Naturalized daffodils are up all over our old pasture area. These have double flowers, pretty in their own way and apparently very hardy. Spring Beauty is blooming in the forest and naturalized crocuses in the lawns. The willows are turning a distinct shade of yellow as the sap rises to the tips of the trailing branches. The local Corvette owners have started taking their pampered cars out for rides when the weather is good.
Last but not least, the Findley Lake "flower du jour" is springing up - "For Sale". Not surprising, after the cold and snowy winter we are just coming off. Thoughts turn to warmer climates, not digging snow every day, and toying with selling the old homestead. It's more a knee jerk reaction than a true desire to move. By June, the horror of seemingly endless snow will have vanished, the green of the land and the blue of the lake will be soothing jangled nerves, and thoughts of selling the house will recede.
It's a good time to look at property out here. You can see the lay of the land before the underbrush, shrubbery, and tree top shadows change it's appearance. Lakeside properties have much to offer but so do those out in the more rural areas. All in all, if you are looking to purchase your home or get-away haven, checking out these "flowers" will be worth your time.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Take a Leek
It's that time of year again in Findley Lake - Leek Season. There is a certain satisfaction from hunting, harvesting, and preparing your own food. When it comes to leeks, we have ample opportunity to harvest wild leeks in northwestern NY and PA.
First, if you've never had leeks and want a quick and tasty introduction to them, try to attend the Ham & Leek Dinner, Saturday, May 2, 2009 at the Spring Creek Fire Hall, from 11:30am to 4:30 pm. From Findley Lake, the easiest way to reach Spring Creek is just follow Rt. 426 south, through Corry and directly to Spring Creek. The reddish fire hall will be on your left with parking directly across the road on your right. You can't miss it as this is a popular activity. The meal is served buffet style with ham, potatoes, cooked leeks, etc. Usually there are raw leeks on all the tables for the adventuresome and cheese/leek spread for the more civilized among us. Adults 13 and up are $8, children 6 - 12 $4, and those 5 and under are free. There is always a fine array of desserts included in the meal, plus beverages.
For those looking to pick your own, it's time to head out for a drive and look into the woods for green stuff. P.S. - not everything green is a leek. Other green plants are up including skunk cabbage and day lilies. Leeks don't grow everywhere. For instance, leeks are not readily found on a drive around Findley Lake until you reach the south end of Shadyside . Look in the woods. Driving to Erie on I-86 I could see some on the road side of the fence as we drove up the first hill. Like a Pooka (see the movie "Harvey"), they appear first in that place and then in another place. Be sure you ask permission of the land owner before harvesting wild leeks. Bring a trowel and something to put your harvested leeks into. Gloves are also advisable unless you wish to smell strongly for a while. Ditto sampling your harvest in the field. A bite of raw leek used to guarantee a student being sent home from school.
Having found a patch of leeks, gotten permission to harvest, and donned your gloves, take care to take only 1/10th of what is available. Gently grasp a bunch of plants and use the trowel to pry up the clump, including the bulbs. Shake off the loose dirt and put in your bag or basket.
Once you've harvested your leeks, rinse off the dirt. Trim off the very end with the roots and discard. Cut off the next two inches, which will be mostly the white end. Wash the remaining leaves. Dry on paper towels. Slice or sliver the leaves and freeze for use in soups. Slice the white parts and freeze separately. A very easy cheese spread can be made by combining equal parts butter and grated sharp cheese with several tablespoons of the leek bulbs (white part). This will improve in taste overnight in the refrigerator and can be frozen for later use.
Leeks will disappear in the next two weeks so the season is already coming to a close. I have had some success transplanting wild leeks but need to leave these patches undisturbed until they begin to spread. Good luck with your own hunt !!
First, if you've never had leeks and want a quick and tasty introduction to them, try to attend the Ham & Leek Dinner, Saturday, May 2, 2009 at the Spring Creek Fire Hall, from 11:30am to 4:30 pm. From Findley Lake, the easiest way to reach Spring Creek is just follow Rt. 426 south, through Corry and directly to Spring Creek. The reddish fire hall will be on your left with parking directly across the road on your right. You can't miss it as this is a popular activity. The meal is served buffet style with ham, potatoes, cooked leeks, etc. Usually there are raw leeks on all the tables for the adventuresome and cheese/leek spread for the more civilized among us. Adults 13 and up are $8, children 6 - 12 $4, and those 5 and under are free. There is always a fine array of desserts included in the meal, plus beverages.
