Life in the Finger Lakes May/June 2023

Bicentennials for Wayne and Yates Counties, p. 58 • Mute Swans, p. 44

LIFL

The Region’s Premier Lifestyle Magazine Since 2001

May/June2023

Seeing the Light The photos of Keith Walters Page 52

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contents

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LIFL

Life in the Finger Lakes Volume 23, Number 3 • May/June 2023

departments

features

4 my own words 6 letters 8 happenings 14 scrapbook 102 advertisers 104 finger lakes map

44

16 19 22

The Graceful Mute Swan

Human Interest The coolest gift ever

Photography of Keith Walters

52

Enterprising Beautiful barn venue Dining

Delicious dishes

Wayne, Yates Counties Turn 200 Years Old

58

64 24

Musical Notes Chamber music festivals

Life at a Red Fox Den Cover: A hot air balloon demonstration at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY. Read more about Keith Walters‘ photography on page 52.

M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 3 ~ ­­­­­­­­­­­­1­

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contents

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departments

30

Editorial & Production

People in the Know

Editor..................................................................... Mark Stash .........................................mark@lifeinthefingerlakes.com

Denise Shay, Milly’s Pantry

Graphic Artists........................................Maia VanOrman

32 38

............................................................................Tammy Spear Associate Editor............................................. Tina Manzer

Product Picks

............................................................................ Victoria Ritter

Contributors............................................Bill Banaszewski

Lifestyle

Five wellness trends

41

for 2023

Chef’s Delight

69 Making a Difference

Outdoors Streambank restoration

Maggie to the rescue

78

NY Kitchen

74

.................................................................................... Ann Cady ..................................................................... Derek Doeffinger ....................................................................................... Deb Hall ........................................................................Natalia Kivimaki .........................................................................Chris Mandrino

Marianne Rosica-Brand,

Assistant Editors...........................................J. Kevin Fahy

.................................................................Nancy E. McCarthy ..............................................................................Tricia L. Noel ..........................................................................Cindy Ruggieri ..............................................................................Keith Walters .....................................................................Laurel C. Wemett

at Finger Lakes Museum

Editorial Office.............................................. 315-789-0458 Director of Advertising................................. Tim Braden

Enterprising

..............................................tim@lifeinthefingerlakes.com

Muddy Fingers

For Advertising Inquiries - 315-789-2475

Farm

Darlene Ryan............darlene@lifeinthefingerlakes.com

For Subscriptions ...............................fingerlakesmagazine.com/subscribe

Off the Easel Folk artist Mary Shelley

83

88

Book Look Reading: A healthy choice

Business Office.............315-789-0458, 800-344-0559 Business Fax....................................................315-789-4263 Life in the Finger Lakes 171 Reed St. • Geneva, NY 14456 FingerLakesMagazine.com Serving the 14 counties of the Finger Lakes Region

Life in the Finger Lakes is published by Fahy-Williams Publishing, Inc. and owned by Eleven Lakes Publishing, Inc. Co-owners: Mark S. Stash; Timothy J. Braden.

Copyright© 2023 by Eleven Lakes Publishing, Inc. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

TO SUBSCRIBE, RENEW OR CHANGE ADDRESS, visit our website at FingerLakesMagazine.com.

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my own words

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The Acts of Gratitude W

hen the demands and responsibilities of everyday life can sometimes bog me down, a technique that can work for me is being mindfully grateful. Writing in a journal the positive parts of your life can be very empowering. Keeping gratitude in your heart can also lead to positive changes.

Even in the midst of grief and loss, gratefulness can lead to positive changes in others’ lives. Gary Pierce Brown of Keuka Lake decided to do something to help out CareFirstNY, an organization that provides care to seriously ill patients and their families. When Gary’s wife Martha was terminally ill, the group was such a tremendous help to them in so many ways.

Thankful and inspired, Gary decided to write a book called Maggie of Crooked Lake (page 69). Maggie is a dog that Martha adopted from the Finger Lakes SPCA in Bath that greatly enhanced the lives of her and Gary. This book is meant to help others deal with their grief and sadness. Gary is generously sharing the proceeds from the sales of his book with CareFirstNY because he wants to pass along the comfort that he felt to others who may be in need.

Another positive difference maker in the Finger Lakes

community is Denise Shay of Milly’s Pantry in Penn Yan (page 30). The market and café sells local vendors artisan foods and handcrafted gifts from the region. Proceeds from the sales of these items then go to the children who live in Yates County.

Denise couldn’t say enough good things about the volunteers that help her on a daily basis.

The nonprofit organization was inspired by an inspirational movement based around the charitable doings of Mary Camilla “Milly” Bloomquist, a beloved legend in the Penn Yan community. Awareness, compassion, giving and doing for others are the cornerstones of the movement.

There are two major programs. The Weekend Backpack Program provides nearly 400 children with kid-friendly nutritional supplemental food every week, all year long. The School Supplies Program helps students have the necessary supplies and learning tools in order to get the most from their education.

Be well, and do good things. mark@lifeinthefingerlakes.com

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Meet our Resident Ambassadors Dick and Janice

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168 Miller St. Horseheads

4/6/23 9:35 AM

E-mail your letters to mark@lifeinthefingerlakes.com

letters We’ve been getting quite a bit of feedback through fingerlakesmagazine.com concerning both print and online articles. This is proof that the articles are timeless and relevant. Thank you readers!

Y

ou can also make a juice out of ripe sumac. My family does this often and we have lots of fun. I suggest trying it!

– Soaring Elk Online article by John Adamski, published January 2018.

I

was born and raised in Manchester, NY, and I have moved away for some time and I have came back and noticed the railroad bridge over Route 21, Manchester/Shortsville has been taken down. What year was that done? I remember walking under it on my way to school.

– Donna Meyer Print article by Laurel C. Wemett, published in the September/ October 2020 issue. Reproduced at fingerlakesmagazine.com.

I

am no longer in New York for the winters, but if I were, I would be right there with you in finding this to be a disappointing winter. I always loved the big snowstorms and the excitement that they caused in me and to some extent the rest of the area folks as well. Thanks for sharing a perspective on winter that anyone should be able to find beauty in! (And letting me find someone else in the world who likes a good snowy winter.)

– Judy Butterfield

T

•

his story just explained how I feel. Thankfully, one branch off a willow tree in the pasture. I’m not a winter outdoor enthusiast, but appreciate the beauty of it. This is the first winter after retirement that I haven’t driven in it much.

– Judith M Snyder

• •

Online article by Derek Doeffinger, published February 2023.

• •

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Keuka_O

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happenings

To submit events, visit FingerLakesMagazine.com and click on “Events” in the menu.

EVENTS

MAY

Contact event for details

May 5… The Search for Warblers Join the Sterling Nature Center on a quest to observe the spring migration of warblers, sparrows, flycatchers, hawks, waterfowl and other birds as they pass through the area. Seek out the colorful, musical and more secretive birds as they stop to feed and rest along their journey during these morning birding hikes. May 5, 12, 19 and 26. Meet at 8 a.m.

Sterling Nature Center 15730 Jensvold Rd, Sterling, NY 13156 facebook.com/sterlingnaturecenter 315-947-6143

The song of the ovenbird is a loud “teacher, teacher, teacher” that increases in volume as it goes on.

May 6…Penning With the Past: A Fanny Seward Writing Workshop Experience an afternoon of creative writing, inspired by the words of the Seward family’s youngest child, Fanny. Join best-selling author and transformational writing coach, Laura Ponticello, and dive into the past to discover your inner artist. Express your written word in a group setting following a tea in the Seward gardens. Tickets are $20, reservations are required, and this event has a 25 person maximum. 12 to 4 p.m.

Seward House Museum 33 South St, Auburn, NY 13021 sewardhouse.org 315-252-1283

Exhibitions • Workshops Youth Programs Art Resource Library visit www.MainStreetArtsCS.org for information on upcoming events

Cultivating a creative community since 2013 20 W. Main Street, Clifton Springs, NY

connect with us

(315)462-0210 | contact@mainstreetartscs.org

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May 21…Going for Baroque Going for Baroque is a weekly series of mini-recitals. It is offered each Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and again at 3 p.m. It offers the opportunity for students from the Eastman School of Music to perform alongside professional musicians on the Italian Baroque organ on the second floor of the museum. The 25-minute mini-recital is included with museum admission. Free with gallery admission (Tickets: $25-$23-$14), and free to University of Rochester students, faculty and staff with current ID. Memorial Art Gallery 500 University Ave, Rochester, NY 14607 mag.rochester.edu/about/#tickets May 31-June 20…Evita Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece! Set in Argentina between 1934-1952, this Tony-winning musical charts the young Eva Duarte’s meteoric rise to fame which takes her on a

journey from poor, illegitimate child to ambitious actress to wife of President Juan Peron. Set to a legendary score

by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, this incredible rock opera features hits such as, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” “Oh What a Circus,” “Buenos Aires” and “Another Suitcase in Another Hall.”

Merry-Go-Round Playhouse 6877 E. Lake Rd, Auburn, NY 13021 therevtheatre.com 315-255-1785

JUNE June 2…Gallery Night Ithaca Gallery Night Ithaca is a walkable tour on the first Friday of every month which features art openings and other special cultural events in and around downtown Ithaca. 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Friday of every month. downtownithaca.com (Continued on page 10)

New “Alive After Five” Concert Series at Falcon Park

T

he Auburn Doubledays are teaming up with Falcon Park and the City of Auburn to launch a new summer concert series for the 2023 summer months at Falcon Park.

“Alive After Five at Falcon Park,” presented by the Auburn Doubledays and City of Auburn, will take place five times this summer. Mark your calendars - Falcon Park will be rocking a fun, family-friendly night out on June 2, June 30, July 28, August 25 and September 16.

A new stage will be set up in center field, where the outfield scoreboard will be shining down on popular local and regional bands. Falcon Park and the Auburn Doubledays have teamed up to make this event free of charge, and will offer full concessions along with ice­-cold adult beverages. Gates will open at 5 p.m., with the main band taking the stage from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. facebook.com/officialauburndoubledays

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S

happenings

Sulphur Springs Festival

June 2 Evening ~ June 3 All Day csaymca.org/sulphur-springs-festival

American Classics Car Show to be held in Canandaigua Peirce & Main Gifts ~ Main Street Arts Sandy’s Floral Gallery ~ Sulfur Books Checkmates ~ Dork Forest Comics Foster Cottage Museum ~ Parks Warfield’s Restaurant ~ Salons ~ Spa CliftonSpringsChamber.com ~ 315.462.8200

Need to keep an eye on your cottage when you are not in residence?

C

ars carry more than passengers – they carry the stories those passengers make! Whether it’s a classic car fixed up with someone special, a first car, or a car taken on a road trip, these stories are meant to be shared to keep that history alive.

The Ontario County Historical Society wants to gather those stories in one place and celebrate the history with our community. This year that gathering will take place at the second annual OCHS Classic Car Show being held at Star Cider from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday May 28.

There is no admission for spectators so that anyone can enjoy this event. Additionally, it is on a holiday weekend so it should be a great time to gather and enjoy the warmer weather. If you have a car that is pre-1975 American Classics and you would like to register, or a business that would like to sponsor this event, find more information at ochs.org.

FLPTLC.com

(Continued from page 9)

Finger Lakes Properties, TLC

will provide security checks, arrange for contractors, perform maintenance and keep an eye on your property when you cannot.

We will visit your property once a month, or whatever frequency you desire. We will alert you to any needs, and help with services.

Finger Lake Properties, Tender Loving Care 585-218-9880 • wes@flptlc.com Currently serving Canandaigua and Honeoye Lake areas

June 2-3…YMCA Sulphur Springs Festival ​Come celebrate a family tradition. With the last few years looking quite a bit different, they are going back to the way it used to be in Clifton Springs – vendors, food, music, games, parade and all around family fun time. Be on the lookout for future announcements regarding the festival in 2023. Friday June 2: 5 to 9 p.m. (John Brown Park). Saturday June 3: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (6 p.m. parade) csaymca.org/sulphur-springs-festival June 3… Strawberry Moon Paddle Breathe in the light of the moon in this evening paddle led by Finger Lakes Museum’s NYS Outdoor Guides and Educators. This evening paddle will take guests out onto the waters of Keuka Lake, through wetlands, and back up Sugar Creek. End the paddling experience with a bonfire and snacks. Children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Please note that there are two ticket options for this event. Choose the “paddle w/equipment” option to have everything provided for you-kayak, paddles and life jacket. Choose the “paddle only” option to bring your own kayak, paddles and life jacket. 6 to 9 p.m.

Finger Lakes Museum 3369 Guyanoga Rd, Branchport, NY 14418 fingerlakesmuseum.org 315-595-2200 (Continued on page 12)

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Cayuga

STAR IN YOUR OWN VACATION! MAY 31 — OCTOBER 3, 2023

AT THE MERRY-GO-ROUND PLAYHOUSE, AUBURN, NY

SCAN ME

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CATCH ME IF YOU CAN The REV Theatre Company (2022) — Photo by Ron Heerkens, Jr.

4/6/23 9:36 3/22/23 3:20 AM PM

happenings

June 4… Mobsters, Molls and Murder with John Lamphere Prohibition and the illegal sale of alcohol was a major factor in the rise of organized crime to a national level. This is a presentation on some of those people involved, mostly New York State crime individuals with information on some in the locale of Union Springs.

This era of organized crime created some of the most infamous figures in American history. And in an interesting twist, some of them would emerge as some of the most patriotic Americans in the years prior to and during WWII. 7 p.m.

Frontenac Museum & Historical Society 178 Cayuga St, Union Springs, NY 13160 frontenacmuseum.org June 18…Brunch Bites & Flights: Father’s Day Edition Too late for breakfast? Can’t wait for lunch? Then join New York Kitchenfor a special Father’s Day Edition of Brunch Bites & Flights with NYK Beverage University Instructor, Sandy Waters. Give yourself a break from the winter blues and enjoy four brunch-worthy wines as you enjoy a breakfast smorgasbord. Guaranteed

delicious, relaxing and fun. Menu: Three brunch-worthy bites alongside a flight of four Finger Lakes wines. $55.

12 to 1:30 p.m.

New York Kitchen 800 South Main St, Canandaigua, NY 14424 nykitchen.com 585-394-7070 June 22-July 1…Double Trouble (A musical tour de farce) Bobby and Jimmy Martin are a pair of singing, dancing, songwriting brothers from New York who plan to take Hollywood by storm. Mountains, palm trees, beaches, and girls ... will all have to wait if the pair have any hope of penning Tinseltown’s next hit song, which might be possible if not for the constant distractions in the form of an overbearing studio tycoon, his personal secretary, an absent-minded intern, a narcoleptic sound engineer and a seductive bit-part actress

determined to have a song of her own. Book, music and lyrics by Bob Walton and Jim Walton.

Bristol Valley Theater 151 South Main St, Naples, NY 14512 bvtnaples.org 585-374-6318 June 26-27...Preserving Culture & Community through Art & History: Erie Canal PIne Street Museum Exhibit A display of original artworks from Port Byron and Montezuma depicting early community life revolving along the Erie Canal will be on display. The exhibit will feature a unique collection of paintings, murals, artwork and drawings illustrating iconic scenes of the early Erie Canal era. These images document the first opened navigation in this area in the 1820s and throughout the enlarged Erie Canal era. Some of the artists are locally known, while others originate from as far away as Ireland. Hours: 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; Saturday by appointment.

Port Byron Lock 52 Historical Society Museum House 73 Pine St, Port Byron, NY 13140 lock52hs@gmail.com

CREATING CONNECTIONS for . . . YOU! programs and retreats events, weddings, meetings accommodations historic rural setting trails and nature walks cobblestonespringsrc@gmail.com cobblestonesprings.org | 607-243-8212 Dundee, NY 14837 We’re on airbnb.com too!

A relaxing stay, away.

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We’re always looking for more...

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scrapbook View of Keuka Lake from the Bluff — photo by Eric Klarman

Share your photos at lifeinthefingerlakes.com/user-submitted-galleries.

Inspired by an old shed that sprouted weeds and little trees in its gutters, Gay Robbins decided to plant flowers in an unusal way at her Canandaigua Lake cottage. She had gutters installed and braced very well to hold the weight of the potting soil. “I drilled several holes on the bottom for drainage, covered the holes with coffee filters so the soil wouldn’t drain out,” explained Gay. She’s planted geraniums, ivy geraniums, petunias, verbena, browallia, sweet potato vine, vinca, cascading alyssum and other flowering plants.

– photo by Kathy Steblen

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NEW

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Drink Responsibly. For recipes and more visit RubyFrostApple.com or scan me Angry Orchard® is a registered trademark of Boston Beer Corporation. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

23-RF-Life in the Finger Lakes 23_LIFL_3_01-104.indd 15 Print Ad-05.indd 1

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human interest

The

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y brother lifted it gingerly from beneath our parents’ Christmas tree and ceremoniously placed it on my lap as everyone exchanged looks. They all knew what was concealed. As I carefully undid the corners, I wondered what this could possibly be. I knew it was supposed to be something profound based on my family’s anticipation, and I knew I needed to deliver the right response. And then, slowly, the awesomeness of the gift revealed itself. A large smile spread across my face, and I was speechless. I had just received the coolest gift ever.

