Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #OurWawar
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This weekend I got a tad excited at #OurWawar when I saw these. And funnily, it connects to this show!
Long time followers will know I was/am a big fan of #Elementary cos I thought it Was more like the original procedural stories than the unnecessarily complex Cumberbatch one. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Long time followers will know I was/am a big fan of #Elementary cos I thought it Was more like the original procedural stories than the unnecessarily complex Cumberbatch one. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Living in NYC added an extra layer of enjoyment to #Elementary cos they very truly genuinely made it an NYC show, using a lot of actual stuff, news, and other peculiarities of the region, that could not work in England. Very well written well researched episodes.
One of my favorite episodes, very much Arthur Conan Doyle DNA, had a Catskills element in it.
A dude has been killed. They can't figure out why. He doesn't have anything of value. In fact he was about to shut down a bankrupt business which has a lot of cheap forest land.
A dude has been killed. They can't figure out why. He doesn't have anything of value. In fact he was about to shut down a bankrupt business which has a lot of cheap forest land.
"Why was it left alone for 75 years?"
Lawyer back then got it as in kind payment from client who went bankrupt. His family already had lots of actual houses, so didn't build anything here. In fact demolished an old structure, removed old power connections & water pipes.
Lawyer back then got it as in kind payment from client who went bankrupt. His family already had lots of actual houses, so didn't build anything here. In fact demolished an old structure, removed old power connections & water pipes.
These thick vines are the coolest and literally creepiest evidence of this land being left absolutely alone for 75 years, (except by local teens looking for privacy, a local shopkeeper winkingly told us).
Those are wild grape vines! Yeah. Grape. Not kidding. Most are dead.
Those are wild grape vines! Yeah. Grape. Not kidding. Most are dead.
I've hiked all over the northeast and never seen a wildgrape vine network like this, cos most people cut them off when they are much shorter, attaching themselves to a hardwood tree. Be it home owners, park rangers, or forest service folks.
Vines going 75 feet high! 😳
Vines going 75 feet high! 😳
Owning a wooded property that has been left alone for 75 years in this water rich fecund region means that in late spring, #OurWawar gets as diversely and thickly green as a tropical jungle!
It is clear that #OurWawar supports the NZ cricket team, given the ubiquity of ferns here! @cricketpun_duh
Saw this worm levitating, or rather caught in a spider web. It was fascinating to see it get pulled up and up in these spirals. #OurWawar
Back at #OurWawar which has exploded into all shades of green.
Anchor Stump (pic 4) looking elegant as always.
Anchor Stump (pic 4) looking elegant as always.
Relaxing Sunday at #OurWawar with our @k_rupal, listening to half a dozen different bird calls. I can hear a wood thrush but can't see it.
This is true. We were gone just 3 weeks and so much stuff has sprung up! How rapidly do these green things turn sunlight and air and water into living cells! 😳
A solo bear encounter on our land. Just 20 feet away. It was thrilling, memorable, therapeutic. My phone camera was busted those days so there wasn't even a temptation to take a pic or video. Just me and him, politely looking at each other for 5 minutes, until he sauntered off.
I was alone at #OurWawar, radio on loudly, primarily to "keep bears away" lol. Suddenly noticed him from the corner of my eye, 20 feet away behind a tree. Foraging.
I got up and started talking in a loud but calm voice at him, remembering the bear tips. He gave me a few glances.
I got up and started talking in a loud but calm voice at him, remembering the bear tips. He gave me a few glances.
He was clearly aware of my presence. We had no food at the campsite. He didn't enter the hemlock grove. Try to "steal" anything. Just foraged on nuts, acorns, bugs around me. Did a 360 prakdakshina, almost, and walked away.
It was exciting and nerve wracking both.
It was exciting and nerve wracking both.
What shall I make for lunch?
I will abide by the results of this poll.
I will abide by the results of this poll.
For non Bombay folks
Baida Rassa = Egg curry
Kombdi Bhujing = Roasted chicken and potatoes with poha
Both are pillars of Mumbai Street food.
