Fall Creek (measured at Forest Home) is abnormally high, but just touching the 'action stage' and not crossing into flood stage territory. We got 3.67" of rain at my house yesterday, but that scarcely compared to Binghamton's record 7.49", which...
Gate at Gengenbach. It's hard to imagine a more perfect nodal development scenario than a walled city on a trade route surrounded by farms. We don't tend to do things that way any longer. Even the German village I described...
On my way back from the transfer station, I stopped by the side of the road to take a cell phone picture of the beautiful fog and sun over Varna and Mount Pleasant. No, it wasn't a nuclear blast. Nor...
The game cam photos are great fun, and the weather station provides up-to-the-minute information on what's happening here, but some things happen over longer times. For those kinds of things, time-lapse cameras are a lot of fun. I used to...
A few weeks ago I bought a game camera to try to figure out what's moving around in our woods - particularly deer and coyotes. Although pretty much everything I've seen suggested I was getting the right camera, they seem...
First it was the teepee, and now this. I thought I was hallucinating when I drove through Varna today, but no, this mailbox does seem to be real, though wild enough for three pictures: Mount Varna mailbox from the east....
Russ Nelson sent me aerial photos Cornell put on line a while ago, but I didn't figure out that you could zoom in on them until last night. Once I did that, I was just plain amazed. The easiest place...
I've had a few people ask me where exactly these 260 units would go, so I pulled out some aerial photos from April 2005 that show the site. I wasn't so good with the camera that I got the entire...
Because we're having a foundation wall replaced next month, and because it's just been way way way too long, I've been cleaning out the basement. One of the things I found again was a rotting frame with these photos in...
Moon over Mount Pleasant. Antennas on Mount Pleasant....
I like deep snow. Spring (my dog) is a little less certain. Dog in snow with lamp. Yes, that's the barbecue grill, turned into strange white pyramid with a handle....
Although we've done some very large things to my yard and gardens this year, there was still a large area in the back yard that was basically just lawn. After turning a smaller area in the front yard by hand,...
There's been a dead poplar standing on the far edge of my back yard since we bought the house. It's been decaying slowly, but today it put on a real show - or at least a visitor to it did....
It's been bright and sunny, but every time I've gone into downtown Ithaca I've noticed that it seems to be a week ahead of us for flowers. Today looks pretty nice, though! Tulips and daffodils bursting onto the scene This...
I'm normally an advocate of having separate places for people to walk and drive. Cars rushing by at 55 or even 45mph while you're walking on a shoulder that cars sometimes use isn't generally fun. I usually avoid walking on...
I grew up in a city (Corning) full of factories, and I know too much about New York State's rich industrial history to be happy about the steady decline we've seen here over the course of my life. Every now...
The Village of Dryden's Victorian Winter Festival ran from Friday at 3:00pm to yesterday at 4:00pm, with a wide variety of different events. I started out at the History House, then visited the Southworth Library and Googers, wandered down Main...
Last night, I thought Mike Lane was ahead of Mike Hattery by 10 votes. This morning, the Board of Elections reported Hattery ahead by 41. When I arrived at the Board this afternoon, the difference had changed to 36, as...
I was out at Malloryville and Peruville Roads this morning when I looked to the south and saw a lovely glow over Dryden. The photo doesn't quite capture it, but you might get the idea. Glow over Dryden....
I stopped by Neptune Hose Company tonight and was amazed by the number of explorers, Darth Vaders, princesses, pirates, and other unusual characters who had shown up for the costume judging. Gathering round for the costume judging. The event, sponsored...
After enjoying yesterday's Freeville Harvest Festival in the morning, I went over to the Ellis Hollow Fair in the afternoon. I spent a lot of my time at a booth registering voters, or trying to, but I did get to...
I enjoyed the Freeville Harvest Festival this morning, watching the crowds, visiting the booths, and eating a tasty italian sausage sandwich. Pie by the slice at the Freeville Harvest Festival. If you'd like to see more, I've posted a gallery...
Last Sunday I drove up to Syracuse and visited the New York State Fair, where I took far too many pictures and got to meet NYCO, whose blog provides me with regular inspiration on all kinds of upstate issues. Sheep...
