Photography by Rich Gigli
String of Pearls

By Shawn Dell Joyce
Many of us have watched our utility bills triple in the past few years, but there are ways you can level off your utility bills and green your home at the same time.

By Shawn Dell Joyce
This painting was made en plein air in Pine Island. The Wallkill River School will be painting there in August. Come paint with us! www.WallkillRiverSchool.com.

By Beth Quinn
Barack Obama proved, finally, that anyone can grow up to be president. Sarah Palin, however, proved him wrong. Happily, lunatics are still not able to win the White House.

By Jeffrey Page
One might seek higher office, the other couldn’t get elected in a one-candidate race.

By Michael Kaufman
An old standby medication is inexpensive, readily available, and effective against a major public health threat. Why doesn’t anyone know about this?

Benedict Park in Montgomery is one of the region’s jewels – and a great place to paint!

By Carrie Jacobson
Chapter 5
“The Travels of Zoe, the Wonder Dog” is a fictional serial that follows Zoe, a mostly blind lhasa apso, as she looks for love and a home in the mid-Hudson Valley. This is a fictional serial. Though it takes place in the Mid-Hudson, and many of the places are identifiable, the story and the characters in it are fully fictional. Any resemblance to real-life people, events or businesses is purely coincidental.

This is a pastel painting of the Hudson River from Benmarl Vineyard. I paint every Sunday with the Wallkill River School throughout Orange County.

By Shawn Dell Joyce
It is an unwritten law of the universe that when the going gets tough, the tough build community. We all have experienced acts of kindness and generosity that have brought us to tears. These sometimes-small acts give us hope that helps us face even the darkest days.