When you think of New York, do you think about guests like this by your back deck?
We were greeted with this cute wild turkey family, waddling across the back lawn. I took these photos from inside the house. Too bad the screen door wasn’t pushed all the way over to the other side. It looks like two hens and their chicks. I was actually pretty pleased with how they came out considering they were taken through the glass door.
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Filed under: Wildlife on July 24th, 2008 | No Comments »
If you don’t have a credit card but need to make an online purchase and you don’t even have a Paypal account, what can you do? Sign up for EBillme and take the hassle out of online purchase payment. Or if you don’t feel like divulging your credt card number and want to pay cash, this is a way to keep things private. 
I ordered some in-ear canal headphones for my Creative Media Player and a quick battery charger from Tiger Direct, and used EBillme to pay for the purchase. All I had to do was pick the items I wanted to purchase. Then where you select payment options you simply pick EBillme and get invoiced. Then you go to your bank account and your bill pay page and add EBillme as a payee and pay the bill. Of course once the EBillme account is setup in your online bank bill pay system you just pay for the purchase with a click of the mouse. No fuss no muss!
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Filed under: Misc on July 24th, 2008 | No Comments »
Roses do grow well in this area as long as you can figure out how to keep the Japanese Beetles away. I have yet to find a remedy that works 100% of the time. If you know of one, please share especially if it is an organic solution.
Here are some roses from my three rose bushes.
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Filed under: Gardening on July 23rd, 2008 | No Comments »
You probably don’t believe that Upstate New York residents have hot tubs, but they do. They just get a little expensive to run in the winter. However, languishing in a tub under the stars with snow reflecting the moonlight, more than makes up for the extra expense. If you don’t want to use it in the winter, simply add antifreeze and close it up for the season. Or better still, use your neighbors! That’s what we do.
Now if you know anything about these tubs you will know that hot tub covers are kind of ugly. 
But you can turn this liability into an asset with these easy, trim to fit, spas scenes. They are durable, obviously water proof and are chemical resistant. There are several gorgeous scenes to choose from and they come with a two year warranty. So even if it is winter, you can dream about the warm sunny beaches in the Bahamas while you sip your pina collada under the stars!
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Filed under: Misc on July 23rd, 2008 | No Comments »
In an effort to cut down on what I bring up to the cabin to make more room in the car I have been evaluating my travel supplies. I found a another few feet of room! On our next trip we will have the dog and cat because we will be gone for a week rather than a weekend. And speaking of weekends, this past weekend we saw some fun things. Right by our deck, an osprey plucked a fish out of the water and flew around in a circle for ages before he/she disappeared over the tree tops. She was probably trying to confuse anyone watching her and draw them away from where she probably had a nest. It was apparent that she wasn’t going to eat the rather large bass she had in her mouth but was going to feed it to her young. It was fun to watch at such close quarters. We didn’t even need binoculars. And because our deck is significantly higher than the water, she was almost level with us.
Did you know that there are boat houses on Black Lake; the kind they used to pull boats into? Even though you can no longer build these houses, the old ones are allowed to stay. I just love them, and they lend a kind of old world charm to the lake. Here are two of them. I have never seen any boats in them. Do you know of any boat houses in New York?
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Filed under: Misc, Places on July 22nd, 2008 | No Comments »
Finally I am getting some action in the garden. Sustained heat (often in short supply in Upstate New York) is required for those warm weather vegetables. I even have some veggies coming back from the dead. The cut worms (I think they were cut worms) got most of the stems of my heirloom cukes that I planted from seed, but one is starting to look lively again and the purchased cukes are doing well.
So we have cukes, zucchini, cabbage and broccoli, three rows of several different varieties of tomatoes (many started from seed too), and several types of lettuce. Off hand I don’t remember what varieties except for Deer’s Tongue which is easy to remember since it’s an amusing name. I swear I need a memory upgrade these days, I can’t remember anything. A few herbs are growing as well. There are blooms on the tomatoes so I am hopeful for an end of August harvest. I plan on canning most of them.
I’ve kept up with the weeding and this is a first. In fact I am headed out there now to do some more. How is your garden doing?
