He Hears

Late in the afternoon, when my sister and I had rested up from our walk in the woods, had eaten our lunches, and lounged around checking Facebook and looking at my pictures, we took a ride to Scoops, got a couple of ice cream cones, and walked across the street to Canandaigua Lake. We sat on boulders under the shade of a tree on the lake shore, and when a nearby couple got off their bench to go, we assumed their seat.

Once our ice creams had been consumed, we walked along the path through the park. There were lots of people out enjoying the day; picnickers, boaters, folks in the water, and others like us, just strolling.

Priscilla's early morning walks often take her to Kershaw Park. She told me how she often sees friends and acquaintances, but on Saturday the grounds were full of strangers. As we walked we made conversation. At one point the subject of church came up and I mentioned Calvary Chapel of Webster, the church I went to with my family before I moved out of the house, the one with the Ladies' Prayer group I loved so much, and then the conversation went another direction.

We had passed the fenced-in park beach, the restrooms and bathhouse, and were almost to the edge of the park when I heard a voice call out, "Martha!" I turned to look and noticed a smiling, familiar looking blond woman, but she didn't appear to be looking for my attention. And then, there she was! The woman who had called my name, was hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, but coming toward me. It was Margie, the wife of Calvary Chapel Webster's pastor, Ray. She gave me a hug and asked how I was doing. Always loving, never unkind. And there was God, smiling down on both of us, even if I was the only one who knew. He was listening.

He's still listening, and He hears every word.

Round and About

There was a bridal shower yesterday. I made a slight navigational error and ended up taking "the long way," and although I wasn't really lost, I did call upon Tom to help me. "When possible, turn around," he told me. I was a little confused at his suggestion, but I complied. About a half a mile back the other direction he said, "When possible, turn around." Ah, Tom! Now you've got me going in circles! Of course, I turned around again.

In the Finger Lakes area of NY state, not only are there Finger Lakes to navigate around (there are no bridges over them), but there is another, smaller obstacle once known as "The Seneca Army Depot." (It is now mostly deserted, but is home to a rather unusual herd of white deer.) I had taken an early turn onto Rt 96 and totally missed my chance to take Rt 96A and was now on the wrong side of "the cage." Tom took me to Aunt Laurie's house the back way so I didn't have to drive all the way into the town of Ovid, NY. Laurie's house is on a hill overlooking Seneca Lake.

On the way home, this time on 96A and the opposite side of the Seneca Army Depot, I found one of my favorite barns. Each time I pass I'm afraid she will be gone, but so far she stands, albeit a little less steady. Her back is bent and bowed, her boards and shingles tattered, and yet I find her beautiful. She's looked across the road at the Army Depot in Romulous, NY it's entire life and even outlived it in purpose. She is brave and fearless.

My drive took me through Amish country. I saw farms and wagons, some men building a house on Geneva Rd, and a wonderful field of shocks. So much more interesting than the rolls of hay and straw left by farm machinery.

I was back home by five o'clock for a small birthday gathering in Hannah's honor. She turned 25 yesterday. How is my baby 25? I didn't really take pictures other than this one of Baby Henry cooling off in a tub of water. He's growing so fast and is so cute.

The Barn Collective

My daughter and I took a drive down through the hills between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. Part of what Tom calls "Barn Heaven." I couldn't pass this up without stopping for a picture. Talk about a barn! Wow!!!

What a gorgeous drive, even though the day was gray and overcast. I could have stopped over and over again, but we had a destination in mind and needed to get there before supper time. :0)

Visit the Barn Collective and have a cup of tea for Mother's Day. Hope yours is happy.

The Barn Collective

Same barn as last week but new shots.

While the Cabinet Maker and I were out gallivanting last week we stopped by this old beauty again.

We stayed outside of this old structure. Not safe for venturing inside but there were lots of nooks, crannies, and windows to look through.

Join us at the Barn Collective with Tom.

Entering the Twilight Zone

My friend Deborah and I traveled to the Twilight Zone this afternoon...

