I’ve been thinking about picnics. Not the aspirational Pinterest kind. The real kind, where you have to lug everything in a wagon uphill, where the blanket always wants to slide down the hill, and where the cake isn’t baked all the way through because you didn’t read the instructions correctly.

All my picnics have been some mix of this… Until this month, when I received my first-ever Listener Question and learned all about how to have the best picnic of all time.

In the show notes of every episode of The Jiffy podcast, there’s a link that says, “Send us a text.” You can use this to send me anything you’d ever like to say (I read all the messages), and a listener named Murphy sent in this question:

“It's almost the end of summer, and I haven't hosted a single picnic. I need to know how to have the most ultimate Hudson Valley picnic of all time before it's too late.”

Crucially, Murphy finished by saying, “Also, I love your podcast. I really, really love your podcast.”

So, to answer Murphy’s question, I’ve made a podcast episode all about the most ultimate Hudson Valley picnic of all time. And I’m declaring this week to be Picnic Week here at The Jiffy. It’s the first annual Picnic Week, an entire week devoted to wicker baskets, Txakoli wine, and the Hudson Valley’s long romance with eating outside.

To kick it off and give Murphy the answer they deserve, I hope you’ll listen to the podcast below.

_{It might be the most times "picnic basket" was ever said in a single podcast episode,
James}

I was always intimidated by the idea of a picnic. I thought there would be too much to handle, too much to organize and prep around. I’m not so great at logistics. But because Murphy was the first podcast listener to ask me anything, I wanted to be sure to give them all the information they could possibly need.

It turns out, there’s no need to be overwhelmed about picnics; the best part is that you can throw any type of picnic party and make it your own. The point is to just go outside, spend time and make memories with the people you love.

In the painting above, Thomas Cole – a leading member of the group of landscape painters known as the Hudson River School – shows an idyllic Hudson Valley picnic: “It has happy people spread about on a grassy spot by smooth water, surrounded by truly ancient trees and a lovely view of a distant valley. I think a few of the features give it away as Catskill Creek,” Betsy Jacks told me in the podcast episode.

Betsy is executive director emerita of the Thomas Cole Site in Catskill and a painter, and she reads this painting, which features a remembrance to Cole’s late friend as the guitar player at left-center, as being “Thomas Cole telling us to get outside and enjoy summer while we still can.”

We also learn about which wines to bring, how to pack an antique hamper, and which short stories to read, with appearances by Matthew White of the Hillsdale General Store, Rachel Merriam, sommelier of Fulton and Forbes, novelist Tom Grattan, and Colu Henry, who shares with us her perfectly picnickable Snappy and Herby Potato Salad recipe. You can find it in the J’Fay Supreme members-only community, or by subscribing to Colu’s newsletter, Colu Cooks!

Here’s the full episode:

I’m building out my Jiffy Jaunting content calendar for the next few months and want to know what types of guides you’d like to see. Jiffy Jaunts are interactive guides that explore and get to know a place or category of places – so far, I've produced interactive guides for cozy places, magical antique places, and soon, a Guide To The Many Chathams. What other types of guides would you want to see explored here? Are there any towns, villages, or categories you'd like to see?

I’ve put together this short, one-question survey below. If you could write in your thoughts with what you’d like to learn more about, I’d be much obliged!!

If you’re looking for something handy to take with you — as well as help support my documentary storytelling — might I recommend the best companion to an ultimate Hudson Valley Picnic: The Jiffy Type Tote, now available in the Jiffy-Mart! No matter your type, this tote bag will match it. And your purchase directly supports the documentary storytelling I do here at the newsletter/Instagram feed/podcast.