NCPR News Staff: Martha Foley
News and Public Affairs Director

Our Heard Up North today comes from the garden at the Corscaden Art Barn, a gallery in Keene Valley that’s supported area artists for more than 35 years. Placed with great care around the garden are groups of stones balanced into precarious figure-like towers. “A Stone Balance” is in place through Labor Day.
Today’s Heard Up North was collected by Martha Foley.

It was Barack Obama by acclamation last night in Denver. Hillary Clinton interrupted the roll call, after delegates in dozens of states had cast votes for both Obama and herself. She spoke from within the New York delegation. It was one last speech to make to the convention she had hoped would nominate her.

Martha Foley and horticulturist Amy Ivy talk about some ways to preserve vegetables from the garden – canning or freezing?

Students are filtering back to the North Country’s campuses. At St. Lawrence University, one small group is heading out, away from campus on a backpacking trip into the Adirondack High Peaks.
The dozen students and two leaders of the Adirondack Semester will split into groups to meet trip size limits in the wilderness area. They’ll end up at the college’s remote yurt village at the Massawepie Boy Scout camp. They’ll spend the semester there, off the grid…and off the world wide web.
Each carries a big pack — half to three-quarters of his or her body weight — for the seven day trip in. Martha Foley caught assistant director Marianne Dawson giving a lesson on the ABC’s of loading up.

Martha Foley talks with Albany reporter Karen DeWitt about some of the details in the budget cutting agreement reached late last night.

The race for President continues to tighten in New York. A new Siena College poll shows Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain 47-39%, down from 50-37% in July and 51-33% in June. But state Democratic Party chair June O’Neill says it’s early days yet. She agrees with what pollster Steven Greenberg said as he released the numbers yesterday: “Certainly the dynamic in the race will change with the two conventions.” Not to mention the selections of vice presidential running mates. The Democratic National Convention is next week. New York’s junior senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton, will have her name placed in nomination at the convention. She’ll get a roll call vote. She’ll also have a major speaking role at the convention, as will her husband, former President Bill Clinton. That after a bitter, and bitterly disappointing, primary campaign against Barack Obama. New York will send 281 voting delegates to the convention. Alternates bring that number up to 320; with families and friends, the total New York contingent is in the 650 range. That’s the count from June O’Neill. As state chair, her role is part party whip, part travel agent. Martha Foley spoke with her during a lull, in her backyard in Morley, a rural hamlet on the edge of Canton. More...

Martha Foley talks with horticulturist Amy Ivy about low maintenance in the flower garden this summer.

Rain is hammering the northeastern corner of New York State. National Weather Service records show July was the wettest on record. Martha Foley reports.

Martha Foley and Amy Ivy look at the fallout from all this rain in their weekly gardening chat.

Lots of rain can mean crazy days in the garden, maybe too crazy. Amy Ivy helps Martha Foley sort through the flower bed. What to cut, what to trim, what to let go.