Finger Lakes Farm Markets: Get it Fresh

Rochester Public Market

The Finger Lakes region has some of the richest soil in the northeast.

The Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga Indians recognized long ago the fertility of the land in the Finger Lakes and were successful at growing crops. In particular they grew the “three sister”–corn, beans, and squash–as well as fruit trees.  During the American Revolutionary War, when George Washington sent John Sullivan and his army to extricate the Indians from the region, Sullivan’s soldiers commented on the type and quality of the crops the Indians were growing. Many of these soldiers came back to the region to start their own farms.

Agriculture is New York State’s number one business. Fresh produce can be found at several farm markets across the region. Support your local growers and shop for produce and livestock grown locally.

Below is a listing of the farm markets found in the Finger lakes Region. Please note: many of these farm markets operate during the summer months.

Be a locovore

Cayuga County

AUBURN

Auburn Farmers’ Market

Location: South St., Auburn, NY in parking lot across from City Hall

Time: Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: June-October

LOCKE

Locke Farmers Market

Location: Fire Dept., State Rt. 38, Locke, NY

Time: Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Season: mid-July-mid-October

MORAVIA

Moravia Farmers’ Market

Location: Kinney Drug parking lot, Main St., Moravia, NY

Time: Thursday, noon-6:00 p.m.

Season: July-mid-November

PORT BYRON

Port Byron Farmers Market

Location: Schasel Park, State Rt. 31, Port Byron, NY

Time: Wednesday, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

Chemung County

BIG FLATS

Big Flats Farmers Market

Location: Big Flats Community Center, 406 Maple St., Big Flats, NY

Time: Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Season: June-September

ELMIRA

Carousel Farmers Market

Location: Eldridge Park, Eldridge Park Rd., Elmira, NY

Time: Saturday

Season: June-September

Eastside Farmers Market

Location: Holiday Inn west lawn, 760 Water St., Elmira, NY

Time: Friday, 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Season: mid-June-mid-October

Wisner Farmers Market

Location: Wisner Park, N. Main & W. Church Sts., Elmira, NY

Time: Thursday, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: June-mid-October

HORSEHEADS

Horseheads Farmers Market

Location: Teal Park, 202 Main St., Horseheads, NY

Time: Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: June-September

SOUTHPORT

Southport Farmers Market

Location: Chapel Park, Personius Rd., Pine City, NY

Time: Wednesday, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: June-mid-October

 

Cortland County

CORTLAND

Cortland Farmers Market

Location: Main St. bet. Court & Orchard Sts., Cortland, NY

Time: Tuesday/Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

East End Farmers’ Market

Location: Dexter Park, corner Franklin & Elm Sts., Cortland, NY

Time: Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Season: June-October

CINCINNATUS

Cincinnatus Farmers Market

Location: Rural Services Pavilion, 2704 Lower Cincinnatus Rd., Cincinnatus, NY

Time:Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-noon

Season: July-November

 

Livingston County

DANSVILLE

Dansville Farmers Market

Location: Airport Parking Lot, Main St., Dansville, NY

Time: Friday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

LIMA

Lima Presbyterian Church Farmers Market

Location: 7395 W. Main St., Lima, NY

Time: Tuesday, 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Season: June-October

LIVONIA

Livonia Farmers’ Market

MT. MORRIS

Mt. Morris Village Farmers Market

Location: Village Hall, 117 Main St., Mt. Morris, NY

Time: Friday, 2:00 p.m.-6 p.m.

