First off, if you're having difficulty, thanks for your patience trying to buy tickets online. Historic Hudson Valley is using the same software as last year (and this year for Kykuit tickets) and yes, it can seem a little confusing the first time you go through it. But it's not that tough once you get the hang of it. Here's a step-by-step primer:

1. Click on the "shop" link , which brings you to the ticket buying page, where you can buy tickets for Blaze, Legend Evenings, and Kykuit tours.

2. IF YOU ARE A MEMBER...click on the "Member login" button and (you guessed it) log in. This allows you to book Members tickets, which is a good thing because they are free. Remember, Members this year need reservations. The number of Member tickets you can buy depends on what kind of membership you hold. You can, of course, buy member and non-member tickets. Once you've logged in, the "Member login" button will change to "Logged in as Member [number]"

2a. IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER...ignore what I just said.

3. Next, scroll down the page and you'll see "Step 1." (There's another reminder there that if you're a member, you should log in.)

4. Click on the date that appears there, which will be today's date. Once you've done that, a calendar will appear on the right hand side of the page, allowing you to change the date.

5. Select the date on the calendar you want to come to Blaze or Legend.

6. Assuming you've selected a date when Blaze and/or Legend is taking place, you will now see those events as an option under "Step 2."

7. Click on the event you want under "Step 2."

8. Now, you'll see the various time slots that are available for that evening, and how many tickets are left.

9. Click on the time slot you want and follow the instructions from there.

It should be a piece of cake from that point on. The tricky part is dealing with the calendar. Any other questions? Post 'em here and we'll get 'em answered.

OK, the Powers o' Blaze/Legend Technology tell me that ticket sales for the October events are back online as of 2:30 p.m.

Those who ordered tickets last night should have now received their second e-mail, which contains a link to the PDF print-at-home tickets.

Here's a direct link to the page:

https://websales.hudsonvalley.org/ecommerce/

Once there, under "Step 1," choose the date you are interested in and scroll down until you see "Blaze" or "Legend." Click on the event and the available times come up. From there it should be self-explanatory. Any other problems let me know and I'll see what I can find out.

P.S. Looks like the Blaze slot at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27, is the most sought after. Less than 50 tickets left as I type this. And once they're gone...they're gone!

Greetings all...It's about 9:45 on Wednesday and the ticket system is down. Of course, this decides to happen right after last year's Blaze ticket buyers were given a presale notice.

But, don't fret, Historic Hudson Valley's self-described "head nerd" tells me he's working on it. Here's what he said:

"I was syncing some fresh tunes to my iPod (Halloween music, 'course) when the Distant Early Web Warning system alerted me to a problem with the Blaze Print@Home tickets. Since we want everyone to have tickets in all their colorful glory, I paused ticket ordering while I fix the problem. A mere glitch that will soon be put aright... Please stand by."

I'll update the blog once I know this is fixed. 

Thanks for your patience everyone!

The cute little seedlings we've been following on the Blaze Blog are growing up into healthy young pumpkins, nearly ready for harvesting in anticipation of The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze kick off which is, believe it or not, only 30 days away.

The gourds you see here are all growing at the Wallkill View Farm, Historic Hudson Valley's exclusive pumpkin provider.

Yes, the pumpkins pictured are slightly different sizes. No, it's not a progression of the same pumpkin (I don't think), but it does show a nice transition from small and yellow and onion-like to big and yellow and melon-like to big, orange, and ready for carving.

Want to reminiscence? Click here for the earlier posts when these guys were mere seedlings.