Celebrating country life, and the joy found in getting back to basics.
We are deep into spring planting, and my hands have been spending far more time in the dirt than on my keyboard lately. The tomatoes are settling into the hoop house, the garden is demanding attention, and most days seem to disappear before I realize where they ve gone. But every once in a while, my... The post Things Have a Way of Finding Where They Belong appeared first on Home in the Finger…
There was a time—not all that long ago, really—when nearly every family had a flock. Whether you lived on a working farm or just kept a small coop out back, chickens were part of the daily rhythm of life. You fed them in the morning, collected their eggs, shooed them out of the garden, and... The post Wisdom from the Flock: Old Chicken Sayings and What They Mean appeared first on Home in the…
I found a photograph of Sodus Center that I m pretty sure was taken sometime before my grandmother was born. The mill is on the right, squared and solid, with a little cupola on top. The houses along the far shore are white-painted, their porches facing the water. The trees are bare, the way they go... The post The Phone Number at the Mill appeared first on Home in the Finger Lakes .
There is a kind of cooking that doesn t ask much of you. No special equipment. No long list of ingredients sourced from places you ll never visit. Just a pot, some milk, and a little patience. Farmer s cheese is that kind of cooking. I came to cheesemaking by watching someone else do it first and realizing... The post How to Make Homemade Farmer s Cheese appeared first on Home in the Finger Lakes…
Last fall, I wrote about the push to unseal New York’s institutional records and the work of Dr. Ryan Thibodeau and a small but steady coalition of historians, scholars, and advocates who are working toward something both simple and profound: allowing families access to the records of those who lived and in many cases, died... The post Because Every Life Deserves to Be Accounted For appeared first…
Every year, at some point in early winter, I catch myself standing in my house feeling like a stranger in a strange land. After months of breezing in and out, corn deliveries, stand restocks, market weekends, home becomes the place where I eat, sleep, and try to keep up with the laundry. If summer is... The post What Belongs Here appeared first on Home in the Finger Lakes .
Winter sowing always starts before I’m ready. Before the seed trays come out. Before the lights are hung and the heat mats are plugged in. Before I’ve fully wrapped my head around the fact that we are, once again, about to farm. That part takes me a while every year. There’s a moment in late... The post Winter Sowing, Again (and Always) appeared first on Home in the Finger Lakes .
These soy wax fire starters feel like tiny bundles of winter in the country. Filled with dried cedar shavings, dried citrus, spices, and bits of the woods gathered by hand. They’re practical, yes, but they also carry a simple quiet charm… the kind that makes you pause, breathe in the scent, and savor the ritual of warming... The post Hearth & Harvest Soy Wax Fire Starters appeared first on Home in…
For more than a decade, this story has followed me, through archives, along quiet roads, and down long pine driveways leading to places New York would rather forget. It began the day my mother and I decided to tour the Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane. She had an aunt who had spent time there,... The post Unsealing New York’s Past: A Call for Transparency appeared first on Home in the Finger…
Every town has its own way of doing Halloween. Some put pumpkins on porches, others go big with hayrides. Palmyra? Well… a 60-foot pirate ship appears on Main Street in the village. Because if there s anything we like, it s festive holidays and dressing up like pirates. And honestly, this isn’t surprising for us. Palmyra has a knack for slipping into character. From the Jolly Roger 5K,... The post…