I grew up near the north end of Owasco Lake in the tiny town of Port Byron. For many summers my brothers and I spent our days on a smaller lake closer to town called Duck Lake. That’s where my love of summer and connection with water took shape. But the Finger Lakes were a fundamental part of my formative years in Central New York. I had birthday dinner cruises on Skaneateles Lake, hung out as a

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Contact us at 315.548.4940 or histsoc2@gmail.com phelpsnyhistory.com

human interest

teen at the pump house on Owasco Lake, spent my college summers as a lifeguard on Cayuga Lake, caught the sailing bug on Seneca Lake, went to several parties on Keuka Lake, attended family reunions on Canandaigua Lake and fell in love on Conesus Lake. When I met my husband and moved to Colorado, it was tough to say goodbye.

Whenever I went back to visit my family, the first thing my brothers and I would do was drive to Duck Lake to look at our family cottage. It had passed into other hands, but we still needed our nostalgia fix. If there were no signs of occupancy, we would run to the boathouse and push open the padlocked double doors just a crack so we could smell that glorious scent of outboards, fishing tackle and canvas.

Then my brothers would offer to take me to see the “big water.” That usually meant a trip to Owasco Lake and Tom Thumb’s for ice cream, or Cayuga Lake and a beer at the Deer Head. My brothers understood the emotional hold the Finger Lakes had on me, because they felt it too.

What I unwrapped that Christmas morning was a piece of every single Finger Lake. In my hands I held a shadow box with 12 compartments. Eleven of the compartments held small vials of distilled water – one for each lake. Affixed to the back of each compartment was a photo of the lake the water had come from. Next came two large boxes of red and white wine purchased from local wineries. I was dumbfounded. As awesome as all this was, the story behind this project was equally amazing. Over Christmas dinner, I learned how my coolest gift ever came to be.

That previous summer in 2005, my younger brother Scott and his friend Saul bicycled over 400 miles around all 11 Finger Lakes. At each lake Scott stopped to get just the right photo. Then, he collected water from each lake in a plastic liter Coke bottle and painstakingly distilled it when he returned home. In 2005, nine of the 11 Finger Lakes hosted wineries. Scott noted where these wineries were, later returned by car and purchased one bottle of red and one bottle of white for a total of 18 bottles. The Eagle Crest Winery on Hemlock Lake actually opened for him on a Sunday afternoon after hearing his story.

My brother recalled other moments while rounding the lakes, including delectable scones in Watkins Glen, pancakes in Hammondsport where he felt like he was somewhere in Europe and lunch next to Rod Serling’s unassuming grave in Interlaken. There were some long days as can be imagined, but the beauty and the bakeries kept him going. All summer long, on every ride, they were met with Finger Lakes hospitality.

After 17 years, the water in every vial is still clear. When my husband and I moved from our home in Boulder to a newer home a few miles away, the shadow box was first thing I carefully wrapped and the first thing that I hung in our hallway. I pass by it several times a day and continue to marvel at how it came to be. It has given rise to many interesting conversations with guests about the Finger Lakes and their charms. I miss all that “big water,” but I have a piece of every lake in my coolest gift ever.

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enterprising

Beautiful Barn Venue A gathering place in Candor story and photos by Cindy Ruggieri

F

or Sarah Edwards, it’s been a long and winding road that led her to the Beautiful Barn venue in Candor.

Her journey started back when she was a single mother with three small children, trying to make ends meet and looking for a way to earn some extra income. When the fixer-upper house next door to her came up for sale she bought it, thinking she could turn it into a rental. “I could see the potential and knew what I wanted it to look like, but I didn’t know how to do it by myself,” Edwards said.

But that didn’t stop her from moving forward. With every contractor she hired to do some work, she watched and asked them to teach her what they were doing. And she learned. She also realized she loved the work and wanted to continue renovation work, a rather unusual choice for a woman. The next fixer-upper she bought she was able to do a lot of the work herself. She smiles now as she talks about those days. “It could get a little crazy and there were times I had to drag the kids with me to finish a job, but looking back it somehow worked.”

Edwards continued to make a name for herself, and eventually was hired by other contractors, until she ventured out on her own. “There were some lean times while I was trying to build my business, but then something would come up to fill the gap.”

With her business named Just Sarah, she continued to grow as a general contractor. “I never really advertised; it was word of mouth that would help land the next job.”

She got a big boost to her business when she won the contract for three houses in Binghamton, part of a grant program to revitalize blighted properties in Binghamton. Edwards not only rebuilt the houses – she built skills for the unemployed and pride in the community. “I hired unemployed folks from the local neighborhoods, and just like the contractors who taught me, I taught them the necessary skills to get the job done.”

Edwards met her now-fiancé Rodney Dyer, also a general contractor, when they worked together on multiple job sites. It was pure luck when they spotted the “For Sale” sign

Sarah Edwards showcases the bridal suite.

The barn bar combines industrial and country themes.

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Reception hall

Top: The reception hall is ideal for hosting large events.

Bottom: Glamping sites are available onsite and are quite comfortable..

as they were driving along Anderson Hill Road in Candor. “I had always wanted to renovate a barn, and this one called to me,” Edwards said.

A few months later, Edwards and Dyer were the owners of the property, which included the house, 22 acres and the 10,000-square-foot dilapidated barn. “We knew that we wanted to make the barn into some kind of community gathering place, but we hadn’t quite decided exactly what that would be,” Edwards explained.

It was a conversation with her sister-in-law Teresa that provided the inspiration when she gave them the idea to make it into a wedding venue. That became their plan, but they knew it would be a while before they were able to find the time to make it happen.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With work slowed down and lockdowns in place, it was the perfect time to make their plan a reality. Edwards and Dyer cleared the barn of the years of debris left behind, where they found some antique pieces to be used in their décor. With multiple levels to work with, the rooms were designed to include the reception hall, bridal suite, groomsmen lounge, restrooms and a few separate areas for smaller functions. Edwards and Dyer searched for the antiques to fit the rooms, such as the two stained glass windows above the reception hall and some antique furniture pieces. “Folks started dropping off pieces for me to use in the décor,” she said. “They no longer needed them but wanted them put to

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The lower floor provides space for most events.

The view from the deck features the beautiful countryside of Candor.

good use. I could not have achieved the charm of the sitting areas if I had gone out and bought all brand-new pieces.” She has always had a vision for making all the different parts come together and it shows. It’s no small feat in a huge renovation such as this.

And the bridal suite is ultra-chic and ultra-modern, with a fully equipped kitchen and a comfortable living room and bedroom. The couple added a large deck, hiking trails to explore the outdoors sand nine glamping cabins on the grounds below the barn to accommodate overnight guests.

It is a combination of modern living with rustic charm, and a year-round venue that can accommodate everything from large weddings to smaller parties for any event.

“We still take on the occasional general contracting jobs, but we are now semi-retired from that business and focused on our Beautiful Barn Venue,” Edwards said.

Edwards and Dyer have a list of thing they still plan to do in the barn and on the property, proving they are not yet done with the building and remodeling that got them here.

Just Sarah has come a long way from buying that first fixer-upper next door. The Beautiful Barn Venue is the result of all that can be accomplished when perseverance and vision come together.

For more information and to arrange a tour, visit thebeautifulbarnvenue.com.

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dining

Delicious Dishes Filet Oscar

Nolan’s The 8-ounce center-cut Certified Angus Beef brand filet mignon is topped with 5 ounces of king crab legs, roasted asparagus and a creamy béarnaise. nolansonthelake.com

House Cured Salmon

Brewery Ardennes The salmon is accompanied by horseradish, pickles, celery root remoulade on rye toast paired with Spring Farm Ale. breweryardennes.com

There’s Always Time for Brunch!

New York Kitchen Café No brunch plans? No problem! Visit the NYK Café on Sundays, where the team will cater to all your brunch cravings. nykitchen.com

Build A Dozen box

Pastel Cookies Get two free cookies when building a dozen of gourmet cookies either in-store or online. These are Signature Cookies, which are around 4 inches in diameter and baked from scratch. Pure deliciousness. pastelcookies.com

Lemon cake

The Red Bird Café Enjoy a slice of cake! Lemon cake with seedless raspberry filling frosted with silky lemon buttercream. Cakes by Andrea at the Red Bird. redbirdcafeandgiftshop.com

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Caramel Chai Cupcake

Plenty the Bakery A vanilla bean cupcake is filled with homemade caramel and topped with caramel chai Italian buttercream. plentythebakery.com

“Bringin’ It Home 2023” Special

Pat’s Pizzeria Includes a large pizza, 10-piece mozzarella sticks or a 12-piece fried ravioli sticks or 12-piece fried ravioli and a homestyle cinnamon sugar-covered fried dough. $23. patspizza.com

Jerk Chicken

Project Lean Nation Consider your healthy meal prep done with 24 different recipes.

All meals are gluten free with dairy-free and plant-based options. projectleannation.com/locations/canandaigua-ny

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musical notes

Strike a Chord Chamber music festivals in the Finger Lakes

by Nancy E. McCarthy

H

ere come the sweet sounds of music! Outstanding and long-running chamber music summer festivals in the Finger Lakes Region include the Geneva Music Festival, ChamberFest Canandaigua and the Skaneateles Festival.

For centuries, chamber music was played in homes (in a room or “chamber”) by small groups performing classical compositions for guests. Today’s chamber music is most commonly heard in concert halls and the term describes any music for small ensembles. Chamber music is typically performed by two to 10 musicians and the repertoire

encompasses masterworks, modern works plus jazz, folkloric genres and more.

The festival season starts in May and runs into August.

Each festival is an independent performing organization with its own programming. Yet, the festivals co-exist in perfect harmony; none of the concert seasons overlap. That’s great news for music lovers. You don’t have to choose one festival over the other so you can enjoy all three.

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s forthcoming in the 2023 season.

SkanFest music directors Aaron Wunsch and Julia Bruskin

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Skaneateles Festival World Class Music by the Lake July 27 - August 19 - 44th Season Co-Artistic Directors: Julia Bruskin and Aaron Wunsch Mission Its mission is to be one of the nation’s outstanding summer music festivals, set in the beauty of the Finger Lakes Region, Skaneateles communityinspired and recognized for its creative and dynamic concert programming, education, and outreach.

The Skaneateles Festival has brought some of the world’s most talented musicians to the region, with the hope of building community and enduring friendships through music.

The goal is to provide an experience that is inspiring, joyful and engaging.

History The Skaneateles Festival was the brainchild of cellist Lindsay Groves and Skaneateles residents Beth Boudreau and Louise Robinson in 1980.

The first season was presented in the village’s Library Hall. Through the generosity of David and Louise Robinson, their home, Brook Farm, soon became the festival’s center where the musicians would live, eat, rehearse, relax and perform. That same hospitality was extended to concertgoers who sat under the stars and listened to music for the first 36 years of the festival. The Robinsons and Boudreau have passed away but cofounder Groves still (Continued on page 26)

c hamber f est canandaigua

Artistic Directors Kevin Kumar & Amy Sue Barston

Join us for the 19th season of ChamberFest Canandaigua.

Finest chamber music by world class musicians. Visit our website for tickets and details.

July 16, 2023

Chamber Music & Beer Faircraft Brauhaus

July 18, 2023

A Night To Remember

The Lake House on Canandaigua

July 19, 2023

Classical Blue Jeans Casa Larga Vineyards

July 20, 2023

Free Children’s Concert Wood Library

July 21, 2023

Formal Concert #1 Cobblestone Arts Center

July 23, 2023

Formal Concert #2 Cobblestone Arts Center

2023 Guest Musicians Kwong Meyer Katz

Sold-out crowd at Béla Fleck’s 2019 SkanFest performance at the Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s VIneyards. Béla will be returning on the first Saturday of the Skaneateles Festival in 2023.

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musical notes

performs in Skaneateles Festival concerts.

Cellist Julia Bruskin and her husband, pianist Aaron Wunsch, are festival co-artistic directors since 2015.

DeWitt resident Susan Mark has been executive director since 1999. During Bruskin and Wunsch’s tenure, the Robinson Pavilion was constructed at Anyela’s Vineyards. The venue accommodates up to 1,200 music lovers to enjoy world-class performances while watching Skaneateles Lake sunsets.

Several outreach performances are also presented in surrounding communities including Auburn, Marcellus and Syracuse plus indoor concerts at the First Presbyterian Church in Skaneateles.

“While we now attract some of the world’s great musicians, we also maintain the traditions of hospitality and community that distinguished the festival in its early years,” said Bruskin.

This season will inspire and challenge listeners from Mozart to jazz, from Broadway favorites to the world premiere of Fortitude, Nailah Nombeko’s new work for soprano and string quartet inspired by the life of Harriet Tubman.

Skaneateles Festival is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) with a board of directors led

by President Heather Carroll. The board helps shape the festival’s vision and supports programming with fundraising, community outreach and hosting/ housing musicians.

Programming This season features 12 main series concerts, two KidsFest performances and free community outreach performances.

Classical saxophonist Steven Banks, the festival’s first Emerging Artist in

Residence, performs in the main series and outreach performances. Other artists making their Skaneateles Festival debut include opera and Broadway star Kelli O’Hara (Aug. 5) and soprano Kearstin Piper Brown (Aug. 3-4).

Returning musicians include world renowned classical guitarist Eliot Fisk who plays on opening night, July 27; Danish String Quartet on July 28; banjo sensation Béla Fleck and his outstanding ensemble from My Bluegrass Heart (2022 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album) on July 29; East Coast Chamber Orchestra August 10-12, and jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman on Aug. 19.

Loyal music lovers have been attending concerts for decades, but audiences continue to grow as new listeners discover the diverse musical experiences that the Skaneateles Festival offers. “We encourage everyone to experience the festival magic with open ears and open hearts,” said Bruskin.

Visit skanfest.org.

Geneva Music Festival May 21-June 11 – 13th Season Artistic Director: Geoffrey Herd

Geoffrey Herd

Mission The Geneva Music Festival’s mission is to entertain, inspire and nurture a lifelong appreciation of chamber and other musical genres in Finger Lakes communities by presenting world-class artists that engage diverse audiences of all ages, including populations with little exposure to music of this caliber. Purposeful engagement with young people is an integral part of the festival’s programming and children 18 years and younger are admitted free to all public concerts. Programs in schools and senior living facilities bring live chamber music to audiences that might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience it.

History The Geneva Music Festival was founded in 2011 by Geneva native and violinist Geoffrey Herd as a weekend of chamber music for his hometown. Along with Herd, fellow Genevan violinist Eliot Heaton and cellist Hannah Collins

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played that inaugural weekend and still perform every season. Exceptional musical quality, enthusiastic community response and artistic vision provided the impetus for a fourweek festival.

The Geneva Music Festival has become Geneva’s and the Finger Lakes’ premiere summer kick-off event, attracting concert audiences to hear outstanding musicians from the world’s stages. While rooted in the classical chamber music repertoire, performances now include jazz, contemporary and bluegrass music. Festival musicians represent leading classical soloists, Grammy Award-winning artists, members of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, and faculty from Yale, Juilliard, Colburn School and Cleveland Institute of Music.

Herd remains artistic director and chief operating officer. Geneva Music Festival is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) with a board of directors led by President Sharon Arthur. The board oversees operations and festival program, sets strategy and objectives, fundraises and manages budgets.

Programming Geneva Music Festival is presenting 10 ticketed concerts and seven free community outreach programs with the overarching theme of “Gods, Myths and the Divine” – exploring connections between music and experiences of uplifting our spirit, seeking something larger in the universe or contemplating our place here on earth. The concerts feature composers throughout history inspired by their religious beliefs or by the universal themes embedded in cultural myths to create music of rich meaning and beauty.

“Spirituality has been an inspiration to artists across all disciplines. Admiring the Duomo di Milano during my visit to Milan, Italy last August, I recognized that some of humanity’s greatest masterpieces were born in homage to artists’ spiritual practices,” said Herd. “It’s been a rewarding and fruitful process to comb through the chamber music literature in search of spiritually-inspired works. I believe our audience will enjoy hearing this vast and diverse repertoire.”

The Iris Trio (clarinetist Christine Carter, violist Zoë Martin-Doike and pianist Anna Petrova) makes their festival debut in the season opener concert at 5 p.m. May 21 at the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts in Geneva. Others new to the festival include the Grammy-winning Time for Three ensemble (Nicholas Kendall, Zachary DePue, violin and Ranaan Meyer, bass) sharing their unique classical/ bluegrass crossover style at 7: 30 p.m. June 2, at the Smith Opera House in Geneva; and acclaimed soul singersongwriter Jason Clayborn and his eight-piece band at 7:30 p.m. June 8 at The Cracker Factory in Geneva.

It’s exciting for concertgoers to hear new artists, but Herd stated what contributes to the uniqueness of the Geneva Music Festival is the returning “family of musicians” who come back to play every year.

“These artists have built special relationships and connections with our audiences,” Herd said.

Visit genevamusicfestival.com.

Gods, Myths and the Divine An exploration of the deep and fruitful relationship between Music and the Divine

MAY 21–JUNE 11 2023 Iris Trio - Project Earth The Vast and Mystifying Universe of ATLYS Legends and Fairy Tales Time for Three Songs of the Spirit The Jason Clayborn Band: A Night of Soul In Concordia The Brothers Blue

Festival news, updates and tickets GenevaMusicFestival.com

(Continued on page 28)

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Rochester 585-467-4020 Conesus 585-346-2060 Canandaigua 585-374-2384 Boat Rentals

Sea Ray

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ChamberFest Canandaigua July 15-23 -19th Season Co-Artistic Directors: Amy Sue Barston and Kevin Kumar Mission The mission of ChamberFest Canandaigua is to bring world-class chamber music to the Finger Lakes region through exceptionally creative, intimate and vibrant presentations.

