Posted June 13, 2025
by Peter D. Kramer (Rockland/Westchester Journal News)
The “lohud Summer 100” fill-in-the-blank — “It’s not summer until I …” — got us thinking.
Visual journalists Tania Savayan and Seth Harrison fanned out across the Lower Hudson Valley in search of summer, finding folks in parks and ballgames and events and asking them what is their surest sign of summer.
Their answers demonstrate the breadth of options and opinions, some of them very firmly held. (You’ll want to read about the difference between Nathan’s hot dogs at the supermarket and ones bought at the Nathan’s store, for example.)
So what makes it summer for us?
For Executive Editor Carrie Yale: “It’s not summer until I charge my camera battery, head over to the enchanting Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, and take a leisurely walk around the lake. There’s something profoundly magical about this place that never ceases to amaze me. As I stroll along the ever-changing paths, each step brings another mesmerizing view that leaves me in awe of the natural beauty that surrounds me. It’s a couple of hours of pure tranquility and inspiration that I look forward to every year.”
For senior news editor Gary Stern: “It’s not summer until I go flipping through the stacks of old vinyl records at those Cold Spring antique shops before skimming the liner notes on a bench right on the Hudson. Then a beer and burger at the Cold Spring Depot by the train station. A great summer day.”
For photojournalist Seth Harrison: “It’s the incredible summer sunsets over the Hudson River as seen from my patio that compel me to open up a bottle of wine after I’ve promised myself not to drink during the week.”
For photojournalist Tania Savayan: “One of my favorite things to do during the summer is to see a concert at the Cortlandt Waterfront Park in Verplanck. Having a picnic with family and friends, and listening to music with the Hudson River as a backdrop as the sun begins to set makes for a perfect night.”
For sports reporter Nancy Haggerty: “It’s not summer until I see the flashes of lightning bugs, whose displays are as beautiful as any fireworks show and more magical in their quiet. And until I hear the catbirds say goodbye to each day with a serenade at dusk that incorporates the songs of multiple birds. Theirs is the ultimate summer concert series.”
As for me, I can’t possibly limit my it’s-not-summer-until answer to just one.
It’s not summer until I go out on the Piermont Pier on one of those blistering summer days, when the breeze off the Hudson makes it feel 20 degrees cooler. (The end of the pier is closed, pending repair, but the rest of it remains open.)
Or step just inside the entrance to the Walled Garden at Untermyer Park in Yonkers on that same kind of Hot Hazy Humid day, when the shade of the tree canopy instantly dials down the mercury.
Or find myself under the tent at Hudson Valley Shakespeare in Garrison, ready to be taken on a theatrical ride. (This is the last year under the tent as they are building a permanent open-air theater with a commanding Hudson view.)
Or have my first ear of Jersey corn on the cob — grilled, not boiled.
Or take a bite out of a chin-drenching late-summer peach from the farmers market.
OK, now I really can’t wait for summer.
No matter when it begins.
Reach Peter D. Kramer at pkramer@gannett.com.