Vine Valley Community House

05/08/2026

04/10/2026

You know you’re an Upstate New Yorker when “the city” always means New York City… and you’ll correct anyone who thinks the whole state is just Manhattan.

Directions aren’t directions — they’re stories:
“Past the old red barn, left at Tim Hortons, right by the lake… not that lake, the other one.”

Weather? Pure chaos.
Lake-effect snow overnight, random April blizzards, and 50°F feels like summer. Two sunny days in a row? Someone’s grilling.

At the end of the day, it’s about quiet pride.
Endless winters, potholes, and construction — but also the Finger Lakes, Adirondacks, fall colors, and that peaceful small-town life.

Wegmans runs, local food debates, and that unmistakable Upstate energy.

We’re from New York… just not that New York.

04/10/2026

The Genesee River—Where it Begins, Where it Ends: From humble and quiet beginnings, the Genesee River begins at a tiny spring in Potter County in Gold, Pennsylvania on private land. Surrounded by picturesque rolling hills, this is referred to as “God’s Country”—the sign even says so as you pass the county line. This stream flows down the hill, gaining steam along the way. Through towns, villages, hamlets and cities—the Genesee River meanders some 157 miles, flowing mostly north—flowing over six major waterfalls, three at Letchworth State Park, three in Rochester—before it empties into Lake Ontario north of Rochester. Bottom image I captured this week as the Canadian freighter, the McKiel Spirit, was exiting the river for the Great Lake. It’s an amazing journey for this major waterway that literally begins with a little bubbling spring. The area features a remarkable "triple divide," where nearby springs feed the Allegheny River and Pine Creek, alongside the Genesee.

04/10/2026

My cow grazing!

03/07/2026

Late afternoon sun on the ice. Some open water. North end is still covered with ice

02/19/2026

Mid afternoon sun on a still frozen— mostly— lake

02/16/2026

Snowman on the ice at Vine Valley beach

02/14/2026

02/08/2026

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood

12/27/2025

Gray winter morning

12/20/2025

First time I have seen two wasp nests in one tree. Maybe one is two years old. The sure do last a long time