I left home not knowing exactly how the day would go so we decided, rather on the fly, to head south toward Interlaken, NY and look for the final resting place of Rod Serling. I'd had a heads up from Tom, the Backroads Traveller as to it's whereabouts, but hadn't looked up directions or anything ahead of time. (No, I don't have GPS on my phone.)

It's hard to get lost in upstate NY. We have a Great Lake on the north that stretches pretty much from one end to the other, and a set of really cool long lakes that run north and south between a volley of large hills which we call drumlins. They make pretty awesome landmarks and keep long time residents from ever wandering totally aimless. (But I digress, probably because I should be going to bed...)

I'd been in Ovid, NY just Sunday so my mind was refreshed on the direction to take. We found Interlaken and the Lake View (in this case Cayuga Lake) Cemetery rather effortlessly, but it was the grave of Rod Serling we had come to see and that took a bit of wandering. In our wandering we came upon a cemetery map posted on the back of a little information center. It listed last names and locations of plots. Had we not stumbled upon the map, we may have wandered for days.

Rod's marker is decorated somewhat differently today than it was when Tom made his visit. There was a small futuristic car, a little figurine, a metal lighter, stones, coins, pens, and a rock that said "Time enough at last." Deb left him a cough drop and I contributed a penny because I didn't have anything else very interesting in my pockets beside quarters.

I wondered later, along with the Cabinet Maker who is in North Carolina working on a job, what happens to all the little trinkets that decorate Rod's grave...

Deborah and I continued our cemetery wandering, taking pictures, and wondering at carvings and inscriptions. We took in life and loss, great sorrow and words of hope. There is much to be gleaned from a walk through the past and I'm thankful for a friend who will wander rows of slate and marble without making me feel foolish for being drawn there.

I was taken by surprise when I saw an urn smiling down at me from atop a granite marker and found myself smiling back. Who'd have imagined a bit of humor amidst the stones?

Tuesday Treasures

Somewhere down in the Finger Lakes not too far from Naples, NY a friend and I found a rusty treasure. I'm not good with makes and models, all I know is that it's old and rusty and very cool. I like that it still had the license plate attached, but I'm undecided how I feel about the flowers under the hood.

Link up with Tuesday Treasures over at Tom's.

Small Cities

The Cabinet Maker went to look at a new job yesterday afternoon and I went along for the ride. We traveled through several small Finger Lakes cities; Canandaigua, PennYan, Geneva.... The clusters of small shops and businesses are reminders of a bustling yesteryear. I'm sure in years gone by the streets and yards would have been filled with adults and children enjoying a sunny Sunday afternoon, but yesterday the yards and sidewalks were strangely silent, a reminder instead that the computer age has taken over and is holding us hostage in our very own homes... Well, that and we can not let our children out of eyeshot least they be seen by neighbors who will surely call CPS. I miss the days of Leave It to Beaver.

The Barn Collective

I haven't been out collecting barn photos lately, but I do have a few favorites in my existing collection. I can hardly drive through the Finger Lakes without being taken in by one or two...

Arbor Road, Ontario, NY
The tree has since been removed from the silo

Rt 54A PennYan, NY

Muck Rd. Gorham, NY

Skeletal Remains
Somewhere out toward Geneseo or Mt Morris, NY about 2 years ago. I imagine it's gone by now as it looks almost as if it was being purposely disassembled.

Somewhere between Keuka Lake and Canandaigua Lake (I think)

It looked like a flock of birds had just flown over....

Somewhere between Prattsburg and Naples, NY

The Barn Collective

Out and About on Thursday Afternoon

A couple of photos from yesterday's outing with Deb...

Sunday Driver

Most Sunday Drivers travel at a lower rate of speed than the general public, but not my guy. My Darling wants to get there (wherever "there" might be), and he isn't necessarily into meandering along the way. However, this afternoon he slowed down to stop and let me take a few pictures. Wasn't that nice?

