A Stunning New Art Style Comes to Cornwall & Blooming Grove, But What Happened at the Mute Swans' Nest?

ejreporter
4 days ago
10 min read

The Mountains beyond the Sunflowers by Dan Angeli

Note: all of the plein artwork below

is by Dan Angeli

Long known as a small "Country Town" at the edge of the Catskills that was once part of Cornwall, Blooming Grove Is making some leaps into the kinds of Art and History projects and venues that Cornwall has long been known for. With the new Guilty Pleasures Cafe already offering a list of coming attractions (and located almost immediately adjacent to where the Schunnemunk Rail Trail that will soon be coming through Washingtonville,) this Town and Village is expecting significant growth of Tourism. And now, we have an exciting group of dedicated members looking to build an Indigenous Culture Center that will include outreach with educational sessions about those who first settled this land and a fresh view about environmental issues, indigenous art techniques in beading and weaving and the offerings of all Native Americans (who by the way are recently taking a large leadership part in issues of today. These local planners are second and third generation decendants of the Indigenous people who made our trails and grew all that was needed for the essence of a healthy community. At the West end of Fulton Square, Amada's Kitchen is expected to have even more of the hungry and happy clientele she already has, when the hungry hikers will have built a big appetite come right by the tempting smells of the kitchen. Amada's has a very grand menu with a grand variety of freshfood and drinks, and our local culture will be offering some special art shows on its beautiful veranda.

If we jump ahead a few hundred years from the first settlements in the area of Schunnemunk Ridge and waterways beneath it, imagine my surprise when I went to check the Mute Swan family with 7 quickly growing cygnets and drove past an artist who was sketching a plein air painting right in the middle of Prospect Road (which happens to be on the border of some of the most beautiful views in our Town.... as well as an adjacent overly packed subdivision with all of the usual associated problems.

Prospect Road, Blooming Grove at the base of Round Hill Mt.,where a significant amunt of deforestation and drainage issues have occurred, but significant pieces of the forest are bravely holding on.

The cherished Historic view of cattle along Johnson Road at the border of Blooming Grove and Chester - simple, and yet that leading cow looks mystically connected to the viewer..

The Moodna Creek along what will be the new Schunnemunk Rail Trail as it passes through the Village of Washingtonville.

This sketch of Spring to Summer in our local Valley is another example of how Dan Angeli finds surprising beauty in the simplicity of nature

One of Dan's more expressionistic and colorful works .... possibly the Black Dirt Valley which passes through Pine Island Chester, and Blooming Grove where he and Nature are showing more of its glitz.

