Todd Spire

The waters that feed your garden make their way through beds and banks and eventually to me. Years spent bathing in the soul of your sweet peach… the snap of your apple and pear. The rain that soaks us both will touch me twice. Once at dawn and once at night. It took too long to find your waters. I thought I’d traced every source of my river. Walked a mile more of every edge. Cried and fought for the love of the rumble. But I have always had trouble with the concepts of the west. Which is to say… the end. If half a life was swallowed by those days then is this dawn or dusk? On which side of my ego lies the reward? The journey cannot simply end with ascension. The rivers do not dry unless unattended to. This is the duty of the sea and perhaps what draws you towards sand. So that I may stay submerged. Safely adrift. Stance strengthened against a heavier push. Visions reappearing. Knowing your waters are also mine. There is something lyrical in light indistinguishable. Time frozen between hope and rumination. The breaking of the past. The nature of the new. This is the time of pupils wide… catching every cue. My eyes became the color of trees, burnt sage and the inevitable springs we’ve yet to admire. I cannot tell you the path’s beginning or end but know this is love

On the cover of our Spring 2026 Issue: Regal, poised, Samara Ferris reigns comfortably over the collision of worlds that is Basbousa, where Southern cooking meets Lebanese cuisine. Walking into the restaurant in Mountaindale, diners fall under the spell—the interior is as rich and ornate as the flavors Ferris weaves together. “You can almost look around and kind of imagine what the food’s going to taste like,” says Ferris, who has roots in Lebanon and was raised in the American South. “You’re going to have texture. You’re going to have a lot of different flavors, color. There’s greenery and freshness, [and] layers of layers.” Story by @kristinlwolfe Photography by @meghanspirophotography Read the Spring issue online or subscribe to get it delivered to your mailbox. On stands everywhere next week.

The last five months have been completely and utterly surreal. I’ve managed another career shift and with it a renewed sense of energy that has catalyzed dormant parts of both my creativity and my entrepreneurial spirit. Announcements like this one are like adding jet fuel to my fire. Since day one with @ediblehudsonvalley I’ve been helping @sullivancatskills develop a new travel guide in the form of an editorial magazine. I am humbled to be the editor-in-chief of what promises to be one hell of a promotional piece for our region. Beyond my responsibilities overseeing the production of “here” I’ve had the incredible honor of writing a book review for one of my fly fishing mentors, Ed Van Put. May his family and my community of fellow anglers receive these words with the same love and respect we all have for a man who set every bar. All told I contributed four pieces, one of which fulfills yet another dream of mine… the closing page. For years I’ve wanted to close a magazine with my reflections on nature, and who better to team up with, than the incredibly talented, @pbcrosby ! Round it out with a short piece on MLK’s final interview (held in Sullivan County, just days before his passing), and a highlight of The Monster golf course at @resortsworldcatskills , and I’m having a moment of pride I haven’t felt in a long time. All in, “here” contains 14 editorials and a few columns - It all adds up to a collection highlighting Sullivan County and its enormous number of recreational offerings to the world. Deep thanks to all of the contributors for helping to create something truly beautiful that helps strengthen and build our community. Parting gratitude goes to my long time collaborator, Greg Simpson of @ephemeradesignstudio for blending it all together and designing an absolutely gorgeous book! Happy holidays to all, and, we’ll see you out “here!” Link in bio.

Thirteen years in, Phoenicia Diner is busier than ever, expanding to a new location and continuing to gain national attention. @pdcanteen at @blueduckbrewingco in Kingston opened this year; the team hosts pop-ups in NYC, and now sells branded products like Phoenicia Diner’s buttermilk, buckwheat, and vegan pancake mixes all over the country. On the cover of our Holiday issue, Phoenicia Diner’s owner, Michael Cioffi Story by Stacy Adimondo Photographs by George Holz and Kait Ebinger Stacy checks in with Michael Cioffi and his head of operations, Courtney Malsatzki, to discuss the road that led them to becoming one of the most recognized diners in America. How their “been-here-since-day-one” team thrives, and how gut instincts and careful planning helped create an icon that’s built to last. PLUS MORE INSIDE “Form, Function, Fantasy” by Janet Mercel Photographs by Casey Kelbaugh Three ceramicists visit Kingston’s International Museum of Dinnerware Design, then sit down to discuss the world-class collection. Alexis deBoschnek’s new cookbook “Nights & Weekends” by Kiki Reginato A guide to her effortlessly flavorful weeknight and weekend cooking. “Butcher Baker Maker” by Todd Spire A new column spotlighting distinctive food and goods from local makers: See & Be Kitchen, Dave the Butcher, and Wndrmade. Link in bio for these stories and more from the 2025 Holiday issue. Cover photo by George Holz @georgeholzofficial Design by Jennifer James Wright @jjwri