Season: mid-June-October

Monroe County

BROCKPORT

Brockport Farmer’s Market

Location: Market St. bet. Main & Water

Time: Sunday 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

CHILI

Chili Farmers Market

Location: United Methodist Church, 2200 Westside Dr., Rochester (North Chili), NY

Time: Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

EAST ROCHESTER

East Rochester Farmers Market

Location: Techniplex Plaza, 300 S. Main St., East Rochester, NY

Time: Sunday, 8:00 a.m.-noon

Season: July-mid-November

FAIRPORT

Fairport Farmers’ Market

Location: Fleet Bank, 58 S. Main St., Fairport, NY

Time: Saturday, 7:00 a.m.-noon

Season: May-November

GREECE

Greece Foodlink Farmers Market

Location: Orchard Place Apts., 1100 English Rd. Greece, NY

Time: Friday, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

Greece Ridge Center Farmers Market

Location: The Mall at Greece Ridge Center, 271 Greece Ridge Center Dr., Greece, NY

Time: Thursday & Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

IRONDEQUOIT

Irondequoit Farmers’ Market

Location: 1280 Titus Ave., Rochester, NY

Time: Thursday, 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Season: July-September

MENDON

Mendon Farmers Market

Location: Mendon Fire Hall, 101 Mendon Iona Rd (Rt. 64), Mendon, NY

Time: Tuesday, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: June-mid-October

PITTSFORD

Pittsford Plaza Farmers Market

Location Pittsford Plaza, 3349 Monroe Ave., Rochester, NY

Time: Tuesday & Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Season: July-October

ROCHESTER

Foodlink Farmers Market

Location: Washington Square Park (Clinton and Woodbury Sts.) Rochester, NY

Time: Wednesday, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: mid-June-September

Main Street Farmers Market

Location: The Sibley Centre, 220 E. Main St., Rochester, NY

Time: Friday, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

Monroe Village Farmers’ Market

Location: Blessed Sacrament Church, 730 Monroe Ave., Rochester, NY

Time: 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: mid-June-mid-October

 

Rochester Public Market has both outdoor and indoor vendors

Rochester Public Market

In operation for over 100 years
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. year-round
Saturdays from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. year-round.

South Wedge Farmers Market

Location: 100 Alexander St., Rochester, NY

Time: Thursday, 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Season: mid-June-mid-October

RUSH

Rush Farmers’ Market

Location: United Methodist Church, 6200 Rush-Lima Rd., Rush, NY

Time: Thursday, 3:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

Season: July-October

SCOTTSVILLE

Scottsville Farmers Market

Location: 1800 Scottsville-Chili Rd., Scottsville, NY

Time: Sunday, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Season: late June-early October

WEBSTER

Webster Farmers Market

Location: Village Parking Lot, int. South Ave. & Main St., Webster, NY

Time: Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-noon

Season: July-October

Onondaga County

CAMILLUS

Camillus Farmers Market

Location: Municipal Building, 4600 W. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY

Time: Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Season: July-mid-October

LIVERPOOL

Liverpool/Eat Well Farmers’ Market

Location: Bayberry Plaza, 7608 Oswego Rd., Liverpool, NY

Time: Wednesday, noon-6:00 p.m.

Season: mid-July-mid-November

MANLIUS

Manlius Farmers’ Market

Location: behind Sno-Top off Arkie Albanese Ave., Manlius, NY

Time: Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4:00 p.m.

Season: end of May-September

SKANEATELES

Skaneateles Farmers Market

Location: Community Center parking lot, 97 State St., Skaneateles, NY

Time: Thursday, 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

Season: July-mid-October

SYRACUSE

Central New York Regional Market

Location: 2100 Park St., (Exit 23, I-81), Syracuse, NY

Time: Thursday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Saturday, 7:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.; Sunday (flea market), 7:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Season: Sat. & Sun., all year; Thursday, May-mid-November

The Downtown Farmers’ Market

Syracuse Eastside Neighborhood Farmers Market

Location: Lexington (Loguen) Park at Lexington Ave., Syracuse, NY

Time: Thursday, 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: Mid-June-October

Syracuse/Eat Well Farmers Market

Location: 377 W. Onondaga St., Syracuse, NY

Time: Daily, 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Season: mid-July-mid-August

Ontario County

CANANDAIGUA

Canandaigua Farmers’ Market

Location: Lafayette St. east of Main, Canandaigua, NY

Time: Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Season: July-October

GENEVA

Geneva Farmers’ Market

Location: Exchange St. (across from Lyons National Bank), Geneva, NY

Time: Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Season mid-June-mid-October