For those looking to pick your own, it's time to head out for a drive and look into the woods for green stuff. P.S. - not everything green is a leek. Other green plants are up including skunk cabbage and day lilies. Leeks don't grow everywhere. For instance, leeks are not readily found on a drive around Findley Lake until you reach the south end of Shadyside . Look in the woods. Driving to Erie on I-86 I could see some on the road side of the fence as we drove up the first hill. Like a Pooka (see the movie "Harvey"), they appear first in that place and then in another place. Be sure you ask permission of the land owner before harvesting wild leeks. Bring a trowel and something to put your harvested leeks into. Gloves are also advisable unless you wish to smell strongly for a while. Ditto sampling your harvest in the field. A bite of raw leek used to guarantee a student being sent home from school.
Having found a patch of leeks, gotten permission to harvest, and donned your gloves, take care to take only 1/10th of what is available. Gently grasp a bunch of plants and use the trowel to pry up the clump, including the bulbs. Shake off the loose dirt and put in your bag or basket.
Once you've harvested your leeks, rinse off the dirt. Trim off the very end with the roots and discard. Cut off the next two inches, which will be mostly the white end. Wash the remaining leaves. Dry on paper towels. Slice or sliver the leaves and freeze for use in soups. Slice the white parts and freeze separately. A very easy cheese spread can be made by combining equal parts butter and grated sharp cheese with several tablespoons of the leek bulbs (white part). This will improve in taste overnight in the refrigerator and can be frozen for later use.
Leeks will disappear in the next two weeks so the season is already coming to a close. I have had some success transplanting wild leeks but need to leave these patches undisturbed until they begin to spread. Good luck with your own hunt !!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Findley Lake Poll
Because you, the reader, are interested in Findley Lake, I've added a few multiple choice questions to this blog. It's not a marketing or advertising gimmick, just a little survey to see how you, the reader, came to know about Findley Lake, what you do here, etc. You'll be able to see the stats as other readers take the survey. You'll find the survey to your right, under "Questions about Findley Lake". Click on "Cast Your Vote Now" to participate.
While lots of changes have happened in town over the last year, the primary concern lately has been TOO MUCH SNOW !! Fortunately right now we are having a four day thaw with temperatures above freezing. Ice is falling off of the roofs everywhere in town, snowbanks have changed from stark white to tabby brown, and the deer, birds, and other animals are out foraging to fill their bellies. Meanwhile, the natives are breathing a sign of relief for a few days. The sign by the Fire Hall says we have received 258" of snow already. The betting has been on this winter being a 400" snowfall monster. With the rest of February, March and into April still in front of us, that's quite possible. In Findley Lake, when the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2nd, we give a sigh of relief - ONLY six more weeks of winter. Punxy Phil saw his shadow this year so we're hoping to see the end of winter around St. Patrick's day (not likely).
Soon to come, a photo album you can click through for photos from Findley Lake.
While lots of changes have happened in town over the last year, the primary concern lately has been TOO MUCH SNOW !! Fortunately right now we are having a four day thaw with temperatures above freezing. Ice is falling off of the roofs everywhere in town, snowbanks have changed from stark white to tabby brown, and the deer, birds, and other animals are out foraging to fill their bellies. Meanwhile, the natives are breathing a sign of relief for a few days. The sign by the Fire Hall says we have received 258" of snow already. The betting has been on this winter being a 400" snowfall monster. With the rest of February, March and into April still in front of us, that's quite possible. In Findley Lake, when the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2nd, we give a sigh of relief - ONLY six more weeks of winter. Punxy Phil saw his shadow this year so we're hoping to see the end of winter around St. Patrick's day (not likely).
Soon to come, a photo album you can click through for photos from Findley Lake.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The First Snow Fall of the Winter
Actually, our first snow fell on Monday, 10/27/08, but melted quickly. Two days later I took the photos you see posted here. It was quite beautiful and very soothing to the soul. Today, November 10th, we've had our REALLY FIRST SNOW, which means that the parking area had to be plowed and access to the mail box carved out for our postal delivery person.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
I'm BACK !!
A lot (and I mean A LOT) has gone on in Findley Lake since my last post in July. I'll try and tackle various topic updates in separate posts.
In my life, emotional and physical well-being are tied to my desire to cook. No cookie, no feel well.