This includes attracting, engaging and inspiring a broad spectrum of the community; encouraging warm and informative interactions between audiences and musicians; presenting a dynamic and varied repertoire, including music by living composers alongside beloved masterworks; and cultivating music appreciation and participation. ​ History ChamberFest Canandaigua was founded in 2004 by two Juilliardtrained musicians: Brighton native violist Ed Klorman and cellist Amy Sue Barston. In 2014, after Klorman accepted a music theory professorship in Montreal, violinist Kevin Kumar came on board as Barston’s co-artistic

director. Aimee Ward of Canandaigua has been the festival’s executive director since 2007.

ChamberFest Canandaigua developed an impressive reputation for innovative programming, a welcoming atmosphere and musical excellence.

“Amy Sue and Kevin are the main draw.

They are in constant demand and have performed all over,” Ward said.

These charismatic and approachable artists linger after concerts to chat with attendees.

The festival has previously showcased world-class guest artists such as pianist Jon Nakamatsu and clarinetist Charles Neidich as well as topnotch chamber ensembles including the Borromeo, Corigliano, Orion and Ying Quartets.

ChamberFest Canandaigua is a nonprofit 501(c)(3). Its board of directors, led by President Jodi Kaufman, donates time and treasure to support the organizational objective to bring outstanding music, appealing and accessible community outreach and a casual classical atmosphere to greater Canandaigua. Funding sources include individual and corporate donations, grants and ticket sales.

Amy Sue Barston, second from right, and Kevin Kumar, far left, perform in a quartet in a previous year’s ChamberFest Canandaigua.

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musical notes

Programming This year’s festival theme is “Symphony in a Teacup” and offers four ticketed events and three free community outreach programs.

“We are featuring works of music that have a notable majestic breadth,” Barston said. “They conjure the symphonic colors and qualities of a whole orchestra, but are chamber works: they use fewer instruments in a more intimate setting.”

For instance, the Beethoven Septet sounds symphonic but utilizes only seven instruments. “It’s like an ‘up close and personal’ philharmonic!” she said. “Similarly, the Brahms Clarinet Sonata is beloved for its large-scale amorous sweep, but uses only two instruments: clarinet and piano.” Both works will be performed in concert at 7:15 p.m. July 21 at Cobblestone Arts Center in Farmington.

Mainstay programming includes a free children’s concert and Classical Blue Jeans – both have been part of the festival since its inception. The children’s concert, this year titled “Don’t Let the Pigeon Play the Violin!!!” is a lively 30-minute musical show led by Barston and other CFC musicians at 11 a.m. July 20 at Wood Library in Canandaigua.

Classical Blue Jeans, an interactive musical show with dinner, is a signature ticketed event and always sells out. This year celebrated clarinetist Moran Katz joins other esteemed guest artists including pianist Donna Kwong and violist Johanna Nowik (who makes her ChamberFest debut). As always, Barston and Kumar will play blazing fiddle music and favorite Appalachian tunes at 6 p.m. July 19 at Casa Larga Vineyards in Fairport.

Peeking ahead at ChamberFest Canandaigua’s 2024 season: a brand-new work is being composed to mark the festival’s 20th anniversary. Details will be announced next year.

Visit chamberfestcanandaigua.com.

find new skills to

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LIVE + VIRTUAL CLASSES TASTING ROOM RESTAURANT

800 S. MAIN STREET, CANANDAIGUA NY NYKITCHEN.COM

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people in the know

Denise Shay Milly’s Pantry, Penn Yan

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W

hen and why did you become involved with Milly’s Pantry?

By happenstance, I strolled into what is now Milly’s Market & Café toward the end of 2008 after doing some local shopping. Carolyn Schaeffer, co-founder and still longtime supporter, was sitting toward the back of the market and eagerly came across to the front of the store to greet me. She then proceeded to share Milly’s Pantry’s mission, vision and hopes for children in the county. That’s all it took. I was hooked from that point. I volunteered two to three times a week before and after my job as a children’s librarian in Dundee. I eventually moved into the role of executive director.

Children have always been a big component of my life.

It’s fated. And I couldn’t think of a better opportunity to be of greater support to children to help them succeed in life, than by being a part of Milly’s Pantry.

When was the organization started?

Milly’s Pantry was established in 2008 as a NYS nonprofit 501(c)(3). It started as an inspirational movement based around the charitable doings of Mary Camilla “Milly” Bloomquist, a beloved legend in our community. This is not just an organization. This is a movement of awareness, compassion, giving and just doing for others.

What is the mission of Milly’s Pantry?

Milly’s Pantry fosters equal opportunity for success, self-sufficiency and confidence to all Yates County children by providing nourishment and academic support. As Milly Bloomquist did, we believe in the inherent value and limitless potential of every child.

Can you describe some of the programs that benefit local children?

The two key programs are the Weekend Backpack Program and School Supplies Program. All programs are available to any Yates County child ages 18 and under. There is no discrimination and no income requirements attached. If you need it, it’s there.

Graciously funded by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation and huge community supporters, the Weekend Backpack Program provides nearly 400 children with kid-friendly nutritional supplemental food every week, all year long. To date, more than 207,000 bags of supplemental food have been distributed, all by dedicated volunteers, families and even children. We stay in constant contact with school social workers to ensure that every child/family has an opportunity to receive this emergency food if and whenever needed.

The School Supplies Program started in 2010 after collaboration with school social workers sharing how many students came to school for the new year, unprepared and without the necessary learning tools. With initial funding from the Nord Family Foundation, Spring Hill Fund and local

Photos by Mark Stash

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community donations, the program got off the ground and distributed 1,000 backpacks filled with teacherrequested supplies for children.

Distribution continues at Penn Yan and Dundee schools every August. Since its inception, nearly 10,000 school bags have been distributed. That’s hundreds of dollars saved for families and over $300,000 of community support provided to make this program possible. We now can rightfully say that we supply more than half of the school population of Yates County with all the school supplies needed to start each school year.

What products do you sell in the market? How does this benefit the charity?

Milly’s Market & Café houses over 150 local vendors artisan foods and handcrafted gifts from the Finger Lakes Region. The special thing about Milly’s Market & Café is that your dollar does more when you shop here than many places around the area.

Milly’s Market & Café is also known for its old-fashioned soda fountain bar that showcases the New York egg cream, Italian cream sodas, smoothies, milkshakes and espresso drinks. We have brought back, just recently, our light, fromscratch, lunch menu composed of soups, chilis, quiche, desserts and more. The revenue generated from market sales and building rentals go directly back into programming and operations for Milly’s Pantry.

We not only generate revenue, but we establish a physical presence in the community, with the building itself acting as a community hub for business incubation, culinary opportunities and wellness classes. This physical presence also allows us to support local youth who are looking to complete community service, give back to their community or get experience in the work field. Milly’s Market & Café and the building it resides in are truly a unique experience for all who enter.

What do you enjoy most about the Finger Lakes Region?

I could say the wine, but what I enjoy most is the hiking.

Hundreds of miles of paths that weave in and around on the Finger Lakes trails that give access to some of the most beautiful and lush scenery and waterfalls. Any opportunity to get my feet dirty and immerse myself in the sounds and sights of nature is a good place to be. I love calling this place home.

Do you have any favorite local activities you enjoy?

I love walking and biking the Outlet Trail that runs from Penn Yan to Dresden. I love boating on the lakes and kayaking on some of the local rivers. And of course, there’s always enjoying some of the local flavors at restaurants, cideries, breweries and wineries. I love the local music scene; without some of these places, like the Point of the Bluff, Hollerhorn Distillery and Steuben Brew, I don’t know how far I’d have to travel to hear some great local music. Music, food and nature … it’s where it’s at!

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product picks

Lazy Acre Alpacas

Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery Dry Rose 2021 is a medium-bodied rose made from six different red grape varieties expressing fresh strawberries, oranges and plums. $16.99 drfrankwines.com

Summertime is a great time to visit Lazy Acre Alpacas.

They offer tours, yoga with the alpacas and other special events. They also have some babies due this summer. lazyacrealpacas.com

Main Street Arts

This blue and white espresso mug

by Mandy Ranck is hand-painted. $40. mainstreetartscs.org

FingerLakes Bell Co. Cricket on the Hearth

The OSLO F500 v3 wood stove heats up to 2,300 square feet of living space with Jotul Fusion clean burning technology. cricketonthehearth.com/stoves

Let the gentle spring breeze bring in the sounds of a FingerLakes Bell Co. bell. A bell for every Finger Lake and more. flxbells.com

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Crown Jewelry

Blue is the color of summer.

This necklace is from the Gems of Distinction line. mycrowndowntown.com

Lollypops & Polkadots

Check out new and used clothing for newborns to size 16. Items include a brand new Eddie Bauer three-piece boy’s outfit size 7 for $19.99 and a used girls jumper size 10/12 for $4.99.

3793 Main Street, Marion

Lupo’s Premium Meats & Marinades

Ventosa Vineyards

Everything tastes better when you grill with Lupo’s Marinades!

They are available in eight flavors, including top sellers Original Spiedie, Chicken BBQ and Lemon Garlic. spiedies.com

Vino Fizzante is a bubbly wine made with 100% Tocai Friulano grapes. It has a grapefruit zest with soft, balanced minerality and a hint of candied ginger. $22.95. ventosavineyards.com

Fireplace Fashions

Are you ready for summer? Come visit Fireplace Fashions for a huge selection of outdoor fireplaces, firepits and accessories. fireplacefashions.com

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Boundary Breaks Vineyard

Cabernet Franc is the signature red grape of the Finger Lakes. It is a food-friendly wine, much like its companion grape, Riesling. $22.95. boundarybreaks.com

Dudley Poultry

Tired of dry, boring chicken breast? Finger Lakes Gourmet Marinated Chicken Breasts are available in a variety of marinades, and are ready for the grill! dudleypourltry.com

Brewery Ardennes

The Cherry Orange Sour’s time in orange bitter barrels creates distinct citrus and ripe berry aromas balanced by notes of toasted oak. It’s a great pair with spiced dishes, aged cheeses and dark chocolate. breweryardennes.com

Milly’s Market & Cafe

Syracuse Salt Co. is a small, family-owned business within the Finger Lakes Region. Enliven your food with clean, crisp, crunchy flavored salts packed with minerals. It’s not just for the professionals!

19 Main Street, Penn Yan

Artizanns

Resin earrings by Jennifer Naramore (aka “Teachermom”) are aquatic-themed pieces that enhance the beachiness of summer outfits. $24. artizanns.com

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The Furniture Doctor

Northern white cedar Adirondack chairs are in stock. Chairs, rockers, tables, benches and custom pieces are available. thefurnituredoctoronline.com

Reed Homestead

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Silverlake Marine

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This Japanese tea table features cherry wood, mortise and tenon joinery and a natural finish that will age to a nice patina. Other wood species are offered. manchestermissionfurniture.com

Billsboro Winery

Dry Rosé of Pinot Noir/ Syrah is crisp and fruity with aromas of mandarin orange, white cherries and fresh herbs. A great rosé for seafood and hearty fare. $22. billsborowinery.com

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Lukacs Pottery

These hand-thrown stoneware travel mugs come with a snug-fitting silicone lid and a handle made to fit a vehicle cup holder. Dishwasher and microwave safe. $38. lukacspottery.com

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Route 96 Power and Paddle

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CabAve Kitchens & Built-In Cabinetry

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lifestyle

Five Wellness Trends for 2023

T

hanks to COVID, people all over the world have developed a new and growing appreciation for health and wellness. Three years after the pandemic first appeared, their appreciation is stronger than ever.

More and more people are making a healthy lifestyle their priority and changing their habits accordingly. To discover the wellness trends that are having the most success right now, Life in the Finger Lakes collected ideas from The Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, NPR’s Life Kit (“tools to help you get it together”) and Chris Mandrino, owner of Project Lean Nation in Canandaigua.

Here are just a few of the trends we uncovered.

1. A lifestyle-and-health focus on weight loss The body positivity movement and self-acceptance have gone a long way toward making weight goals more manageable and achievable. Instead of aiming for a specific number on a scale, people are vowing, for instance, to add more vegetables to their diet, to eat fewer desserts, and to start exercising.

Keeping weight off long-term comes from liking the lifestyle that helped you lose pounds in the first

place. Instead of starving yourself on a fad diet, make changes that you actually enjoy and want to stick with over the long haul.

How to get started Mandrino said, “When we are trying to improve ourselves, the best approach is to start small and compound those small actions into something big. One of the first steps to develop a healthy habit is to start to identify yourself as the person with the healthy habits you want to achieve. You can then start making small changes, being flexible and adapting. Small changes compound,

Asking the Big Questions to Develop Asking the Big Questions to Develop New Habits New Habits

When forming a new habit, we should Many of us have wondered at one of us have wondered at what one time or another, “Why ask ourselves timeMany or another, “Why don’t I do don’t I do what I sayor I’m“Why going to do?” or “Why don’t I lose the I say I’m going to do?” don’t Howtocan it obvious?

I lose the weight or do something I’ve wanted weight or do something I’ve always do?”I make or even always wanted tosomething do?” or even “Why “Why so I say is important, but never seem to can I make it attractive? so Imake say something is important, butto theseHow time for it?”

The answers personal queries can never to make time for in it?” be seem answered somewhere theThe four following questions.

How can I make it easy? answers to these personal queries can be answered somewhere in the four How can I make it satisfying? following questions.

When forming a new habit, we should ask ourselves How can I make it obvious?

How can I make it attractive?

How can I make it easy?

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How can I make it satisfying?

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even though results aren’t immediately visible. Once those changes cross a critical threshold, change happens exponentially.”

Being specific is key, he added. Phrases like, and I will start exercising and eating healthy is not specific enough.

Instead, Mandrino recommends making commitments like these.

• “I will start exercising tomorrow morning at X time at Y gym, and I will continue to go on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays.”

• “I will follow X workout program or take Y fitness class.”

• “For my nutrition, I will follow X plan.”

He concluded: “Whatever good habit you’re trying to form, ask yourself how you can make it obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying.”

2. “Exercise snacks” No, they’re not Clif Bars. An exercise snack is doing a physical activity in a short bite of time, like taking a brisk 15-minute walk. If you have two 15-minute exercise snacks a day – a walk in the morning and another in the evening, for instance – you’ll reach the moderate-intensity, physicalactivity-per-week guideline of 150 minutes recommended by the CDC. The goal is to raise your heart rate and make you sweat, which helps lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and more.

If the thought of carving out 150 minutes each week for exercise prohibits you from getting up and moving, consider breaking the time down into daily exercise snacks instead.

5. CBT-I techniques We’ve all had nights when we couldn’t fall asleep no matter how desperately we tried. The sound of the ticking clock throughout the night only reminds us of how exhausted we are and the number of wakeful hours we’ve spent.

Insomnia is a common sleep complaint, reports Johns Hopkins Medicine. About one in three adults has insomnia that lasts a few days at a time, while one in 10 suffers ongoing difficulty. Over-the-counter sleep aids or prescription sleeping pills have traditionally been the first line of defense, but the tide is shifting.

Cognitive behavior therapy specifically designed for insomnia – CBT-I – has proven to be the most effective way to handle insomnia that lasts longer than three months. Unlike medications, CBT-I techniques that include relaxation training, meditation, hypnosis and self-hypnosis, biofeedback and breathing exercises help get to the root cause of sleeplessness, reports The Cleveland Clinic. The techniques help to change actions or thoughts that prevent sleep, and support habits that promote sleep.

CBT-I is not a quick fix, warns sleepeducation.org from the American Society of Sleep Medicine. It requires steady practice over time and lots of patience. But it’s worth it.

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(Continued on page 40)

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lifestyle 5. No social media If social media is not adding benefits to your daily life – if it’s not teaching you new skills, contributing to your experience or enhancing your mental health – then it may be time to move on.

Social media has become so ingrained in our social culture that it’s considered addictive, making quitting difficult. If you’re not ready to break free entirely, consider curating who you follow and improving your newsfeed.

Any time you can reduce your social media use is time well spent. Turn off your phone and focus on what’s in front of you.

3. Adaptogens These active ingredients in plants and mushrooms have been used and revered by cultures for centuries to help the body deal with stress, anxiety and fatigue. When you add adaptogens to other foods, you boost the health benefits of those foods, too.

Here are nine herbs that have been identified as primary adaptogens by the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE).

Ashwagandha: a bitter Ayurvedic herb known as a rejuvenator.

Cordyceps: a bright orange, slender fungus that originates in the mountains of China.

Eleuthero: a small woody shrub, sometimes referred to as “Siberian ginseng.”

Ginseng: a root renowned for centuries in Chinese medicine to combat inflammation.

Holy basil: originating in India and known for its peppery taste in cooking.

Licorice: a root touted in Chinese medicine to combat adrenal fatigue.

Rhodiola: a golden root that grows in the Arctic and Northern European regions.

Schisandra: petite berries that contain sweet, salty, bitter, sour and pungent notes.

Shilajit: sticky, decomposed plant matter found in the rocks of the Himalayas.

To incorporate adaptogens into your diet, add a small amount in powdered form to sweets. Powders are available in grocery and health food stores throughout the Finger Lakes and online from Amazon, Etsy and Walmart.

A little goes a long way, notes ICE. “Most adaptogens are naturally bitter in flavor but do especially well if they’re partially masked in sweet applications.”

Add chaga or reishi mushroom powder to your next hot chocolate, fudge or chocolate cake recipe, recommends ICE, or add them to flavored plant-based milks. “It’s fun and easy and can help you establish a daily routine. Find a few adaptogens that work for your lifestyle and rotate them for variety on a daily basis. They also pair effortlessly with add-ins like vanilla extract, maple syrup and Himalayan pink salt.”