Baida Rassa = Egg curry
Kombdi Bhujing = Roasted chicken and potatoes with poha
Both are pillars of Mumbai Street food.
Oooh I should totally make Chicken Bhujing over wood fire at #OurWawar!
To the Desi in me, it's amazing that in America, just a ribbon is enough to indicate the boundary of your property. And encroachment is not even remotely a concern for a property owner.
Oh totally! It is completely the result of affluence. Was not always so.
In fact when hiking in today's barrier free Northeast US woods, you come across so many rock walls that used to be the boundary between properties.
In fact when hiking in today's barrier free Northeast US woods, you come across so many rock walls that used to be the boundary between properties.
In fact #OurWawar used to be a disputed property 80 years ago and once housed an illegal casino catering to #BorschtBelt tourists.
Saturday afternoon chore+workout at #OurWawar. Chopped up this magnificent American Ash branch sadly felled by a borer. 38 years old. It was about 10 feet long when I started. Now chopped into logs. Firewood + woodworking.
And the branch piece makes an excellent side table.
And the branch piece makes an excellent side table.
Still no chainsaw. Still sticking to the resolution of keeping #OurWawar power tools free. Green and healthy.
A couple of Latino dudes working on the neighboring property with a chainsaw came over after they saw me using the manual saw. Asked if I wanted them to quickly cut them up. I said no no, doing this for exercise.
They exchanged some "strange white collar people" looks lol.
They exchanged some "strange white collar people" looks lol.
Sawing off a fallen tree and obsessed with how great the rings are!
I was wondering about it, and looking at the standing stump, the wider parts are those that face the ecliptic, i.e. the sun. The ones on the other side are thinner.
It's an American Ash, a species in the process of extinction cos of disease.
It's an American Ash, a species in the process of extinction cos of disease.
Today is Saw Sunday for @k_rupal and I at #OurWawar. Our resolution of power-free tools to maintain the land is doing wonders for our physique. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
So far #OurWawar camera traps have caught a lot of wildlife - bear, deer, raccoon, chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, coyotes, mice, and even a random stray cat!
But not a single rabbit or wild turkey which is a bummer. I was hoping to trap some to eat.
instagram.com/p/CjdSCfwOR9g/…
But not a single rabbit or wild turkey which is a bummer. I was hoping to trap some to eat.
instagram.com/p/CjdSCfwOR9g/…
We found a bunch of old animal traps on the land. And I was reading that the tradition in that area before industrialized meat was more trapping than hunting. Deer hunting was okay but it was a logistical nightmare for most people to butcher and store em, unless for a feast.
Today, deer hunting is easy. You shoot one of those stupid things. Throw it in the back of a pickup. Take it to a USDA approved butcher. Who will vacuum seal it. You stick it in the freezer.
Not so easy in 1800s. Sure, you kill it. But what next? It might rot by evening.
Not so easy in 1800s. Sure, you kill it. But what next? It might rot by evening.
Somewhat emotional and rambling and sciency 🧵 coming up. 🥲
This here is the first appearance of Autumn red leaves at #OurWawar. Red maple beat out red oak.
Longtime followers will know my obsession with the beauty of Autumn red and the intriguing open science behind it.
This here is the first appearance of Autumn red leaves at #OurWawar. Red maple beat out red oak.
Longtime followers will know my obsession with the beauty of Autumn red and the intriguing open science behind it.
As I've tweeted pretty much every October, the Autumn red is a fundamentally different thing than Autumn yellows and orange. And it is not yet a settled question about why exactly some trees go through this trouble of turning red just a couple of weeks of the year.
Pretty yellow leaves, like you see in Europe etc, do not require any extra effort from the trees. And makes total evolutionary sense. Deciduous trees shut down chlorophyll production as the sun grows weaker and heavy snow is about to start. That slowly turns em yellow, brown.
We've had our first big tree fall and it needs to be cleared.
