Publisher’s Note

Summer KICK OFF A s we kick off the start of the summer season it can’t go unnoticed for what a year it’s been. When we rang in 2020 none of us could have imagined how the months ahead would unfold the way they did.

This July 4th will look different but in many ways it will feel like the summers of yesterday when things seemed simpler and when time seemed to stand still.

Small family gatherings, backyard bbq’s, playing with sparklers at dusk and watching fireworks on tv will be what we do. Despite politics and the racial divide among us, this year more than ever, let’s come together to acknowledge our nation's birthday.

It’s in difficult times when we are presented with an opportunity to do better. This time in history has taught all of us to slow down, to stand still in hopes of achieving a better balance in our lives. It presents all of us with the chance to reflect on what truly matters.

To live in the moment and be present. To know that we can all do better.

Locally, there aren't many places that are as beautiful as June Farms, our cover story on page 30. Take a trip this summer all the way to West Sand Lake.

As you drive into the farm you will feel like you are somewhere far away. It is a true destination in our

own backyard.

The Adirondacks, with their beauty & allure is another place to visit this summer while we all try to stay close to home. Explore several points of interest in our article on page 12.

Our 55+ team is excited to share our improved website which includes more content than ever before. We continually strive to make it better and serve up stories that you want to see. Please visit 55pluslivingguide.com/ survey to take a short & easy survey and be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift card for June Farms!

With love & gratitude,

Alison Michael

“Never going back again” — Fleetwood Mac

5

Lighting TIPS For HEALTHY AGING

As we age, our need for enhanced lighting increases. Changes in eyesight include color distortion, an inability to focus as the lenses of the eye harden, and a sensitivity to glare. But it’s easy to address these changes with a little education and updated lighting.

Here are 5 lighting tips for updating your home lighting to help aging eyes.

1INCREASE AMBIENT LIGHT

With increased age, we need 2 to 5 times more ambient light. Ambient light is the overall light level of a room that allows you to move safely from point A to point B. A typical fixture for ambient light is a chandelier or flush mount ceiling light, which disperses light throughout the room. Check overhead lighting to see if the wattage of this fixture can be increased, for instance from 40W to 60W. Replacing old incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs allows you to increase the overall ambient light, while not increasing the electric bill. Remember never to exceed the recommended wattage of the fixture.

2ADD SHADED LIGHTING

Increasing the level of ambient light is a good start, but it must be well-shaded to prevent glare. Consider adding shaded wall lights along a hallway or in darker corners. A quick and easy way to add more light is a table or floor lamp – as long as the cord is tucked away so it won’t cause falls. Select an opaque shade that sheds diffuse light, avoiding glare.

3USE LIGHT CONTROLS

It’s a good idea to install motion sensors that automatically turn on lights when someone enters a room. Look for motion-activated lighting or prominent wall plates with luminescent switches to make them easy to spot. If you’re installing new wall plates, remember to place them low enough to be managed by someone in a wheelchair. Motion sensitive lighting is especially helpful at night, when seniors are navigating from the bedroom to the bathroom and back.

4INSTALL LED LIGHT STRIPS

LED tape lighting is an excellent tool for lighting stair treads, under bathroom counters or under kitchen cabinets. Stairways are one of the areas of the home where older folks are at risk for falling, so tread lighting focuses light and increases safety. Tape lighting in the kitchen provides focused light for cooking or eating, while LED strips in the bathroom – around the mirror, for instance – add extra light for grooming or shaving.

5DON’T FORGET THE OUTDOORS

Remember to increase the light levels outdoors, too. All the same recommendations apply: increase ambient light, use shaded fixtures, increase wattage, add layers of light, and light stair treads. An added benefit of updated outdoor lighting is to discourage strangers from lurking in dark areas.

With these changes, you and your family are ready to age gracefully and safely.

Your best resource for help in selecting the home lighting products is Wolberg Electric Supply, staffed with professional lighting experts. They are trained to help you select the best lighting for any room, and save you time and expense. Call or stop by one of their three lighting showroom locations in Albany, Saratoga Springs or Kingston, New York. Visit www.wolberg.com for contact details and more great lighting tips.

Your home is your happy place, Light It Well.

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The Artem Collection s Shaded Lighting is Good for Aging Eyes

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Your home is at the center of your life, so design your lighting to fit your lifestyle. Good lighting does so much more than make you happy: it adds to your home’s security, improves work spaces, sets the mood, and completes any room’s décor. You might not notice good lighting, but bad lighting is glaringly obvious. Talk to our lighting experts about creating your happy place!