After a very social and congenial two hour breakfast with friends at the Blue Heron Inn this morning, I was inspired to cook. Part of our morning discussion concerned comfort food. My straight forward husband goes right for the ice cream. One friend chose Asian food. My choice was whole hominy with butter, salt and pepper. When I was growing up, my Mother served us sausage patties and whole hominy. It was just in the past few years that I found out my youngest brother also opens a can of hominy on occasion as emotional and nutritional sustenance. It's funny how those totally simple foods can soothe the soul.
So starting at 3:30 pm, I started cooking up a storm. Microwaved a small pumpkin (1/2 at a time) and froze most of it for the dog's suppers. Put on a pot of 15 bean soup. Took a spiral sliced ham that we'd been working on and removed the meat. Put the bone into the simmering soup and froze most of the meat. We had frizzled ham and broccoli for supper. The extra broccoli and left over pumpkin are in a bowl ready for the dog's supper tomorrow night.
One recipe ended up a little modified due to my slip of not including sugar in the bowl. I was making two pumpkin pies using the Lakeshore Pumpkin recipe (best pumpkin pie, dense and tasty. The pies were within 15 minutes of being finished when I realized my error. OOOPS ! However, I'm into the glass half full/lemons into lemonade life so this might work out better. The Lakeshore recipe called for 1 1/2 cups sugar. I have taken to using half sugar and half Splenda, which has been OK. Tonight, realizing that I'd completely omitted both, I decided to try caramelizing brown sugar on top. Right now, I'm not sure that I performed the caramelizing process properly but, if we like the pie with a light sugar and whipped cream topping, it will end up actually less sweet than the original recipe. For any of you diabetics out there, I'll let you know if it's good this way. If it ends up that we like it, my glass will be overflowing.
I still have one more recipe to make tonight (beside completing the 15 bean soup). I make a quiche with bacon, onions, eggs, cream, nutmeg, and graham cracker crust. I find it delicious while my husband finds the sweet flavor of the crust too different from regular crust to really enjoy. It's a sweet/savory quiche. I'll post the recipe later.
Now that we've eaten supper and I've got my second wind, it's time to finish up the seasoning in the soup and put the quiche in to bake. Nice to be back.
In my life, emotional and physical well-being are tied to my desire to cook. No cookie, no feel well.
After a very social and congenial two hour breakfast with friends at the Blue Heron Inn this morning, I was inspired to cook. Part of our morning discussion concerned comfort food. My straight forward husband goes right for the ice cream. One friend chose Asian food. My choice was whole hominy with butter, salt and pepper. When I was growing up, my Mother served us sausage patties and whole hominy. It was just in the past few years that I found out my youngest brother also opens a can of hominy on occasion as emotional and nutritional sustenance. It's funny how those totally simple foods can soothe the soul.
So starting at 3:30 pm, I started cooking up a storm. Microwaved a small pumpkin (1/2 at a time) and froze most of it for the dog's suppers. Put on a pot of 15 bean soup. Took a spiral sliced ham that we'd been working on and removed the meat. Put the bone into the simmering soup and froze most of the meat. We had frizzled ham and broccoli for supper. The extra broccoli and left over pumpkin are in a bowl ready for the dog's supper tomorrow night.
One recipe ended up a little modified due to my slip of not including sugar in the bowl. I was making two pumpkin pies using the Lakeshore Pumpkin recipe (best pumpkin pie, dense and tasty. The pies were within 15 minutes of being finished when I realized my error. OOOPS ! However, I'm into the glass half full/lemons into lemonade life so this might work out better. The Lakeshore recipe called for 1 1/2 cups sugar. I have taken to using half sugar and half Splenda, which has been OK. Tonight, realizing that I'd completely omitted both, I decided to try caramelizing brown sugar on top. Right now, I'm not sure that I performed the caramelizing process properly but, if we like the pie with a light sugar and whipped cream topping, it will end up actually less sweet than the original recipe. For any of you diabetics out there, I'll let you know if it's good this way. If it ends up that we like it, my glass will be overflowing.
I still have one more recipe to make tonight (beside completing the 15 bean soup). I make a quiche with bacon, onions, eggs, cream, nutmeg, and graham cracker crust. I find it delicious while my husband finds the sweet flavor of the crust too different from regular crust to really enjoy. It's a sweet/savory quiche. I'll post the recipe later.
