Hi, everyone!
There are some things I like to do every fall. This year, I took my pride along for one of them and we had an extra adventure!
A week ago, it was time to pick apples at Burnap’s Farm Market. Aunt Kara and James were busy, so Grandma and I went with Uncle Steven and Thomas. I was in charge of the map of tree locations. Thomas wanted to pick at least one apple of every variety, but we mostly picked honeycrisp apples.
On our way back from the “you pick” trees, I could see the apple bins ready for picking the main crop. We haven’t had very much rain, so the corn maze never grew high enough to hide the paths. I made a sunflower friend. Thomas decided to buy an ice cream cone. He chose cotton candy flavor!
Last Friday, we were out at the bay again. We went to the Point to watch sunset, even though the sun set over land. Sunset was before 7 p.m.! Grandpa and Grandma got a new mattress topper for their bed at the bay. It came tightly rolled up in a small box. When Grandpa opened the wrapping, it unrolled and unfolded itself. I had to get out of the way! Grandpa says the bed is more comfortable now.
Yesterday, I asked Grandma to help me show my pride some of my favorite local spots! First, we went to Fairport village for a special birthday party. The Erie Canal flows right through Fairport and it’s two hundred years old! Now the canal is mostly used for recreational boating. When it first opened, it was very important for moving goods and people back and forth between the ocean and the Great Lakes. I showed my pride the canal and the lift bridge.
There were boats and signs on the north bank of the canal to celebrate. A group in Buffalo built a replica of the Seneca Chief, the canal boat that made the first trip on the canal from Buffalo to New York City two hundred years ago. There were exhibits about the canal inside. The crew is planting white pine trees as they move along the canal. That recognizes the Haudenosaunee native people, whose land was taken for parts of the canal. The crew is also collecting water from every place they stop, to pour into the ocean in New York City.
When the canal was built, all the boats were towed by mules, walking alongside the canal. Now there are powered boats. The newest tugboat on the canal, the Thomas Grasso, was having its naming ceremony! There were steps so people could go on board to see it. There was an electric workboat, too!
Last Saturday was the Fairport Scarecrow Festival. I was happy to see that some of the scarecrows were still on display! On our way back to the car, we stopped to see them. We all made friends with the mule statue in Kennelly Park, too.
Before we went home, we stopped at Powers Farm Market to visit the pumpkin patch. There were lots of pumpkins!
We didn’t go on the hayride, but we did go into the teepees! It’s very dark inside! We were happy to get back out into the sunshine. Before we left, we made some apple friends.
Love,
Lion-san
The photo labeled “The Seneca Chief is part of a birthday celebration!” looks like an easily negotiated ramp to get onto Seneca Chief.
Picture labeled “There were steps to get on board!” Those steps would be a challenge for me. Are there both a ramp and steps in two different parts of the canal boat? We might visit the canal boat in Kingston or possibly Hudson. I am MUCH happier with a ramp with my Rollator.
What fun to have a scarecrow contest, too. Some real clever ones. the scarecrow birthday cake is a winner.
Autumn is such a wonderful, magical time of year. Bill and I drove up into the Catskill mountains to see a lot of color change at the higher elevations. We might go to a different area next week. We saw a lot of different scarecrows somewhere we were yesterday but really didn’t stop to look at them closely. Now I do not remember where that was. At our local Wallkill View Farm market we bought a lovely wart covered pumpkin and have it on display on the shelf outside our apartment door.
Great Aunt Betsy, the steps were to get on the tugboat, not the Seneca Chief.
Love,
Lion-san