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EXPLORING THE ADIR ONDACKS

View from the summit of Mount Jo

One of the joys of living in the Capital Region is being able to easily access the Adirondacks.

The Adirondack Mountains are home to the largest protected area in the lower 48 of the United States. This area spans over six million acres and features over 100 local communities, mountains, lakes and verdant forests and valleys. The Adirondack Park is one of the most spectacular natural attractions in New York. Most notably it lies within a day’s drive of most of the northeast as well as Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Filled with breathtaking beauty and world class recreation, this area must be seen to be believed. The Adirondacks consist of twelve distinct regional destinations each offering its own brand of adventure: from endless canoeing and kayaking in the Seven Lakes and Tupper Lake region to the extensive hiking trails of the High Peaks Wilderness in the Lake Placid area, one can discover places as diverse in geography as they are in activities and events. One can bicycle between wineries on the Adirondack Coast and dive to sunken shipwrecks in the Adirondack Seaway near the Canadian border.

One of the most popular areas is Lake George with its many family attractions including the huge Six Flags amusement park. Lake George is nicknamed The Queen of American Lakes by its admirers. It is a long narrow lake that drains into much larger Lake Champlain to its north and ultimately into the St. Lawrence River. Historically Lake George was the site of conflicts between Britain and France and after a British win, a fort was built on the southern end of the lake. The French responded by building Fort Ticonderoga north on Lake Champlain.

Lake George's position along the Montreal and New York water route made possession of the forts strategically important during the American Revolution. Lake George's location on the rail line between New York City and Montreal attracted the era’s rich and famous of the late 19th and early

THE ADIR ONDACKS

BY DIANA LOEFFEL, CTC

20th Century. The Sagamore Hotel at Bolton Landing opened at this time and attracted many visitors. This hotel still welcomes guests and serves as a reminder of the Lake's early tourism days. Lake George remains a tourist destination.

Another premier area is Lake Placid. This region gained world attention as the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. The 1980 games will be remembered forever because of the breathtaking victory of the US Hockey team over the favored Russian team.

One can tour many of the Olympic venues and can even take a luge or bobsled ride on the tracks no matter the season. Visitors are struck by the awesome 70- and 90-meter ski jumps towering in the sky alongside the High Peaks. An elevator ride will whisk you to the top of the jump providing a bird’seye view of the region. One is also filled with admiration for the athletes who competed here.

Another must visit site in the

Fort Ticonderoga

park is the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake. This is now known as The Adirondack Experience, featuring exhibitions in 24 galleries and historic buildings with topics ranging from logging to boating and offering

Schroon Lake

Relaxing lake in the Adirondacks

hands on activities.

The New York Times called this museum one of America's finest outdoor museums and a must visit place in the Adirondack Park. There are more than 40,000 square feet of exhibitions , a lake-view cafe and a delightful museum store. Every effort has been made to make the entire site accessible to wheelchairs and walkers and electric scooters are available to rent. In the interest of maintaining public health, and to help contain Covid-19 the museum will reach out virtually in many ways. Each year 11,000 school children are provided with free programming in the classroom and on-site. This year they will be offered new opportunities for remote educational engagement with online lectures and workshops.

Another great place to visit is The Wild Center at Tupper Lake. This offers one of the best family activities in the Park, offering interactive exhibits both inside and out, including watching otters swim. Learn why the Adirondack landscape is unique and trek through the enchanted forest to get a bird’s eye view from the Crow's Nest on the Wild Walk. The Wild Walk takes guests along trails and bridges that lead up to the top of the forest. Another highlight of the walk is the Spider Web. This is a large web that becomes a huge playground for the whole family.

A unique feature of the

Sagamore Camp, Long Lake, NY

commons.wikimedia.org

Adirondack Park are the many structures known as the Great Camps. These are grandiose family compounds consisting of huge main houses and cabins built in a rustic style in the latter half of the 19thC. These Great Camps are synonymous with the Gilded Age and names like Vanderbilt and Rockefeller. They were designed to blend in with the natural surroundings. These sprawling compounds spanned the most coveted lake shoreline, as well as some of the most remote from Raquette Lake to Upper Saranac. These camps could take days and weeks to get to. The glittering elite made the trek in the early summer along with their servants and stayed for the season. The Great Camp building boom spanned the years from the 1880's to the 1920's, yet the style remains popular to this day, spreading far outside the region. They were built with local labor and materials that embody the values of the Naturalist movement. Some of the camps are so remarkable they have been designated National Historic Landmarks. Today many of the Great Camps remain in private hands while others offer professional or self-guided tours throughout the year. Several of the Camps are available for overnight stays. One of these is White Pine which was the summer White House of President Calvin Coolidge. It even features an indoor tennis court and bowling alley.