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Filed under: Misc on July 17th, 2008 | No Comments »
I found this book:
over at a blog I frequent, New York Outdoors. I figured it was the perfect book to have at the cabin since many of the hikes are not that far away. Since we will be going up there for 10 days we will need a break from the lake, and what better way then a few short hikes. I already have my eye on one in particular and will report back with pictures once we have completed the two loops. Many of these hikes are easy enough that I won’t need to condition and bring a diet supplement to complete them!
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Filed under: Misc on July 16th, 2008 | No Comments »
Every year in April, Cornell University holds an open house run by it’s students in it’s veterinary school of medicine. Back in the days when my kids were in 4H we organized a trip to this event. It was a very educational and enjoyable day. The kids got to suit up for a mock surgery. We got to see all kinds of preserved organs. I especially liked the ornithology lab and all the stuffed birds. I had never seen many of these species so closely before. Lots of animals were on hand including a camel! Various exhibits and lectures were ongoing. The equine facility was fascinating. The OR and the instruments are scaled up to horse size. Back in the day when we had horses, our vet was out of Cornell. It’s one of the finest veterinary colleges in the United States. If you have children and are in the area, it’s well worth spending the day at the Cornell Vet School Open House.
Our 4H group ready for surgery in the teddy bear OR
Highlights:
- Demonstrations and displays about animal anatomy, surgery, nutrition and disease diagnosis.
- The high-speed equine treadmill, where horses are observed during different gaits.
- Feathers, scales and even the finest camel hair cloak exotic animals at the open house — among them birds of prey, snakes and other reptiles, and “Chewy,” the Bactrian camel.
- The ever-popular fistulated cow, with a “porthole” in her side for up-close-and-personal rumination about bovine digestive processes.
- The baby animal petting zoo, a must-see diversion for human kids and the goat kind, too.
- Teddy Bear ER, where veterinary students practice their suturing skills on “wounded” stuffed toys.
- Mini-lectures on “mad cow” disease, animal first aid and plants that are poisonous to pets.
- Dogs, dogs, dogs of all sorts, including K-9 police dogs, herding dogs and dogs running through obstacles in agility trials. New this year, an all-breed, noncompetitive dog show will give potential pup owners a chance to evaluate their options.
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Filed under: Events on July 11th, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I have been looking at alternative power options as electricity in New York is some of the most expensive power in the country unfortunately. I briefly looked at solar and I looked at wind as alternatives. Wind is plentiful here and we have a big hill and are already higher than sea level. New York has rebates in place that give residences 50% back for individuals, farms get 60% and schools vary. That got me excited until I saw the price of a typical system, $50,000! Even with 60% back it’s just too much. So I looked at solar. This is definitely cheaper but in this climate with less sun than lots of other places and plenty of snow, is it practical? And cheaper does not mean cheap. These are questions I need to find answers too
One nearby area, the city of Sherburne has their own power company, and electricity is so cheap as a result, people use electric heat to heat their houses! And speaking of electric heat one thing we are changing immediately is our hot water heater. It’s driven by oil. That’s too expensive now. It is now significantly cheaper to heat hot water with an electric hot water heater. So we are having one installed next week with the plan of adding a heat pump soon afterwards. There will be more details about this whole setup and our experiences on my Today’s Gizmos blog sometime in the near future.I’d like to set up an external hard drive and record all kinds of stats so I can really analyze my energy usage.
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Filed under: Misc on July 11th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I bought my son a Creative Zen media player for his birthday. It’s a step up from the Zen he already has as it has a gorgeous big LCD screen and can play videos. It’s also 8GB where his previous one was 3GB. The only problem now is he needs more room on his computer for all the media! We have an old laptop and I suppose we could add more laptop memory but is it worth it? There are a few mom and pop shops left around here that sell computer stuff despite Walmart being further down the road.
