Birthday Wishes Fulfilled...

My birthday was earlier this month.  My husband asked me what I wanted, as any good husband would do, right?  After making a mental list of all the possibilities my answer may hold, I decided to go with simple and inexpensive.

"Honey, I would like to spend a day hiking and exploring someplace new to us in New York.  How about seeing Lake Ontario?  You, me, the dogs and whom ever of our kids is interested."
(And, then, I went shopping, all by myself, and bought 2 pairs of earrings...Takes the guess-work of these things!)

Well, between Don's travels for work.....

Then the dreary, cloudy, soggy weather we experienced for nearly 2 weeks prevented Don from following through with my birthday wish.  Bummer.



However, when we saw that yesterday was predicted to be mostly sunny AND 79 degrees, we decided we just had to do it.  Don would set aside his agenda for completing projects around the farm, and I would pause from school year preparations, cleaning, and processing the veggies from the garden.




We would hike at Chimney Bluff State Park in the morning, enjoy a picnic lunch, then head over to Sodus Point to see the lighthouse and relax on the beach.





 

And, a glorious day it was!!  I want to share with you, my followers, some of the beautiful sights and moments we (Grace, Rosie, Don and I) captured with my camera.  Definitely a place we'll be visiting again!!



I'll try to keep this to my 10 favorite photos, but please forgive me if I go over by 3 or 4!

Mac, fetching a log.  The water is so clear and blue!

My favorite hiking partners in a unique-looking tree.

Hiking towards the bluffs.

Grace captured this seagull on the point of this cool geological feature!






Keep Scrolling....I definitely went over my limit, Folks!  But, you just have to see...

The point from a distance.  Pretty awesome view!

Another beautiful sight captured by Grace!

Looking back at the beach from the pier...

The dogs had a blast swimming.  I wasn't sure how Tig would feel about the rougher, deeper water, since his only swimming experiences thus far have been splashing around our little pond.







Turns out he LOVES to swim - I believe he thinks he's a lab, too!

My beautiful artist!  I hope she will paint one or two of these pictures for me...

A sweet little family on the beach was flying this colorful kite.

And, of course, we couldn't end our day without our little tradition.....

You see, I grew up spending many, many weekends traveling from my family's home in Chester County, PA to the Chesapeake Bay area, where we went boating, crabbing, fishing and water-skiing.  On the way home, we always stopped for ice cream at this great little Mom-n-Pop place called, "The Real McCoy".  Up until a few years ago, I was still stopping there with my own kids.

So, when we saw a little ice cream place that resembled our traditional haunt, I looked at Don.....he looked at me, and.....

You guessed it.....

YUM!!

Thanks so much, Don, for a very lovely birthday!!

Pictorial Comparison (part 3): Lake Country

We live in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York, now.  Such a picturesque area of the Northeast! Homeschooling and the flexibility of Don's job affords us many daylight hours to take "sunday drives" during the week (scandalous, I know!) to explore lake country.  That is just what we've done this past year. Sometimes, just Don and I go for a drive and call it a "date".  We enjoy finding new back roads with beautiful homes and farms, little country stores, wineries and scenic overlooks.  Many times, however,we take two or more kids along for the ride, and, if he begs just right, a dog, too!

There are 11 finger lakes in NY.... in case you were wondering! They were formed by glacial ice.  Most people are familiar with Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake, as those seem to get the most tourism.  We live just a couple of miles south of Lake Skaneateles, which means "skinny woman" in Iroquois.  It is less than a mile wide, and 16 miles long - skinny, indeed!  I've visited 4 of the lakes this year,

but Skaneateles is my favorite, so far. This is my very first view of her.  The scenic overlook is about 2 miles up the road from our little farm.  And, we can be in the beautiful little town of Skaneateles in about 20 minutes.  Just a few days after moving in we took the whole family up there for the day.  I like it so much, I find a reason to go there almost monthly!

There are lots of little shops with unique (aka. expensive) items, art galleries, an old library with an art museum, an antique store, and a variety of restaurants, including our favorite little bakery.  We enjoy meandering around the little memorial park beside the lake, and strolling down the pier with a cup of coffee.