Great Camp Sagamore, the summer home of Alfred Vanderbilt, offers artisan workshops along with boating and fishing on pristine Sagamore Lake.

I have only been able to highlight a few of the reasons one must put the Adirondacks on any bucket list.. six million acres of “civilized” wilderness is beckoning, filled with quaint towns and lakeside villages, this area is open year round for adventure.

I urge you to take advantage of this magnificent treasure truly in our “backyard!" Begin planning your next travel adventure and discover the amazing recreation opportunities the Adirondacks have to offer.

Health and Wellness The SIX RULES For STRETCHING Properly

Stretching might seem like a straightforward activity. The right way to stretch can appear to be something that is obvious and easy to understand. However, in truth stretching is a little more complicated than you might think. Here are the six essential rules for stretching properly you should know.

BY CARLTON RYAN

1Stretch regularly. No matter your fitness level, your muscles and joints are put under strain and stress every day. If you don't stretch regularly, your muscles will become steadily tighter. Your risk of eventually suffering injury will rise. A good rule of thumb is to stretch every major muscle group two or three times a week.

2Use proper form. Every particular stretch has a proper form. Failing to imitate form means your stretching may do more harm than good, potentially resulting in injury. If you aren't sure how to properly target a particular muscle or perform a given stretch, try looking up a guide online. Consulting with a physical therapist or personal trainer is also a good idea. 3 Move slowly. Forcing your body into a stretch with harsh movements is a sure path to injury. Particularly harmful is the practice of working into a stretch by rocking back and forth, creating a bouncing motion. Bouncing causes muscles to tense up, rather than relax -- the opposite of what stretching should do. Gradual, even, slow movements are the proper method.

4Pay heed to pain.Stretching should feel good. While encountering resistance and a little soreness and discomfort can be a sign you are accomplishing something, outright pain is your body's way of telling you to stop. Be especially wary of sharp, sudden, or intense pain.

5Don't stretch serious injuries.While stretching is good for relieving soreness and tightness, matters are different when the muscle is actually injured. A torn muscle needs rest to recover. Stretching is likely to slow recovery and can even exacerbate the injury. 6 Warm up with dynamic stretching.There are two kinds of stretching: dynamic and static stretching. In static stretching, the body is held in place as the muscle is stretched as close to full range of motion as is comfortable. Dynamic stretching, in contrast, involves movement and places less intense demands on muscles. While worth doing at other times, static stretching before exercise can actually impair performance by stretching a muscle too far.

Stretching is important to health and fitness, particularly as the body ages. Regular stretching serves to boost athletic performance and increase flexibility and range of motion. Stretching is also one of the best ways to relieve pain and soreness, and helps greatly to protect from injuries during exercise. Since improper stretching can, in contrast, actually increase risk of injury, getting stretching right is something you need to do.

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PRESERVING a VACATION HOME or CAMP for Future Generations

BY DAVID A. KUBIKIAN, Esq.

When people own something of sentimental value, they are sometimes unsure of how to pass it down to their family for future generations to enjoy. This is especially the case with a vacation home or camp that has been in the family for years.

Example: You own a beach or lake-front vacation home for years in a now sought-after area. You have seen your children (and grandchildren) grow up there and recall memories of watching sunsets over the water, roasting marshmallows over a campfire, and teaching the kids how to swim. It may be difficult to think that this home will be sold out of the family when you die and would like to preserve it for enjoyment of generations to come. • How can you best insure this property will be there for future generations to enjoy (and at times cohabitate), as your family tree grows or in future after your passing? • Who will be responsible for paying the Insurance? Taxes? Repairs? Maintenance? Fees? • Who decides which family members or friends use it and when? • What impact would future divorces or bankruptcies have on the property?

• How can you protect the property from a Medicaid spend down?

