and can drive twenty or thirty miles before I hit the first traffic light. My dog and I go swimming in my neighbor's pond. I have homegrown tomatoes and make mojitos with mint from a patch just off my front porch.

No, life here isn't perfect. I don't think life is really anywhere, except maybe St. Barts, if you have the bucks for it. (And even they have traffic jams and hoardes of tourists.) But it is pretty damn good here.

Comments

[Mary Ellen]

Ah, David, David, David, you're making me crazy with that last post. Now I have to leave my family for yet another long weekend, fly to LaGuardia, rent a car, and get UP THERE to the farm.

Your view is spectacular, and one of the best things about Sullivan is, those views are everywhere. I am receiving near-rhapsodic emails from the families who rent my place and see frogs and raccoons and herons and bears.

You are absolutely right about the beauty of those hills. High or low, up or down, you still get to see that little slice of heaven every morning.

[Howard Artig]

Hi David:
I've monitored your blog for a number of years. I'm a special education teacher in California with a few more years to retirement.
However, I was raised in the Bronx and spent a number of my childhood years in the Catskills in both sleepaway camps and
bungalow colonies. Your blog gives me a connection to the Catskills. I'm writing this time, because I've always thought that when
I retire it would be nice to sit out on my deck, with a cup of coffee and a beautiful view somewhere..... I'll probably never make it
back there to live, but a nice thought to hold in my head nonetheless. Thanks for the blog.

Howard

[Eric Kramer]

David, I've really enjoyed reading your blog ince I stumbled upon it a few months ago.

Any chance you could do a post about the rental market, specifically for those of us with nice lake homes for summer rental?

Cheers,

Eric

[Dina]

Yes David, thanks for the reminder. As a former resident of Delaware County, I too, woke up to similar views in the mid-70s and have never forgotten and hope to return.

Dina

[bucky fuller V]

Dave,
Beautiful view.

Take a real good look around and remember it.

Please see below at:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090901/NEWS/909010317/-1/NEWS

[TITLE]Gas industry prepares to drill in Sullivan [/TITLE]

[SNIPPET]
One reason for the renewed push is Gov. David Paterson's recent inclusion of gas drilling of the Marcellus shale — potentially the country's largest natural-gas reserve — in his draft energy plan. The economic downturn, which meant record-low natural-gas prices and a tight credit market, now makes the need for gas money greater than ever.

"Natural-gas extraction would create jobs, create wealth for upstate land owners and increase state revenue from taxes and landowner leases and royalties," said Paterson's plan, which calls for exploration of natural gas on some state lands.

Gas companies welcome the endorsement, to the dismay of many who fear pollution of Sullivan's waterways, fields and forests.

"We appreciate "» the state's energy plan," said Matt Sheppard, senior director of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy, the largest leaseholder of Marcellus shale. Chesapeake has applied to withdraw millions of gallons of Delaware River water for the controversial horizontal drilling process called "fracking."

[/SNIPPET]

[b.v.schnitz IV]

This state will find a way to f*** it up for those that enjoy the natural resources every time.

Thank you Guv.

Bleinheim Von Schnitz IV

[J]

There are not going to be gas wells on every corner, wind farms on every mountain, nor power lines to be seen from every hilltop. Stop the negaative hype already.

[Nest Dweller]

Bucky:

Some of us see the glass as half full.

Others see the glass as a toxic waste-filled vessel of death.

Those of us representing the former are really, really tired of you folks from the latter. In other words: Lighten up, Francis.

[Mary Ellen]

I know I've said it before, (this is a little off topic) but maybe this will help ease some minds. I live on the Barnett shale in Texas, where Chesapeake and others have been drilling for years. I have never seen a well, a rig, or anything but some rather small steel 'christmas trees.' I am not an expert, and I don't know what is happening underground. But gas drilling doesn't necessarily mean trashing the landscape. Who in their right mind would put up with that? On the other hand, maybe the fact that it is so invisible is even more cause for alarm. The fact that there are so many watchdog groups in the Sullivan area makes me hope that it will be done with minimum damage, and leave the Catskills unscathed, or at least minimally so. (Also, keep in mind that NY is wild about regulations regarding everything under the sun, so gas drilling just can't happen without close scrutiny.)

[Falconic]

Why is someone who lives on the Barnett shale in Texas reading a Catskills real estate blog? Hmmmm...

[David Knudsen]

'cause Mary Ellen and her family own a house up here. Have owned it for years.