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Gary Kleppel — Knox farm as a laboratory and a refuge
Gary Kleppel is a sheep farmer who likes coyotes.
He is perpetually aware of the ecological balance of which he is a part.
Every morning, Kleppel and his border collie bring their 30 sheep from barn to pasture and then, every night, return them to the barn.
Overnight, coyotes eat all the vermin in the pasture. There are no rats in the Kleppels’ barn.
In ecology, Kleppel explains in this week’s podcast, there is no competition; rather, there is co-opetition. “We cooperate and we compete,” says Kleppel.
Kleppel, who has a Ph.D. in biology and, for 15 years, directed the graduate program of Biodiversity Conservation and Policy at the University at Albany, came to farming by way of oceanography.
When he and his wife, Pam, who is now retired from her job as a business manager for Albany Law School, bought Longfield Farm in Knox, it wasn’t farmed. There were just five plant varieties on their 16 acres; now there are 51 varieties.
He rotates the places where his sheep graze, perpetually creating fresh pastures.
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The tale of two generous men and a bygone era
26:48|Bob Flynn has written a book — titled “Tork’s Hill & Mead’s Pond” — about two Voorheesville men who used their private property to create what he terms “winter wonderlands” where he and his friends could gather. Flynn’s book captures an earlier time when kids played outside — even in cold winters — and when there was a sense of community, a sense of place, and a sense of trust. Read more at altamontenterprise.com.
GleeBoxx creator Shreya Sharath wants forgotten people to feel seen
25:36|Each box includes a note she wrote. Sharath read one to The Enterprise: “Even in difficult times, hope can be a light in darkness. Know that you are deserving of support, compassion, and a better tomorrow. Stay safe, take care of yourself, and never forget that you matter.” Read more at altamontenterprise.com.
Kate Cohen says, to save the country, atheists should make themselves known
43:25|altamontenterprise.com
Daughter and mother coach dragon-boat paddlers
31:33|Anna Judge and Louisa Matthew realize they live in an ageist and sexist society — but, with generous spirits, they are paddling against the current. The mother-daughter duo together coach a crew of dragon boat paddlers. Matthew, the mother, is an art professor at Union College. Judge, her daughter, is a certified personal trainer who led her mother into the sport. “A dragon boat is a 40-foot long, very narrow racing boat,” explains Matthew in this week’s Enterprise podcast. “That became standardized in the 20th Century but it’s based on a thousands-year-old Chinese tradition of racing the big rivers in China.” A dragon boat has 20 paddlers, two to a seat, with a person in the stern who steers and a person in the bow signaling directions, traditionally by drumming. “It’s the national sport of China,” said Judge “so it’s quite big in Asia and has subsequently spread to Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.” It came to the United States through Canada, she said, citing the work of a doctor in British Columbia who changed prevailing medical opinion on exercise for breast-cancer survivors.
Lyon Greenberg: A doctor takes a long view of his farm and his life’s journey
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Angelica Sofia Parker and Elca Hubbard prepare for a pageant while supporting each other
27:03|https://altamontenterprise.com/07242023/angelica-sofia-parker-and-elca-hubbard-prepare-pageant-while-supporting-each-other