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chef’s delight

Marianne Rosica-Brand New York Kitchen, Canandaigua

M

arianne Rosica-Brand is the director of food and beverage education at New York Kitchen in Canandaigua.

The nonprofit, which opened in 2006, provides a “gateway for people around the world to experience New York’s incredible agriculture and viticulture industries.” New York Kitchen offers a tasting room, café, a venue for private events and multiple classes focusing on the culinary arts. Rosica-Brand shares her insights as a culinary expert and her experience working with food.

Where did you learn to cook and how long have you been doing this?

I am a self-taught chef – I started cooking dinner for my family when I was young as both my parents worked and my older siblings had jobs. I have been in and out of the food and hospitality industry for most of my life and I have been fortunate to learn from some excellent fellow chefs along the way.

I had my own café/restaurant that was listed by The New York Times as one of its favorite restaurants in the Finger Lakes Region! This is where I can say I learned the greatest amount of knowledge and experience.

I have been with New York Kitchen for four years and in my role as director of food and beverage education for close to three years. In February 2019 I started as a culinary assistant and chef instructor and worked in our Hands-on Kitchen.

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chef’s delight Before you became a chef, did you try any other professions?

After college I moved to Washington, D.C. and was able to find employment in a variety of roles – international trade, federal document search and retrieval, marketing, public relations and special event coordination.

I also had my own computer tutoring business.

How would you describe your management style?

I rely on my team for input and feedback. My management style is consultative management – I ask my team for the opinions, thoughts and constructive feedback. Ultimately, I make the final decision, but I consider all the information given by team members before I do so.

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What’s your favorite class to offer at New York Kitchen and why?

I would say our Junior Chef

Initiative programming. These are our class offerings for 12- to 18-year-old students. We offer one-day classes during school breaks, two-day and five-day camps throughout the summer and School Reach-in classes during the school year as field trips for local schools. These are my favorite as they all offer opportunities where students thrive and learn and are able to enjoy the delicious food that they have prepared.

Through our fundraising efforts we are able to subsidize all of these classes in order to make them less expensive for the students. For our two-day camp we partner with community groups to bring students to New York Kitchen at no cost to the student.

What is your favorite wine? Tell me about your wine knowledge.

My favorite white wine is a Finger Lakes dry Riesling, which I enjoy at several wineries.

My favorite red wine would be a

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hearty deep red – currently it would be a Meritage from the Finger Lakes.

I worked at a winery for more than a year and my husband has worked at a Finger Lakes winery for more than 20 years – he keeps me current and up to date on the wines and wine trends in the Finger Lakes.

How do you stay current on new trends?

I have a fantastic education team who I ask for ideas. I am a foodie myself so I am always looking for what is new and exciting in the culinary world.

What do you like best about your job?

The people – from my team and co-workers to the customers who come to share one of our great classes.

I also enjoy the creative part of my job – being able to create classes and recipes that are keeping with current trends or are in response to a customer suggestion.

Do you have any future plans for expanding your horizons at New York Kitchen?

I am always creating new classes and expanding our programming here at New York Kitchen.

What do you most enjoy about the Finger Lakes Region?

The beauty of the region is stunning. I love the different feel that each lake has to offer and the communities that anchor each lake.

I love that it is filled rolling hills and majestic countryside views.

My drive to work is just over 30 minutes and I see beauty and nature everyday – whether it’s a bald eagle or an entire cornfield filled with snow geese or a stunning sunset. Each time it takes my breath away.

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Meet the

Ugly Duckling Our most elegant bird

story and photos by Derek Doeffinger

W

ith 25,000 gleaming white feathers covering its 25 to 30 pounds and 7-foot wingspan, the largest bird in New York heads down the

watery runway. Massive wings thrash the air. Huge feet smack the water, splashing a trail of sparkling spatters. The noise echoes a mile away. Faster and faster, until the pull of air exceeds the pull of gravity. Then it’s liftoff for one of the largest flying birds in the world.

Meet the mute swan. Reduced to hisses and odd flatulent honks, it cannot enchant with song or scare with screeches.

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Below: The male (called as cob) viciously chases off an intruder as it patrols near and far from the nest.

Below, left: At Sodus Bay, the female (called a pen) occasionally repairs the nest but doesn’t wander far.

Below, right: At Irondequoit Bay, the male checks in with his nesting mate.

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Elegant Bird Instead, it speaks with the elegance of a ballerina and the fearlessness of a linebacker. It charms with a long, slender neck that twists and twines in sinuous synchrony. And it elicits ooohs and aaahs that settle into deep sighs when swan partners nuzzle and then bump beaks to form a heart.

An inspiration to artists like Rembrandt and Michelangelo, it still reigns as England’s only royal bird. It stars in the 1843 story The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen–a story of bullying. A swan, hatched with ducklings, seems homely and is ostracized. Grown up, it happily realizes it wasn’t a duck, but a swan.

But today, it’s an unwanted sitting duck–tabbed an invasive species.

Where They Live Mute swans frequent the marshes, bays, ponds and rivers along Lake Ontario; the shallow northern ends of the central Finger Lakes; Montezuma Wildlife Refuge; and Onondaga Lake. The DEC population map shows about 300 to 400 mute swans paddle the greater Finger Lakes Region with most on Lake Ontario-bordering waters. Several thousand inhabit the Staten Island waters.

Tundra and trumpeter swans also spend time here. The smaller tundra swans, Arctic migrants, visit during the winter.

Sixty to 70 trumpeter swans live here year around.

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Nesting: A Time of Belligerence and Boredom The roles of a swan pair diverge dramatically during nesting time. While the father swan is belligerent and frenzied, the mother swan’s patient sitting appears to be a Zen-like boredom.

Swans normally mate for life. The pair build the nest together, in a spot approved by the female, usually in the same area as the previous year’s nest. Although both swans pitch in, the male does most of the work under the supervision of the female. Piece by piece, they clamp their beaks onto sticks, cattails, leaves, phragmites and other assorted vegetation and drag them to the construction site which is typically hidden in a mass of cattails. After a few weeks, a nest four to five feet wide and a few feet high (but with a depression in the middle) is ready for the female swan to lay a clutch of four to 10 eggs in late April or early May. Through rain, relentless heat and thunder storms, the female sits and incubates her eggs. For 35 days she gives 24/7 true meaning. A few times a day, she’ll step off to feed, stretch, repair the nest, take a quick bath or take a stimulating paddle on the water.

This dedication is dismissed by Professor Emeritus Perrins (see sidebar) of Oxford University who states its standard bird practice. He countered with another example of a truly dedicated egg sitter: “The male (not female) emperor penguin incubates the egg for two months, losing about half his weight. He cannot even leave the egg for seconds or it would freeze. At least swans can wander off for a stretch and wash.”

While the female swan sits, the male patrols constantly. Back and forth he paddles, policing the perimeter out to about a 100yard range. When an intruder crosses the invisible border, the M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 3 ~ ­­­­­­­­­­­­47­

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Fun Facts About Swans Some mute swans windsurf by partially opening their wings to catch a tailwind.

Its eye is bigger than its brain.

Swans are surprisingly fast runners, up to 20 mph. This is fast enough to have qualified to run against Jesse Owens in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

The long necks of quarreling males sometimes become knotted together.

The best quills for pen and ink came from swans.

Swans depend on critical feather performance to fly and swim. Preening daily for extended times, they clean and align their feathers with their beaks and apply a waterproofing oil from a backside gland.

Swans can sleep for just a few seconds with one eye open, thus allowing half the brain to rest. This process is called unihemispheric sleep.

Swans pant like dogs to cool off.

They expose or hide their black feet to control their body heat.

Fitness flights seem to occur several times a day.

Below, left: On training swims, the female often provides restful piggyback rides to her young.

Below, right: Upside down feeding is called dabbling. The cygnets at first seemed confused by mom’s topsy turvy eating.

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Elegant Bird defending male swan lowers his head with a forward tilt and gives the malevolent stare of a bull pawing the ground. This is called busking. Readying for a showdown, he cocks his wings a few inches higher and wider, and paddles like crazy at the intruder. If the trespasser doesn’t retreat fast enough, the male springs open his wings and with a few powerful beats, launches himself upright into a running position and chases down the miscreant.

When he closes in, he stretches out his neck and with a last burst of speed, grabs at the intruder and may even override him to strike a few blows with his wings, using a special wing bone (think of brass knuckles) to inflict pain.

I’ve never suffered a swan attack (I can’t say the same for Canada geese) but swans can be extra aggressive during child rearing. Kayakers on Onondaga Lake have reported swan attacks.

Shortly after hatching, the cygnets begin to swim and feed. Although the adults have few predators, the cygnets are attractive prey to minks, snapping turtles, foxes, large fish, hawks, eagles and more.

Fewer than half of the clutch make it to adulthood.

Cygnets provide possibly the cutest behavior in the animal world when they scramble atop their mom’s back for a secure, restful ride. Like a kid in a convertible, they often poke only their heads above her wings. The cygnets often dismount by moving forward to the mom’s neck and treat it like a water slide, with a head first slip back into the water.

Swans are big birds and big eaters.

Plants in the shallows provide most of their food, but they also ingest assorted small critters. Swans are dabblers, meaning they eat by standing on their heads—sort of. In shallow water, they invert so their bottoms comically point at the sky, enabling them to extend their long necks so their beaks can reach rooted plants. They can easily eat over five pounds a day.

Growing, Growing, Gone The cygnets grow fast. By autumn, they are almost fully grown and flying, ready to take on their first winter. Though nearly full size, they can be identified as juveniles by their large brownish patches.

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Able to swim just hours after hatching, cygnets go a little further each day, often accompanied by both parents on longer paddles.

Left: First come, first served when it comes to a piggyback ride.

A Short History The mute swan has an interesting past. It’s a native bird from England to Asia. Cave dwellers created swan paintings on their walls. With the 1482 Act for Swans, it became England’s only royal bird. The most visually stunning celebration of swans occurs in Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake.

In medieval England, noblemen prized swans for their beauty and their ample supply of meat. At large festive dinners, servants would parade into the dining hall carrying whole cooked swans, complete with feathers. In the 1500s, Spaniards in Mexico took domesticated Mexican turkeys back to Europe.

After the Brits got a taste of the tender and succulent turkey meat, swan meat slowly fell out of favor.

In the mid-1800s, wealthy individuals and rich municipalities brought swans from Europe to adorn estates and parks in the Northeast United States.

A colorful event celebrating swans takes place in England each summer. For several days in July, the royally appointed Swan Marker and Swan Warden preside over the Swan Upping on the River Thames to check on the welfare of the swans. Professor Emeritus Christopher Perrins, 88, has been Swan Warden since 1993.

Here’s his brief description of the Upping: “They work as a single team made up of six skiffs, two each provided by the Crown (red shirts), the Vintners’ Company (blue shirts) and the Dyers’ Company (white shirts). [I and my team] follow separately in a small boat with outboard. The Uppers maneuver the skiffs to corner and capture the birds by literally pulling (‘upping’) them from the water to count and weigh them, and evaluate their health. They treat injured and ailing birds.

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Elegant Bird In cold winters, swans struggle to find food. Conserving energy becomes crucial. Territorial fights fade, sleeping grows, their long necks curled under a wing for warmth. If a squall hits, they’ll hunker down and wait it out, turning into snow-covered mounds.

The parents may guide their cygnets through their first winter, but when the spring thaw arrives and brings a new breeding cycle, they begin to drive their offspring away.

Often slow to leave, the young swans are also slow to start their own families. It will be another year or two years before they begin to look at each other with yearnings of what might be.

The Invasive Issue With the exception of the honey bee, there’s a general consensus among wildlife experts that invasive species tend to be bad and should be managed, better yet prevented. They definitely feel this way about mute swans.

A wide array of invasive plants, insects, animals (house sparrows and starlings) and microorganisms have evaded control efforts with costly consequences. Although mute swan populations are still small, their voracious appetites and territorial attitudes can displace some native species. Easy to find, they can be controlled by addling (oiling) their eggs or killing select adults. The recent outbreak of avian flu may also reduce populations.

For now, faced with the often passionate public support for mute swans, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reached a compromise to allow small populations of wild swans – 175 in the Lake Ontario area – to reside here. By comparison, New York’s Canada goose population can double to almost half a million birds during migration.

The DEC does note that “Mute swans are protected by the New York State Environmental Conservation Law. Therefore, swans, as well as their nests and eggs, may not be handled or harmed without authorization from the DEC.”

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Catching the Light The Photography of

Keith Walters

K

eith Walters is a native Western New York

photographer who has lived in Geneseo for the better part of 12 years. Walters found his calling in photography in high school, when he was introduced to the work of American landscape photographer, Ansel Adams.

Walters’ photography is rooted in a profound love for the outdoors and an eagerness to share the beauty of the region.

Late spring is one of Walters’ favorite times to catch a sunrise at Letchworth State Park in Castile. Fog rises from the Genesee River below and the emerging sun burns through it to create a magical scene.

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Above: Walters served as State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo’s photographer for nearly 11 years and drew inspiration from the gazebo overlook during dusk. The best time of year to view sunsets from this location is May through September Above, right: As if Letchworth weren’t magical enough, visitors can catch balloons launching regularly near Upper and Middle Falls on any given fair-weather morning or evening from April to October.

Right: Stony Brook State Park in Dansville is a beautiful park to visit during the fall season as it sees fewer crowds but offers spectacular views and hiking.

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alters draws inspiration from Letchworth State Park and the surrounding Finger Lakes Region. The rolling hills, stunning lakes, rivers and waterfalls, clear night skies and the changing seasons provide an endless opportunity to take beautiful photos throughout the year. His work aims to evoke a feeling of grandeur and awe. It’s his desire to show that the Finger Lakes Region can compete with the likes of some of America’s most famous landscapes.

His photography incorporates the use of wide-angle lenses to create a sense of scale in relation to the sky. He primarily shoots with digital cameras, but more recently has explored the process of film. The process of shooting film causes him to be more intentional with his images, as film doesn’t provide the instant gratification using a digital camera does.

The Photography of

Keith Walters

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The Photography of

Keith Walters

W

alters and his wife, Joanna, run The Gallery in the Valley, located in the village of Geneseo. The mission of the gallery is to promote the local arts scene. Since opening its doors in November 2020, the gallery has hosted nearly 50 visiting artists – almost exclusively from the Finger Lakes and Western New York regions. The Walters host a yearly grant competition to provide funding to emerging and established artists to complete a passion project. They hope The Gallery in the Valley serves as a catalyst for the arts in Geneseo and beyond.

To learn more about the gallery, visit thegalleryinthevalley.com.

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Left: Walters believes you don’t need to go far to find something beautiful in this area.

This image was taken right across from his house in Geneseo.

Below Left: In addition to the stunning oak savannas and wildlife, people can catch a great sunrise and sunset on historic Nations Road in Geneseo.

Below: The iconic bear fountain in downtown Geneseo is one of Walters’ favorite subjects to photograph. He believes that the charming small towns of the Finger Lakes have a bright future.

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A Centuries

Celebration of the Wayne, Yates counties turn 200 years old

Two sisters in Yates County from the 1870s.

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by Deb Hall and Tricia L. Noel

T

he world was a different place 200 years ago. James Monroe was our fifth president and Joseph Yates was New York’s eighth governor. The year was 1823, only about 40 years after the end of the Revolutionary War and less than 40 years before the Civil War. The nation was busy creating its identity with new industries, new territories and new citizens. Meanwhile, quietly nestled in western New York, two counties in the Finger Lakes Region got their start – Wayne and Yates.

Wayne County: Rich in Agriculture and History Along the shores of Lake Ontario, about 25,000 residents built homes, started farms and businesses, went to school and church and raised their families on 1,380 square miles of beautiful rolling hills. Ye Hills of Wayne, as they are often called in poetry, are a distinct geologic feature of the region. However, the most prominent are Chimney Bluffs, a spectacular outcrop of naturally-formed sandstone and clay spires along the lakeshore. The influence of Lake Ontario on the climate is reflected in the concentration of orchards along the shoreline. As a result, Wayne County ranks third in the production of apples nationwide and first in New York State, along with sour cherries and pears. Today, the agriculture of the county is diverse including vegetables, soybeans, cattle and dairy.

On April 11, 1823, Wayne County was officially recognized as the 55th county in the Empire State by an Act of both houses in the New York State Legislature.

The northern sections of Ontario and Seneca counties were conveyed to include seven towns: Wolcott, Galen, Lyons, Sodus, Williamson, Ontario, Palmyra and Macedon. Today’s population is more than tripled at 90,000 with 15 towns and seven villages. The county’s history includes a variety of stories and characters from namesake Brigadier General “Mad” Anthony Wayne of the Revolutionary War to champions of the Underground Railroad, from unique manufactured items to religious revival. The founding of the county also shares its bicentennial with the 35-mile section of the Erie Canal between Albany and Rochester, which opened on September 10, 1823. Two hundred years later, Wayne County continues to provide innovation and relaxation to residents and thousands of visitors.

Top to bottom: The Penn Yan Cornet Band at the bandstand in the Yates County Courthouse Square.

The Rochester - Syracuse Trolley crossed over the Erie Canal towpath near Leach Road in Lyons, Wayne County where canal boats passed directly beneath the trolley trestle. Circa 1900.

Before the introduction of steam engine tractors, Wayne County farmers plowed their fields by using oxen or horse driven plows like this farmer in Savannah, New York. Circa 1900.

Cutting ice at Keuka Lake.

