The almanac uses observations written by naturalists, river lovers of all ages, and scientists to assemble a journal of the river's unique moments.

The almanac is printed by Purple Mountain Press, Ltd., (800-325-2665) and is lavishly illustrated by Marlena Marallo. It is available for $10, plus New York State sales tax, and $3.50 for shipping. E-mail address is: Purple@mail.catskill.net

These excerpts are taken, with permission from the publisher, from the Hudson River Almanac, Volume II. Each month, we'll be adding another excerpt from the book that corresponds to the current month.

October, 1995
10/1 - Croton Point - The Croton Point Fall Festival was like a scene in the style of Monet. The autumn air was perfect, the sky blue, people by the thousands spread throughout the park, just enjoying the day. Everywhere people were picnicking, playing horseshoes, sitting along the sea wall, just chatting. Several dozen fishermen were also along the sea wall, catching white perch, bluefish, and the warmth of the sun. There was an air of ease and mellowness I almost never see, a spaciousness of spirit to match the boundless sky and wide river views. -- Christopher Letts

10/6 - Croton Point - The strong south wind this morning had monarchs stacked up at the southern tip at Sarah's Point; we saw eight in just a few minutes, an impressive number in this season of low population. Three foot waves rolled over the reef and crashed against the base of the bluff two hours before the tide was high. Perhaps the wind caused two bluebirds to choose the north side of the peninsula for their foraging. -- Christopher Letts, Nancy Letts

10/10 - Bear Mountain Bridge - George Vradenburgh watched a peregrine falcon knock a pigeon out of the air, down into the river, apparently just for fun. The falcon wheeled and headed to the east shore.

10/10 Yonkers - We caught several silver perch today in our otter trawl during our Pumpkin Sail aboard the sloop Clearwater. -- Steve Stanne

10/13 - Nyack Beach Park - We seined the beach in the shadow of the Palisades under a blue sky with air temperatures in the high 70s. Middle school children from Pearl River and elementary school children from Upper Nyack were amazed at the life we drew from the river with two hauls of our net. -- Christopher Letts

10/16 - Dobbs Ferry - One haul of our seine produced 75 one-inch blue crabs, more than I had ever seen before in one place at one time. I was impressed and the students from Dows Lane School were too. We also found three young-of-the-year winter flounder (50 - 100 mm each) in the seine. -- Christopher Letts

10/17 - Croton Point - Three days of strong northwest winds have had the accumulating effect of producing a blow-out tide. Each successive flood tide has resulted in less than average rise, culminating in this ebb, which has laid bare many acres of sandy bottom and protruding glacial erratics not seen in recent memory. Hundreds of gulls dotted the exposed mud flats of Croton Bay. They were taking advantage of the unusual tide by searching for shrimp, crabs and fish that had been isolated in tide pools by the receding river. All through the exposed bay were tiny wedge rangia clams, many the size of a nickel. These are normally covered, even at low tide, but today they found themselves vulnerable to gulls and waterfowl. Overhead an osprey flew at tree-top level down along the edge of the marsh and then out over the bay, surveying an embarrassment of riches, a multitude of opportunities. Water temperature had dropped to 61¼ F; salinity had dropped to 8.0 ppt. -- Tom Lake, Peter Baker

10/17 - Croton Point - I enjoyed the experience of the blow-out tide by walking dry-shod on bottom I had never seen before, admiring the barnacle-laden tires, logs, shoes, and rocks that pile up or settle in along this shore. The students of Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School in Croton-on-Hudson were able to collect their own "barnacle rocks" to take back for decor of their Hudson River aquaria. -- Christopher Letts

10/19 - Croton Point - I was with a third grade class from Mamaroneck and was having some difficulty explaining fall migration. It was then that we saw overhead, turkey vultures, broad-winged hawks, osprey, and a kestrel, all in the space of a few minutes, lining out for the west bank. The lesson became self-explanatory. -- Christopher Letts

10/20 - Garrison - I spotted several flocks of brant flying over Constitution Marsh Sanctuary today. -- Eric Lind

10/22 - North Tarrytown (Sleepy Hollow) - We caught four small winter flounder and one small female blue crab in the seine today. As I was explaining the life history of blue crabs to some school children, one of them exclaimed, "There are two crabs in the bowl!" He was correct. Our little blue crab had moulted, leaving behind a perfect replica: its exoskeleton. -- Christopher Letts, Andra Sramek

10/26 - Foundry Cove - We sighted a turkey vulture roost today at Foundry Cove: 75 birds, two of which were black vultures. -- Eric Lind

10/30 - Croton Point - A real surprise came up in our seine today: a dead green crab (Carcinus maenas). We had never found them in the Hudson previously. Hudson River fauna? No, New York City "bait" brought north by fishermen. One of the elementary school students confessed that he had found it on a nearby picnic table and tossed it in the net. -- Christopher Letts

10/31 - Croton Point - Losing the Blues - October was the month we lost the blues at Croton Point; the blue herons, bluebirds, and blue jays have pretty much migrated through by now. These departures are mirrored beneath the surface of the river as blueback herring, bluefish, and blue crabs follow suit. -- Christopher Letts