I've written a few times before about the Saltonstall Foundation, the arts colony on Ellis Hollow Creek Road, but I'd never actually been there before this afternoon. They held the second of their Open Studio Sundays, showing off the work...
Our house-painting saga has reached its happy conclusion. After power scraping in January, Bob and the crew from Perfect Painters returned two weeks ago to finish the job. They spent their first few days prepping, scraping, and priming, and they've...
Another Dryden resident, Michael Hall, wrote in with news that he has a blog, Illustrated Excursions, in a completely different style than Living in Dryden. It's all photos with captions, mostly beautiful nature photography. Well worth a visit!...
I posted pictures of the Dairy Day parade yesterday, but I also took some pictures of the parade getting set up and of the festivities in Montgomery Park after the parade. Girl Scouts arriving to march in the Dairy Day...
I wasn't able to take pictures of this year's Dryden Dairy Parade, as I was in it with the Dryden Democrats, but Tracey took some pictures she was willing to let me share. Dryden Grange float, complete with calf. Stilt-walkers...
It may have rained a bit this afternoon, but the weather this morning was perfect for a parade. I've posted a huge set of photos of the parade and the ceremony afterward, trying to capture something of the spirit of...
After having a good time taking aerial photos last month, we thought we'd try it again with today's excellent weather. I tried to make sure we got subjects I didn't capture last time, but there are still plenty of places...
While it may have been an eyesore recently, it was once a popular restaurant and it was certainly an interesting building. I took some pictures of The Boxcar back in 2003 and speculated on its future. Its future seems to...
My friend Jeff is a flight instructor whose house overlooks the Village of Dryden, with a clear view all the way to the airport. As a flight instructor, he gets to spend lots of time in the air, but not...
Tracey and I went hiking today with friends down the very snowy Jim Schug Trail, mostly along Dryden Lake. It was a beautiful winter day, the snow lit by bright sun. Skiers on the Jim Schug Trail People were snowshoeing,...
I walked from my house to the Varna Community Center today, to meet friends for a fine pancake breakfast there. I brought my camera along, and got a nice set of pictures. Trees covered in snow along Route 366....
The Dryden Veterans Memorial Home held their Veterans Day observance at the Dryden Village Green today. A crowd of people turned out. It was hard to hear through the traffic, especially trucks, passing by, but the crowd stayed at attention....
While visiting Yellow Trail One, I took a lot more pictures of fall foliage around the Hammond Hill area. Feeling adventurous, I drove down Star Stanton Road past the warning that the road was abandoned, and then turned south along...
I went for a hike today with friends down the south side of the old Monkey Run Road (coming off Route 366 above Varna) and then west along a trail above Fall Creek that went through the nature preserve to...
I wasn't able to make it to this weekend's fairs in Freeville and Ellis Hollow, but my lovely wife Tracey went and took some pictures. Here's a sampling of the weekend's fun. Freeville Harvest Festival sign. Enjoying a meal at...
After reaching the Ithaca line on 366 heading west, I decided to cover the Route 13/366 overlap area next. First up: a large employer, Wilcox Press. Wilcox Press (map) I've heard a few times that taxpayers in the Dryden Central...
Wow. Ann Leonard knows how to throw a great party. Start with a few hours of shoveling mud in the rain, then head back to a camp area where barbecued chicken is waiting, people are playing music (including bagpipes), orienteering...
My photographic trek from Route 13 to the Town of Ithaca line along Route 366 has come to its end. After the last few houses and the fields, only two buildings remain, both on the border between the Town of...
As I get closer to the Dryden/Ithaca boundary, one parcel really stands out. It's 45 acres of Cornell fields, actively farmed. It's large enough to build a community on it, and it's convenient to Cornell and not far from East...
I've almost reached the end of my photos of buildings along Route 366, as the 800 block is the last block in the Town of Dryden. 810 Dryden Road (map) 804 Dryden Road (map) 802 Dryden Road, University Cycles (map)...
It's been over a month since I posted pictures of buildings along Route 366, and we're almost to the Town of Ithaca line. Here are three more houses up the hill from Varna, continuing past the last set. 826 Dryden...
