Sitting by the window near the desk I usually write from when I am at the cottage, the sun is a golden orb slowing sinking in the west, casting a soft light across the drive. The little fountain in the center of the drive is gurgling and soon a spotlight will come on to illume it during the dark hours.
My friends Annette and David Fox came up yesterday and we lunched at Terrapin in Rhinebeck and then went to T Space for a look at an exhibit of architectural models and paintings by Jose Oubrerie. The space, about fifty acres of land all told, is a combination art gallery, sculpture garden, relaxation and performance space.
Steven Holl, an architect who is very big in China, put it all together. His brother [I believe his name is Jim] is also an artist of note.
At 4:30 there was a reading of a powerful poem called “First House” written on commission for the evening by a poet whose name I missed, for which I am very sorry.
As he was reciting the poem, captivating us because it was wonderful, the frogs in the pond began to croak. When he reached the line “animalize the sounds” the frogs reached a crescendo and the audience erupted with applause and laughter.
David said, and I agreed, it was one of the best poems we had found recently.
Annette told me that the crowd would probably be the “demimonde” of Columbia and Dutchess Counties. There were artists and other architects. Jonathan Gould, who wrote “Can’t Buy Me Love,” a serious tome on The Beatles, was there. There was man named Peter that I spent part of last New Year’s Eve with; he designs photo shoots for major magazines.
It has been a sweet and pleasant weekend. Annette and David spent the night. We had dinner at Ca’Mea with Jeanette Fintz and Jack Solomon, artists of note who are married to each other. Annette and David have a gallery in New York. Jeanette has exhibited there. I believe Jack has also but I am not absolutely sure. I missed a beat.
This morning we went to Ruby’s in Freehold, across the river from me. There is an exhibition of both their works there. Jack’s works were abstracts of tremendous nuance. Jeanette’s work, from her “Thai Period,” is stunning.
We went to their home and adjacent studio; saw new things they are working on, different from what was at Ruby’s. It was incredibly interesting to spend time with people who have made their living from their art. I’m very grateful.
David and Annette went back to New York. I went to the Dot for a bowl of potato leek soup, helping out a little with New York Times Crossword puzzle, which is a Sunday event at the Dot.
Warren Street, the town’s main drag, is changing. Walking up Warren Street I saw new businesses I have missed. Anderson Realty, Patisserie Lenox, as well as others, all new, a changing face of the town, which, in time, will resemble Provincetown more than the Hamptons.
A soft night is descending on me. There was a high of 92 degrees but we were blessed by low humidity. The sun has slipped beneath the horizon. We are now in the soft grey of a summer evening, light enough you don’t need a flashlight but dark enough you are glad you hadn’t waited a moment longer.
It has been a weekend very focused on being here, being alive, being in the Hudson Valley, enjoying a vibrant art scene, a wonderful nightlife. Last night at Ca’Mea I was amazed at how many people I knew. All interesting characters…
Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From New York 12 05 15 Winter Walk in Hudson…
December 6, 2015Hudson, New York. Winter Walk. The Red Dot. James Linkin. Mat Tombers. Mathew Tombers. Nutcracker. Columbia County, New York. Warren Street, Hudson. Old Chatham Kettle Corn. Alana Hauptman. Brooklyn North. Hamptons.
It is the first Saturday in December and that means that tonight was Winter Walk in Hudson, an event I have attended faithfully for fourteen years.
Hudson has one of the most magnificent collections of late 19th Century buildings in the country and each year on the first Saturday in December decks itself out for a winter party.
Carolers line the streets and sing traditional carols while people in costume meander the street. Shops decorate themselves for the day and there are probably 30,000 people who show up for the party.
It is Hudson’s kick-off for the Holiday Season.
For me, it reached its culmination when I returned from wandering the streets to go to The Red Dot to meet my friend James Linkin. You couldn’t move in the place and it was the most festive of the places I had visited.
Alana, proprietress of The Red Dot, goes full tilt every year to transform her establishment to some Christmas theme. This year may well be the most spectacular she has created. It was all about The Nutcracker.
She did an amazing job and it, alone, put me in a festive mood.
It was a local night. The conversations were about decorative windows and great themes and neighborly conversations. It was a celebration of local joy. Tonight was about hometown. Hudson is the county seat and the heart of Columbia County.
While I don’t live in Hudson it is the center of my life in Columbia County. It is for almost everyone who lives in the county. Hudson has a life of its own.
It is the last suburb of New York and the first suburb of Albany. It has attracted a number of people who are economic refugees from New York, people who are connected to the city and who can no longer afford to live there.
It is a haven for those who are artistic, many are the artists who once made SoHo, SoHo.
The creative energy that has found itself here that is amazing.
With humor, people have called this Brooklyn North or SoHo Redux. And it is true, there is a creative energy that flows through the county that is quite amazing.
The weekenders are people who cannot afford nor want to be in the Hamptons; looking for something that is more tangible and real. We are also inhabited with those who could afford the Hamptons but don’t want it.
I have been to fourteen successive Winter Walks and each year find something new to wonder at.
Tonight I wandered through almost all of Warren Street while eating some of the best popcorn in the world: Old Chatham Kettle Corn. In a kind of popcorn ecstasy I walked the streets, not buying but looking for gifts for the folks on my list for which I have not found the perfect item.
Tonight the trials and the tribulations of the world were far way. I was in my own place, my own world and allowed myself to be drenched by it.
It was so good to celebrate my time and my place.
Since parking was impossible I hitched a ride in with young Nick after we had finished our weekend chores. And I called Riverview Taxi to bring me home.
Andy, the driver, came into the Red Dot to find me. He was early and he wanted to be sure he found me and got me into his cab.
It is the kind of personal touch of small town America that is seeping away in the world of Uber but one that I appreciate as I appreciate my place in this special place.
I’ve witnessed the growth of Hudson, seen it change a bit and know it will change more. But it is a special place as is this whole county which is my home now.
I am lucky and am lucky enough to know I am lucky.
Tags:Alana Hauptman, Brooklyn North, Claverack, Hamptons, Hudson, James Linkin, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Nutcracker, Old Chatham Kettle Corn, Warren Street
Posted in Columbia County, Hamptons, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Uncategorized, Winter Walk | 8 Comments »