Homage to Seneca Falls, NY – Birthplace of Women’s Suffrage

Park Ranger presentation on the history of the women's suffrage movement, inside the restored Wesleyan Chapel

I just finished watching day three of the Democratic National Convention. One sentence in Nancy Pelosi’s speech caught my attention. Speaking about women, she said, “Our diversity is our strength. Our unity is our power. This month, as America marks the centennial of women, finally, women winning the right to vote, we do so with … Read more

Living Close to the Land in the Adirondacks

Pigs at Winters Grass Farm come out of hiding to inspect me
This entry is part 6 of 7 in the series Adirondack Park, NY

After two weeks in the Adirondacks of upstate New York I began to learn more about the culture of the area. Though the Adirondack Mountains are ancient, the human history within them is relatively young. It is unusual to meet second generation residents and third generation families are a rarity, so it was a privilege … Read more

Diamonds and Rubies, Oh My!

Blood red garnets scooped up from the lakeshore
This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series Adirondack Park, NY

Nearly twenty years ago, I met another rockhound who traded crystals with me. I was living in Arizona at the time, so I gave him copper-bearing specimens like azurite, malachite, and turquoise; in turn he presented me with Herkimer Diamonds from upstate New York. Tucked into hollow cavities in the dense gray rock were tiny, … Read more

An Oasis of Serenity in Adirondack Park

Dock on Piseco Lake at Irondequoit Inn
This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series Adirondack Park, NY

A cocoon of ethereal fog enveloped me as I walked to the end of the dock on Piseco Lake in New York’s Adirondack Park. The hush of dawn was interrupted by the gentle splish-splash of a solitary man walking languidly through calf-high water, far out into the lake. In the distance a white wolf-dog stood … Read more