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A Centuries

Celebration of the

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Yates County: Small but Strong The first non-native settlers moved into what is now Yates County in the 1780s with their religious leader, the Public Universal Friend. Hoping to set up a society all their own, they built the first of many mills on the Keuka Outlet and carved farms out of the heavily wooded landscape. At the time, most of present-day Yates County was in Ontario County, although physically isolated from the bustling communities forming in Geneva and Canandaigua. Eventually, despite not being part of the Military Tract, settlers from New England, New Jersey and downstate New York were drawn by the rich, plentiful and cheap land and the population began to climb.

After the first few decades of settlement, Yates County’s population and size were such that there was a pull – mostly by Penn Yan merchants – to separate from Ontario County. The petitioning finally paid off, and the people were granted their own county on February 5, 1823, via an act signed by the governor, Joseph Yates, for whom the county was named. Penn Yan was selected as the county seat. The new county contained the towns of Benton, Milo, Italy, Middlesex and Jerusalem. Starkey and Barrington were part of Schuyler County and were added to Yates County in 1823. In 1832, Potter was carved off of Middlesex. Finally, in 1851, Torrey was formed, and Yates County’s nine townships were complete.

Even after becoming independent, Yates County never lost its rural makeup. No communities larger than a village have ever existed within its borders. Farming was the mainstay of many Yates County residents, and remains so to this day. Despite its rural nature and small population – it is the currently the (Continued on page 62)

Top to bottom: Mother and child 1860s, Yates County.

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In 1823, Wayne County was named for Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne.

Jackson and Perkins Rose Gardens in Newark, Wayne County, began as a trucking business in 1872.

By 1939, it was the largest seller of roses in the world and continued operations until the early 1970s.

The Green brothers and their father from the Wolcott/Huron area of Wayne County were one of many local dairy farmers. Through the early 1900s, every town had several dairy farms producing milk and other products for the local community.

Penn Yan girls basketball team, 1901.

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An unidentified Union Solder from Yates County.

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A Stroll Through History The history of the Finger Lakes Region is as rich as it is expansive, encompassing 14 counties. Here’s a look at when each county was founded and a little history behind them.

1789 – Ontario County was founded.

It originally encompassed all of western New York State, but was eventually divided into 14 separate counties.

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1791 – Tioga County was created from Montgomery County.

1794 – Onondaga County was founded, originally comprising 1.75 million acres.

1796 – Steuben County was established.

1799 – Cayuga County was officially established on land carved away from Onondaga County.

1804 – Seneca County was founded by separating the western part of Cayuga County.

1808 – Cortland County was created from Onondaga County. The new county was named after Pierre Van Cortland, the first lieutenant governor of New York.

1817 – Tompkins County was established. Its name comes from former governor and U.S. vice president Daniel D. Tompkins.

1821 – Livingston County was formed from Ontario and Genesee counties.

The county was named for Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.

Monroe County was founded in 1821 and named for James Monroe.

1823 – Wayne County, originally included in Ontario and Seneca counties, became its own entity.

Yates County was established using the southern part of Ontario County.

1836 – Chemung County was founded.

1854 – Schuyler County was created from parts of Tompkins, Steuben and Chemung counties.

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A Centuries

Celebration of the

A Call for Celebration

Everyone in the Finger Lakes is invited to help celebrate these counties’ milestone and participate in events throughout the year.

The bicentennial celebration of Wayne County will include a Birthday Gala with fireworks on May 13; a five-day, 200-mile Torch Relay around the county; a Family Fun Day at the County Fair and other celebrations that will take place in several towns and villages. Bicentennial Co-Chairs Gene Bavis and Rosa Fox invite the public to explore, discover, visit and join in celebrating all the history that is Wayne County.

For more information on the county’s bicentennial events, projects and history, visit waynecounty200.com.

The people of Yates County are taking time to celebrate with events and programs. On April 29, a newly-planted Wagener apple tree, a variety originally developed in Yates County, will be dedicated at the Yates County History Center. Local school children will receive a coloring book about Yates County history, written and illustrated by Keuka College student Cassian Allport, before the end of the school year.

A bicentennial parade, complete with a bagpipe band, will take place on August 12 in Penn Yan, followed by fireworks and food. On October 7, a dinner of 1823 recipes will take place at the Elks Club in Penn Yan. Actors will tell historic ghost stories during Eerie Stories Along the Outlet on October 13. A Veterans Day gala will take place on November 11 at Seasons in Penn Yan. Keep an eye out for a traveling exhibit going around the county, courtesy the County Historian’s Office. Individual celebrations will be held by various villages throughout the year.

fourth least populated in the state – Yates County people have contributed greatly to history and society over the past two centuries. Local people spoke out against slavery and actively hid freedom seekers traveling through the county. Hundreds of men joined the Union Army in the Civil War. Hundreds of women campaigned for women’s rights and signed pro-suffrage petitions. the 19th and 20th centuries, first Danish and then Mennonite immigrants found a home here and enriched the local culture. Even though the community is small in population, it is big in importance.

Deb Hall is a Wayne County Bicentennial Committee member.

Tricia L. Noel is the executive director and curator at Yates County History Center in Penn Yan.

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Life at a

Red Fox Den

story and photos by Bill Banaszewski

By April 25 the kits’ fur had changed from gray to sandy brown with a tint of red.

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On June 3, the kits are playing while the adults are away.

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S

ince childhood, I have been fascinated with the natural world. Eventually that led to a wonderful 37-year teaching career in environmental conservation at Finger Lakes Community College, and also writing wildlife articles accompanied with my photos for Life in the Finger Lakes magazine. Observing, photographing and studying wildlife is my passion, and it never grows old.

For the past several years on our property, gray foxes and red foxes have alternated raising pups in a den, which was formerly used by a woodchuck. The den is only 30 yards from our home and is hidden among shrubs and trees only 10 feet from the edge of our lawn. In 2022, a red fox raised five pups in that den. The discovery of that red fox den was the start of another wildlife adventure.

APRIL 2022 April 4 The trail camera (TC) in my yard captured a photo of red fox carrying a gray squirrel in the direction of a den used by a grey fox the previous year. I went to the den where I found evidence of pups: small droppings, bird feathers, a scent of ammonia or a skunk-like odor, typical of fox urine. I set up another trail cam 20 feet from the den. After four days, I downloaded contents of the TC memory card, including 2,169 photos of pups around the den!

April 8 The quality of images wasn’t great. The first images revealed four pups with fuzzy gray to chocolate brown fur.

April 11 Three days later, there were five pups outside den. Their fur showed a little tan and red coloring. (I later determined that five was the total number of kits in the litter.)

April 15 In one week, the color of the kits’ coats rapidly changed from gray to tan-red with black legs.

April 19 Pups’ ages can be determined by the color of their eyes. At six weeks, their blue colored eyes start to turn tan.

April 20 As spring advanced, I decided to build a blind near the den with branches and newly developing greenery to get better quality photos with my SONY a7iii digital camera with a 200mm lens. I approached the den at daybreak. There was no action for a half hour, so I was about to leave when a single pup poked its head from the den and stared at me. When it heard the sound of the shutter, it scurried back into the den.

Curiosity got the best of the kit; it eventually walked toward

The runt of the litter (left, above) was submissive with its siblings and didn’t compete well for food. This photo was taken April 25.

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Life at a

One of the pups is learning how to pounce on June 1.

Red Fox Den me and stood motionless. I snapped 10 photos.

April 22 While out on the deck with my morning coffee, I heard whimpers coming from the Have-a-Heart trap set to capture a woodchuck that was living under the deck. There was no woodchuck inside the trap, but one of the kits. I carried the trap out to the lawn and opened the front to let the kit escape. It didn’t budge, so I had to tilt and rattle the trap to coax the pup out and on its way. It made a bee-line toward the den, tumbling over several times along its way.

April 25 It was an amazing morning with good light. The pups were getting used to my presence, scurrying in and out of the den. I was able to start identifying them by various features – a chunk of hair missing on a forehead, black fur inside ears, one with an injured or missing ear. In a little over two weeks, their fur had changed from gray to sandy brown with a tint of red. Their eyes were turning brown. They were now 7 weeks old.

The kit with the deformed ear seemed smaller than the others and not as alert.

It seldom ran into the den in my presence. As the runt of the litter, it was submissive with its siblings and didn’t compete well for food against the more aggressive litter-mates. Sadly, this is the last photo I took of “One Ear.” It most likely died from being caught by a predator or malnutrition – I will never know. It’s not unusual for the last born in many wildlife species to perish.

MAY 2022 May 1 The month of May is when young foxes are very active and easy to watch day and night. These three pups went exploring quite a distance from the den.

May 10 At 2-1/2 months old, the pups spend more time traveling with the vixen at night, learning to hunt or just being a nuisance. Exhausted from

nighttime adventures, they spend time sleeping in the sun or near the den. I came to the den and the pup remained asleep – I left quietly.

May 15 The TC captured an image of a kit staring into the yard at 2:56 p.m. I checked what I was doing at that time – pruning shrubs, 25 feet away while it watched me.

May 16 The vixen arrived at the den with a grey squirrel. Adults bring captured prey to young pups and regurgitate the chewed food, making it easier for them to swallow. Later, the adults bring

Foxy Facts Red foxes mate from late December through January. Gestation is 30-40 days. Born in March, they are blind, deaf and weigh a mere ¼ pound. At birth, their fur is dark grey. The vixen stays in the den nursing and keeping the pups warm, while the male hunts to provide her food. The kits begin emerging from the den in early April.

Dens usually have a larger main entrance and a second smaller exit for escape. The inside tunnel is between 10-20 ft long.

A fox’s diet includes chipmunks, rodents, grey and red squirrels, small wood chucks, rabbits, raccoons, birds and bird eggs, amphibians, insects, apples, grapes, acorns and so on.

Red fox predators include coyotes, gray foxes, great horned owls, eagles, fishers, bobcats and bears.

n

On April 11 three of the five pups are spotted at the den

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de

ls,

live prey, so kits can learn to kill their food. The competition becomes serious. It’s easy to tell when vixen is coming to the den, as the crows and other birds, chipmunks, squirrels make loud warning calls until the vixen leaves.

May 17 There was a meeting of the minds to determine what kind of trouble the kits are going to get into today. Pups are left unsupervised for long periods of time while the adults are hunting, leaving plenty of time for play and adventure.

May 18 The kits are nearly 3 months old. Their eyes are darker brown and their tan coats are showing more red. They often run away when I come toward the den.

JUNE 2022 June 1 This kit probably watched and learned from vixen how to listen, then pounce on a mouse or chipmunk. It was not successful.

The TC captured images of a large woodchuck in and out of den, which is not unusual. Kits probably left through the escape hole.

June 3 The adults are away and the kits engage in constant play, chasing, rolling over and seemingly laughing so hard they fell over. (It made me laugh.)

There are also many photos of them butt rubbing … I’m not sure what this behavior means.

As they matured, play got rougher, even violent at times.

Ears back, biting, sometimes causing injury. These activities are part of establishing social hierarchy, resulting in the largest and strongest member of the litter becoming the dominant or alpha pup.

June 4 The TC captured a photo of a large coyote at the den.

They certainly prey on pups, and I thought it was very possible it would capture at least one.

June 6 Two days after the coyote appeared, I took a photo showing all four pups, alive and well.

June 7 I watched a pup pounce on and capture a chipmunk. It ran off with its catch while two of its siblings chased after.

June 8 I got a good laugh watching a kit chase a squirrel up a tree.

It sat at the trunk, while the squirrel scolded it.

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Life at a

Red Fox Den

A trail camera captures an image of the vixen carrying a gray squirrel on April 4

June 10 The vixen arrived with a baby raccoon.

June 12 The pups are approximately 14 weeks old. There’s still a marked difference in fur color. This pup is still tan, while the others are turning red.

June 29 After catching and partially consuming a chipmunk, a pup dug a hole and buried the remains to save it for later. Crows quickly descended on the spot and stole the leftovers.

JULY 2022 July 2 The pups are now over 4 months old. These young foxes are becoming skilled hunters. Earlier in spring chipmunks and squirrels were numerous in the yard. Now their numbers are diminished.

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July 20 Going on 5 months old, the young foxes are hard to distinguish from the adults.

SEPTEMBER 2022 September 28 I’ve been away for awhile. The pups are now 7 months old. The kits are venturing out on their own to establish new territories. The TC captured a few photos of them at night.

Since spring, two kits had color differences. One had dark black legs and a red coat while the other had less black on its legs, a tan-reddish coat and more white on the tip of the tail.

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Watching and photographing the life of these red fox pups at their den was immensely enjoyable. I took over 15,000 images of them.

Red foxes are now quite common in the Finger Lakes Region, and it is my hope that readers can enjoy an experience similar to mine. I suggest exploring around your property in March. Look for freshly dug dens with loose soil at the entrances and fox signs as mentioned earlier. If the entrance holes are full of leaves, it is not in use. Maintain a respectful distance and don’t over-pursue your encounters because the vixen will move the litter to a different location, and you may lose your chance for a great encounter with the natural world.

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making a difference

Maggie to the

Rescue

by Laurel C. Wemett

C

areFirstNY provides residents with hospice, palliative care, grief support and mental health counseling services across Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties. For anyone experiencing the loss of a loved one, the nonprofit offers a range of services, resources and programs including “Grief Packs” for youngsters. Inside these special backpacks are tissues, a stuffed animal, along with an ageappropriate book about grief and a grief workbook.

Now, thanks to a dog named Maggie, the Grief Packs and other grief support initiatives will be paid for by sales of Maggie of the Crooked Lake. This new children’s book, written and published by Gary Pierce Brown with illustrator Bonnie Brooke Mitchell, is aimed at youngsters 4 to 7 years old. It tells the story of how Maggie, a shelter dog, and Mr. Brown helped each other after his wife, Martha, passed away.

“When my wife was terminally ill, CareFirstNY helped our family in multiple ways, including by providing staff that came to our home,” explained Brown, a retired pastor who lives on Keuka Lake.

Gary Pierce Brown and Bonnie Brooke Mitchell collaborated for the second time on a children’s book about a dog. Proceeds of the sales of the new book will be donated to CareFirstNY and Bampa’s House.

CareFirstNY provides individualized care to seriously ill patients and their families in three Southern Tier counties, primarily in their home. The organization, headquartered in a former school, has 96 paid staff, 27 active patient care and administrative volunteers, plus 150 event volunteers.

Martha and Maggie’s moving story helps others Martha adopted Maggie, a female mixed-breed dog who resembles a large black Dachshund, in 2011 at the Finger Lakes SPCA shelter in Bath. The book’s gentle story and illustrations tells how both Maggie and Gary felt lost without Martha, “the woman with the kind face.”

“For me, Maggie of the Crooked Lake is one small way I have found to do personal grief work,” Brown stated. “I hope this story will succeed in passing along a hopeful and helpful message to children and their families. Children lose pets and grandparents and other loved ones, and I believe they need books that deal with death as a part of life.”

“All of us at CareFirstNY were both shocked and pleasantly surprised when we heard about Gary Brown’s generous offer to share the proceeds of his book with our organization,” said Chelsea Ambrose, senior director of clinical services and M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 3 ~ ­­­­­­­­­­­­69­

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making a difference mission engagement.

Sales of Maggie’s book will also keep the lights on and pay expenses at Bampa’s House. The two-bedroom renovated house in Corning provides care for the terminally ill. The comfort care home was established by Brown’s high school classmate with her family’s help. “They saw the need when their brother, known to his grandchildren as ‘Bampa,’ was terminally ill,” Brown said.

Salaried staff at Bampa’s House includes a full-time nurse director, a part-time volunteer coordinator, part-time fundraising coordinator, and three nighttime caregivers. There are 75 caregiving and non-caregiving volunteers.

“We were humbled when Gary reached out and told us he would like to have the proceeds from this book be split between our home and our partners, CareFirstNY,” said Bampa’s House Communications Officer Erin Dugan.

Second Children’s Book Brown and Mitchell’s first book, Willy of the Crooked Lake (2015), focuses on Maggie’s predecessor, Willy, a cocker spaniel rescued by the Browns as he trotted along a highway.

Those book sales supported a new Finger Lakes SPCA shelter in Bath, raising an estimated $40,000 with nearly 2,000 books distributed. Income provided matching funds for challenge

grants, bringing in another $50,000.

“I was not at all surprised that Gary had another book in mind,” said Mitchell, who’s artwork graced the pages of Willy of the Crooked Lake.“ His desire followed closely the happy success of our working on the Willy book.”

Willy is more about the dog and less about the people, with a much simpler story, says Mitchell. “The difference in approach was the result of the story line, which had to get the hard parts presented carefully with respect for Gary and Martha.”

Mitchell, of White Plains, frequently visited her Keuka Lake friends of nearly 50 years. Her illustration credits include a storybook, Catch the Moon and a coloring book Storey’s Sunny Day Coloring Book.

End-of-Life Care CareFirstNY depends on Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance for the Hospice program, along with donations and fundraising events like Petal Pushers, its popular annual geranium sale. “We also receive funding for our mental health counseling services through Family Services of Chemung County,” Ambrose said. Services are provided to approximately 750 families in the Southern Tier region each year.

“Know us before you need us,” Ambrose added. “Dealing (Continued on page 72)

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Page from Maggie of the Crooked Lake

Maggie, a female mixed-breed dog that resembles a large black Dachshund, was adopted by the Browns in 2011 at the Finger Lakes SPCA shelter in Bath.

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Where to find

Maggie of the Crooked Lake CareFirstNY 3805 Meads Creek Road, Painted Post, NY 14870 carefirstny.org Bampa’s House 170 E. First Street Corning, NY 14830 bampashouse.org Patina 57 Shethar Street Hammondsport, NY 14840 patinaantiques57@gmail.com Bampa’s House in Corning is a two-bedroom renovated house which has become a comfort care home providing care for the terminally ill. Thirty-seven residents were served in 2022. Photo courtesy Bampa’s House

Cost of the book is a minimum donation of $15.