                                   

Generally, we did not endure much snow in Lancaster County, with the exception of the occasional blizzard - like February 2010... 20+ inches in 48 hours!  This is an unusual winter for them.  The average annual snowfall down there is only 18 inches.  In comparison, the average annual snowfall for Cortland County, NY is 70 inches! Needless to say, we had to learn to have fun in the snow.  Don bought a snowmobile last January, and I purchased a pair of snowshoes, which I use almost daily whenever we have 8+ inches of snow on the ground.  The girls received ice skates this Christmas, which they use frequently on our pond and at the ice rink, and we continue to trail ride the horses whenever possible. Otherwise, we'd go crazy!

                                                                                                                                                        

But, the best part of our new home has been all the gorgeous nature hikes we've taken!

One day, during a science lesson, I asked the girls, "What are the three states of water?"  Rosemary, in all seriousness, replies, "Um, New York...."  Too funny!!  Not the answer I was looking for, however, it sure does seem that way with all the lakes, ponds, streams and waterfalls!  I hope you enjoy scrolling through these "water" photos:

Yes, we've seen some beautiful things since our move north last year!  I am looking forward to sharing more adventures with you as the months go by.  Please keep following us....maple syrup production is just around the corner!  

Stay tuned.  I'll share with you some interesting facts about maple syrup in my next few posts....

Amish country vs. Lake country: A pictorial comparison (1 of 3)

I've been observing and pondering the similarities and differences of where we've lived the majority of our lives, southeastern Pennsylvania, and where we are now, Central New York.  One very clear difference is population density.  In Lancaster County, our home from 1999 to 2012, there are about 550 people per square mile.  In Cortland County, our current residence, there are only about 98 people per square mile - Wow!  That's quite a  difference!

I'm not going to bore you with a bunch of statistics, however, I just want to share a few of my personal thoughts and a pictorial comparison over my next few posts, just for the fun of it!  You'll get a feel for our background, and hopefully, enjoy this little walk down memory lane with me...

The first thing that most folks think of when you say "Lancaster County, PA" is the large, thriving Amish community.

 Career choices led us to move from Chester County to neighboring Lancaster County in 1999, where we spent the next 13+ years living on four different farms.  And, each time we had the pleasure of having Amish neighbors.  Unique folks!  We always enjoyed talking with them, trading eggs for fresh garden veggies, and occasionally providing transportation to the farm store or the grocery store. We purchased products from-, and sold products to- our Amish neighbors.  As part of the agricultural community, Don "did business" with Amish and Mennonite folks very regularly!

This is a very common sight where we are from. One learns to drive accordingly.  One also learns to watch out for "road apples"......aka. horse poop!

Lancaster County residents always know when a driver is NOT from the area - they slow way down...even though the buggy is still 20 yards away.  Then, they hesitantly creep up behind the buggy. Next, ever so carefully and slowly, they inch over into the opposite lane in order to "sneak" around it in an effort not to scare the horse... thereby making the horse even more nervous. As the Amish driver hauls back on the reins to keep his horse from spooking, the tourist tries to snap a picture!  All of my Pennsylvania friends are chuckling right now, I bet.....

Given the population density of Lancaster County, there isn't much open wilderness.  That is part of the charm and lore of Central NY.

This is what you are more likely to see while driving around our current home.  The forests up here are gorgeous!

 We live approximately 1400 feet above sea level.  At our previous home we were about 590 feet above sea level.  A considerable difference for us!

That's Don and Mac behind the waterfall!

We do enjoy the long, clear views that are easy to find, the variety of trees, native plants and wildlife...

                                                                                                                                                                  And, the beautiful state parks that offer so much natural beauty.  For a family that enjoys hiking and trail riding, this area is a dream location!  We've been blessed with great friends who also enjoy hiking and have lived up here for quite a few years.  They've been giving us personal tours of the prettiest places in Central NY this past year!

While Lancaster County is very dear to my heart, and I miss it and the folks that live there, Central NY is growing on me more and more.  I love the serenity of the woods, the magnificent lakes, the quaint towns, and I am developing a heart for my new community.


I have so many beautiful photos to share from both locations, so stay tuned for more comparisons!