While I was traveling, my lovely wife Tracey visited last week's 4-H Fair, camera in hand. Here are a few of her highlights. Bean art makes kids smile. A goat looks out from the hay. 4-H is more than dairy...
There's a lot going on along the overlap of Routes 13 and 366 lately. I'd mentioned the Town Board giving approval to Marrotte to put up a two-car garage, and that's largely up now. The Marrotte garage under construction Down...
Yesterday was a busy day in Bethel Grove. First I went to the stream monitoring workshop, and then I stopped by the workday for Sarah Highland and Cat Berry's clay-straw house that the Journal had mentioned earlier this week. I...
Yesterday morning I enjoyed a workshop for volunteers preparing to monitor Six Mile Creek. They've had several previous sessions and meetings. This one was about "Sample Collection, Chemical Analysis, and Flow." It started at the Bethel Grove Community Center (actually...
If I had a big sign on the highway, I'd probably come up with some interesting messages too. The folks at Locke Woods Interiors on the 13/366 overlap have a new sales pitch for the world to consider. Low-carb kitchen...
Continuing west from the houses east of Forest Home Road, the road slopes up substantially. On the south side, a Lifestyle Properties complex, Eastgate Apartments, is set into the hill, while on the north side a group of houses appears...
Back in April I posted some pictures of a visiting cardinal. The cardinal still enjoys banging into our windows, but now I have a new visitor: Bird, looking in I'm not sure what to make of this one, since it...
It's been a few weeks since I posted my last set of Varna pictures, and it's time to push west. After the Varna Inn area, there's a bit of a break, with an empty lot on the north side of...
This morning's parade had all kinds of floats, bands, and fun. Kids got lots of candy thrown from floats, and afterwards the crowd moved to Montgomery Park where tents offered ice cream, food, and all kinds of displays and games....
West of the Varna Community Center and a few houses, Varna Auto and the Varna Inn share 933 Dryden Road. 933 Dryden Road, Varna Auto (map) 933 Dryden Road, Varna Inn (map) Across the way is a bus stop. Bus...
These three houses appear as you go west from the Varna Community Center. 940 Dryden Road (map) 939 Dryden Road (map) 936 Dryden Road (map)...
The Freese Road bridge, which was closed on March 29th, finally reopened last night. Bridge open at Freese Road Work appears to continue on the sewer pump on the south side of the bridge. Sewer work continues at Freese Road...
Continuing west from the previous set of houses, we finally reach the Varna Community Center. 945 Dryden Road, Bell's Auto Care (map) 944 Dryden Road (map) 943 Dryden Road, Varna Community Center (map) The picture of the Varna Community Center...
I'll be heading to the Varna Community Center (map) in a few minutes to work on this morning's pancake breakfast. Getting there, I'll be passing the last set of houses pictured here, and then these. 953 Dryden Road (map) 952...
Two of the last few Varna buildings we looked at shared an address and that pattern continues for the next one. 957 Dryden Road (map) 957 Dryden Road, C 956 Dryden Road (map)...
Continuing west from Varna United Methodist Church there are these four buildings. 962 Dryden Road (map) 960 Dryden Road (map) 959 Dryden Road (map) 959 Dryden Road, house 2 (map) The last two buildings apparently share the number 959 across...
After six years of declining barbecue chicken sales, the Varna Community Association's barbecue today was overwhelmed by people seeking chicken for take-out. The VCA prepared three hundred half-chickens, all of which were sold to customers some of whom were made...
I took some pictures of blossoms on a tree in front of my house. The first picture here is pretty typical flower stuff, but the second has an extra feature you don't normally see in flower pictures, a passing truck....
Continuing west from the last few houses, these houses are next. 975 Dryden Road (map) 974 (or 976?) Dryden Road (map) 973 Dryden Road (map) 972 Dryden Road (map) As mentioned in an earlier story, the last two of these...
The other day I noticed concrete markers along the south side of Route 13. I'd driven by them for years without seeing them, but suddenly they seemed to be everywhere. Monuments at Ringwood Road and Route 13 The survey map...
