Pear-ish Yarn Pairs Up With Memories of Catskill Game Farm

There’s no sound but impudent crows cawing from the tip of old pines.

Still life with yarn and pears.

Still life with yarn and pears – an unexpected find.

One like this knit-to-fit prototype for a long, lean Boston terrier.

The WIP is knit-to-fit like this prototype designed for a long, lean Boston terrier.

Portable work in progress.

Portable work in progress.


The hot sun bakes the layers of fallen needles into an aroma that calls back days of camping, and a picnic lunch in the parking lot of the Catskill Game Farm in upstate New York with my cousins, aunt and uncle, where the aromatic pines provided welcome shade.
Catskill Game Farm postcards.

Catskill Game Farm postcards.


Knitting is a catalyst to remember the excitement at seeing a sign on what seemed to be an endless drive to get there. Anticipation continued to build as lunch was consumed, all was tidied up, put away in the car which was a Buick Skylark and smelled new. The wait over when finally a short walk brought the bright red circus-like entrance hut in sight.

The game farm closed in 2006, but has since been purchased by a couple considering re-opening the park as The Old Game Farm (the name for the interim) to attract nostalgic visitors and a new generation of families. It won’t be the same, of course, since the exotic animals and collections were sold off, but there are features that remain. On the farm’s Facebook page, anyone who visited can share their photographs and memories – if you can find them – and also support ongoing efforts to re-open the wonder that once was there.

Editor