Wednesday, April 26, 2006

I Love New York!

Two of my dear blogger friends mentioned in comments on my last post that they hadn’t realized NY has such a beautiful countryside. They pictured it as just a big city. This is a common misconception. When I met my hubby (in Australia) and he told me he was from NY, that’s exactly what I thought…..big city! How wrong I was. I saw our little valley for the first time in July of 1971 and immediately fell in love with it. We are about 5 hours from NY city. The state is a large one and NY city is just a small portion of it.
We have some of the most beautiful countryside in the United States. There’s also plenty of history here with many interesting sights to visit.
The Leatherstocking area is rich in Revolutionary War history. The nearby Mohawk Valley is the scene of a famous book called, "Drums Along the Mohawk"….a fascinating historical novel of that wartime period (there’s an old movie based on the book, which is wonderful). The book is one of a series written by Walter D. Edmonds.
Another famous book, "The Last of the Mohicans", is set in the beautiful Adirondack Mountain area, not too far from where we are. It too was made into a very famous movie, which most of you have probably heard of, and many may have seen.
We have the historical Erie Canal, which goes from Albany to Buffalo. They didn’t have to worry about the price of gas (petrol) back then :) The boats carried all kinds of goods back and forth. Loads of history there!
NY State shares the beautiful and awe-inspiring Niagara Falls with Canada. This is a sight for the whole world to see!
There are many other interesting historical sights and some very beautiful state parks to explore. NY State really is a wonderful place to visit. I think a lot of people don’t realize this and consequently don’t think of visiting our beautiful state. We are an under-appreciated part of the country :)
Our region is a dairy farming area and not too long ago was full of small dairy farms. Alas, they are few and far between now. Many of the farms these days are much larger operations, with cows numbering in the thousands. We sold our dairy herd back in 2000 and both work off the farm now. My husband misses the cows very much.
I thought I’d post just a few pictures I’ve taken recently of our farm to show you a little of what the countryside is like. If we’d still had cows we would’ve turned them out to grass last week. The grass is growing and turning green. The color is coming back after our long, mostly white winter. What a welcome sight!

Taken 2 weeks ago before the fields began turning green. In the foreground is a corn crop that was harvested last fall.



Another view taken 2 weeks ago. These 2 pictures were taken at twilight.


The cut leaf maple with barn and shed in the background, taken just a week ago. The grass is much greener!


Looking towards the hill behind our farm buildings. The cats were keeping me company, as usual.


In the background are the Oz trees I mentioned a few posts back. The sky was so blue that day!


The barn and a machinary shed.


This view was taken from half way up the hill exactly one week ago. You can see the river in the background. Posted by Picasa

16 comments:

sonia a. mascaro said...[Reply]

What a gorgeous photos, Kerri. Your farm is wonderful. The landscape, the vegetation and flowers are just amazing. Love also the colour and the architecture of the house and barn.
Many people dont' know and realized that NY has such a beautiful countryside. This post is very interesting! Thank you for sharing your beautiful countryside.

Did you know the Judith Polakoff Photographs? She has a farm in Upstate NY and her photos are just beautiful too. Her link is:
http://www.judithpolakoff.us/

Have a nice week!

Susie said...[Reply]

Kerri,
What lovely countryside you live in!
It looks like such a wonderful place to live. No wonder you love it so!
I also appreciate the bits of history about NY. I'd truly love to visit the East Coast someday!
((hugs))
Susie

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Beautiful pictures and beautiful place....is it quiet?

WendyAs said...[Reply]

I was in NY as a teenager. We never left the city. I always thought of NY as the Statue of Lib., Broadway, Empire State Bld., and the late World Trade Center. Well of course there was the shopping. The countryside is lovely. Your lucky to have a chunk of land. Thanks for sharing that with us Kerri. Your pics are gorgeous

Miss Robyn said...[Reply]

gorgeous - haven't been to that area of NY - only the city and stayed in Staten Is with friends for 5 weeks. I absolutely loved it. It has to be one of the best cities I have been to.

Sigruns German Garden said...[Reply]

Kerri, thats a wonderful place you live!

Sigrun

Reflection Through The Seasons said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri... I do agree with all the complimentary comments. You live in a beautiful place, wide open spaces and you look to have plenty of land that you are able to garden, no restrictions, that’s just great!

I’ve been spending some time outdoor and enjoying it so much. I’m really late with everything this year. However, we’ve had quite run of sunny days, which have been absolutely wonderful, wind in my hair, sun on my face, terrific!

Its a Bank Holiday weekend coming up for us in UK. Do you have May Day off as a holiday? Love - Marion

Alice said...[Reply]

Kerri - If you don't stop posting photos like #8 then I'm just going to have to pack up and come over there to live. You've no idea how photos like that make me long to return to the farm - not sure what I'd do when I got there though. Still, looks like there's plenty more land to dig up for gardens, hey?

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

Thank you very much Kerri...I can see that NY is a very beautiful state to live in and to visit, with it's lovely countrysides and picturesque views. And of the kitties too.

You gave us such a wonderful history in your post and your farm is beautiful, no wonder you love it so much...I would never ever think of moving away from there...You're living the American dream, with the man of your dreams.

Laurie said...[Reply]

Living in NJ, I certainly understand the misconceptions about New York State. It is some of the most gorgeous land in the country.

How wonderful that you shared these beautiful pictures of your farm with us. Absolutely lovely!

You must feel very blessed to be surrounded by such beauty every day.

After a long, cold, white winter has lost it's charm, just as winter has worn you out, spring comes and renews your spirits and your lovely garden comes to life again.

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...[Reply]

The state canal system opens today, the earliest opening in 30 years. We're having a wonderful spring. The first big boats sould be coming through town soon.

It's sad that we're loosing all of our family farms. I know I should know the aswer to this having grown up here but why are barns always painted red?

micki said...[Reply]

What a wonderful series of photos to show us where you live! I enjoyed looking at them.

Dianne said...[Reply]

Oh yes, I've traveled through parts of New York going up to New England. Your sister state, PA thinks you are just as pretty as she is. ; )
Love your photos too.

Val said...[Reply]

I'm a bit behind on my blog reading, Kerri. Lovely lovely photos, and I know what you mean about people always thinking of New York City when there's so much more to New York State than that. As a kid, living on Long Island, I loved going to different parts of the state, and upstate New York was one of my favorites.

I was just thinking that people probably has a misconception about Australia too, like kangaroos hopping down the street (although they are not hidden away by any means).

Thanks for the photos!

millionbells said...[Reply]

Beautiful.

And amazingly, different than the New York I lived in. I lived up by Lake George for two years in my youth. Not as much open spaces, as lumber was the local crop.

Jellyhead said...[Reply]

Ok, don't move a muscle, I'm coming over to visit!
Your farm looks like such a wonderful spot - no wonder you fell in love with it.