There was a lot going on at the closed Freese Road bridge today, with NYSEG doing electrical work to support the replacement sewer pump on the south side of the bridge, and Tompkins County working on the north side of...
Just west of the houses on the Mt.Pleasant/Freese Road corner are these three houses. 979 Dryden Road (map) 978 Dryden Road (map) 977 Dryden Road (map)...
The houses on the western corners of the Mount Pleasant Road-Freese Road-Route 366 intersection are quite distinctive, though very different. 981 Dryden Road (map) 980 Dryden Road (map) 980 Dryden Road also seems to be the only house along 366...
Just west of Autoworks is an intersection that isn't much fun to drive through. I've mostly been focusing on houses, but felt this intersection (map) important enough - by virtue of being dangerous - that it was worth taking some...
Just west of the apartments and shops with the vast parking lot are two businesses. The first is apparently a tile business, and the second is Autoworks. 989 Dryden Road (map) 987 Dryden Road, Autoworks (map)...
After the sign for Varna, there are a modern house on the left followed by apartments with offices and laundromat set well back from the road. 999 Dryden Road (map) 993 Dryden Road (map)...
Moving past the driveway for Cornell's experimental fields, the next building is apartments. 1015 Dryden Road (map) At 1013 Dryden Road, there are a front and a back building. 1013 Dryden Road, front building (map) 1013 Dryden Road, rear building...
Moving toward Varna along Route 366 past the F.H. Fox bridge, the next few properties aren't the usual houses and businesses. Instead, there's an odd building with two fire hydrants. I asked Highway Superintendent Jack Bush what it was last...
The detour signs on Hanshaw Road, Route 13, and Route 366 are up because of work being done on the bridge over Fall Creek on Freese Road in Varna. There's good reason for the detour. Bridge work at Freese Road...
We had a problem last year with a cardinal that kept crashing into our livingroom windows. This year, he (if it's the same bird) seems to be using the windows as a perch instead. It's still loud, but he doesn't...
Continuing down 366 from the last few houses pictured, we come to the Embassy Inn and the buildings near it. Embassy Inn, 1083 Dryden Road (map) Embassy Inn sign Unnumbered house next to Embassy Inn 1082 Dryden Road (map) If...
Moving toward Varna from the last set of buildings, 1101 Dryden Road is the last house in the 1100 block, though it looks like it's on Turkey Hill Road. 2 Monkey Run Road, though it isn't precisely on 366, looks...
The last few houses pictured cluster around Oak Brook Drive, and then the houses get sparser, more generally hidden. 1124 Dryden Road (map) 1113 Dryden Road (map) 1102 Dryden Road (map) That bring us to the intersection with Turkey Hill...
The SPCA expansion is starting to look more like a building and less like a work in progress. SPCA expansion with nearly complete siding...
In my last entry on buildings along 366, I skipped this one, at 1131 Dryden Road. 1131 Dryden Road, Servicemaster (map) I've given some photos of businesses names reflecting the business, which pulls them out of the main address listing....
It's cold and wet tonight, but it was a lovely sunny day when I took these. 1132 Dryden Road (map) 1129 Dryden Road (map) 1128 Dryden Road (map)...
It's been a few weeks since the last photos of Route 366 buildings. Continuing toward Varna, here are a few more, near the Oakbrook Drive intersection. Pro-Lawn, at Intersection of 366 with Oakbrook Drive (map) 1140 A and B Dryden...
We'll see what the Town Planning Board has to say about Etna's future tonight, but here's a rich description of its past from George Goodrich. Etna was a very busy place, and this entry is considerably longer than the one...
Since the Town Planning Board will be looking at Varna's future tonight, it seemed like an appropriate day to post George Goodrich's history of its past. (I'm still typing in Etna's chapter.) In a first, I've scanned in the pictures...
I stopped by the Reynolds Game Farm (map) Monday and took some pictures of the residents and some visitors. Pheasants walking at Reynolds Game Farm Pheasants pondering at Reynolds Game Farm Non-resident birds loitering at Reynolds Game Farm...
