Almost Fall in New York #WordlessWednesday

 Today, I celebrate almost-fall in New York State, with some beautiful local produce at a local farm stand from several days ago.

Large winter squash and heirloom pumpkins.

Warted pumpkins on the left.

Pumpkins and (in the back) celosia. 

Acorn squash and carnival squash.

 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Cooperstown Shadow #ShadowshotSunday

If you have heard of Cooperstown, New York, it is probably due to their Baseball Hall of Fame.

But in 2023, we visited Cooperstown and spent a couple of hours there due to a different event, and I took this picture while visiting their village library.  I didn't go to the exhibit advertised in the above sign, but I think I would have enjoyed it. 

Joining Lisa at This and That - a Blog, for her #ShadowshotSunday.

Why Buy Art? #WordlessWednesday

 Seen at the Colorscape Chenango Arts festival in Norwich, New York last September.

"Buy some art to stare at in case your phone breaks".

Colorscape (which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this September) takes place each year on the weekend after Labor Day.  It's free, and it's fun.

And you really shouldn't be staring at your phone. 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

History Past and Present #WordlessWednesday

The past and present exist side by side on this site. 

I took a picture of this historical marker in 2023, shortly after it was erected.  For many years a minor league baseball team (mainly affiliated with the New York Yankees) played here.  The stadium was demolished in 1968 and a senior center (sign on the right of the marker) was built on the site.

If any of my readers are interested in baseball history,here is a list of players who later made it big in the major leagues or in broadcasting, including Whitey Ford and Ken Harrelson.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday

More of a Historic Diner #WordlessWednesday

Earlier, I introduced my Wordless Wednesday readers to the historic Harris Diner in Owego, New York , where my guest photographer and I had lunch earlier in January.

This diner recently celebrated its 100th birthday.

Here are several photos she took.  The diner was darkish and if she had used flash, there would have been glare off the glass and stools.  But I think she still did a good job.

I love the stools (memories of childhood) and glass.   Also, we both enjoyed the baseball memorabilia, especially of the New York Yankees.

I wonder if the owner is a Yankees fan. 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

A Checkerboard Christmas #WordlessWednesday

This past September, my spouse and I had the opportunity to visit the MacKenzie-Childs property in Aurora, New York.  Their store is a checkerboard fantasy, and had a section devoted to Christmas.

So, of course, I had to take pictures.

Enjoy.

Here's to a checkerboard Christmas, as I join up with Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

New York State in The New Severe Weather Zone?

We've had an interesting summer here in New York State.  Tornadoes, up to now, have been rare, but they are becoming more common.  When I lived in the tornado belt back in the 1970's and 1980's (Texas, Kansas, Arkansas) I was fortunate enough not to witness one but I came pretty close, close enough that tornado sirens sounded around 3 or 4am and we hid in a bathtub.  I also knew at least two people who had survived a tornado when I lived in Kansas.

Well....

Monday, we had a severe thunderstorm with many trees down, especially, it would seem, in the Town of Vestal. Other parts of New York State were not so fortunate, as a tornado was confirmed in downtown Buffalo, New York.  You can see a funnel at about 1:39 in this video.  Not sure if that funnel was the confirmed tornado.

It's not just this year - there was a confirmed EF-0 tornado in our county on August 5, 2023, exactly one year before.

I took these pictures yesterday along the Vestal Rail Trail, where we exercise walk a couple of times a week.  My spouse exercised there yesterday, while I was working, and saw a tree lying on top of a bench.  He didn't take a picture but that could have ended tragically for someone if anyone was caught on the trail when the storm started.

In various spots, there was evidence of  straight line winds flattening plants along one side of the trail.

There are some dead trees along the trail, but I don't think this stand is one of them.  I think leaves were stripped off this set of trees.  It's hard to tell but there was another tree (I was near people at the time so I couldn't stop and take that picture) that definitely seemed stripped.  Again, I'm thinking straight line winds - no sign of twisting.

Hard to see, but there was a tree down in a backyard along the trail.  I took this picture through brush of more storm damage on the same side of the trail as the tree above.

Meanwhile, a rabbit seems unconcerned.

I truly don't understand how anyone can still consider climate change as a myth. I know that people I've spoken to, such as a tree service man and farmers, all agree something is happening and it isn't good.

These aren't the tornadoes those living where I lived years ago have experienced but perhaps it's only a matter of time.

