sallieb - Living in Central New York

When we're traveling and people ask where we're from... and we say "New York State", it's obvious that these images are not what leap into their minds! If we respond "Central New York" - I think they visualize Central Park. (I stopped the car to 'shoot' the Cowfeeklatsch on a lazy, hazy August day. I took several pictures while the cows stared back at me with something like amazement).

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Pictures taken near Cazenovia NY

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Wildflowers - like this field of QueenAnne's Lace - turn our summer landscapes into huge sprawling gardens.The fields and forests are full of blooms - from spring till autumn. There is no dry season - no threats of wildfires or serious drought. Just the right amount of sun and rain lends itself to rotating seasons of wildflowers - spring, summer and autumn...

Small towns in New York State are like small towns everywhere in our country. The two pictured here - Cazenovia and Fabius - are within commuting distance of Syracuse - just beyond the suburbs.

Central New York is a land of lakes (with apologies to Wisconsin for utilizing their motto) - and rivers, streams and ponds. Lake and beaches are found within easy driving distance - and they are beautiful. The lakes of the Adirondack Mountain State Park and Lake Ontario are within 2 hours driving distance - the Finger Lakes within a half hour.

Little Moose River in the Adirondacks - a favorite place for canoists.

Our son - water skiing on 4th Lake in the Adirondacks & my husband, canoeing on 4th Lake (taken many years ago).

The town of Manlius has its signature 'Swan Pond' in the midst of the village business district and next to a busy 4 lane road - only a sidewalk separates the pond from the street but benches and landscaping make it an attractive place to stop.

Autumn comes to Central New York with a blaze of glory!

Winter follows.

Our famous - or 'infamous' winters, depending on your viewpoint! There is one thing to keep in mind: You can go out and play in the snow - but you can't go out and play in a hurricane or a tornado or an earth slide or brush fire or earthquake! Hmmm - snow looks better all the time.

Our winter is a time for skiing - cross country at one of the state or county parks ringing the city - or downhill - at one of the many ski slopes within a half hour's drive - Labrador, Song Mountain, Toggenburg - to name a few. It's a time for tobogganing or snow boarding or ice skating at the rink in the middle of downtown Syracuse. It's a time to 'cozy down' with a good book or work on projects that we never have time for in the summer. It's a time for stew and home made soups and hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace - and for 'closing in', renewing our resources for a new season.

Ice skating in Clinton Square - downtown Syracuse - photo courtesy of Chris DeMott

( his webpage) : http://www.pbase.com/ciceroclay/galleries)

Back to my home page!

Central New York is known by many names. New York City knows it as "Upstate" - of course they consider anything north of the Bronx as 'upstate'. Actually the state is divided into several sectors by name - Western NY, the Southern Tier (just above Pennsylvania), the North Country and our own Central New York. Downstate refers to the Catskill region and New York City.

Central New York. First - it must be said that there are commercial advantages to the region. The city of Syracuse - my home town - lies at the center of the region, astride two major interstate highways. Routes 81 & 92 (the NY State Thruway) intersect here. The Barge Canal system traverses the area, connecting Lake Ontario & the St. Lawrence River with New York City. Amtrak/Conrail's main line runs through Syracuse. We have Syracuse University, Lemoyne College & Onondaga Community College. The local arts community is active and vital with such things as the Syracuse Symphony, Syracuse Stage & the I. M. Pei designed Everson Museum of Art. The cost of living is lower and the quality of life higher than most other cities of its size. Perhaps most important of all - and certainly part of that 'quality of living' thing - is the region's beauty - a calm, flowing, hilly region dotted with lakes.

We don't even have to prune the ground planting around our house - these critters do it for us!

This is apple country. Beak & Skiff Apple Farm is one of many orchards in Apple Valley near Lafayette - where the annual Apple Festival attendance jams roads in the fall.

Click here to see Galen Fry's Superb photos of the region.