On a wintry day we drive the back roads to Thompson’s Cider Mill for Geoff Thompson’s last day of the season. We buy gallons of cider to keep on the porch. Arkansas Blacks available, the first I’ve brought home this year, hard as rocks and dark as soot. On the way we pass through Croton Gorge, some surprising old light industry on the left.

I didn’t know the general had his headquarters in Croton.

A handsome hawk swoops up from the gutter of the road, carrying its prey.

A shimmer of ice across the lake at Teatown Nature Preserve.

Those apple muffins from the Cider Mill sure taste good on a cold morning.