With our goal to keep #OurWawar's carbon footprint minimal, I don't want to go straight to an electric chainsaw. Wanna try a good old tree saw, build muscles also.
Any recommendations for non mechanical saws?
With our goal to keep #OurWawar's carbon footprint minimal, I don't want to go straight to an electric chainsaw. Wanna try a good old tree saw, build muscles also.
Any recommendations for non mechanical saws?
Axe I already have. But apparently saws are faster for a fallen tree use case
Trying out these two saws, one by one. Both are decent. It'll be a good workout all day. Clear out this fallen Ash tree from that path.
The Marathi punster in me wants to do this all night so I can say करवते बदलते रहे सारी रात हम 🤭🤭
The Marathi punster in me wants to do this all night so I can say करवते बदलते रहे सारी रात हम 🤭🤭
We reached #OurWawar to see this tree fallen after the recent storms.
Not surprised. That tree was damaged by an earlier storm & this was imminent.
What was surprising was there were no leaves on it! We remembered it having leaves last week.
Puzzle was answered soon.
Cutely!
Not surprised. That tree was damaged by an earlier storm & this was imminent.
What was surprising was there were no leaves on it! We remembered it having leaves last week.
Puzzle was answered soon.
Cutely!
As it happens, the tree fell right in front of a Camera Trap we installed to activate on motion and take 3 pictures followed by a 30 second video every time it's activated.
It has a 32 GB card which I had assured Rupal "is plenty for a week's photos." And it was.
Until now.
It has a 32 GB card which I had assured Rupal "is plenty for a week's photos." And it was.
Until now.
This time when we put the SD card in, it was completely full!
1732 files of which, arithmetic fans will already have figured out, 433 were videos of 30 seconds each.
Which translates to 216 minutes and 30 seconds of footage from just one camera! That's Nolan movie length!
1732 files of which, arithmetic fans will already have figured out, 433 were videos of 30 seconds each.
Which translates to 216 minutes and 30 seconds of footage from just one camera! That's Nolan movie length!
The suggestion of camera traps by @SubkrishnaRao is yielding literally hundreds of gorgeous pictures and videos of #OurWawar. I wish we could also implement @prempanicker's suggestion of drone shots. But it's too wooded with tall trees to maneuver drones here.
I was all set to order drones after @prempanicker until I realized that the entire 4 acres probably don't have a clear air space of even 30 feet at a stretch without one of our tall old trees to run into. The camera traps are working great though. Should make an animation.
Btw we have a new dedicated insta account to post all that content from #OurWawar.
Coming up Tomorrow, a closeup video of a Downey woodpecker busily pecking away at a huge fallen oak, right in front of the camera!
Also many cute deer pics & vids.
instagram.com/p/Ci5GZgWOwSm/
Coming up Tomorrow, a closeup video of a Downey woodpecker busily pecking away at a huge fallen oak, right in front of the camera!
Also many cute deer pics & vids.
instagram.com/p/Ci5GZgWOwSm/
Friend who lives in suburbia near #OurWawar caught this black bear on his security cam.
Looks similar to the one I encountered face to face last week.
August-September is when they have to eat a lot to prep for hibernation, so that's when a lot of sightings happen.
Looks similar to the one I encountered face to face last week.
August-September is when they have to eat a lot to prep for hibernation, so that's when a lot of sightings happen.
Bear sightings in the Catskills are at an all time high this year. And in the local press, read about this long time older resident and the environment department having a big public feud over a bear. I kinda feel for the resident, but I do feel the government is right. Deets...
This older resident has problems with one particular bear who says keeps coming to his backyard and raiding his bird feeders or tries to raid. Despite motion activated lights etc. Resident says, capture and move the bear please.
He does NOT want it killed or anything.
He does NOT want it killed or anything.
Stand by for pictures of lamb chops, steak, and fried eggs that I made on a flat stone from #OurWawar heated by fire from wood from our wawar.
Everything was most divine, y'all! Why don't we all cook on stone slabs? What sears one gets!