VICTOR

Victor Farmer’s Market

Location: Mead Square, Victor, NY

Time: Wednesday, 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: mid-May-October

Schuyler County

MONTOUR FALLS

Schuyler County Farm & Craft Market

Location: Fireman’s Carnival Grounds, State Rt. 224, Montour Falls, NY

Time: Thursday, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

WATKINS GLEN

Watkins Glen Farmers Market

Location: Lafayette Park, 4th & Decatur Sts., Watkins Glen, NY

Time: Friday, 2:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: June-October

Seneca County

SENECA FALLS

Montezuma Winery

Location: 2981 Auburn Rd., Seneca Falls, NY

Time: Friday, 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: mid-June -mid-October

Sauder’s Farmers’ Market

Location: 2168 River Rd., Seneca Falls, NY

Time: Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

Seneca Falls Farmer’s Market

Location: People’s Park, canalside

Time: Wednesday, 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Season: mid-June-mid-October

WATERLOO

Waterloo Farmers’ Market

Location: parking lot on Southwest Main St., Waterloo, NY

Time: Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: mid-June-October

 

Steuben County

ADDISON

Addison Farmers Market

Location: Bliss Park, Front St., Addison, NY

Time: Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Season: May-October

BATH

Bath Farmers’ Market

Location: Pultney Park, Steuben St., Bath, NY

Time: Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.; Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Season: May-October

CORNING

Corning Farmers Market

Location: Centerway Square, Riverfront Centennial Park, Corning, NY

Time: Thursday, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Season: June-October

HAMMONDSPORT

Hammondsport Farmers Market

Location: Liberty Street Park, Hammondsport, NY

Time: Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Season: June-October

HORNELL

Hornell Farmers’ Market

Location: Center St. parking lot, Hornell, NY

Time: Thursday, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Season: June-September

WOODHULL

Woodhull Farmers Market

Location: Academy St., Woodhull, NY

Time: Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: June-September

Tioga County

OWEGO

Owego Farmers Market

Location: Eckerd’s parking lot, Main St. & Central Ave., Owego, NY

Time: Tuesday & Friday, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

WAVERLY

Waverly Farmers Market

Location: Muldoon Park (corner of Pennsylvania and Park avenues), Waverly, NY

Time: Thursday, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: mid-June-late October

 

Shoppers enjoy buying fresh

Tompkins County

CAROLINE

Caroline Farmers Market

Location: Brooktondale Community Center, 522 Valley Rd., Brooktondale, NY

Time: Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: May-October

DANBY

Danby Farmers Market

Location: Danby Fire Station Pavilion, 1790 Danby Rd., Ithaca, NY

Time: Thursday, 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: mid-July-September

GROTON

Groton Farmers’ Market

Location: Center Village Court Senior Housing, 200 South St. (State Rt. 38), Groton, NY

Time: Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

Season: July-September

ITHACA

Congo Square Market

Location: Southside Community Center, 305 S. Plain St., Ithaca, NY

Time: Friday, 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Season: late May-September

 

Ithaca Farmer’s Market

http://www.ithacamarket.com/

The Space@Greenstar

Sat. 1/7 – 2/26 — 11am to 2pm

Dewitt Park

Tuesdays 5/1 – 10/30 — 9am-2pm

Thursdays 6/7-10/25 — 4pm-7pm

Steamboat Landing

Sat. 4/7 – 10/27 — 9am to 3pm

Sat. 11/3 – 12/22 — 10am to 2pm

Sun. 5/5 – 10/27 — 10am to 3pm

Besides stocking up on our renowned fresh, local produce, humanely raised meat, and artisan cheeses, you can listen to live music or enjoy a waterfront picnic- and don’t forget to sample our burritos, sushi, Sri Lankan cuisine and the dozens of other delicious choices from our renowned international cafes.

You’ll find wines, bakery and beautiful flowers, unique gifts and specialty foods, clothing and accessories, and a dazzling array of paintings, pottery, woodworking, and jewelry offered by distinguished fine artists and craftspeople from around the region.