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making a difference

with chronic illness, end of life and grief are some of the most difficult things people can ever experience. None of us want to be furiously searching for resources in a time of crisis. These are challenging topics even during good times, which is why it is so critical to know about the services CareFirstNY provides. If you know us now, it will help make it easier to navigate those tough times together in the future.”

Bampa’s House does not charge its residents or their families or receive any kind of reimbursement from Medicare/ Medicaid/Insurance. Operating costs depend on annual fundraising events like Pour & Pair Picnic, a dinner and entertainment event, silent auction, 5K race, golf tournament, plus smaller fundraisers – the Memorial Paver Path and a Luminary event. In 2022, Bampa’s House served 37 residents and had 342 visitors. Stays ranged from one hour to 137 days. “We rely solely on the kindness and generosity of our community,” Dugan said.

“Though our focus is on end-of-life care, Bampa’s House is more about life than about death,” Dugan added. “Our home is full of light, love, laughter, respect, peace and dignity. We become an extension of our residents’ families, allowing our residents and their loved ones to focus on the time they have together while we take on the caretaking and financial burdens that typically come at end of life.”

Outside the headquarters of CareFirstNY in Painted Post are members of the Leadership Team that oversees the Grief Support Team (L to R: Julie Overton, Tricia Shirey, Carly Nichols, Chelsea Ambrose, front). The nonprofit will benefit from the sales of Maggie of the Crooked Lake. Photo courtesy CareFirstNY

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outdoors

A Love Song for Soil Streambank Restoration at the Finger Lakes Museum

by Natalia Kivimaki Director of Operations, Finger Lakes Museum

Video link shows the process of using toe wood system to stop erosion.

Photos by Jim Higgins

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W

ater is a powerful force, one of the primary agents of landscape changes. The constant ebb and flow of water alters the balance of the surrounding ecosystem, with erosion presenting an environmental and economic issue. A recent streambank restoration project has helped combat erosion and improve the overall health of Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes Region.

The damaging effects of erosion include poor water quality, decreased habitats and the potential for flash flood damage. When streams are restored to their natural state, the harmful effects of erosion can be reduced, especially in vulnerable areas that have already been affected by previous flooding events. This poses the question of what can be done to restore the banks of these important ecosystems?

Sugar Creek borders the east side of the Finger Lakes Museum campus in Branchport, flows alongside the Townsend-Grady Wildlife Preserve and empties into Keuka Lake. Several organizations share the creek’s banks including the museum, Branchport/Keuka Park Fire Department and the Yates County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League. Sugar Creek is brimming with life as a local fishing stream and a habitat for spiny softshell turtles.

After noticing the erosion taking place on Sugar Creek’s bank at a rate of a foot per year, the Finger Lakes Museum contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Environmental Conservation, Yates County Soil and Water and a civil engineer to walk through the impacted areas.

One of the collaborators recommended a toe wood solution, as the design had proved successful in other New York State streambanks impacted by erosion, including Catharine Creek and Mill Creek.

A toe wood technique is one of the more favorable methods for streambank reconstruction. This natural approach uses interlocking logs that include the root mass and 10 to 15 feet of a trunk (rootwads) of a tree to stabilize

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Toe Wood Technique

eam Str

Illustration courtesy of Dave Rosgen

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Other Streambank Stabilization Methods

Stone (rip rap)

In addition to toe wood, there are a variety of ways to stabilize a streambank against damage. One method is to line channels with concrete. This approach is effective, quick and affordable – based on the low cost of materials and the ease of use.

Many cities use this method to move storm water away from developed areas, thus protecting properties and individuals.

Unfortunately, everything washed into these channels is carried to the stream, increasing water pollution.

Other commonly used options are to stabilize the streambank with stone (rip rap), or to use metal cages (gabions) to hold materials in place. This method, while more preferred than using concrete, is not without its disadvantages. Lining a stream with rocks doesn’t provide a natural look or feel. Using impervious materials doesn’t allow the ground

Metal cages (gabions)

to absorb water. While this approach allows pools of water to form, those pools are temporary and ineffective in maintaining the surrounding habitat. To improve habitat stability, planners can add vegetation between the rocks and incorporate natural materials. This will set the plan in place for improvement as well as future stability.

Concrete

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outdoors

the bank; this serves as a barrier between the bank and the stream.

Several rootwads are interlocked and placed on the bend of the stream, where damage is high based on the flow of water. The trunk is anchored in place using boulders and soil. The structure is then covered with natural filler materials, including native shrubs.

This long-lasting approach rebuilds the streambank and its habitats as quickly as it’s put in place.

Work on the toe wood solution in Sugar Creek began in December 2022 and successfully redirected the creek to a gentler flow. It also incorporated native plantings which foster habitats that will hopefully continue to improve with time. Cornell Cooperative is preparing extensive riparian zone plantings and water quality monitoring in the area for Spring 2023, documenting the progress of the project.

Natural material coverings are put in place in preparation for plantings along the Sugar Creek streambank.

Photo by Jim Higgins

While we may not be able to take on a project of such magnitude as the Sugar Creek streambank restoration in our own backyards, there are several actions we can take to assist with streambank preservation. It is crucial to preserve natural vegetation along stream edges, such as adding logs or planting trees along the bend of the bank, to assist with the water flow. A

fertilizer-free buffer strip along the edge of any stream or creek will allow for water absorption. Keeping your lawn 2 to 3 inches high will assist in keeping the soil from washing away with rainwater.

We can all do something to improve water quality in our streams, to stop the harmful effects of erosion and to be faithful stewards of freshwater.

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• Scouts troops • Team building •Youth, family, & corporate groups

• After-school programs • Summer field trips

Programs Offered: Public & Private • Nature hike explorations • Snowshoeing trips

• Kayaking lessons • Paddling excursions • Volunteering on site

Visit our website www.FingerLakesMuseum.org to fill out a request under “Private Programs”. Check out our calendar to explore our public programs offered!

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enterprising

Muddy Fingers Farm For the Love of Food story and photos by Ann Cady

Martin waters the newly planted seedlings on the lower field.

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W

hen I was a kid, I didn’t think of farming as a job that you could go into. I knew people farmed, but I didn’t understand that it was also a small business and that you could start one. I also didn’t know my grandfather named all his cows Susie because he butchered one every year for meat and Susie was not the same Susie in the field each year. In my defense, I was a little kid and the hamburger just came out of the freezer by the time I saw it.

Fast forward a number of years and I find myself thinking about where my food comes from, who grows it and how to reconnect with real food. It turns out Chef Boyardee, cheeseburgers and TV dinners are a “sometimes food” (thank you Sesame Street) and no amount of watching Iron Chef makes your pot roast edible (I failed you Iron Chef Flay).

When I first got married and moved to Elmira, I decided it was time to learn to cook and promptly joined the Muddy Finger’s Farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) run

by Matthew Glen and Liz Martin. I think I bit off more than I could chew that first summer, but I’ve continued to go to their booth at area farmers markets ever since and who better to talk to about real food than actual farmers. So, I put in a call to Liz and she invited me out to Hector to talk about all things food and farming.

I brought my notebook, she broke out ice pops and we sat down under a big tree in front of the farmhouse to talk. The breeze was gently blowing through the branches above us and Luna the farm dog pranced around us sniffing, rolling in the grass and eating the occasional apple. That dog’s tail never stopped wagging.

Literally, never stopped. Not even once.

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In the Beginning Liz and Matt are a modern-day agricultural fairy tale. Man and woman meet while working at the same CSA (Maysie’s Farm in Chester County, PA), fall in love and decide to spend the rest of their lives together – farming. I feel like there’s a romance novel in there somewhere; their eyes meet across rows of seedlings and as the plants mature so does their love for each other. I’ll call it As the Corn Grows, but I digress.

Matt and Liz had one goal for their future. That both of them could be employed full time on their own farm. Both loved the outdoors and didn’t want to spend their time in an office, with a boss, or a 9 to 5 job. So, in 2003 they M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 3 ~ ­­­­­­­­­­­­79­

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New metal sign made by Depue Welding for Muddy Fingers Farm marks the entrance on Dugue Road.

Matt plants cucumbers by hand while Liz works towards him using the prone weeder. The weeder has an electric motor and is controlled by foot pedals.

moved to Liz’s hometown of Horseheads, and decided to start their own CSA. “My family and Matt’s family always had gardens so both of us grew up seeing fresh food come into the house,” Liz said. “And what could be more fundamental than feeding people?”

First, they borrowed land, then rented land and finally in 2006 stumbled across an ad on the bulletin board of a now defunct natural food store in Watkins Glen for a small farm for sale. The house was in good shape and the price was right but the land needed clearing and it was a little farther away from their market locations than they wanted. But they just couldn’t walk away. For the last 17 years they have called that 5-acre property on the east side of Seneca Lake their home. The first year on the farm they grew their crops on a rented field in Montour Falls while simultaneously clearing two large fields at the new site for the following year’s planting. Currently, the farm consists of the farmhouse, an old barn, six high tunnels (named after NPR hosts), two ponds, a small orchard, three fields, a washing barn and an impressive solar array. They plan, plant and tend to the land themselves with help from their harvest crew – consisting of Matt and Liz’s parents.

Muddy Fingers Farm currently provides food for approximately 70 area families through their CSA shares – they also have shares available at a reduced rate to low-income families – and participate in multiple farmers markets in Elmira, Corning and Ithaca. They even have gift cards so if you are afraid that you won’t be able to eat everything that comes with a weekly share you can still support the farm and pick up organic produce each week.

CSA is a win for both farmers and consumers. It gives the farmers a more stable income stream with less risk and consumers receive healthy local and in the case of Muddy Finger’s Farm organic produce all season long.

An Organic Farm Is Born This is the farm’s sixth year as certified organic and I wanted to know what that meant on the farm side of things. “We haven’t changed the way we farm; we just pay someone to label us as organic,” Liz said with a laugh. “In the past we just had a sign that said no herbicides or pesticides and for most of our customers that was fine. Then for a while we were certified naturally grown which was a good farmer-led program, but we spent all our time explaining to people what that meant.”

She also explained there are some complaints among farmers that the USDA organic program is skewed toward big agriculture because it requires a significant amount of bookkeeping for each crop that’s planted. It is much easier to keep records when farmers are growing many acres of only three or four crops rather than small farmers which need to grow many different crops in order to make a living.

Despite the extra paperwork and occasional bureaucratic red tape, they are going to continue in the program for the foreseeable future. “When I shop at the store I’m glad for the organic label, but at the farmers market I think you should just ask the person who grew the food,” Liz said.

In addition to selling food through its CSA and to regional distributors, Muddy Fingers Farm also sells seeds to local seed companies. Liz and Matt are excited about this relatively new venture and consider it to be the last step of the local food movement. “Most seeds are still grown in the arid west, but our local climate is different,” Liz stated. “We need people to breed seeds for the Northeast where it’s cold and the days are shorter. Also, at some point we aren’t going to want the daily demands of hauling to the farmers markets so it’s nice to have a diversified revenue stream.”

Last year they grew seven varieties of seeds including lettuce, two types of peppers, two types of zinnias, beans,

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canandaigua

lifestyle

soybeans, parsnips and beets. Just to give you an idea, eight 100-foot-beds of beans with two rows each will produce about 200 pounds of bean seeds and they will reserve seven pounds of seed to sow for next year’s seed crop.

An interesting side note, it turns out that beet seedlings smell like chocolate when their first flowers bloom. I’m planting my entire front yard in beets this spring.

Farm to Table?

I can still see my greatgrandmother in her kitchen with 5-year-old me sitting at the old silver aluminum table swinging my legs under the chair.

“Stir this cake mix for me,” she says.

“Sure Big Grandma, how long?” I ask.

“Till it’s done,” “How will I know when it’s done?”

“It will be done,” Big Grandma replies What? When? How? Are you a Jedi? A short time later I was demoted to playing with the leftover pie crust, my brief career as sous chef over.

My version of cooking from scratch involves opening a couple of cans, a bag of frozen veggies and a bag of frozen meatballs. I call it soup.

Liz said what we need is more people eating local but we also need people who know how to cook.

Cooking is a skill and cooking well with real ingredients even more so. It makes me wonder if small local farms fail not because of big agriculture, the economy, or politics but because people (like me) no longer know how to make meals from real food that tastes good. Full disclosure, I’m drinking a can of Coke and eating a frozen mac and cheese bowl as I type this – someone help me, please.

A Way of Life At the end of my visit, I asked Liz what advice she would give people looking to become farmers themselves.

“Start by working on a farm,” she replied. “It’s a great way to get involved

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Colorful peppers and veggies are ready and waiting for the first customers at the Grove Park Farmer’s Market in Elmira, NY.

and learn. Ironically, you can sometimes make more than the farmer you are working for since you are paid hourly then if you were comparing hours to hours. As your own boss you really get to cultivate the life that works for you but as a farmer you have to be comfortable with the fact that your to-do list will never really be done.

“Have the courage to try new things and change direction if you need to. I think people are done a disservice when they don’t remember what it is like to accomplish something with their hands. For us to see where we have come from and where we are now and to know we’ve done all of that, there’s an immense satisfaction in that.”

Liz had one final tip for me. She suggests sauteing vegetables on the stove with a little garlic, butter and soy sauce – according to her it never fails.

You can find Muddy Fingers Farm online at muddyfingersfarm.blogspot.com; all the information regarding their CSA shares, gift cards and farmers market locations are there. They also have a Facebook page and publish a weekly blog post with farm updates and what produce is available that week.

One last thing, since my visit to the farm Luna, the farm dog passed away. Her legacy lives on though Kennedy and Bella who follow in her proud tradition as tail-wagging farm dogs.

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off the easel

“Cayuga Lake Storm, Keeping the Boat off the Rocks.” Self-portrait: Mary Michael Shelley is an avid sailor.

Folk Artist Mary Shelley

Her Life in Pictures

by Nancy E. McCarthy

M

ary Michael Shelley is a self-taught folk artist. Her painted wood carvings form vibrant pictures, telling stories depicting emotions, places, people and creatures meaningful to her. Shelley, 73, has lived in Ithaca since graduating from Cornell University in 1972. Her artmaking now spans 50 years.

Shelley’s impressive body of work will be featured in her upcoming solo exhibit, “Art of the Everyday,” at the Roberson Museum and Science Center in Binghamton (July 15

through October 15). “She has shown in a lot of group shows over the years, but was overdue for a wide representation of her work,” said Peter Klosky, Roberson’s exhibitions director.

Klosky knows Shelley’s work from these previous group exhibits at the museum. However, he felt a special connection when viewing her “Sullivan’s Diner IV, Waiter Holding Fried Eggs” in one of the permanent collections at the Fenimore Museum in Cooperstown. Sullivan’s Diner was an actual restaurant in his hometown of Horseheads.

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A young admirer watches Shelley carve a new picture at the Ithaca Farmers Market.

“Nostalgia! I was hooked,” he said.

The next Sullivan Diner picture in this series, “Sullivan’s Diner Five, Waitress and Waiter at End of Day,” resides in the permanent collections of the National Museum of Women and the Arts in Washington, D.C. Klosky is not the only Shelley admirer drawn to her subject matter.

Héctor “Tito” Abruña, an art lover and Cornell professor, owns over a dozen of Shelley’s pieces. “Her work is simply stunning,” Abruña said. “She captures scenes, many of them from Ithaca and surrounding areas, with beauty and grace.” His favorite is a picture he purchased because it resembled the interior of La Bombonera, a diner in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico where he is originally from. Turns out it actually was a picture of the iconic eatery that Shelley was enchanted with during a Puerto Rico visit.

Diners are a favorite subject because restaurants are places “where people, isolated during the rest of their

day, could come together just to ‘be’ and feel a sense of instant belonging,” Shelley said.

Folk art, in its many forms, tells visual stories about daily life or the culture of a community. Since folk artists are generally self-taught, it rides the fine line of the arts versus crafts debate. Asked if her wood carvings are craft or art, Shelley said, “Well, it’s a craft until I paint it; but once painted, it becomes art.”

Her followers may be surprised to learn that Shelley never aspired to be an artist. She didn’t pursue any formal art education because she didn’t feel she had artistic talent in that way.

“A course of events in my life took me toward becoming a visual artist,” Shelley said.

On the Farm Shelley and her three brothers grew up on a Pennsylvania farm. Farms, barns, farmers and cows later became among her favorite scenes to carve.

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off the easel “Winter Solstice Rooster, Calling Back the Light”

Their parents, Duke and Ginger, met while attending Cornell University. Ginger, from a farming family, studied animal husbandry. Duke was an English major and a talented artist.

When Shelley was five, her parents stopped farming and her father worked as a commercial artist. Shelley, an avid reader, aspired to be a writer from a young age. Like her parents, she went to Cornell. Shelley first considered a psychology degree but decided to study English literature and creative writing.

(Twenty years later she went back to school, attained a master’s degree in social work and opened a counseling practice.)

Shelley’s first job after college was with a local historical society working on a team to restore the Clinton House, an 1830 hotel in downtown Ithaca. Shelley wanted to learn carpentry because it seemed more interesting and paid more than the grunt work she was assigned.

During one of her father’s visits, he scavenged a shelf

board thrown away in the renovation debris.

He later carved a picture of Shelley as a little girl riding her horse on their farm, painted the carving and sent it to her.

“This gift from my father inspired me to begin to make my own carved and painted pictures,” Shelley explained.