It’s bird feeding season!

All of the trees and the flora of our wood. The flow from mountain to sea. Leaves steal traces of water from the river, before the cells break bank or the stone covered floor. Petals take light from the sky, before reflecting our rural greens to the eyes that eclipse and bear witness the rustling of hands. The million tiny flagpoles. The signs that we too are in the presence of growth even while we grow apart. The river takes what’s left after we’re given the air to breathe. The shade to rest. The angel’s share in reverse. The less than it deserves. For rivers trace a route through an irreconcilable history of our time. An erasure of stone, and our mountain tops that were once at the bottom of the ocean.

“People initially gravitate towards our fruit-forward ciders, but then become curious about our small-batch [varieties],” says Peter Yi’s son Richard, of Twin Star Orchards & Brooklyn Cider House. “These ciders still embrace fruit flavor, but add complexity, tannin, acidity, and a bit of funk. Once they get a taste, the whole world of cider slowly opens up.” On the cover of our Fall issue, Cider Masters (left to right, top to bottom): Kevin Clark of Rose Hill Farm, Denny Brownell of Heartsby True Cider, Richard Yi of Twin Star Orchards, Kimberly Kae and Matt DiFrancesco of Metal House Cider, Chris Jackson of Treasury Cider and New York Cider Association, Hannah Keggins and Fabio Chizzola of Westwind Orchards, and Nika Carlson of Greenpoint Cidery. Story by Dan Pucci Photographs by Tom Moore In 2013, New York passed the Farm Cidery Bill, which created new opportunities for local producers to craft a range of ciders made exclusively with locally sourced varieties of our state fruit, the beloved apple. Already known for its sweet wines, New York’s historical and forgotten orchards have become a flavor palette for farmers and cider makers to work in tandem and revive an industry that was once inseparable from the Hudson Valley’s agricultural identity. Over a decade later, our ciders have gained a new maturity and worldwide acclaim. Join cider advocate, Dan Pucci, as he pairs a broad history of the apple with the achievements of the star cider makers of today. Link in bio for this story and more from the Fall issue.

#outandabout #thehudsonvalley Contributor Todd Spire shares his thoughts on fly fishing in his just published feature on INSIDE+OUT – Hibernation and the Forlorn Angler🎣 "At this point in my lifelong love of fishing, of which 40 percent has been devoted to fly fishing and half of that to the business of fishing, it has become ever tricky for me to ascertain just how and what the general public actually “thinks” about fishing. Or, more specifically, those who fish. Perhaps I am too consumed by my world. A benign echo chamber of sorts, where nearly everyone I speak with regularly is in the same boat, pun intended… We are all hopelessly addicted to fishing." ♥️ "And so I wonder, when people, be they layman or piscatorially inclined, hear the term “angler,” what do they see in their mind’s eye? Images of their fathers and grandfathers? An open flame ’round the campfire with a wisp of trout smoke and the scent of fresh-cut lemons? For a good friend of mine, it is his dad’s black and red checkered Filson Mackinaw wool cruiser, a jacket that epitomizes his vision of father with a rod and reel. Maybe it’s a bucket hat decorated with lure and feather or a tattered green vest still clinging to a veiled scent of cigar and thorny wild rose. For some, it is the notion of absolute stillness." 👉 Click the link in bio to read on.... Words and 📷 by Todd Spire @toddspire