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Filed under: Misc on July 11th, 2008 | No Comments »
Rural living has it’s disadvantages when searching for specialists. We are fortunate to have a nearby hospital and a few specialists but in order to see a dermatologist, gastroenterologist or allergist one has to travel to Binghamton or Syracuse, and that’s a good drive of at least an hour. Our local city, Norwich, has podiatrists, one pediatrician, cardiologists and orthopedic surgeons. Anything else means a drive and at today’s gas prices that can get expensive. New York employers offer many good health insurance plans along with a medicare supplement but not everyone is so lucky. New York has Child Health Plus if you don’t have insurance and if you qualify, so at least the state is attempting to insure uninsured kids.
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Filed under: Misc on July 10th, 2008 | No Comments »
I love books, so it goes without saying that I love book stores and libraries. The bad part about book stores is that you have to pay for the books. So lately the library is my number one choice for reading material. We are fortunate to have two libraries within 10 or 20 minutes from our house. Guernsey Memorial Library is a comfortable place to sit and read periodicals or books. You can also borrow movies on DVD and books on tape. One of my favorite features of this library is the ability to order books from another library online. You can also renew books this way as well which saves me a trip. It’s also nice to be able to peruse the best sellers that they list on their website along with a story synopsis. From time to time they hold book sales, and guest artists come and entertain. They also have lots of children’s activities thoughout the year.
The other nearby library is the Kellogg Library in Cinncinatus. They also have online access, and while it’s much smaller than Guernsey, it’s still adequate.
Both libraries have internet access. You can look up just about anything at both these facilities from Philadelphia jobs to stuff for sale on Craig’s list. This is especially beneficial if you don’t have a computer at home.
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Filed under: Places on July 9th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I have toyed with the idea of having our kids try out for commercials and small parts in television productions. Acting runs in the family on my mother’s side. My mother was in the film I blogged about several months ago as well as many others and my first cousin produces Rescue Me, a drama series based on a New York City fire department, starring Dennis Leary. It will shortly begin it’s fifth season on FX. Both kids are involved in the theater and Dan’s girlfriend starts college at Fredonia in the fall, studying dance, drama and singing. GonnaBe helps kids get started in the entertainment industry. It’s a membership based networking center and production company that airs three TV shows for kids: Kids Unlimited, Say What, and The Big Talent Bee. Breaking into show business can be very difficult for kids which GonnaBe recognizes and therefore offers support and direction, making the whole process much easier.
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Filed under: Misc, Uncategorized on July 9th, 2008 | No Comments »
That’s right, they are in Central New York, but they are not roaming in the woods. I recently discovered that they are just 15 minutes away in Smyrna, in a spacious sanctuary. I plan on visiting as soon as I can especially since I heard that they wolf have pups.
It’s called the Wolf Mountain Nature Center and there are Alaskan Timber Wolves residing there. The goal of this not for profit center is to provide public education about the nature and lives of wolves.
I am very excited by the prospect of a visit and perhaps I will be lucky enough to hear them howl!
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Filed under: Wildlife on July 3rd, 2008 | No Comments »
My family laughs at me because I rarely buy clothing anymore. I slouch around in jeans and a sweatshirt or t-shirt most of the year. It’s an event when I have to “dress up”. Central New York is very casual. But when I do need to buy clothing, even something as straight forward as a pair of jeans, I have a devil of a time finding my size as the emphasis seems to be on plus size clothing. It drives me bonkers. Are other states like this?
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Filed under: Misc on July 3rd, 2008 | No Comments »
Black Lake has Pike, Crappie, Large and Small Mouth Bass, Muskellunge (a very odd looking fish)
and Walleye as well as pan fish such as Blue Gills and Yellow Perch. The Bass fishing season opened last Saturday but it looked like there were less fishermen on the water than usual. Perhaps this was because of the price of fuel?
We haven’t done any fishing yet but plan to next weekend. Too bad you can’t find freshwater pearls there, I’d have a reason to spend more time on the water. My favorite fish to catch is the Small Mouth Bass because they are such fighters. But my favorite fish to eat is the Crappie.
Dipped in egg and milk, then rolled in crushed Rice Krispies and fried in oil, there’s no better fish dinner. This is a fish that doesn’t have that fishy taste. Bass is a little too fishy and oily for me.