When she started to carve, her father advised her to use white pine, a good cutting wood which the shelf was made of, and use X-ACTO blades which don’t require sharpening. An artist friend recommended acrylic paint which she has used exclusively ever since.

Her first painted carving was very simple and small.

As she was teaching herself the skill, she began to get commissions to make carved signs. To get better at signs she read sign-making magazines – particularly how-to articles about carving gold leafed, incised letters on wooden signs.

She had also started doing carpentry work. “The skills I was building with carpentry and sign-making advanced my ability to make more complex wooden pictures,” said Shelley.

The Artist’s Process

Each piece starts with the excitement of an idea. Farm pieces are inspired by real barns – often in danger of collapse. “I feel the desire to show them before they, like their original builders, are gone,” Shelley said.

Shelley discovers these barns while driving and pulls over to take reference photos from several angles. Later, she sketches the barn and adds imagined details: cows, farmers carrying buckets, a glorious sky, a tractor. Her process recaptures feelings she had growing up on a farm.

It takes numerous sketches before Shelley feels confident that the drawing will result in a good picture. “I like to work out my ideas with a pencil rather than a carving knife,” she said. “I do reduction “Davenport, NY Barn - Winter Scene” - unpainted “Davenport, NY Barn - Winter Scene” carving, starting with solid boards and chip away background material to reveal various shapes. Once I have carved the the inner frame with gold leaf, a material starts carving with traditional mallet and background wood away there is no way she discovered during her sign-making chisels. When completed, she paints to put wood back on and make changes.” years. the piece with acrylics. “I like them Shelley traces the sketch onto a because they have little odor and dry white pine board using carbon paper and quickly,” she said. She then embellishes M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 3 ~ ­­­­­­­­­­­­85­

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off the easel

Until 1991 when she became a social worker, Shelley supplemented her art income with sign making and carpentry jobs. In 1976, Shelley connected with American folk art scholar Jay Johnson who owned America’s Folk Heritage Gallery in Manhattan. Johnson became both a mentor and friend and represented her work until his death in 1990.

“My artists are mostly self-trained and can be called naive artists because they have a certain innocence but at the same time have more sophistication and finish than primitive artists,” said Johnson in a 1985 interview. “They are attractive to the public because people want to get to the basics, to buy representational art that communicates.

Folk art communicates easily and has an integrity that gets across to people. It is spiritually uplifting.”

Shelley still misses him.

Present Day Shelley has a longtime supportive life partner, grown children and interests outside of art-making (she’s an avid sailor). Yet, as an artist she experiences a sense of isolation from working alone for many hours of the day. Shelley finds community and camaraderie at the bustling Ithaca Farmers Market where her “gallery” is Booth #3 on summer Saturdays

Absolut Vodka advertisment – a career highlight. Swedish vodka company Absolut collaborated with top artists to create works that celebrate and advertise the liquor company.

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ever since Johnson passed away. Shelley often carves pictures at her booth which attracts and fascinates visitors and fellow vendors. It’s how Abruña discovered her work.

“Mary is an Ithaca treasure,” said Freeville artist Jacques Schickel who came to know and admire her work since becoming a farmers market vendor in 2021.

“A beautiful example of her mastery can be seen in ‘Winter Solstice Rooster, Calling Back the Light.’ It is stunning how Mary carves the sun into a fluid light.”

Shelley’s upcoming Roberson Museum is a retrospective of her amazing 50-year art career. “Art of the Everyday” is a traveling exhibit that also had a three-month run at the Fenimore Museum last year and is scheduled at the Arkell Museum in Canajorie, New York in 2024.

She estimates that she has made more than 2,000 painted carvings, maybe even closer to 3,000. Through the years, carving and painting one picture at a time, Shelley has chiseled out an extraordinary national reputation as an accomplished folk artist.

“Maple Syruping, Burdett, NY Barn with Round Hay Bales.”

Visit maryshelleyfolkart.com for more information.

Follow “Folk Art Mary”on Instagram and Facebook.

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wine, spirits & brews

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id you know reading benefits your health? Yes, it improves your focus, memory, empathy and communication skills.

Even though life is often busier than ever, making the effort to read every day is important and pays off in the long run. So why not consider improving your health with one of these titles which range from family sagas to science fiction, suspense to snowstorms and new scholarly research.

The Archaeology of Harriet Tubman’s Life in Freedom

by Douglas V. Armstrong Syracuse University Press press.syr.edu 2022

H

arriet Tubman is well known as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and a Union soldier, spy and nurse during the Civil War. This book examines Tubman’s less familiar life in freedom from 1859 until her death in 1913, drawing on nearly 20 years of archaeological and historical findings at Tubman’s properties in Auburn and Fleming. It provides fresh insight into her commitment to social justice, women’s rights and care for elderly African-Americans.

After her passing, buildings at Tubman’s farmstead deteriorated or were destroyed, but her properties remained together thanks to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church’s ownership. Countless artifacts uncovered by the author and his students shed new light on Tubman’s social activism, along with structural evidence of buildings like John Brown Hall, Tubman’s Home for the Aged. Historic research and restoration efforts, including the archaeological studies, ultimately led to partnering with the National Park Service and the establishment of Harriet Tubman National Park in 2017.

This extensively researched book includes photographs, maps, tables and notes, insuring its lasting value to researchers.

Douglas V. Armstrong, Ph.D., is a professor of anthropology in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Besides archaeological and historical research in New York, he has been active in the Caribbean since the late 1970s.

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Historic Snowstorms of Central New York Jim Farfaglia The History Press historypress.com 2022

W

ant to cool down on a hot day? Read about Central New Yorkers’ firsthand experiences with Mother Nature’s wintery wrath. This chronologically arranged overview includes over 100 cities, towns and hamlets and is both entertaining and often overwhelming. Some of these illustrated stories of people dealing with lake-effect snow, blizzards and whiteout conditions came to light following the author’s earlier book, Voices in the Storm: Stories from the Blizzard of ’66.

Beginning in the 18th century is the account of frost-bite experienced by troops in the Revolutionary War. Bone-shivering recollections highlight 1816 when winter lasted all year. Other consequentail storm years and decades are singled out. Before cell phones, GPS, and snow blowers, being snowed in or stranded offered significant challenges. Firsthand accounts range from the serious to the amusing like the Oswego College students who got national exposure when a snow bank was turned into a bar. Ending with the “snowy ‘70s” and another “blast of blizzard stories from 1966,” the book relies on historical and meteorological records, countless

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T A S T I N G S B Y R E S E R VA T I O N

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personal memories and local newspaper stories.

Jim Farfaglia, a self-proclaimed winter lover, has authored books on the Oswego County’s unique muck farms, the founding of the state’s first search and rescue team and the Nestlé factory in Fulton, among others.

A Symbiotic Partnership: Marrying Commerce to Education at Gustav Stickley’s 1903 Arts & Crafts Exhibitions

by Bruce A. Austin RIT Press rit.edu/press 2022

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raveling art exhibitions were a novelty in 1903. However, that year an arts and crafts exhibit traveled from

Syracuse to Rochester, pre-dating the Armory Show of 1913, considered the first such exhibition to be presented at more than one venue. A decade earlier the 12-day exhibit sponsored by Gustav Stickley’s United Crafts in Syracuse moved for 10 days to the Mechanics Institute, the forerunner of Rochester Institute of Technology. This monograph explores how the partnership came about and benefited both organizations.

Rochester was the first American

community to form an Arts and Crafts Society. Mechanics Institute was a receptive venue. A significant link between the manufacturer and institution was the institute’s purchase for its new Eastman Building of a Stickley dining set and corner cupboard, the latter survives today. Several Rochester arts and crafts devotees were also linked to both Stickley and Mechanics Institute.

Theodore Hanford Pond of Mechanics Institute ‘s Department of Applied and Fine Arts provided the “muscle” behind the collaboration.

Detailed notations, assorted archival and contemporary photographs with intriguing views of the Mechanics Institute exhibit space provide context.

This first title in RIT Press’s Arts & Crafts Movement monograph series is by Bruce Austin, PhD, professor in RIT’s School of Communication whose writings include a book on Frans Wildenhain 1950-75.

(Continued on page 92)

N O U R I S H I NG C OM M UN I T IE S

For more than 40 years, Foodlink has worked alongside hundreds of community partners to address both the symptoms and root causes of poverty and food insecurity across the Rochester and Finger Lakes region. Supporters like you make it all possible.

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A 55and Older Manufactured Housing Community located in the Heart of the Finger Lakes.

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A 55 and older Manufactured Housing Community located between Hammondsport and Bath.

Single story homes with attached garages, with lawn moving and snow removal, plus community clubhouse.

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REED HOMESTEAD SHOP gifts finger lakes flaire curiosities

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Wonders in the Waves Jennifer Collins Words in the Wings Press, Inc. wordsinthewingspress.com 2022

T

his sequel to Comfort in the Wings finds Larissa Whitcomb leaving the Finger Lakes setting for coastal beachside surroundings in Florida. Following tantalizing clues in old family letters and postcards, she and her adult son, Eric, continue looking for the child she was forced to give up for adoption when she was 16. At the same time, they are grieving the loss of Eric’s older sister Emma, who died of an accidental drug overdose. The interpersonal relationships which develop while the pair searches for the sibling create surprising plot twists.

Those readers struggling with a loss or trying to reconnect with a loved one will find the circumstances sensitively portrayed. In different ways mother and son are eager to track down their missing family member. Faced with many unknowns, Larissa gains strength from the steadfast support of close friends and a former husband. Walks along the ocean provide a calming respite and Laura interprets the “signs” she often sees in nature not as coincidences but as communication from Emma.

The personal losses of family experienced by author Jennifer Collins, a retired physical therapist and college professor, contribute to a well-crafted plot with authentic characters. This can be read independently of the author’s first book.

Falling In: The Lakeville Project: Book One C. S. Robbie 7th Option Press 2021

I

n this young adult science fiction novel, 18-year-old Chelsea Raleigh starts to question her sanity during one summer in her quiet hometown of Lakeville on scenic Conesus Lake. While her parents are touring Europe, Chelsea’s world is upended by a new romance with a strikingly handsome young man who pulls her from the lake where she was escaping from bees. The uneasy feeling that she is being watched and the aftermath of a breakup with a former boyfriend further unsettle Chelsea’s world.

Is there something sinister lurking in this otherwise peaceful lakeside setting? Sleepless nights, menacing dreams and hallucinations – like seeing Barney, her long-deceased dog running through a field – make Chelsea

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The Red Bird Café and Gift Shop

fearful. A reluctance to trust her family, friends, co-workers and We know how to cut the crusts. Reserve your neighbors with her experiences Afternoon Tea made especially for you!

The Red Bird increasingly leads to Chelsea’s Café Bakery Gifts 35 pp plus tax isolation. The reader is invited along Shop the gift shop for April Cornell traditional linens! on this topsy-turvy tale and, like the protagonist, is uncertain at times Tues-Sat 11-4 with what is real.

25 Main St., Brockport, NY 14420 C.S. Robbie is the pseudonym of Jennifer Gallup, a SUNY Geneseo redbirdcafeandgiftshop.com • 585-637-3340 graduate and an early intervention speech pathologist who lives in Ontario County. Her passion for MP_The_Red_Bird_Cafe_23_LIFL_1_FW.indd 1 1/30/23 12:42 PM language and communication brought her back to her love of writing. The second book in the series, Lies in the Deep: Book Two in the Lakeville Project is currently available.

Echoes through the Valley Paul Mitchell East Hill Views Publishing easthillviews.com 2022

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he fictional Johnson farm near Naples survives by following seasonal routines year after year during the Vietnam War and its aftermath. But personal decisions made in 1968 by Annie and Daniel, a young couple at the center of this tale, set in motion events that

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book look

AMISH COUNTRY STORE

profoundly affect each other and the Johnsons. How will Danny’s joining the Marines change his future and Annie’s? The uncertainties are pronounced, poignant and impactful.

The book delves into that complex turbulent period with its often-raw conflicting points of view. At Cornell University the eldest Johnson daughter embraces the anti-war movement while the future of her younger draft-age twin brothers hangs in the balance. The book aptly captures those changing times through its detailed references, effectively recalling local and national news events. Daniel’s life experiences are often told through letters to and from Annie and those Johnson family members with whom he retains a familial-like bond. Some disturbing aspects of Danny’s military experience are shared in correspondence with Jack, a Marine veteran.

While this is an engrossing prequel to Paul Mitchell’s first novel, Mountains Can Move, it can stand alone. The lifelong Finger Lakes resident’s fictional family saga is completed by Beyond Still Waters released in 2023.

at Weaver View Farms Overlooking Seneca Lake

Murder at Freedom Hill Karen Shughart Cozy Cat Press cozycatoress.com 2022

R

1850s barn filled to the rafters with dozens of Amish quilts & quilting fabrics 386 St. Rt. 14, Penn Yan, NY 14527

315-781-2571

etiree Edmund DeCleryk is ready to take on a furniture refinishing project at home. But when the mayor of the coastal community of Lighthouse Cove, NY is found shot to death, DeCleryk, a former Navy SEAL and retired village police chief, must help solve the murder. The crime scene is the beach at Freedom Hill, an historic site where fugitive slaves once crossed Lake Ontario to freedom in Canada. As with the two other books in the DeCleryk mystery series, an historical backstory with links to the crime is interspersed.

Ed is helped by his wife, Annie, who oversees the local historical society and museum in restoring a settlement where abolitionists and freed people lived. Characters in the previous novels return, including the female police chief, struggling with the demands of career and family. The narrative focuses on the DeCleryks’ combined crime-solving skills but murder suspects abound, keeping them and the investigating team frustrated. The long-married sleuths’ trips to Canada and South Carolina provide new clues to expose a murderer.

This is mystery à la carte with recipes for meals Annie prepares included at the end. Karen Shughart has also written two non-fiction books and worked as an editor, publicist, photographer, journalist, teacher and nonprofit executive.

Magic in a Bottle Clifford G. Annis, Jr. Outskirts Press, Inc. outskirtspress.com 2019

D

r. Konstantin Frank, well-known viticulturist and winery owner, is credited with making the Finger Lakes wine industry what it is today.

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VIKING CRUISES PRESENTATION WITH WINE AND CHEESE PAIRING This book demonstrates how his influence reached beyond the region to Northeast Ohio. Arnie Esterer and Tim Hubbar, founders of Marko Vineyard, succeeded in producing the best vinifera wines in Ohio’s Conneaut Creek region despite Lake Erie’s cool climate.

Thanks to guidance from Dr. Frank, who had faced a similar challenge, the winery they opened in 1968 is credited with leading the way to the next generation of European-style vinifera growers and winemakers in Ohio.

The story of Markko Vineyard, its successes and failures, is told largely through Arnie’s own words and identifies others who contributed to the winery’s development. Arnie became one of Dr. Frank’s “Cooperators” or disciples who learned from him and spread vinifera vine growing techniques to other Eastern states. The author relates that despite the passing of both founders, Markko Vineyard today is doing well under Arnie’s children’s leadership.

Clifford G. Annis, Jr., a first-time author, grew up in the Finger Lakes Region. Currently a consultant with a pharmaceutical firm, he credits Evan Dawson’s Summer in a Glass about the Finger Lakes wine industry with inspiring this valuable book.

Hosted by Ken and Kathy Biggins May 17, 2023 at 6:30 PM • Location: NY Kitchen RSVP to: Ken.biggins@cruiseplanners.com by May 3rd LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE • www.SeaAndShoreVacations.com

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Chair Caning

Call Chris or Paula • All types of chair re-weaving • 35 years experience

Celebrating our 70th Anniversary!

M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 3 ~ ­­­­­­­­­­­­95­

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The Finger Lakes Choice For

Exceptional Ingredients Featuring original paintings from a select group of talented local artists. Stop by and meet the artists or shop online.

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SPRING PLANTINGS HAVE ARRIVED!

Spring Flowers, Vegetables, Hanging Baskets, Deck Pots, Perennials, Shrubs, Trees, Pottery, Statues, Birdbaths, Fountains, Outdoor Furniture & Much More!

NEW! – Curbside Service, Online Ordering Stop by gardeners’ paradise at ...

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IN YOUR HOME! www.cabave.com

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Because Art Moves!

Because Art Moves!

Because Art Moves!

Because Art Moves!

Naglee Fine Arts has service packages available.

Fine Arts has service packages transport available. it WeNaglee will install/deinstall your artwork, We will install/deinstall it to our secure warehouse,your andartwork, store it transport for however to our long secure warehouse, store for however you are away.and Peace ofitmind.

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Used by major museums and institutions, as well as Used by major museums and institutions, as well as private collectors. References available. private collectors. References available.

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Naglee Fine Arts has service packages available.

We will install/deinstall your artwork, transport it to our secure warehouse, and store it for however long you are away. Peace of mind.

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tonics, snacks & more!

shopping & services

Finger Lakes souvenirs, cutting boards, fine silk knits, greeting cards, baskets…

Old-Fashioned sodas, smoothies, teas & Featuring coffees Finger Lake Artisan Foods

Light lunches & desserts & Handcrafted Gifts

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Drive Thru Available

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Sales benefitOpen YatesTues County - Sat children! www.millyspantry.org 10am - 4pm

Find us onSales facebook benefit

Find us Yates County children! on FacebookFor more info visit: www.millyspantry.org

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FREE weekly E-Newsletter

for events happening throughout the Finger Lakes

Sign up on FingerLakesMagazine.com M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 3 ~ ­­­­­­­­­­­­99­

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culture & attractions

Home of the World’s Largest Herd of White Deer

Deer Haven Park!