The last time this site looked at the SPCA expansion, the frame was up but it was still largely open. It looks like they've gotten it largely boxed in now: SPCA expansion with complete walls...
It's much warmer now, but there was some amazing frost this morning when it was -5. Field of frost Tree of frost...
When I've seen deer this winter, they've been in herds. Five deer, ten deer, twenty. These are pictures of a group of about ten deer. Deer convening Deer conversing Deer departing The turkeys came in numbers too....
Yes, I was technically in Lansing when I took these, but they all have the Town of Dryden in the background. In the first picture, you can see snow blowing toward that slippery stretch of Route 13 by the airport...
The weather this week hasn't been all bad, but it hasn't been all good either. Traffic in snow (map) Winter sunset along 366...
Moving from The Antlers toward Varna, here are three more houses on Route 366. 1154 Dryden Road (map) 1150 Dryden Road (map) 1149 Dryden Road (map)...
While driving through Varna the other day, I noticed a house with a Century 21 sign in front of it. I was curious how much it cost relative to the rental properties I'd noticed last month, so I looked it...
Continuing down Route 366, we come to an area which mixes commercial and residential development. The first sign of this is The Antlers, a restaurant which seems to stay very busy. The Antlers, 1159 Dryden Road (map) I'm especially partial...
A few hundred Democrats filled the Women's Community Building in Ithaca last night to hear local speakers present cases for presidential candidates. The Clark, Dean, Edwards, Kerry, Kucinich, and LaRouche campaigns all had speakers, and there were tables for most...
Last night's special Town Board meeting on fire department issues was more like an informal get-together than a formal meeting. Instead of the usual board at a front table facing an audience, there was a circle of tables, with the...
It's been a while since I last posted house photos. Here are two more. 1168 Dryden Road (map) 1166 Dryden Road (map)...
The Dryden Democrats gathered yesterday at the Varna Community Center to thank former Town Supervisor Mark Varvayanis, former Town Board member Deb Grantham, and Town Board candidate Jim Skaley for their service and for running in last fall's election, as...
On January 20, I sat down with Duane Testut, the Varna Volunteer Fire Company's treasurer, to talk about how our fire protection taxes are being spent. He'd seen my earlier post about the fire tax levy climbing 31.8% this year,...
I visited the Varna Volunteer Fire Company yesterday to talk about where our fire tax money, particularly the recent 31.8% fire tax levy increase, is going. I still need to make sure I'm clear on what some of the conversation...
They look slightly different (and colder) this morning. 1171 Dryden Road (map) 1169 Dryden Road (map)...
After visiting the weather station at Game Farm Road yesterday, I decided to go take some pictures of the weather station just north of Freeville, next to Cornell's Homer Thompson Vegetable Research Farm. The first picture shows the weather station;...
I suspect that the keepers of the weather station on Game Farm Road are happy about the automated instruments which collect the data these days. Game Farm Road weather station (map)...
I noticed a few weeks ago that several houses in Varna had for sale signs on them, all from Christopher George Real Estate, which tends to focus on Ithaca rental properties. Christopher George don't seem to have a web site,...
The severe cold lately has some nice side effects in glorious patterns of frost that survive into (and through) the daytime. Taking pictures of sunlit frost is tricky, though, especially if you want to get anything at all of the...
It was at least 50 degrees when I took these pictures. Can't say I'd want to be taking them today, as my weather gizmo tells me it's zero degrees outside. 1175 Dryden Road (map) 1174 Dryden Road (map)...
The expansion of the SPCA facility on Hanshaw Road is starting to come together. SPCA expansion in progress Existing SPCA, 1640 Hanshaw Road (map) There are a lot of reasons why this new facility is interesting. It's part of their...
I managed yesterday to complete taking photos of all the houses and businesses along Route 366 between the Route 13/366 intersection and the Town of Ithaca line. I probably won't go walking along the road with my camera again until...
I drove by the West Dryden Road Methodist Epispocal Church yesterday and took a picture of this historic landmark: West Dryden Methodist Episcopal Church (map). George Goodrich writes of the founding of this church: The first Methodist society in the...