Now that we've eaten supper and I've got my second wind, it's time to finish up the seasoning in the soup and put the quiche in to bake. Nice to be back.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Findley Lake gets Remodeled
There is so much to report on the remodeling front in Findley Lake, we'll just start at Shadyside and Main Street.
The former Lighthouse Point Restaurant is now Zee's on the Lake. They opened this weekend serving meals. The liquor license is still not active but hopefully will be coming soon.
Heading south on Shadyside, the remodeling at the former Pink house is almost complete. Besides the new siding and garage door, the utilities have all been run under ground, a new circular concrete drive poured along with an embossed concrete walkway, new break wall built, and the landscaping is in the process of being updated.
Continuing south, on the right side of the road at least two homes have been reworking their walks and walls along the road. One is adding a new wrap-around deck. Across the street, the house with the gingerbread trim has been resided. Further along on the lake side, the tarps have come off the former Bolt house revealing first and second floor decks that look wonderful. The trim on the house has been nicely updated. All in all, some great additions and improvements to the neighborhood.
At the south end of the lake, a new dock/boathouse? plus boardwalk has been added. It would be nice to see some more dredging take place down there to give a little more access to the docks.
Just an aside - if you need golf equipment, Steve Card is selling excess equipment (some new and some used) on the weekends at his house. Stop buy and check it out.
Turning the corner onto Sunnyside headed north, Camp Findley has completed the demolition of the former Tabernacle building. They are working on remodeling the front building with an eye towards better energy efficiency.
Mulkearns new house is still a work in progress. Further north, the new house which has been built where the skating rink used to be is eagerly waiting it's siding. The next new house on the hillside saw recent clearing of the underbrush on the side of the hill, giving it a clean new look and better view of the lake.
Nearing the north end of the lake, the two houses on the lake side are basically completely remodeled. The first one, with the natural wood siding, has added a small portico style covered porch and new door, completing the classy look. Next door, the new siding turned out to be a mossy light green with copper trim on the roof and new doors. Both houses look great.
As I've said before, you can't beat living in a town where property values keep improving.
The former Lighthouse Point Restaurant is now Zee's on the Lake. They opened this weekend serving meals. The liquor license is still not active but hopefully will be coming soon.
Heading south on Shadyside, the remodeling at the former Pink house is almost complete. Besides the new siding and garage door, the utilities have all been run under ground, a new circular concrete drive poured along with an embossed concrete walkway, new break wall built, and the landscaping is in the process of being updated.
Continuing south, on the right side of the road at least two homes have been reworking their walks and walls along the road. One is adding a new wrap-around deck. Across the street, the house with the gingerbread trim has been resided. Further along on the lake side, the tarps have come off the former Bolt house revealing first and second floor decks that look wonderful. The trim on the house has been nicely updated. All in all, some great additions and improvements to the neighborhood.
At the south end of the lake, a new dock/boathouse? plus boardwalk has been added. It would be nice to see some more dredging take place down there to give a little more access to the docks.
Just an aside - if you need golf equipment, Steve Card is selling excess equipment (some new and some used) on the weekends at his house. Stop buy and check it out.
Turning the corner onto Sunnyside headed north, Camp Findley has completed the demolition of the former Tabernacle building. They are working on remodeling the front building with an eye towards better energy efficiency.
Mulkearns new house is still a work in progress. Further north, the new house which has been built where the skating rink used to be is eagerly waiting it's siding. The next new house on the hillside saw recent clearing of the underbrush on the side of the hill, giving it a clean new look and better view of the lake.
Nearing the north end of the lake, the two houses on the lake side are basically completely remodeled. The first one, with the natural wood siding, has added a small portico style covered porch and new door, completing the classy look. Next door, the new siding turned out to be a mossy light green with copper trim on the roof and new doors. Both houses look great.
As I've said before, you can't beat living in a town where property values keep improving.
July 4th, 2008 in Findley Lake
Managed to catch a quiet supper at the Blue Heron Inn. We hit the lull before the reservations start arriving for the evening. Their deck will be a prime fireworks watching spot. Sometimes we have a low-key 4th and just catch the tops of the fireworks from our front porch. Tonight we are invited to a friend's house down on the lake. Should be a great display since the weather is perfect. Took a drive around the lake after supper and were amazed at the number of cars lining the roads. Lots of parties and family get-togethers, plus beautiful weather equals a great July 4th in Findley Lake. Looking forward to the fireworks display.
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