TRUMANSGURG

Turmansburg Farmers’ Market

Location: Village Park, State Rts. 90 & 227, Trumansburg, NY

Time: Wednesday, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

 

Wayne County

CLYDE

Clyde Farmers’ Market

Location: Village Park, Clyde, NY

Time: Thursday, 4:00 p.m.-8 :00 p.m.

Season: May-October

LYONS

Lyons Farmers’ Market

Location: Lyons Village Park (Church St.), Lyons, NY

Time: Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Season: mid-June-October

MACEDON

Macedon Farmers’ Market

Location: Macedon Town Hall, 32 Main St., Macedon, NY

Time: Wednesday 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Season: July-October

NEWARK

Newark Farmers’ Market

Location: Central Park, Church St., Newark, NY

Time: Thursday, 2:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Season: June-October

PALMYRA

Palymra Farmers’ Market

Location: Palmyra Village Park, State Rts. 31 & 21, Palmyra, NY

Time: Saturday, 7:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Season: mid-May-October

 

Yates County

PENN YAN

The Windmill

Yates County Co-Op Farm and Craft Market

Location: Main St. at Elm, Penn Yan, NY

Time: Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-noon

Season: July-October

Webster: Trail all over town

You can hike trails like these all across Webster

My idea of a GREAT day is to be able to run two hours of solid trail. That’s not always so easy to find in the suburbs, but Webster New York, is definitely Trail Town. A joint effort between Friends of Webster Trails, The Town of Webster, The Genesee Land Trust, and the Monroe County Parks has created a huge network of connected trails and my perfect run.

Click on this picture to enlarge

You can start in Vosburg Hollow (furthest west) and run east through the Gosnell Big Woods Preserve, across the street and into Whiting Nature Center, across Whiting Road and into Webster  Park with 550 acres of woods plus access to Lake Ontario.

Gosnell Big Woods

Some Fungi

Bittersweet kept at bay through determined efforts of the trail friends

Most of the photos are taken at the Gosnell Big Woods Preserve, so named for the awesome old growth trees on the property. Experts estimate that the oak, hickory and hemlock trees in these woods are as much as 350 years old, and many have grown to an impressive size.

View of the woods while biking the Hojack Trail

The Hojack Trail is also a great long run or bike, as it sits on an abandoned railroad bed stretching diagonally from Lake Road, next to Vosburg, to North Ponds Park. The railroad was built in the late 1800s to traverse the northern towns along Lake Ontario. Four passenger trains ran daily.

The story behind the name “Hojack” is that a farmer tried to cross the tracks with his mule-pulled wagon as a train was approaching. The mule stalled halfway across the track. As the train approached the train men could hear him excitedly yelling to his mule “Ho-Jack, Ho-Jack!” I guess it stuck.

Well groomed trail at Whiting Nature Center

All of these parks are great for hiking, cross-country skiing, dog walking, and biking, even horseback riding, with restrictions for hiking only at Vosburg Hollow.

Webster Park is located at 255 Holt Road, Webster, New York 14580. For information and reservations please call 585 753-PARK (7275)

Gosnell Big Woods is located  on Vosburg Road. At the curve where Vosburg turns into Drumm Road, there is a parking lot.

Auburn’s Historic National Treasure: The Seward House

Side view of the Seward House from the gardens

I visited the Seward House in Auburn, just after reading “Team of Rivals,” a fascinating 915-page book about Abraham Lincoln and the  political powerhouses competing against him in the presidential campaign of 1860. The book served as the perfect historical backdrop for a tour of this national landmark.

The book details how Lincoln, after winning the election, leveraged the expertise of his rivals by appointing them to cabinet positions, illustrating his amazing political insight and shrewdness.

Seward served as Secretary of State. Initially, he took office with a condescending and skeptical attitude toward Mr. Lincoln. Over time, he and the President became close personal friends.