Everything was most divine, y'all! Why don't we all cook on stone slabs? What sears one gets!
These stones will forever be known as @SubkrishnaRao Stones cos he found them.
First course of "patthar gosht" was lamb chops. Check out that sear!!!
And bhutta as the side.
First course of "patthar gosht" was lamb chops. Check out that sear!!!
And bhutta as the side.
Then some baby potatoes and a stone fried egg.
Have y'all ever had a stone fried egg? It is heavenly!
Have y'all ever had a stone fried egg? It is heavenly!
Today we had @SubkrishnaRao at #OurWawar who noticed all the perfect striations in the volcanic rocks cut by glaciers. And said, hey, why not Telugu style, we cook on hot flat stones?
Patthar cooking happening.
Duck egg fried on a volcanic rock over wood fire - $26 🤓
Patthar cooking happening.
Duck egg fried on a volcanic rock over wood fire - $26 🤓
That extra touch of covering it to set the yolk slightly. Ah!
This might legit be the most exotic thing I've cooked though it's so simple. Duck eggs fried on volcanic Hudson valley rocks cut and pressed by glaciers, on hardwood foraged from here.
This might legit be the most exotic thing I've cooked though it's so simple. Duck eggs fried on volcanic Hudson valley rocks cut and pressed by glaciers, on hardwood foraged from here.
Last night I was re-reading my favorite bits of @Saeek's Pangat and was reading about how wood fire cooked bhareet is a whole other level. We've made bhareet many times before, but extra touch was stone roasted onion & tomatoes.
"Dad and Pizza: An Epiphany"
Growing up, I thought of Dad as an unadventurous eater & very much a gharcha jevan (home food) junkie. Mom, though a no-eggs vegetarian, has always been very adventurous in terms of restaurants & cuisines. I thought I got my foodie gene from her. /1
Growing up, I thought of Dad as an unadventurous eater & very much a gharcha jevan (home food) junkie. Mom, though a no-eggs vegetarian, has always been very adventurous in terms of restaurants & cuisines. I thought I got my foodie gene from her. /1
Dad took us to restaurants. But he rarely enjoyed the food. He loved a good vadapav, misal, all Marathi and Indori street food.
But other stuff, he found meh. We'd go home & he'd eat leftover poli bhaaji and THEN look satiated.
He was okay being called a non foodie.
But other stuff, he found meh. We'd go home & he'd eat leftover poli bhaaji and THEN look satiated.
He was okay being called a non foodie.
He eats eggs regularly. Makes the best Indian style omelets in the world. He eats some fish and poultry and mutton, but doesn't really relish it the way I do. Basically Dad was never one to suggest a "non-veg" restaurant. He preferred simple Thalis.
Very comfort zone guy.
Very comfort zone guy.
Find yourself someone who looks at you the way I look at campfire roasted brook trout. 😋😍😂
It's not #OurWawar without grilling at least some local fisherman caught catch. Good to taste, good for the body, and good for the conscience cos it didn't come from ocean scraping.
It's not #OurWawar without grilling at least some local fisherman caught catch. Good to taste, good for the body, and good for the conscience cos it didn't come from ocean scraping.
Also local free range chicken. Best chicken you'll ever taste. Come off next weekend, @SubkrishnaRao.
I've cooked whole chicken legs on campfire as well and they taste as good as any tandoori you'll ever eat. But bite sized chunks of dark meat is THE best tasting version.
Simple science. Maximizes surface area for the Maillard Reaction magic v a whole piece.
@krishashok
Simple science. Maximizes surface area for the Maillard Reaction magic v a whole piece.
@krishashok
Another relaxing Saturday at #OurWawar. Chess for dad, reading for mom, and our @k_rupal is burning the invasive Japanese barberries she's uprooted with a singular focus. #Catskills
For the past couple of months, @k_rupal has been the scourge of Japanese barberries which are an invasive species in the Catskills with an annoyingly resilient root system. Here she is, burning the roots and branches with great delight. #OurWawar
Mom took this video of me cooking chunks of chicken thigh and cod on the fire at #OurWawar.
