New Beginnings

Hi to everyone out there!

I am starting something new-my own blog. In the past, I have written reviews for books that I have read and posted them on several of the book social sites such as Booklikes. But since I am big on gardening, I get a kick out of taking pictures of my
successes and failures and sharing them.

The idea of spending time in the great outdoors and seeing all the wonder that comes from growing my own food is amazing to me. Unfortunately, I cannot grow as much as I want, nor can I preserve everything I would need to never have to go into a grocery store again. But I do what I can and preserve what makes most sense for what I grow and eat throughout the year-like tomatoes, herbs, applesauce.

I grew up and still live in the Rochester, NY area which is the north-western most part of New York State's Finger Lakes. This area is home to dairy farms and many apple orchards, including at least one farm/orchard that has been run for over one hundred years by the same family. Approximately 25% of Monroe County is still farm land. I would love to see it remain this way as well as try to encourage people to by local and grow what they can. Eating a tomato, a green bean, or a strawberry right off the plant still brings strong memories of when I was a kid helping my dad in the backyard.

So, there it is. my first blog. Hopefully many more and at least a few that are interesting to others!