The beautifully preserved Seward House is filled with hundreds of portraits, beautiful furniture and china, which he collected during the span of his 40-year political career, as Governor, Senator and Secretary of State

Knowledgeable staff is on-hand to provide guided tours, throughout the day. They share intimate details about Seward’s family and the history of this beautiful home. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed inside the house. I have repurposed a couple of postcards from the gift shop.

View of the Seward House from the driveway

The house was actually built by Seward’s father-in-law, and Seward’s living in the house was a condition placed upon him when he proposed.

Our tour started downstairs. Tucked in a dark room, on the main floor, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves is the library, Seward’s favorite room in the house. There are nearly 2,500 books on these shelves. Fanny, Seward’s daughter, has her own bookcase.

Fanny was Seward’s daughter, and she led his household in Washington, maintaining a capital headquarters worthy of the Secretary of State, decorating, and entertaining a constant parade of visitors and curious locals.

The dining room represented the central gathering place for Seward to host incredibly elaborate parties with multiple courses. As an example of the extent to which they entertained, even in Auburn, Seward had a china setting for 60, which he received as a gift from Napolean’s nephew, Prince Jerome. The table’s centerpiece is decorated with an detailed depiction of a foxhunt in silver on an “epergne,” which was the fancy name for a centerpiece or fruit bowl.

View of the Living Room

After dinner, there were pocket doors to separate the dining room and living room which allowed men to smoke in the dining room, while the women who go into living room to play majong, and whilst.

Nationally recognized artists Emanuel Leutze, Thomas Cole, Henry Inman and Chester Harding have paintings on the walls of the house, along with regional painters, John E. Freeman, George Clough and John Carlin.

Upstairs on the walls of the substantial landing there are over 100 different photo portraits of the dignitaries that Seward met in his political career, many who were visitors to the house.

This was the greeter street side

As you finish up on the second floor, your guide will tell you a fantastic tale of the assassination attempt on Seward’s life. On the same night that Lincoln was assassinated, Booth and his conspirators had two other targets: Secretary of State William H. Seward and Vice President Andrew Johnson.

Miraculously, Seward survives the assassination attempt, but the shock of the evening’s events proved deadly for his wife, who passed away within the year. Tragically Fanny also soon passed away, a loss from which William Seward never fully recovered.

Members of the Seward family still live in Central New York.

To visit the Seward House:

33 South Street, Auburn NY 13021, 315.252.1283

Hours Tues-Sat 10am-4pm.

Historic National Treasure — right in downtown Auburn

More on Holiday traditions at the Seward House.

Rob’s Trail joins Canadice and Hemlock

View from Rob's Trail towards Canadice Lake

Two of my favorite spots in the Finger Lakes are Canadice lake and Hemlock  Lake. Hemlock and Canadice are the only Finger Lakes with undeveloped shorelines.

Icey shoreline of Canadice Lake

The City of Rochester spent over 100 years acquiring all lakeshore properties to prevent development of the watershed and to safeguard its primary source of drinking water. When you hike, bike or ski along these shorelines you feel like you are in total wilderness.

View looking west on Rob's Trail

When I saw that there was a trail connecting Hemlock Lake to Canadice Lake, I had to check it out. Rob’s Trail starts just off 15A, on the southern end of Hemlock. The trail is part of the newly designated Hemlock-Canadice State Forest.

Who is Rob? Rob van der Stricht was an avid naturalist, especially fond of the Finger Lakes. The Nature Conservancy officially dedicated this trail to his memory. Thanks Rob, this is an awesome piece of land.

Map of Rob's Trail and spur to Canadice

The 1.75 mile circular trail takes you up over the ridge between the two lakes. Despite the altitude,  this is a very wet area. Fortunately it was cold enough to keep the ground hard, but I noticed a lot of board walks for navigating the muddy trails.

Hiking the winding and sometimes steep spur trail to Canadice

As the trail starts to head east, over the top of the ridge and into the woods, there is a spur trail .75 mi. long, that winds down to the Canadice Lake trail.