Most of it is Marathi cos talking to mommy. I'm basically saying how all you do is toss the chunks in some spice, skewer them, and cook them for a few minutes.
Deliciousness manifests!
Most of it is Marathi cos talking to mommy. I'm basically saying how all you do is toss the chunks in some spice, skewer them, and cook them for a few minutes.
Deliciousness manifests!
With parents here, we made our first bhelpuri at #OurWawar. No chutneys. Just lots of onion, tomato, chilies, raw mango, and lemon.
And it was extra satisfying making it and eating it off a newspaper like in Indian parks. 😋🤤
And it was extra satisfying making it and eating it off a newspaper like in Indian parks. 😋🤤
The mothership approves
Burnt off the bhelpuri calories with this landscaping workout. A big fallen tree (I think cedar) was a tripping hazard on a trail we made. Took the axe to it. Took an hour and about 200 strokes but finally got it done. 💪
Super hard wood too! Perfect for woodworking. #OurWawar
Super hard wood too! Perfect for woodworking. #OurWawar
Hehe @skinnylatte, the east coast Cookie is a chocolate lab with a discerning palate for ripe strawberries. 😂😂😂
Evolution is so fascinating, no? This is an 18 month old labrador retriever raised entirely in suburbia, fed only kibble and *some* human food. Nothing in her short life has taught her to tell ripe strawberries as edible and unripe ones as inedible.
She's born with it!
She's born with it!
I know there's some recent research showing that dog breeds don't really define personalities, human owners do.
So these anecdotes are just...anecdotal. But here's the stories of 2 different dogs who've spent a day at #OurWawar, a thickly wooded Catskills forest plot.
So these anecdotes are just...anecdotal. But here's the stories of 2 different dogs who've spent a day at #OurWawar, a thickly wooded Catskills forest plot.
It's weekend so it's #OurWawar time, for the first time, with parents who've been aching to see the first property a child of theirs bought hehe. They kept comparing the Catskills ecology, water, and general everfresh feel to the Kashmir Valley (which they visited in 2018).
When I filled up a bottle with the stream water and they drank it, both instantly said, tastes like the stream water in Kashmir.
We got the fire going and Mom's first order was, of course, bhutta! What better way for Indian Americans on American Indian land to start camp?
We got the fire going and Mom's first order was, of course, bhutta! What better way for Indian Americans on American Indian land to start camp?
The bhutta is thought of as a quintessentially Indian snack. Fire roasted corn with salt, red chilli powder.
But it's originally an American Indian snack cos both corn and chilies originated in the American first nations.
But it's originally an American Indian snack cos both corn and chilies originated in the American first nations.
Recently learned about Maotai, one of China's premium liquors, made with sorghum. That's jowar!
Yo Marathi distillers, why don't you try making it? Jowar is our traditional staple after all. Imagine a hurda party that has jowar liquor too. 😁🤗🤤 @Brewkenstein
Yo Marathi distillers, why don't you try making it? Jowar is our traditional staple after all. Imagine a hurda party that has jowar liquor too. 😁🤗🤤 @Brewkenstein
Oooh, next time friends visit #OurWawar, I'm gonna do a hurda spread. We already roast corn, eggplant, chillies on the fire. Just need to source fresh sorghum. I've seen it in some farmers markets and a couple of trader Joe's.
(2nd pic from Sinhagad Farms website)
(2nd pic from Sinhagad Farms website)
This eggplant bhareet was so divine! I can still taste it!
Just throw the eggplant on the fire, rotating every couple of minutes with tongs, until a skewer can pass through easily. Then just mash with onion, tomato, chillies, salt, pepper.
Quick, easy, tasty, healthy.
Just throw the eggplant on the fire, rotating every couple of minutes with tongs, until a skewer can pass through easily. Then just mash with onion, tomato, chillies, salt, pepper.
Quick, easy, tasty, healthy.
