Excuses & Sackets Harbor...

Fall, beautiful weather, too many days away from home, too many fall chores to get done, laziness... never enough time to do everything so this blog ended up at the bottom of the heap. My apologies for not posting an "out of time, be back later" notice.

Frost has not yet come to this part of NY so this flower bed is happily awaiting "leveling" to later in the month although I did "reposition" those rocks on the left in preparation for downsizing next spring. Too much travel + too many flower beds + too little time = chaos!

Down at Craine Lake in Earlville our friends, Judi & Scott, are wondering where their summer cottage went. Gone forever... but soon to be replaced by a new (except for the part wall on the right that allows them to build again on the site - don't you love code regulations?!) year-round home. Geese are flying everywhere right now, especially at the lake, so it's amazing there aren't any in this photo.

But enough local stuff and on to... Italy? Nope! If you can believe it, it's an outdoor restaurant in Sackets Harbor, a beautiful little village on the east coast of Lake Ontario.

It has a wonderful protected harbor that the US Navy used as a major shipyard and its headquarters for the Great Lakes in the War of 1812. Today the barracks have been "redone" into very nice private housing. And of course the harbor is filled with sailboats instead of military vessels. As the courtyard and harbor suggest this area is definitely "protected". For some reason the winds from the lake sweep up over the village carrying the "snow that's measured in feet" to the Tug Hill area to the east and Oswego to the south. Locals told us that in the winter they always call ahead to Watertown for weather conditions, only 8 miles to the east, before venturing out.

Continuing north and east along the Seaway Trail you can find the Chaumont Barrens Preserve (if you're REALLY dedicated). And even then, you definitely need to read up on what exactly alvar is (we didn't have a clue and the sign was NO help). The internet tells all though, so if you're interested... http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/newyork/preserves/art11823.html