I was on the look out for black bears, eagles, deer, ruffed grouse, wild turkey, weasels, but all I saw was some Chickadees and Juncos. However, on the drive back into Hemlock, A gorgeous pheasant sauntered across the road.

Ice sculpture, au natural

I was most impressed by the variety of ice formations in the hundreds of little creeks that wind down the hill to the lake.

I recommend if you hike during cold weather that you wear good hiking shoes or Yak Tracks. The trail can get very steep in parts.

View of 15A from entrance to parking lot

To find Rob’s Trail:  15A south, and through the Village of Hemlock. Continue to top of hill above Hemlock Lake, veering left onto South Old Bald Hill Road. Parking on left.

Other great posts on this topic:  New York Outdoors Blog.

F. Olivers takes flavor further on Park Avenue in Rochester

New location on Park Avenue, Rochester

Last year I wrote about a new store in Canandaigua featuring flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars. F. Olivers has flourished on the main street of Canandaigua and have just expanded to Park Avenue in Rochester. They are in a perfect location right sandwiched between a bakery and wine store.

Michelle Cardulla, Director of MOCA

I was there to attend a special fundraising event for the Museum of Children’s Art, in Rochester.

While I was there I picked up a bottle of Squash Seed infused Olive Oil and a couple bottles of Pineapple Balsamic (2.00 of each bottle goes to MOCA). Everything tastes better in our kitchen. The balsamic makes a killer dip or stuffing for baby peppers, with cream cheese, shredded cheddar and a little thai hot sauce.

Locations:

Canandaigua:  129 South Main Street // Canandaigua, NY 14424 // 585.396.2585
Rochester:  747 Park Avenue // Rochester, NY 14607 // 585.244.2585

Enjoy Dramatic Relief at Mendon Ponds Park

View across Hundred Acre Pond

Growing up in Rochester, one of my favorite places to explore with my family, was Mendon Ponds Park. At over 2500 acres, it is the largest park in Monroe County. In 1967 it was designated a national natural landmark in recognition of it’s unique glacial features.

Mossy Shrine

Supposedly the glacier that covered much of North America, just a few thousand years ago, was an ice sheet that was between 5,000- 10,000 feet thick. (How do they figure this out?) As it moved across what is now New York State it left us the dramatic and unique topography of the Finger Lakes. As it melted, it created additional interesting features.

Devil's Bathtub water's edge is swampy and dark

Similar to what happens to our family room after my boys have spent a long weekend playing video games round the clock, there is detritus that alters the permanent landscape:  mounds of shed clothing, candy wrappers, dirty dishes, half filled bottles of beverages. Fortunately they go back to school. I can hose the room down and return it to normal.

Enjoy dramatic relief hiking park trails

Not so with glacial remains. During their thousand-plus year retreat they left us kettles kames, and eskers, their signature for how melting water can change a landscape. Mendon Ponds Park is a unique collection of these features all concentrated over a small area.

Looking across Devil's Bathtub

Devil’s Bath Tub is an example of a kettle hole. This is a hollow (typically filled by a lake) that results from the melting of a mass of ice trapped in glacial deposits. Most kettle holes are less than two kilometers in diameter, and rather deep in proportion to their small diameter.

Devil's Bathtub, trailside view

The Devil’s Bath Tub is fun to hike because it is a low swampy area surrounded by dramatically steep and windy hills. I used to have cross-country ski races in the park in high school and was regularly humbled by the rugged course which wound up and down over what I now realize are eskers and kames.

We kame, we saw, we conquered. Is this a kame?

A kame is a small conical hill formed by sand and gravel that accumulated when a river of water ran off the melting glacier into a lake. As the glacier melted more, the rivers would move and deposit into a new pile. Figuring out which mound of till was a kame was a bit harder to distinguish.

Trail's edge outlines the rising ridge of the esker

Eskers are what give the park trails their dramatic pitch and slope. Rivers on the ice sheet would sometimes bore a hole and flow under the ice in a winding tunnel. When the glacier and water were gone these streambeds looked like low snaking ridges of rubble (till).