Up in the hills above Keuka Lake, was an old stone building that we both found fascinating.

The day was perfectly gorgeous with summer-like temperatures and lots of sunshine. Just the right kind of afternoon for Sunday Drivers.

Tuesday

Yesterday was an ab- solutely, in- credibly gorgeous kind of day. I normally go to Ladies' Prayer and Bible Study on Tuesday mornings, but yesterday I took a drive instead and returned my boy to Auburn. I'd thought to go Monday night, but Hannah was watching the USA vs Ghana World Cup soccer game at a friend's house and James was tired from working all day. Besides that, Joe had spent the afternoon with a friend he doesn't normally see now that he's living in Auburn, and I didn't want to rush off tired myself either. Instead we took a "somewhat" leisurely drive, stopped at Wegmans so Joe could pick up a few groceries, and took a quick peek at Owasco Lake. (I have to go back there. We didn't even get out of the car...) On the way home Hannah was a captive audience and I jabbered at her the whole time. (I won't have her forever and so now is my chance.)

Yesterday afternoon brought some torrential down- pours and spiked the humidity levels. The rain came on so fast we scarcely had time to run upstairs and close the windows.

Later in the evening, when the storms had temporarily abated, we cooked a few burgers on the back porch and enjoyed leftovers from Sunday's family picnic for dinner. Hannah typically plays Frisbee on Tuesday nights, but she was home instead and declared it a Roy Rogers movie night so we holed up in the living room to watch "Silver Spurs" while the thunder storms closed in once again.

I've been reading a missionary blog lately. Finding myself inspired by Lydia and her adventure in Guatamala.

Hanging Out With the Hubby

Yesterday I hung out with my favorite husband. We left church early, changed our clothes, and headed south, mostly because north isn't much of an option... ha ha!

Our fickle weather, which left us uncomfortably cold inside our house in the morning, later warmed up our vehicle rather nicely, too nicely. Between the sunshine outside of the van and the almost too warm inside of the van, we soon became sleepy and decided to find a park and take a quick nap. Sometimes that's better than falling asleep at the wheel. Our rest was cut short by an amateur open-air guitarist and her maraca playing partner, so we deiced to move along and find some lunch and a cup or two of coffee.

After sitting spell in Denny's we drove south some more and ended up driving around Keuka Lake. It is currently our favorite Finger Lake and we end up driving it's shoreline again and again. There some pretty great wineries on the hills between the lakes and sometimes we find ourselves popping in at one or another for a little taste testing. Either way, whether we stop in the vineyards or just keep driving, the hills of New York State's Finger Lakes are a beautiful place to be.

One of my summertime plans is to catch a glimpse of as many Finger Lakes as possible. Apparently there are eleven with a couple that are sometimes included and other times excluded from the club. There are also a myriad of small "puddle-sized" lakes as well. Many of them are within easy driving distance and the shores are dotted with small parks and private cottages. I've lived here my entire life (minus 6 months in New Mexico) and still can't name all the Finger Lakes, however, I do have my favorites and I know them by name.

Autumn Falls

We have suddenly gone from summer to autumn. Hannah and I went out for a ride today with no particular destination. We took the camera, a few granola bars and some apples, stopped for a drink along the way, and took in the fall foliage as we went.

Most people think "city" when they hear NY, but there is far more country side to the state than city. We passed farm after dilapidated farm up in the hills between Canandaigua and Keuka lake, and lots of fields and forests.

On the way home we passed Monica's Pies and stopped to run inside the store. The air was permeated with the smell of grape pies baking. Mmm, mmm! I bought a jar of grape pie filling (for probably more than a pie would have cost...) and a Concord grape tart for Hannah and I to share. They packed our purchase in a pretty purple bag and gave us two purple napkins and a couple of forks to eat our tart with.  I now remember why I liked grape pie so much. It was wonderful!

Tomorrow we will be back to "real life" again. My van is in the shop having the tires changed so we'll be staying home. Maybe I'll bake another apple pie.