But WAIT! Oh my gosh, talk about serendipity! I stopped to see what the artist was painting, and it was none other than Dan Angeli, my favorite young artist from Cornwall, and he was sketching a patch of trees (some standing, and some having fallen from age and others disturbed during the clearing of the property for the apartment dwellings - see above black and white sketch). It's a sketch of "This" and "That" because we cherish every bit of remaining forest, and it's less than a half mile ahead is the beautiful lake called "Hildegarde" which is where I was actually on my way to check on this year's batch of 7 growing cygnets. This pair of mute swans (Hilde and Garde) has lived at Lake Hildegarde for heaven only knows how long. In August, the Lake is nearly completely covered in algae, though some of the middle of the lake cleared from the bit of rain we had during the past 2 weeks, thankfully keeping it habitable. Drainage from construction on the hilltops has probably not helped clarity of the water. But the Mute Swans are in danger, not only from the heat of this Summer, but the disburbance of predatory animals (foxes, coyotes) that previously remained in the forested hillside and there's concern over the spots of blue-green algae where serious toxins may grow. Now, not only has the general area of the Lake been disturbed, but a "Point" (small peninsula) that juts out into it, where the swans, a blue heron and a collection of a variety of ducks usually spend much of their Summer afternoons was disturbed (we hope inadvertantly) when an adjacent Yeshiva held a memorial there (right at the edge of the waterout at the far tip of the "Point"). The nesting area was sufficiently disturbed that the birds are not coming back... at all! They stay out in the middle of the Lake or at coves at either far end. It is ILLEGAL to disturb a Mute Swan nesting area. However, after contacting the DEC and being referred to different numbers twice, I did my weekly drive-by again to see if I could see the swans anywhere. For 2 weeks I did not see any of the swans at all. But what I did see was at the very end of the Point, one of the Yeshiva members had put an empty chair. Now the swans could hardly climb onto the Point even if they tried. I have NO problem with decendants of the Holocaust, or anyone else putting an empty chair somewhere in memorial of that horrendous evil, or other losses. But after previously requesting that the Point be left undisturbed via their representative on the Town Board (per the LAW), well, it was heartbreaking that the swan family that I (and numerous others) have been enjoying and that I have been reporting about for almost 25 years will probably never be there again. And there is no access area to see them at its Southern end. I was told years ago that in Switzerland the Swans are highly revered, because their health is extremely representative of the health of an area's environment, so if something is wrong with the swans there the people immediately check what might be wrong in the surrounding environment. I am grateful that I did see "Hilde" and "Garde" out in the middle of the Lake (with my camera's Zoom on high) today after chatting with Dan when he finished his plein air sketch, and they, (either 6 or 7 cygnets) appear to still be healthy, and almost fully grown. If they haven't already, soon they will start flapping their wings more and more, to test the wings' strength and build it as they begin to get ready to fly away for the coming Winter.

And so, the Mute Swans at Lake Hildegarde were "evicted" from the "Point" near the Turtle Knoll entrance and waterfall area, where the water generally stays a bit cleaner (less algae) than toward the Southern end, which as you can see is increasingly covered in thick algae. At the Summer nesting point where they usually spend the days hanging out with lots of ducks and occasionally a blue heron, a group of men, about 8 with 10 more were approaching when I drove by several weeks ago. They disturbed the nest so significantly that none of the birds have returned to their favorite spot. DISTURBING A MUTE SWAN NESTING AREA IS ILLEGAL and they could be cited and fined by the DEC. (Swan Photos by Edie Johnson)

Summer 2025 - Last Summer -Hilde was relaxing at the end of the "Point" with her cygnets who were about ready to start wing flapping practice. Note, there are also 2 small ducks hanging out with them. The ducks on the Lake often do a little cygnet-sitting in an unspoken reciprocal agreement to help keep each other safe Below- The inlet adjacent to the Point offered a small practice area for when the cygnets were just a few days old .. well within Mom's reach if there was a problem.

A tiny ball of white fluff practicing its swim skills in Summer 2025, right next to Mom at the very end of the "Point"

And so, this is so ironically like the patch of forest that Dan was sketching that I cannot call it ironic. Algae always comes to this lake in Summer... but this year's is very close to, if not AT its worst and might easily become dangerous to the wildlife, including these 7 beautiful cygnets (Note there were 7 hatched, but in recent pictures they have been so cuddled that from the significant distance I'm not sure whether there are now 6 or 7, an excellent little herd. And they have progressed to becoming almost all bright white. So this is very good news. Blooming Grovers do not give up! The swans are apparently still ok.

Maybe if this story sits on a desk at the Yeshiva some of the readers will understand a new perspective.... an increase in the awareness and responsibility for the impact that we all have on the natural life around us. I completely understand their wish to have a ceremony and place an empty chair to memorialize all of the lives lost during Hitler's assault on humanity. But of all the land the chair could have been placed and they could have had a ceremony..... Why have it at the "Point" that has been a nesting area for at least 20 years, especially after I had requested that their Ward representative speak to them and explain that it is illegal to do so and the DEC could fine them, and that we just want the swans and ducks and heron to be safe? But we have enough discord in our society right now. I hope they simply did not understand, and I will not add to discord by filing a DEC complaint. I will buy a pair of binoculars and try to see the swans when they are not in an inaccessible area. And I could not be more delighted that Dan Angeli has found some of our beautiful scenery in Blooming Grove, and is putting it on canvas. This will help spread the word of how beautiful this Town and Village are. As a journalist and editor I have learned that violence, death and hate are the 3 things that attract the highest readership. But we need stories of success and beauty in order to maintain hope that the world can and will become better. Hope builds a map without which we would drown in hate and fear. Watching Dan Angeli's beautiful artwork, work that has come from his soul and shows truth but always also offers a healthy cup of hope.

