Neverland

Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, in Los Olivos, California has fallen into disrepair since Mr. Jackson’s departure from the United States last year. New pictures recently published on the web show the once pristine grounds now covered with dead grass, wilting flowers and general lifelessness. This has gotten me thinking about the massive undertaking of keeping up an Adirondack property. It is really a full time job. The trees alone keep us busy — constantly falling, dying, needing to be cut and removed. New trees need to be planted to replace the old, fallen ones. And then, there is the history to preserve. An old wood shed that needs a new roof, a dock to be rebuilt. It is a never ending labor of love. The challenge — one of them — is to rebuild and replace in keeping with the original. The roofing material should be cedar shakes, not new 30 year roofing. The posts must be real, bark-on trees, cut in winter to preserve the bark. And to what end, all of this Adirondack preservation? Is it worth the effort and expense or should we just bid farewell to a lost era and enjoy what’s left?

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Pen and Ink Drawings of David R.C. Oster

A few years ago, my parents discovered a local artist named David R.C. Oster. David works in pen and ink and does wonderfully detailed drawings. Many of his subjects are beautiful adirondack camps, including the drawing we commissioned a few years ago. David is now focusing more on nature drawings, which are extraordinary. Detailed and hand colored, they are an expression of his talent, not to mention his patience with his art and his subjects. We became friends with David and his friend Tyler, whose family has a house right across Fourth Lake from Penwood. David works and lives in Utica, New York, and frequently appears at local art and craft shows.

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Sunset on Fourth Lake

Photo by Joel Levy

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Camp Penwood in Winter

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Aerial View of Penwood 2004

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Skip and Trudy on Penwood Porch

Skip and Trudy are close friends of my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Julie. Chuck and Julie invited Skip and Trudy to the camp from time to time, and here they are sitting on the Penwood front porch. This must have been taken in the early 1970’s. I was a few years old – three or four? You can see the original hemlock bark siding on the house, the (possibly) original green trim color and the porch as it was more than 30 years ago. Skip and Trudy look very groovy.

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Mark Water Skiing, Fourth Lake

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Watson

This photo was taken when I was first learing to waterski. I was using Cypress Gardens trainers, as you can see from the way the rope is tied to the skis. I think I used these only once or twice, and they have been sitting in the boathouse ever since. Our good friend and annual Penwood guest for many years, Jeff Watson, took this picture (I think). He is an excellent photographer and gives us a photograph every year, which hang in Penwood and Nina’s Camp.

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Staircase to Main Camp, Penwood

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An Adirondack Screen Porch

An empty screen porch at Penwood is packed up for the winter. During the warm weather and through the fall, a screen porch is an extraordinary place to while away the afternoon. The Adirondack Boys live on their porch from morning to night, watching the kayakers trying to get a glimpse of the house, and watching nature move through its rhythms. We have had black bear visit us here, as well as ducks, loons, and other creatures of the woods.

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The Mail Boat

Penwood’s only remaining original mail bag, used for sending and receiving mail by Mail Boat. The Mail Boat was started at the request of President Harrison, who wanted to receive his mail at his Summer White House on First Lake, twice daily. The Mail Boat delivers mail on the Fulton Chain of lakes to this day, giving tours of the lakes in the “President Harrison” mail boat. The second Penwood mailbag was lost in Fourth Lake and never recovered.

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