Till is unsorted, unstratified rock dropped by a glacier.

Mendon Ponds Park contains twenty-one miles of hiking rails, plus shelters and lodges. During the winter, many of these trails are regularly groomed for cross-country skiing, making it one of the nicest spots in Upstate New York to ski.

MendonPark trail map

Book Barning at Phoenix

"A house without books is like a room without windows." Horace Mann

Take a massive barn and fill it floor to ceiling with room after room of books. Add a curmudgeon at the register, a bee hive located somewhere deep inside, and you have a visit to Phoenix Books.

"Beware the man of one book." Issac D'Israeli - Curiosities of Literature

With no website, no advertising, a location in Freeville, you might wonder HOW this place continues to exist, but Phoenix is well-known by book lovers all over.

"Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend; inside of a dog it is too dark to read." Groucho Marx

"A book is the only immortality." Rufus Choate

I found a great section on music, with several books on jazz history for my Jazz Studies son. I also found several of the original Dick and Jane Readers.

“See Spot. See Spot run. Run Spot, run!”

For more information about bookstores and book sales in the Finger Lakes.

"A bookstore is one of the only pieces of physical evidence we have that people are still thinking." Jerry Seinfeld

"The Bookshop has a thousand books, All colors, hues and tinges, And every cover is a door That turns on magic hinges." Nancy Byrd Turner - The Bookshop

1608 Dryden Road
Freeville, NY 13068
607-347-4767
Hours: Mon-Sun. 10am-6pm.

"If you would understand your own age, read the works of fiction produced in it. People in disguise speak freely." Arthur Helps

Ports Cafe Geneva: DeVine Dining

The kitchen of Ports Cafe

It’s the time of the year to make one last trip to close the cottage. Not much to look forward to on the drive east from Rochester, on a frosty Friday night, so we made reservations to stop for dinner while en route, at Ports Cafe, just south of Geneva on Seneca Lake.

Listening to the specials

Interior of Ports

Ports specializes in specials. They had almost as many specials as regular menu items, which we never even sampled. Our waitress was helpful and attentive. We start with appetizers and wine flights.

Wine flights allowed us to each sample 3 whites (local) and 3 reds. Some of the local wineries are Billsboro, Dr Frank, Glenora,  and William Hill.

Mussels in a delicious broth

Appetizers: Mussels in a garlic  white wine sauce. AWESOME.

Best swordfish I have ever had

Main Course:  Seafood kabobs:  shrimps scallops, swordfish, pineapple, red bell pepper, scallion with garlic and parsley butter and a  New York Strip with smashed potatoes. Both very good.

Doesn't this look great?

Dessert was a pecan bourbon creme brulee, which though very pretty, did not wow us. But, the ice wine was delicious.

Reviews in Yelp.

Reviews in Trip Advisor. Listed as the number 1 restaurant in Geneva, according to Trip Advisor.

This is a very nice affordable cafe with lots of variety. It is not on par with Moro’s Table in Auburn or Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg, but it is charming friendly and we spent less than $100. with all the trimmings.

Ports is located at 4432 West Lake Road, Route 14, Geneva, NY  14456, 315-789-2020.

Letchworth State Park: Grand Canyon of the East

As the sun rises the fog lifts

Letchworth State Park, nicknamed the “Grand Canyon of the East,” is a not-to-miss attraction in the Finger lakes Region.

The Genesee River roars through the gorge over three major waterfalls, one of which is 107 feet in height, between cliffs as high as 600 feet in some places surrounded by miles of lush forests.

Sun rise over several hogbacks

One of the parks unique geological features are hogbacks, “a series of sharp-crested ridges with steep slopes on both sides, formed by the erosion of steeply tilted rock layers.” “The name comes from the ridge resembling the high, knobby spine between the shoulders of a hog.”

Hogbacks are made up of sedimentary rock, where there are layers of softer rock, which erodes at a faster rate, leaving the harder layers  of rock to form ever steeper cliffs (usually 40 degrees or more).