Dan Angeli has such a fascinating style. It is eclectic, alternately super realistic and then expressionistic, occasionally with a touch of Monet and Van Gogh with splashes of vibrant color here and there in a childlike simplicity that cuts to the core....sometimes the core of something beautiful, and sometimes to the edge of something that is not. Dan has seen both in Blooming Grove and I will encourage him to come back, set up his plein air easel, and paint some of our other beautiful and historic country scenes, which he may not yet be aware of. My farm is about a mile through the woods from where I saw him painting yesterday. Some day I would absolutely love to have a commissioned painting done by him with my horses in a Summer field and the Schunnemunk Ridge in the background. My 4 neighbors also have farms around the corner from Prospect Road and we are committed to maintaining this 4-mile stretch of Round Hill Road as farmland for decades to come.

Here are two additional samples of Dan's beautiful work .... and with an art

gallery in Washingtonville-Blooming Grove's near future he will definitely be one of the first to have a beautiful display and opportunities for people to buy canvasses and scenic cards. The first is when I first met him after the Ribbon-cutting of the Schunnemunk Meadows Trail just before the Trail passes under the Moodna Trestle. The second is where Dan was sketching the upper curve of that Trail toward Otterkill. Dan is a professional Wedding Event Photographer. His wedding photography custom collections include both memory photos and some less official but equally beautiful photography of the bride and groom and the environment of the wedding after the service.

Dan Angeli may have had the distinct honor of having painted the very first plein air reproduction (of the new Schunnemunk Meadows Trail at the time of the Celebration of its Grand Opening), as it passes beneath the Moodna Trestle. The Orange County Land Trust and Open Space Institute attended the Event and made the new Trail official during a ribbon-cutting, after which a small group of hikers celebrated it foot by foot.

Johnson Road at the border of Blooming Grove and Chester with its newly cut fields and hay bales.

A custom wedding portrait. (You can PM him on Facebook if

you are interested in a professional photographer for a wedding

event or commissioned piece.)

While Blooming Grove has been loved for centuries because of its scenic Schunnemunk Ridge views, old forested roads and country lakes which seem to have endless tributaries, the Town has had its share of clashes with a seemingly endless call for affordable housing and associated businesses. Trying to balance those two goals has always been a challenge, but with a fair share of "Smart Planning" techniques and strict building codes that are enforced not only by the Town's professionals, but also by many residents who keep a close watch on the "Country Town" they want to maintain. Recently that challenge has met a steep incline with Governor Hochul's stripping down of some of the State's SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) criteria. But a small army of artists and craft lovers, along with a growing healthy Tourism population has been able to give significant "Push Back" against areas where density is already creating problems.... like lack of pure local drinking water, and scenery increasingly blocked by dozens of utility wires and giant metal poles "to keep the grid's power up to snuff". In these instances New York's legal framework's inclusion of strong "Home Rule" is advantageous to environmentalists. Overcrowding is not favorable to anyone, and it frequently becomes downright dangerous, especially with regard to fire risks, health concerns and traffic accidents. At tonight's Town Board Meeting, in fact, the Board is expected to extend a moratorium on construction of areas proposed to house giant battery containers for "back-up power", given the poor record of fires caused by these types of huge batteries. Part of the problem is the sometimes insensitivity of where high density is built, but part of it is simple lack of comprehension of when "too much" is "way too much". But increasingly the people of Blooming Grove and other of our local communities are being vocal when "Enough is Enough!" needs to be said.

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