#LoveInTheValley 💘To celebrate our "Love in the Valley" with you, we gathered 💌#LoveLetters authored by our very own #HudsonValley Community members from all walks of life. It's a series of heartfelt poems + letters featuring odes to the people, places + the spirit of our region🫶 Next up is Todd Spire @toddspire , a contributing writer for Inside + Out Upstate NY. Todd has lived in the Catskills for nearly 20 years and is a trustee of the John Burroughs Woodchuck Lodge, a fly fishing guide, and the host of "Words Over Water," a podcast on watershed conservation. 🫣 Let's take a peek below... 💦A Love Letter to Ria💦 "Dear Beloved… Hello my sweet! I hope this letter finds you as well as all my others. I miss you, as always, but today I send you a fond memory from the mountains. Today, I am writing from the belly of our “stark white” winter! The one we jokingly longed for that summer day. Do you remember? We hid from the sun beneath a streamside tree. Our mid-week rambles. No one to see us. Plenty to see. The waters so scarce we could barely glimpse our reflection in the paper thin puddles of July’s dry lips. Those tiny petals of the black locust falling like a gentle snow and you whispered in my ear. Slowly… like a poem… Stark white winter storm I remember the tingle. My hairs standing upright and the sweet smell of the flowers. Their white and husk decorating your hair. Settling on the blanket. Yellows and blue. Stripes piercing the soft curves of petal and of you. An accumulation softly circling in a tiny eddy within the stream’s muted flows. It looked animated. Like Seurat made a film about flowers and the universe. Do you remember the day?" by Todd Spire 👉 Read to the end... linked in the bio @insideoutupstateny Stay tuned for more love-filled letters❣️

#OutAndAbout 🎣 Cast, catch, and release – my father. 🎣 Cast, catch, and release – my heaven. 🎣 Cast, catch, and release – my kingdom. Todd Spire's repeats his mantra + routine in the form of a ceremony at his church, The River, while making an intimate connection to the Earth.🌍 "Every time I approach the river, I kneel. I bathe my neck as a blessing. One conscious breath. I stand, thankful for the gifts I am about to receive." In a world of constant screen time obsession and digital dominance, Todd talks about the "Stillness and Sanctuary of Nature" in this edition of our January 2025, HOME IS YOUR SANCTUARY theme.. Let's take a closer look... "I believe it performs the traditional and fundamental function of a spiritual space: to better prepare us for our time spent interacting with the non-spiritual world. To help us be better to ourselves and those around us as we navigate the pitfalls of surviving modern times."  From an angler's point of view... "I speak of river gazing as a necessary component of the well-rounded angler: to stand within or at the threshold of the church, feeling small, touching the infinite. Get hollow. Herein lies the healing power of Mother Earth." Todd continues... "When was the last time you just stood out in the rain? Nature’s sanctuary is, in fact, best embodied as a counterpart to the everyday. Outdoor recreation is but a stepping stone towards a beneficial worship of nature." 👉Intrigued? Read more of Todd Spire's analogy of Nature being our HOME and our SANCTUARY linked in bio @insideoutupstateny 📷 by Todd Spire @toddspire

“In nature, we honor concept and metaphor. We become entangled with an environment that is inherently not us. The place from which we came has transformed into the antidote for what we’ve become. It is a curious and ironic twist in the evolution of our ego-laden universe.” Read the whole article, Stillness and the Sanctuary of Nature, at @insideoutupstateny - link in bio

The bow and the burrowing. A distant cry. Salvations screamed louder than the countdown at a deaf and deafening ear. I told you twice… To never stare at the sun, But the lie was already too late. A custom badge, gold on blue, built by sandmen. A caretakers soul hung neatly on the back of the chair. The curtains too short to ever touch the floodwaters, but our sympathies lie dormant… Pooled on the kitchen floor. As a sun sets somewhat west of patient, We become the collateral. The tepid response to all we wish would fail. It is not the torment or the fame, But a simple glory to be alive, In the face of eternity. I love you And this And everything we can’t afford to lose. Because my faith grew tall in the year’s dark shade. And I stand taller with less than I have ever had. A new year’s aching Plummet and iris and wine I will never leave