White Deer & Military History Tours Bus Tours Auto Tours Private Tours deerhavenpark.org

5479 NY-96A Romulus, NY 14541 Call 8-DEER-TOURS (833-378-6877)

Rose Hill Mansion

Geneva History Museum

A Hidden Gem in the Heart of Central New York Come Walk through History with Us! Three Unique Museums ~ One Price!

Brockway Trucks & Memorabilia Local History  Trains Military Memorabilia  Tractors Agricultural Heritage and More!

NEW & EXPANDED EXHIBITS!

Handicapped Accessible  Plenty of Parking

Telling Geneva’s Stories tours ∗ shop ∗ exhibits

call 315-789-5151 or visit historicgeneva.org for 2023 schedule

Planning a Function?

Ask about our Rental Spaces & Rates Visit Our Website for Event Listings and Additional Information

OPEN: Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 5 Last Admission is at 4:00 PM Rentals and Groups are Welcome Anytime with Prior Arrangements

Open Daily: 10am-5pm

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Halfway between Syracuse & Binghamton 1/2 mile off I-81, exit 12 - Route 11 South

Lukacs Pottery Shop for unique, functional art and other fine hand-made crafts 7060 State Route 14 • Sodus Point, NY 14555 315-483-4357 • lukacspottery.com

Admission:

$10 Adults Children are FREE (12 and under)

info@flbm.org

www.flbm.org

607-569-2222

H MAY 16 - OCT 31 O Tues - Fri 10am-4pm U Saturday 10am-2pm R NOV 1 - MAY 14 S Tues - Thurs 11am-4pm We have something for everyone!

Upcoming Events: June 15-17: Ice Cream Social & Heritage Weekend Aug 1-3: “Dig Camp” for ALL AGES Aug 5: “Pirates at the Museums” with Music and Food Aug 6: Pirate Whitley’s Ghost Walk and Hunt Sept 16: “Murder, Mystery and Tragedy” Tour

132 Market St., Palmyra, NY 14522 315-597-6981 • www.historicpalmyrany.com Historic Palmyra, Palmyra, NY • Historic Palmyra, Historically Haunted

The perfect gift that keeps giving all year!

When you gift a subscription, the recipient receives six beautiful issues delivered directly to their mailbox throughout the year.

(800) 344-0559 • FingerLakesMagazine.com

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Children's Room Suggett House Museum Research Center Hours Wed - Sat 12:00 - 5:00 pm

25 Homer Ave Cortland, NY 607.756.6071

culture & attractions

First Cruise of the Season May 2nd!

NOW BOOKING Private Charters, Groups & Individual Tickets www.cortlandhistory.org

Specialty Cruises: Dr. Frank Wine Tasting Cruise DRAG Me To Cocktail Cruise Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Princess Ice Cream Social Taste The Finger Lakes & More

Lunch Cruises 12-2pm • Afternoon Cruises 2:30-4pm Dinner Cruises 6:30-8:30pm

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Canandaigua Lady

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Colonial Belle Cruising The Historic Erie Canal Lock Tours, Lunch, Dinner & Brunch Themed/Event Cruises Private Charters Available Fun for the Entire Family!

TOUROUR OUR FARM FARM && TOUR BROWSE OUR GIFT SHOP BROWSE TOUR OUR OUR GIFT FARMSHOP & Our alpaca farm is the largest in the Fall is a wonderful time to visit us hereSHOP on the farm.

BROWSE OUR GIFT Finger Lakes area. You will have the The coolerTOUR temperatures and Fall colors make for an OUR FARM opportunity to farm meet our herd of 60+ & alpacas.

Our alpaca is the largest in the enjoyable visit with our alpacas and the most gorgeous Learn alpaca history & care while touring BROWSE OUR GIFT SHOP area.

You will have the for photo Finger ops. WeLakes are open Tuesday through Sunday

the vintagetobarns.

Individual and groupalpacas. tours. opportunity herd of tours and/or a visit meet tofarm our our store.

We also60+ offer yoga with Our alpaca is the largest in the theLearn alpacas if you are looking for a new and fun way alpaca history care while Finger Lakes area.&You will havetouring the to interact with friendly on our the vintage barns.

Individual group tours. opportunity toour meet ouralpacas. herdand of Register 60+ alpacas. website for a tour or yoga. Preregistration is required to Learn alpaca historystaff & care whiletotouring insure we have the correct available make your the vintage barns.

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Book Online or by Phone 585-223-9470 • colonialbelle.com 400 Packett’s Landing • Fairport, NY

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Open 7 Days a Week April through Dec 10am-4pm (Sunday 1-4pm) 6925 State Route 5, Bloomfield, New York 14469 585-257-5119 • www.antiquewireless.org

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Bristol Valley Theater..........................................................bvtnaples.org.............................................................................................47

Geneva Music Festival......................................................genevamusicfestival.com.................................................................27

CabAve Kitchens....................................................................cavesmillwork.com................................................................................97

German Brothers Marina Inc.......................................germanbrothers.com.......................................................................... 49

Canandaigua BID..................................................................downtowncanandaigua.com....................................................... 98

Granger Homestead & Museum...............................grangerhomestead.org..............................................................75, 101

The Canandaigua Lady....................................................cndgalady.com.........................................................................................101

Hartleys Auto & RV..............................................................cortlandrv.com........................................................................................103

Cayuga County Tourism...................................................tourcayuga.com.................................................................................11, 43

Heberle Properties LLC.....................................................airbnb.com/h/hunters-hill-retreat.............................................91

Cayuga Landscape Company.....................................cayugalandscape.com.........................................................................16

Hejamada Campground & RV Park........................hejamadacampground.com.........................................................103

ChamberFest Canandaigua..........................................chamberfestcanandaigua.com...................................................25

The Highlands at Pittsford.............................................highlandsatpittsford.org.....................................................................13

Cherry Grove Campground...........................................cherrygrovecampground.com...................................................103

Historic Palmyra.....................................................................historicpalmyrany.com.................................................................... 100

Clifton Springs Chamber of Commerce...............cliftonspringschamber.com.............................................................10

Holiday Hill Campground...............................................holidayhillcampground.com........................................................103

CNY Living History Center..............................................cnylivinghistory.org............................................................................ 100

Horning Woodworking.....................................................justplainbusiness.com/horning-woodworking............. 96

Cobblestone Springs..........................................................cobblestonesprings.org......................................................................12

Howard Hanna - Brighton Office..............................soldbyrichtesta.com................................................................Cover 2

Colonial Belle............................................................................colonialbelle.com...................................................................................101

The Inde Design Studio....................................................theindestudio.com..................................................................................14

Colonial Motel..........................................................................colonialmotelkeuka.com...................................................................87

Ithaca/Tompkins County CVB.....................................tompkinschamber.org............................................................................3

Corning & The Southern FL - Farm Country.......corningfingerlakes.com.....................................................................76

Johnson Furniture Restoration...................................jfrestoration.com......................................................................................93

Corning Museum of Glass..............................................cmog.org........................................................................................................23

Joseph’s Wayside Market................................................josephswaysidemarket.com......................................................... 98

Cortland County Historical Society........................cortlandhistory.org...............................................................................101

Kayak Time - Guided Tours............................................kayaktimetours.com............................................................................101

Cricket on the Hearth.........................................................cricketonthehearth.com.....................................................................61

Kendal at Ithaca.....................................................................kai.kendal.org................................................................................Cover 3

Crown Jewelry.........................................................................mycrowndowntown.com................................................................. 96

Keuka Outlet Development, LLC -

Cruise Planners -

The Moorings on Keuka............................................mooringsonkeuka.com..........................................................................7

Sea and Shore Vacations LLC..............................seaandshorevacations.com...........................................................95

Lakeview Court LLC.............................................................mhvillage.com............................................................................................91

Crunch Time Apple Growers........................................crunchtimeapplegrowers.com......................................................15

Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars...........................lamoreauxwine.com............................................................................ 89

Deer Haven Park....................................................................deerhavenpark.org............................................................................. 100

Lamplighter Ministries......................................................lamplighter.net..........................................................................................79

Dolce Panepinto, Attorneys at Law.........................dolcepanepinto.com..............................................................................51

Lazy Acre Alpacas/

Downtown Ithaca Alliance............................................downtownithaca.com..........................................................................62

Alpaca Country Clothing & Gifts........................lazyacrealpacas.com...........................................................................101

Dr. Konstantin Frank Wines..........................................drfrankwines.com................................................................................. 89

LeRoy Historical Society..................................................jellomuseum.com..................................................................................101

Dudley Poultry.........................................................................dudleypoultry.com................................................................................ 96

Lollypops & Polkadots......................................................lollipops-polkadots.business.com........................................... 96

Early Owego Antique Center........................................pickowego.com....................................................................................... 98

Long Point Winery................................................................longpointwinery.com.......................................................................... 88

Eastman Community Music School.......................esm.rochester.edu..................................................................................79

Lukacs Studios Pottery.....................................................lukacspottery.com............................................................................... 100

Eastview Mall...........................................................................eastviewmall.com...................................................................................82

Lupos Premium Meats & Marinades.....................spiedes.com.................................................................................................16

Endless Mountain Music Festival............................endlessmountain.net...........................................................................84

Lynnie Lou’s...............................................................................lynnielous.com..........................................................................................92

Explore Steuben County -

Main Street Arts.....................................................................mainstreetartscs.org...............................................................................8

Corning & Southern FL..............................................corningfingerlakes.com......................................................................17

Manchester Mission Furniture...................................manchestermissionfurniture.com............................................ 98

F. Oliver’s Oils and Vinegars..........................................folivers.com................................................................................................. 96

Mark’s Leisure Time Marine..........................................marksleisuretimemarine.com.......................................................72

Finger Lakes Boating Museum..................................flbm.org........................................................................................................ 100

Mayflowers Garden.............................................................mayflowersnurserygarden.com..................................................97

Finger Lakes Museum.......................................................fingerlakesmuseum.org.....................................................................77

Meadeville Farm Pumpkin Patch..............................meadevillefarm.com............................................................................ 86

Finger Lakes Premier Properties..............................flpplake.com.................................................................................................91

Miami Motel...............................................................................motelmiami.com.......................................................................................61

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camping

From Tenting to Large RVs Located near Lake Ontario. Family oriented park with seasonal and overnight accommodations.

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www.cherrygrovecampground.com

315-594-8320

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Milly’s Pantry............................................................................millyspantry.org....................................................................................... 99

Route 96 Power & Paddle..............................................powerandpaddle.com..........................................................................18

Monier Manor B & B............................................................moniermanor.com................................................................................. 86

Roy’s Marina Inc....................................................................roysmarina.net..........................................................................................95

Mr. Twistee’s...............................................................................mrtwistees.com...................................................................................... 99

Seward House Museum..................................................sewardhouse.org....................................................................................73

Naglee Fine Arts....................................................................nagleegroup.com................................................................................... 98

Sheldrake Point Winery...................................................sheldrakepoint.com............................................................................. 49

New Energy Works TimberFramers........................newenergyworks.com...........................................................Cover 4

Signlanguage Inc..................................................................signlanguageinc.com..........................................................................23

Nolan’s on Canandaigua Lake....................................nolansonthelake.com...........................................................................81

Silver Lake Marine, Inc......................................................silverlakemarine.com..............................................................................4

North Star Art Gallery........................................................northstarartgallery.com....................................................................68

Skaneateles Festival...........................................................skanfest.org.................................................................................................29

NY Kitchen..................................................................................nykitchen.com...........................................................................................29

Smith Boys of Rochester, Inc.......................................smithboys.com..........................................................................................28

The P. Tribastone Fine Art Gallery.............................patriciatribastoneart.com..................................................................81

St. Ann’s Community..........................................................stannscommunity.com.......................................................................63

Pastel Cookies.........................................................................pastelcookies.com................................................................................ 99

Studio Sales Pottery Supply Co.................................studiosalespottery.com.......................................................................51

Pat’s Pizzeria.............................................................................patspizzas.com.........................................................................................20

Sutter’s Marina........................................................................suttersmarina.com................................................................................ 98

Pettis Pools & Patio.............................................................pettispools.com........................................................................................42

Sweet Expressions...............................................................sweetexpressionsonline.com...................................................... 99

Phelps Historical Society................................................phelpsny.com..............................................................................................18

Timber Frames Inc...............................................................timberframesinc.com..........................................................................67

Pittsford Fine Art....................................................................pittsfordfineart.com............................................................................. 96

Unique Toy Shop....................................................................uniquetoyshop.com...............................................................................81

Plenty the Bakery..................................................................plentythebakery.com...........................................................................97

Ventosa Vineyards................................................................ventosavineyards.com....................................................................... 89

Project LeanNation..............................................................projectleannation.com.......................................................................40

Vinifera...........................................................................................44linden.com............................................................................................. 99

Quiet Country Estates........................................................quietcountryestates.net.....................................................................91

Ward O’Hara Agricultural Museum.........................wardwoharaagriculturalmuseum.org....................................60

The Quiet Place.......................................................................thequietplace.com.................................................................................87

Weaver View Farms.............................................................weaverviewfarms.com...................................................................... 94

Rasa Spa......................................................................................rasaspa.com................................................................................................75

Wegmans....................................................................................wegmans.com..............................................................................................6

Recollections Antiques...................................................................................................................................................................................95

West End Gallery...................................................................westendgallery.net................................................................................67

The Red Bird Cafe & Gift Shop....................................redbirdcafeandgiftshop.com.........................................................93

Wildflower Hills.......................................................................wildflowerhills.com................................................................................91

Reed Homestead...................................................................reedhomestead.com............................................................................92

The Windmill Farm & Craft Market..........................thewindmill.com.......................................................................................71

RJ Cars Inc..................................................................................rjcars.com.....................................................................................................97

Zugibe Vineyards...................................................................zugibevineyards.com.......................................................................... 88

Rochester City Ballet..........................................................rochestercityballet.org.......................................................................39

M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 3 ~ ­­­­­­­­­­­­103­

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finger lakes regional map

Areas of Interest in the May/June 2023 issue 1 Branchport (p.74) 2 Canandaigua (p.24, 41) 3 Candor (p.19)

4 Corning (p.72) 5 Geneseo (p.54) 6 Geneva (p.24)

7 Hammondsport (p.72) 8 Hector (p.78) 9 Ithaca (p.83)

10 Lyons (p.58) 11 Painted Post (p.72) 12 Penn Yan (p.30, 58)

13 Rochester (p.44) 14 Skaneateles (p.24)

From Oswego

Lake Ontario

Hilton

104

Sodus Bay

Sodus Point

MONROE Webster Brockport

104

Sodus

Baldwinsville

Rochester

490

13

E. Rochester Macedon

490

From Buffalo

Caledonia

Honeoye Falls

390

5

Avon

Geneseo Mt. Morris

Lima

20A

5

90

LIVINGSTON

Manchester Shortsville Canandaigua 20

5

2

5

90

Clifton Springs Phelps

ONTARIO 20

5

Geneva

Waterloo

Seneca Falls

20

Cayuga

SENECA

20A

7

Auburn

14

20

Union Springs

ONONDAGA

11

20

11

9

8 Aurora Moravia

5

Penn Yan

12

Dundee

8

6

Avoca

7

Watkins Glen

Bath

Hornell Canisteo

Lamoka Lake

Hammondsport

86 17

9

SCHUYLER

Dryden

Cayuga Heights

Ithaca

Burdett

N

From Binghamton

Rexville

3 Candor

Spencer 17

Painted Post

Horseheads

11 Corning Elmira CHEMUNG Heights 4

Elmira

Addison

TIOGA

Waverly

Finger Lakes 1 Conesus 2 Hemlock 3 Canadice

4 5 6 7

Newark Valley

Van Etten

Owego

15

The Finger Lakes Region of New York State

Marathon

Montour Cayuta Lake Falls TOMPKINS Odessa

STEUBEN 86

McGraw 81

Lansing

Waneta Lake

CORTLAND

11

Trumansburg

Cohocton 390

Cortland Groton

1 Prattsburgh

Homer

Interlaken

Branchport

Wayland

CAYUGA

Ovid

YATES

Naples

From Jamestown

Manlius 81

10

6

Honeoye

390

Dansville

Fayetteville

Syracuse 481

Skaneateles 20

5

4

2

Solvay 690

Weedsport

3

1

Nunda

Newark

90

Jordan

10

From Utica

481

Marcellus

Victor

Bloomfield

Livonia Hemlock

Clyde

Lyons

Palmyra

90

90

North 11 Syracuse

WAYNE

Fairport

490

Oneida Lake

81

104

104

Spencerport

From Watertown

Wolcott

Honeoye Canandaigua Keuka Seneca

86

17

From Binghamton

8 Cayuga 9 Owasco 10 Skaneateles 11 Otisco

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83488 Kendal DogAD for LIF T: 8.125” x 10.875”

B: .125” all sides L: 7.625” x 10.375”

4c process

Exploring Ithaca’s spectacular landscape with her trusty pal, Tasha, gives Loretta great scenery and even better company. Whether she’s hiking to the heart of the gorge or just taking in the falls, she always enjoys the natural beauty of the area.

Living at Kendal at Ithaca not only keeps Loretta connected to the beautiful lakes, waterfalls and scenery of the Finger Lakes, but guarantees that any extra care she may need someday is close at hand. And from here, the story just keeps getting better.

Come for a visit and tell us your story. Call 1-800-253-6325 or go to kai.kendal.org to learn more.

2230 N. Triphammer Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850

A not-for-profit continuing care retirement community serving older adults in the Quaker tradition. ©2014 KENDAL

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