A BRIGHT MAY SATURDAY IN THE HUDSON VALLEY

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON. 

A bright sunny morning called for some time spent at The Duck Pond where reports of turtles, muskrats, mallards--and the occasional Blue Heron--have been burning up the comments section here at the blog all week.

Let it suffice to say your editor was not disappointed.  Click on the photos and links.

While we were all a bit saddened when yet another old willow tree at the pond fell recently---read more about that here--the half submerged remains have now become a popular landing pad for sunning turtles, frogs and mallards. Your editor was able to catch this stand-off yesterday---and this might have gone on even longer before your editor moved on.

And so very fortunate to catch some photos of a Meadowlark. (Thanks Feed the Birds for the i.d. assistance.) 

Meadowlarks aren't exactly a common occurrence so he/she has generated some excitement in local birding circles.  

Read more about the Eastern Meadowlark here.   (Alas, the three muskrats were too far out for a photo and disappeared under a stand of cattails.)

Fortified with a chocolate malted from the Croton Diner,  (it's the Breakfast of Champions!), we headed off to Hilltop Nursery and Garden Center.

At Hilltop, it was the last real shopping opportunity before Mother's Day---and the first real sunny day in some time.  The place was packed...especially the Gift Shop, fully stocked for the season with garden accessories, candles, jewelry and more.

We were there for the Blue Salvia and some odds and ends--but always come home with more than we set out for!  Beautiful--and clearly marked--NON-GMO vegetable plants for those who prefer that... unusual varieties of peppers and tomatoes too.

Perhaps it is the spell cast by the giant Hilltop Bear.  We just love this guy---who also graces the property at Christmas in the biggest red holiday hat you have ever seen.

Check that out here. 

For more about Hilltop, visit  http://www.hilltopnurseryny.com/

Before heading home to complete some of those necessary Saturday errands--and some planting as well--we took a leisurely drive around the village.  

As always, Asbury's Bethel Chapel and cemetery is a magical sight--freshly mowed and looking very green--and for a brief moment, you are taken back to the late 1700's.....read more about the history here. See photos from the annual Asbury Historic Sunday, 2014, here. You're bound to recognize some familiar faces.

After a few hours of cleaning, digging and planting, we treated ourselves to the best Indian buffet around for miles---at Raga of course! Read more about it here.

p.s. On our last visit to Apple Farm (click here to see the photos)---we forgot to pick up our favorite Korean Kimchi (it's called Goshen Kimchi and it is soooooooooo Queens Little Korean authentic).  

Well....new signs are up--Apple Farm is having their official grand opening on May 18th.  Look for in-house specials.

All and all, sometimes even the simplest things are special in the Hudson Valley....

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