Ithaca is Gorges!

Ithaca is located in the Central Finger Lakes Region of New York State at the southern tip of 40-mile-long Cayuga Lake and the home of Ivy League Cornell University, four State Parks, including Taughannock Falls, a waterfall with a higher vertical drop than Niagara Falls.

Five hundred generations ago, glaciers a mile high surrendered to a landscape of crystal lakes, jagged gorges and thundering waterfalls. Today the view is green with vineyards and farms. It's lush with gentle hills and  lively with villages and energized by people who love the sights, sounds and flavors of a region still unspoiled.

Our first stop is the Ithaca Farmers Market. 

A trip to the farmers market is like heaven to us.

Everything is locally grown and oh so delicious!

Just Desserts offers artisan breads, flatbreads from the wood fired oven, croissant, pain au chocolate. Brioche, brownies, cookies, muffins.  They make the best flat crust pizza's.

You can find locally grown vegetables, herbs and fruit.

Tiohero Tours offers daily historical narrated tours on Cayuga Lake originating from the Ithaca Farmers Market at Steamboat Landing.

Artist from the surrounding area show their beautiful work.

You can find beautiful in season flowers for a reasonable price.

Off to the Ithaca Apple Festival!  Yummmmmm!

The Festival is a weekend celebration of food, fun and the fall. The three-day Apple Harvest Festival attracts an audience of around 30,000 people to Downtown Ithaca and takes place the first weekend in October. The festival features over 150 individual performers as part of at least 20 groups of entertainment. The event has farmers, wineries, bakeries, crafters, food vendors, an apple pie eating competition, apples, apples and more apples. Activities include music, dancing, eating, education, amusement rides, Iron Chef event, craft-fair and street performers.

Locally grown apples.

  Oh the food!

What a great turnout!

So much fun...dancing in the streets!

Did you know their is a Roller Derby Team in Ithaca for both men and women?  Check out their web site.
SufferJets.


Go Big Red!  Gary's alma mater, Cornell University was serving free applesauce.

What a beautiful fall day in New York!

wordless wednesday

How to Propagate Lavender

We thought we would try a little experiment this fall in propagating lavender and starting them in a cold frame.  Lavender can be propagated from seed, by layering or cuttings:  the latter is the most reliable method.  Their are several ways to propagate: hardwood, semi-ripe or softwood cuttings.  We are trying semi-ripe cuttings from our Royal Velvet and Grosso varieties.  Semi-ripe cuttings can be taken from non-flowering shoots in August.  Shoots 2 - 2 3/4 inch long are cut from our healthy plants.  Removing the lower leaves and scraping one side of the stem with our fingernail to expose the green. 

The stem can then be dipped in rooting hormone and inserted in a mixture of vermiculite and sand. We decided to try a little heavier mix of potting soil, sand and vermiculite because of our colder temperatures and dipping half in rooting hormone and the other half without.

The cuttings should root within eight to ten weeks.  We will be removing the tip of the cutting to help produce a branching bush. 

Gary build a cold frame from 2 windows we found at a selvage yard and pressure treated wood.  The frame is 12 inches on the back side and 8 inches the front to form a slant.  The windows inserted in the frame and hinged in the back. 

The plants have been in the cold frame for 4 weeks now and we have had to replace the plants that were placed in the back of the frame because it was to hot.  We made the mistake by not venting.

We will be watching the weather for frost and make sure we close the lid.  We'll let you know about our progress.

Fabulous Friday

Gary and I are planning a trip to Maui, Hawaii for our vacation this year. And I promised him I would hike Haleakala Volcano Crater.  So I have been walking everyday through our farmland to get in shape.  And today I thought I would take you along.

My first stop is usually the lavender field to see how active the bees are.

I can't wait to see the results of the honey from our buckwheat planting.

 The lavender is ready for winter.

I'm in the process of building a new stone wall to protect the lavender from our harsh winds.

 Ah yes, our tree table.  Our visitors to the farm all seem to be fascinated by this table.  This tree was in the process of dieing and had to be cut down.  And because I like to make do with what we have it is now a great table for entertaining and for educational workshops.

It was fairly easy to make. With a level, string and a steady hand we did our best to cut the different trunks to size and finished with pressure treated wood. We are still working on some seating.

Along the way I try to find photo opportunities.

I usually plant gourds every year, but this year I ran out of time to plant the seeds.  But I found these growing near my compost pile.

Gary and I painted the barn and the silo last year.  He wanted to paint the silo lavender.  As you can see I won out with white.

 The last of our plum tomatoes ripe on the vine.

 This is called Northern Sea Oats.  Its a great ornamental grass that drys beautifully.

Hydrangea

Lockwood Creek runs through our property and after a heavy rain you can find water spilling over the rocks.

 Kitty decided to join me on this adventure.

 wild grapes

This roads take us to where the sheep graze and most of the farming takes place.

 

Sheep pasture

This corn is ready to be harvested.

 Soon the leaves will be turning.

Kitty thinks he can scale this corn stalk.

Over looking Skaneateles Lake.  Skaneateles Lake has been the primary drinking water source for the City of Syracuse since the 1890s and is one of approximately six unfiltered water sources in the country that provides drinking water to a major metropolitan area. 

 Lockwood Farm is a member of the Skaneateles Lake Watershed Agricultural Program.

A look back from the lake.  From here I trac back thought the fields.

The sheep don't know how to walk a straight line.

The sheep on there way back to the barn.

Back home!  Minus one Kitty.  He turned back before I got to the lake.