Untermyer 2023 #AtoZChallenge #WordlessWednesday

It seems, every U day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, that I return to a public park in Yonkers, New York that contains one of the most beautiful gardens I've ever been in.  

Here's a brief history (I know, it's Wordless Wednesday, but I think we need some background) of what is now called Untermyer Park and Gardens.  You can, of course, skip to the photos first.

In 1865, John Meyer, who owned the largest hat factory in the world at the time, purchased 33 acres of land in Yonkers, New York.  He had a 99 room mansion called Greystone built for him. But his fortunes reversed and Meyer had to move and offer the property for rent.

Greystone was rented, in 1879, to a man by the name of Samuel J. Tilden (if you study United States history, you will know the name of Samuel J. Tilden).Tilden built 13 greenhouses in the property but died in 1886.  Much of his estate went to fund public libraries in Yonkers and in nearby New York City.

In 1899, at the auction of the Greystone property, it was purchased by Samuel Untermyer, a lawyer and civic leader born in Lynchburg, Virginia. As a teenager, he and his family moved to New York City, where he rose in the legal ranks and became wealthy.  In 1916, Untermyer started the construction of a massive garden complex at Greystone.

Untermyer was a strong opponent of the Nazi rise to power in Germany in 1933 and spent the next few years doing what he could to sound the alarm to the American public.  At the same time, he built a garden renowned in the world.  But, his health declined, and he died in 1940.  The city of Yonkers agreed to take on about 43 acres of what had become a 150 acre complex.

After 1940, the gardens declined and eventually fell into ruin.  But, in 2011, restoration began. When I first visited them in 2015 with my spouse and his cousin who lived in Yonkers all her life, they were still mainly in ruins.  Unfortunately, I can not find the photos I took back then. 

I've visited several times since.  The last time was a brief visit in June of 2023, on the way home from a wedding in New York City.  Restoration work has blocked several of my favorite views, but there was still plenty to photograph.

Tall trees.  My iPhone plant ID built in app says these are pedunculate oaks.

Part of the garden wall.

Gardens.

Fountains.

I believe this is called the Temple of the Sky.

Mosaics.

One of the blooming shrubs - common ninebark.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for #WordlessWednesday.

 "U" day for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Gardens, History, Art, and the Unexpected.  Only five more days to go!

Tioga County New York #AtoZChallenge

Welcome to Tioga County, New York, the county just west of the Binghamton, New York area.  We are visiting Tioga County virtually today, partially because I enjoy visiting its county seat, the Village of Owego, and partially because there are a lot of interesting things to discover.

Let's start our journey in the Village of Owego.

One year, there was some remodeling and I took this picture of art posted on a wall built during the reconstruction.

One of the village's historic houses.

An antique piano.

A little hard to see, but this is the Baker Foreman's Fountain.  This is a memorial to a fireman's son who was killed in an accident in 1913.  The fountain was restored in 2019.  This photo was taken in October 2019, I believe shortly after the renovation was finished.  I couldn't get close to it because it was still roped off.

Each year, my spouse and I visit the Tioga County Historical Society in late November and early December.  One year, I found this picture hanging in the basement, where the offices are (I was visiting a seasonal gift shop down there).  In talking to staff, I was told this is a colorized Matthew Brady print f an 1863 photo of Abraham Lincoln.  What a find!  (The piano above also belongs to the Society.)

Let's also visit the rural areas of Tioga County.  These next photos were taken at a couple of farms during an open house event.  

I believe this was taken at Twin Brook farms near Owego.

Tioga County chickens.

Englebert Farms in Nichols, New York, during an open house several years ago.  This farm was the first certified organic dairy farm in the United States.  It is still family operated by a family who has been in this country since at least 1848.  Their farm store is a treasure.  This picture was taken near or at the farm.

Art, history, an unexpected find in a basement, and scenery - I hope you enjoyed today's post.

"T" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme: Gardens, history, art, and the unexpected".

Rochester (New York) Redux #AtoZChallenge

 Rochester, New York, is New York State's fourth largest city, with a population of about 211,000.  It was the birthplace of a number of businesses known worldwide, including Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch and Lomb.  

A number of famous people made Rochester their home, including social reformer, writer, newspaper publisher, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass (who started his life in slavery) and abolitionist, women's rights activist and suffragist (including an arrest for daring to vote in a Presidential election) Susan B. Anthony.  

Yes, I've blogged about Rochester for Blogging from A to Z before, but this city deserves another mention.