Ice fishing at Black Lake is also very popular and the lake becomes a small city in the winter.
Black Lake is patrolled by the DEC so it is important to have a valid fishing license. Often the officers are undercover and look like regular fishermen. Be sure that your fish are not 
undersized and that you are not over the limit. It’s also important to make sure that anyone under 18 who is driving a motorized craft with no adult present has taken the Boater’s Safety Course and is carrying their card. It is illegal to do otherwise and this includes jet skis. Both of my boys recently took the course so that they can drive their small boat (and the big boat but we won’t let them yet!)
Here I am with my Small Mouth Bass.
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Filed under: Lakes, Wildlife on June 28th, 2008 | No Comments »
We spied this cormorant sunning himself on a rock when we were up at the cabin last weekend. I call them weed birds and the fishermen hate them. They eat all the fish and literally eat into the fishing industry in these inland lakes.
Other than a few boat rides we had a lot of work to finish up. Leaf raking and a small fallen wall to rebuild.
We are thinking about replacing the ceiling fans at the cabin as they are very old and wobbly. We’d like to replace the fridge too, but that’s another story and a different financial outlay altogether! Farrey’s has a neat site that enables you to shop easily for exactly what you want by inputting style, price, price and even finish into their site search engine. I like being able to zero in on what I want quickly. And I am kind of partial to the Casablanca ceiling fans myself.
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Filed under: Misc, Wildlife on June 27th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Right down the road in our little town is a cafe that serves up their own freshly ground blends of coffee. Chenango Coffee Roasters has been open a few years now and has developed a pretty steady clientele. The owner, Bill McCurry roasts his the coffee beans on the premisis. You can buy bags of coffee, and this is what he has to offer:
- Fair Trade Organic Brazil
- mild, sweet, medium-bodied; delicate acidity
- Columbia
- Supremo is the highest grade - balanced in flavor, richly acidic, authoritative and full-bodied; winey and/or fruity tones
- Ethiopia
- balanced but explosively aromatic, shimmering with blueberry and wine notes; one of the world’s finest coffees
- Guatemala
- rich acidity, with floral, fruit or spice overtones; medium to full body
- Kenya
- rich, powerful, fruit and berry toned acidity; medium body and deep dimension
- Mexican
- brisk, gently acidic, delicate flavor; medium body
- Fair Trade Organic Sumatra
- resonant, deep fruit toned acidity; full bodied with rich bottom notes
We only offer Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffees, which is a process whereby the beans are soaked in very hot water and caffeine is then removed by activated charcoal filters. No chemicals are used in this process.
Can you smell the coffee? If you find yourself in he area, do drop in!
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Filed under: Places on June 26th, 2008 | No Comments »
There are several trade shows in New York and fiber and wool festivals are my favorites. I have only exhibited at one show but it’s smart to do up your trade show booth right. You want to invite potential buyers in afterall. If I do end up exhibiting again I might consider the Godfrey Group, since they sell everything from portable displays to accessories. All you could ever need to set up a nice booth really.
I’ve been to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, which is in Dutchess County. Wow! is a good way to describe the overwhelming array of all things fiber, including the animals themselves. They even have a dog agility championship running during the festival which is fun to watch. There are great food booths, wool and animal judging contests, and all kinds of exhibits. The show is huge. Bring your pocketbook stuffed with plenty of cash because you will leave with a bounty of goodies.
If you are a knitter or a spinner, or any kind of fiber artist or farmer, it’s heaven and I highly recommend it. This year it’s on October 18th and 19th. See you there!
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Filed under: Events on June 26th, 2008 | No Comments »
In the last few days of the legislative session in Albany, some important bills were green-lighted on energy reform. The Senate and the Assembly unanimously passed the State Green Building Construction Act. which “requires new or substantially reconstructed agency buildings to comply with the United States green building initiative`s green globes rating system and historic preservation system.” It now awaits the governor’s decision.
Since state buildings are New York’s largest energy users this is a big step in the right direction. The bill was in response to the rising energy costs and the new available technology that now exists which enables the design of more efficient buildings.
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Filed under: Issues on June 25th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
