New York's Finger Lakes

A few weeks ago I wrote about my trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where three of my interview subjects reside. I happen to live in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. This is where most of the subjects for my book reside, so I thought I'd give the area equal time.

The Finger Lakes are a series of long narrow deep lakes in the west-central section of Upstate, New York. Not being a native New Yorker, I find it interesting that anything that is not New York City, or a suburb thereof, is considered Upstate New York. Basically, Upstate New York seems to consist of 90% (just a guess) of the state.

These lakes were formed about two million years ago by southward moving glaciers that accentuated the existing terrain. When they receded, the lakes were left. The eleven Finger Lakes from east to west are: Otisco Lake • Skaneateles Lake • Owasco Lake • Cayuga Lake • Seneca Lake • Keuka Lake • Canandaigua Lake • Honeoye Lake • Canadice Lake • Hemlock Lake • Conesus Lake. My home overlooks Canadaigua Lake.

View of Canandaigua Lake from my home

Although Syracuse and Rochester are both slightly north of the Finger Lakes. They are the closest cities. Syracuse is the easternmost city and Rochester, the westernmost. Both cities are short drives to many of the lakes.

The beauty of the Finger Lakes is that athough it is a major tourist destination, it is relatively untouched. Unlike Lake George, NY in the northeast or Wisconsin's Dells, the area is not packed with congested traffic, tourist traps, amusement parks, and housing piled on top of one another. The area is still rural, primarily agricultural, and splendidly breathtaking.

The Finger Lakes are New Yorks largest wine making area. The gentle hills and warmth from the lakes, creates an ideal climate for growing grapes. Naples, NY, which is my postal address, is just a few miles south of South Bristol where I live. It is famous for it's Grape Pies and annual grape festival in the fall. Daily from the end of August until the frost takes the last of the grapes, tractors pulling crates of grapes and tall, triangular, grape harvesters drive pass my home. If you take time to smell the "roses," you'll realize the air is heavily perfumed by the grapes.

Winters are long, cold, and snowy. Temperatures can be quite cold, sometimes hovering in the teens for weeks on end in January and February. Although we occasionally have an indian summer or early spring, winter often comes too early and lingers too long.

If it's not snowing around here, it is raining. Sunshine can be a rare commodity, and summer can be too short. That is why the residents of this region relish summers. I have lived in a number of places, and I have never seen one with so many events of all shapes and sizes.

From a fibromyalgia perspective, although the winters here are not as brutally cold as Michigan's U.P. and are usually a bit shorter, they are still hard. The constant weather changes wreak havoc on the body. The humidity and winds that come with the pressure changes can be brutal. I know I savor the few warm, dry moderate days we have.

My interview subjects from this area range geographically from Seneca Lake in the east, up to the western side of Rochester. I have already included some of their interview excerpts in previous blogs. I am buried in baking and property management at the moment, so the writing has slowed down considerably, but there will be more excerpts from both the Michigan and New York people in the coming weeks.