While all of your children probably would like to inherit the property and enjoyed the vacation home growing up, some may no longer live in the area or use it on a regular basis. Other relatives may also like to use the property when it is not in use. If you leave the vacation property as part of your estate and divide it among the children, the risk is that some or the majority of siblings may want to sell it. Some of your children may not want to pay to maintain an asset they rarely use. Those that do want to keep it may not be able to afford to buy the others out. I t can also create sibling squabbles when it comes to its use, cost of repairs or allowing non-family members use the property.

To alleviate your concerns, there are a number of Estate Planning options you should consider for the transfer and management of a vacation property.

Transferring a Vacation Home to the Next Generation

You can always transfer the property to one of more children during your lifetime, or leave it as a bequest upon your death. However, this “direct” or outright gifting strategy comes with many risks and potential tax implications. Since no one can predict the future, your family’s vacation home may become a part of future divorce proceedings, bankruptcy, lawsuit or probate. Without proper planning, a vacation home may need to be sold to pay for long-term care costs. The asset may now also be counted for purposes of college financial aid. Worse yet, due to second marriages or death, the house may be inadvertently inherited by in-laws and not stay in the family. The situation may become more complicated if the property is located in a different state or foreign country.

There may be a better legal solution that might work for your family. Several options include: • Co-ownership.Ownership among family members could include being tenants in common or joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Risks above may still apply, especially if siblings do not get along. • A Trust. You, the grantor, set up a trust and appoint a trustee to carry out your wishes. Your children (and possibly grandchildren) play a fairly passive role while you are alive. Decisions about the property come from you. The trust would have to be funded with enough assets to pay expenses. With the property held in trust, it may be sheltered from future divorces, an unforeseen bankruptcy, a child who needs public benefits, becomes disabled or in case of their unfortunate death, while simultaneously keeping strategic tax benefits. After your death, the property could continue to be managed within the trust. • A Limited Liability Company (LLC).The LLC can own the home and would be managed by its members (the beneficiaries – ie. your children) or an independent property manager. The rights and responsibilities of the members are spelled out in the LLC operating agreement. An LLC can contain specific provisions on the use of the property, sharing of costs, and the transfer, inheritance or selling of member interests. An LLC helps centralize the manof the area’s finest Apartment Communities

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agement function for the property.

Any structure for a vacation property should account for the possibility that eventually, the family may no longer want to own the property, it has become cost prohibitive, or receive an offer that they can’t refuse. Whether it be a modest cabin in the Adirondacks, a beach house along the Jersey shore, a condo in Florida, or a ski chalet in the Swiss Alps, a plan needs to be in place.

10 Questions to Consider

1Do family members get along and want to keep the vacation property in the family? If no one is interested in keeping the property, it could simply be sold after your death.

2How should siblings pay for regular maintenance and expenses of the property? Should there be a property manager or will each person pitch in to help with routine and emergency repairs, cleaning, yard work, winter storage, etc.? How are real estate taxes, insurance and utilities paid for? What about remodeling or improving the home or other structures on the property?

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767 Hoosick Road Troy, NY 12180 (518) 279-1044 (800) 273-6026 www.faganasset.com 3 How will disputes be handled among family members? Sometimes conflicts arise on the use of the property or if someone doesn’t contribute their share as agreed upon. Arbitration may help resolve some conflicts.

4How will time at the vacation home be scheduled? Often, summer months or school vacations can be particular popular times for its use. Will families stay together (space permitting) or will each sibling get a certain number of weeks? Is scheduling time first-come, first-served, rotational or do families “draw straws” for popular times? Will other family members or friends be allowed to use unused times?

5Can the home be rented to non-family members to help pay for the expenses? Are there tax, insurance, or liability implications in doing so?

6What if one sibling wants to sell or cannot afford to pay his or her share of the expenses? Can the others buy him or her out? Can one family member force the sale of the home? Keep in mind that family dynamics can change and life circumstances happen (job loss, divorce, death, disability, bankruptcy or even fights among relatives).

7What will happen in the case of a death of one of the family members? How will his or her share of the property be transferred? The share of the property could be transferred to the surviving spouse, grand children or split among the remaining siblings.

8Will the property arrangement (trust, LLC, joint ownership, etc.) provide any asset protection in case of financial problems or government benefits (such as disability or Medicaid)?

9Can the trust, LLC, joint ownership agreement be easily modified or terminated? 10 If the property is sold, how will the cotents of the home, watercraft and other equipment be divided? Often, there are sentimental items that have been in the family for years that may need to be addressed. Will the sale trigger any federal and state estate tax or capital ga ins tax implications?

Protecting What You Value Most

As a full-service Estate

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