Today, I want to take you to two parts of Rochester - the historic East End and one of the United States' first public arboretums, Highland Park.

The historic Little Theatre, which opened in October of 1921, and, today, shows indie and other movies.

I now have an ID on this East End building I featured in my "K" A to Z post, thanks to Tom at Tom the Backroads Traveler:  "The Hiram Sibley Building was built in 1925 at the corner of East Avenue and Alexander Street in Rochester, New York. It was named in his honor by his son Hiram Watson Sibley, and designed by Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbott of Boston."  (Hiram Sibley, among other things, was a founder of, and first president of, Western Union.  Are any of my readers old enough to remember telegrams?)

One of many decorations on the outside of the East End garage.

Let's move to Highland Park.  These pictures were taken April 9.

Outside the Lamberton Conservatory, which we visited in 2016.  It's well worth the time.  Unfortunately we were on our way out of Rochester and didn't have time to visit this time.

However, here is a picture I took inside in 2016. 

The glacial terrain of Highland Park makes for beautiful hills and valleys.  Rochester, like many other places, is ahead of what should be blooming at this time of year.

Weeping cherry.

Highland Park is known for its Lilac Festival each May.  I wouldn't be surprised if they have lilacs in bloom before the end of the month.  In fact, for April Fools Day, they posted on social media that their lilacs were in full bloom.  I hope they didn't trick anyone out of the area!

Hopefully, I'll see their lilacs in bloom one day.  I think I was last there for the lilacs nearly 30 years ago.

"R" day at the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme Gardens, History, Art and The Unexpected.

Lorenzo (State Historic Site) #AtoZChallenge

Last fall, we visited the Lorenzo mansion at Lorenzo State Historic Site in Cazenovia, New York.   The village of Cazenovia was a lake resort community.  It still is well worth the visit.

Colonel John Lincklaen, founder of the village of Cazenovia, had this mansion built in 1807. 

President Grover Cleveland visited and had dinner in the mansion in 1887, had dinner, and spent the night.  Why don't we step in his footsteps?

The walk to the mansion in fall is lined with Japanese anemones.

Closeup of this beautiful display.
 

The outside of the mansion.   Let's go in. (Take the tour; it is well worth the money.)

Unlike many other historic mansions, all the furnishings of this mansion are original to the family.  

A chest. 

Artwork.

Fun fact,  no one knows why it was called Lorenzo, according to the man who gave us the tour.  No one of that name was ever associated with the house, as far as we know.  

Not fun fact, enslaved men and women were kept and utilized for their unpaid labor at Lorenzo. (You'll have to scroll partway down the page for some information.  While we think of Southern states when it comes to slavery, Northern states did have legalized slavery - and, in fact, New York, while it did pass a gradual emancipation law in 1799,  did not totally emancipate all of its enslaved residents until 1827. (Massachusetts was the first Northern state to free its enslaved residents).

New York has a number of state historic sites.  I hope to feature another one of them later in this Challenge.

"L" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Gardens, History, Art and The Unexpected.

Historic (Coe Hall House Museum) #AtoZChallenge

Coe Hall is a 65-room Tudor Revival mansion located near Oyster Bay, New York (Long Island).  designed by architects Walker & Gillette. These architects are famed for many other buildings, including the Industrial Trust Tower in Providence, Rhode Island (the state's tallest building), Playland in Rye, New York, and some 16 residences on Long Island.

Coe Hall is part of Planting Fields Arboretum State Park, located in an area called the Gold Coast.  The mansion was built between 1918 and 1921 for William Robertson Coe, who made his money in railroads and insurance.

Whether you are a historic homes person, an enjoyer of art, or a flower person (or both!) Planting Fields is a must-see.  Today, I want to take you inside Coe Hall, but there is way too much for one post.

Outside Coe Hall.

Detail Outside.

Let's go inside.  I took the tour almost a year ago, and I don't remember most of the details. 

One of the rooms.

But this mural is something special.

This is the Buffalo Mural, painted by Robert Winthrop Chanler, one of two murals that Coe commissioned for his mansion.  

 

Unfortunately, the materials Chanler picked for his creations (not just the Buffalo mural) have made preservation difficult, and preserving these murals by stabilizing their environment is an ongoing process. 

I am far from an art expert but you can find out more about this mural here. 

I hope to bring you the gardens of Planting Fields in a future A to Z post.

"H" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Gardens, History, Art and The Unexpected.