Depression era Civilian Conservation Corps projects shape the park’s appearance.

Hikers can choose among 66 miles of hiking trails. cool off in one of the park’s two swimming pools, picnic at one of the 12 picnic areas, and camp at more than 25o campsites and 82 cabins. Trail map:  LetchworthN&SEndMaps

Park Rangers

I arrived at the park gates at sunrise. The park had friendly furry rangers waiting for me at the entrance. I drove through the park, catching the sun as it peeked over the horizon and lit up gorgeous gorges, at one scenic overlook after another. These images were shot in early August.

In the midst of the park is the historic Glen Iris Inn. The Inn is the former residence of Buffalo businessman, philanthropist, and social reformer William Pryor Letchworth, who donated his estate to New York State in 1907. Today you can still dine and stay at the Inn, located inside the park grounds. Check here for more information about the history of Letchworth State Park.

The park comprises 14,350 acres, along 17 miles of the Genesee River, 35 miles South of Rochester, New York and 55 miles East of Buffalo, New York.

Sunrise in Mount Morris, just outside the entrance to Letchworth State Park

For avid off-road bikers, the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail is a wonderful 80-plus mile bike trail, that starts in Genesee Valley Park (Rochester), and continues south, all the way to Mt Morris (the entrance to Letchworth Park), continuing south through the southern end of the park and on all the way to and beyond, to the southern tier expressway, ending past Cuba NY. Sections in the southernmost part appear to be still under construction. Pack water as there are not a lot of watering holes between Rochester and Mount Morris via this trail.

Zurich Bog — Nature on Acid

Parade of fall colors in a peat bog

Upstate New York shows off its incredible natural diversity via Zurich Bog. The bog is protected as part of  the Bergen Swamp Preservation Society. It is located between Newark and Sodus New York, just east of Brantling Ski Slope.

In fall the surface of the bog turns brilliantly red as the normally green peat that acts as a carpet over the surface of the bog dramatically changes color and provides a startling contrast to the surrounding beech-filled woods.

Acid bogs are formed when a type of moss called sphagnum (or peat moss) grows over the surface of a pond. Sphagnum actually changes its environment to be less hospitable to other species. A well-established colony of sphagnum moss can lower the pH of its host lake to around 3.5.

Carnivorous Pitcher Plants thrive in an acid bog

This, of course, makes the bog inhospitable to more neutral pH plants, and whole new species have evolved just to fit into the ecosystem that sphagnum creates. One particularly cool adaptation is carnivorous. Brilliantly colorful and exotic looking Pitcher Plants capture insects in order to obtain the nutrients that are missing in their acidic diet.

Safe passage through the bog

Generally, the sphagnum grows inward from the edges of the pond, swelling as it takes in up to twenty times its dry weight in water and forming a raised mat. At some point, this mat stops being directly connected to the bottom, and if you’re walking out onto the bog, you’re literally being held up only by floating sphagnum.

Out on the bog it feels like you are walking on a water-bed. The signs at the entrance do not recommend you walk through the bog, off the planked trail, in order to protect the delicate bog and to keep you safe and dry.

Cold enough for ice cubes in the pitcher

The diversities of an acid bog and the surrounding hilly woods create a spring carpet of wildflowers. Zurich Bog  encourages wildflowers that are predominantly found in the Adirondacks. The Beech/Maple drumlins have a soil that encourages diverse woodland wildflowers April – June.

I have listed the names of some of the flowers and plants that grow in the bog and surrounding woods because they have such great names:

Spring Beauty, Lady Slipper, Cut-leaved Toothwort, Bloodroot, Christmas fern, Trillium, Trout Lilies,  May Apples, Jack in the Pulpit, Dutchman’s Breeches, Squirrel Corn, Marsh Marigolds, Hepatica, Cinnamon Fern, Royal Fern, Sensitive Fern.

Beech trees surround the bog providing a stark color contrast

Trail map