I knew there was an old cemetery around the corner from me on Baker Hill Road, but I hadn't visited it until yesterday. It's apparently the oldest cemetery in Dryden, having opened in 1802. It's been pretty well documented by...
I went out to take some photos of Robertson Cemetery, on Baker Hill Road, and was surprised by an army of turkeys marching behind the NYSEG building. Turkeys marching near Baker Hill Road...
Two more houses along Route 366. This time the lack of snow is appropriate to the current view, though these pictures are from November. 1200 Dryden Road (map) 1199 Dryden Road (map)...
These are three more houses along Dryden Road/366. Yes, I took the pictures before the snow (which now feels like a permanent feature) arrived. 1207 Dryden Road (map) 1204 Dryden Road (map) 1203 Dryden Road (map)...
This weblog looks a bit bleak without pictures, so here are a few more houses and a view off the side of the road. 1214 Dryden Road (map) View near 1214 Dryden Road 1211 Dryden Road (map) 1211B Dryden Road...
Continuing along Dryden Road/Route 366, there are houses on both sides of the road, some close to the road and others nestled in the hillside. 1222 Dryden Road (map) 1217 Dryden Road (map)...
I've noticed that since taking these photos I'm much more aware of the houses along Dryden Road. They have individual character, and aren't just scenery. I notice when things change, and I don't think I'm as prone to speeding either....
Continuing down 366 toward Varna, we come to another house, this one with a fine spruce in front. 1233 Dryden Road (map)...
Continuing toward Varna, we have a house shrouded by woods opposite an empty lot used as a turnaround. 1237 Dryden Road (map) Turnaround (map)...
Since I reached Route 13 with the lovely picture of the Exxon station, it's time (for now) to head down 366 the other way, through Varna. Here are the next two houses on 366 heading west. 1251 Dryden Road (map)...
Continuing up 366 toward its intersection with 13, we have three houses. Two are well hidden, while the third is pretty prominent. 1309 Dryden Road (map) 1313 Dryden Road (map) 1317 Dryden Road (map) As 366 reaches 13, the last...
The weather was pretty definitely the most exciting news yesterday. High winds, trees falling, lights flickering. The Ithaca Journal reports bricks blowing off a building in downtown Ithaca, while Dryden had more ordinary power outages. It was loud most of...
One of the best-named furniture stores I've ever heard of is just up the road from us at 1302 Dryden Road. They sell largely Amish-made furniture, and have two large buildings (one of them two stories) on a piece of...
Walking further up 366 towards its intersection with 13, we cross Baker Hill Road, and thereby leave Varna, as well as Election District 4. Baker Hill Road, Intersection with 366 (map) Right on the other side of Baker Hill Road,...
I've been taking pictures, hoping to get a fair number in before winter arrives. Taking pictures of houses is very strange, though, for a number of reasons. These are places where people - my neighbors - live. Taking pictures from...
Continuing our walking tour up 366, we have a greenhouse and a bar. 1279 Dryden Road, Saunders' Greenhouse (map) We've done pretty well with Saunders' plants, though I think we put some in hostile territory. They also sell model railroads...
The Boxcar, an old bar and restaurant long since closed, sits rusting just down the street from me. Someone seemed to be using a chainsaw in the course of repairing it last week, and hopefully that went well. My father-in-law...
I spent the morning working at the Varna Community Center's pancake breakfast, serving pancakes, french toast, and coffee to a fair number of people. I've never really done anything like that before, but it went pretty well. (I think I...
Just a few last pictures of houses on 366, before I get to the writing I'm doing for the rest of the day. Heading northeast on 366 (toward Route 13), the next two houses are: 1265 Dryden Road (map) and:...
It's not quite the first snow, as we had a dusting in late October, too, but this feels a little more substantial. Snow and birdfeeders It seems to have lasted a bit better on the wood of our deck and...
The view out from our house is mostly forest, an odd corner of property owned by Cornell. It seems to be attached to a nature preserve, which bodes well for its future. This is a view of across the street...
I live on a rural highway, New York State Route 366. It's a 45mph zone, largely used by commuters going to and from Cornell University and downtown Ithaca, with lots of gravel and concrete trucks going by during the day....