Let's Go Outside

I have always thought that being around nature so much as a child in the Adirondacks overexposed me, and made me want to have nothing to do with it. All of those childhood camping trips, season ski passes, and "go outside and play" demands would be a lot more fun if they were my decision.* If you were to ask the high school version of me what I thought of the outdoors, hiking, camping, and generally being outside, I would say that I hated it. I would conclude that I could not wait to retreat to the asphalt covered New York City where I would never suffer from mosquito bites again.

Being removed from nature in flat, flat Buffalo; going to graduate school in environmentally-conscious Burlington, Vermont; becoming vegan; and just having time apart have renewed my interest in the beauty of nature. I'll never move to a log cabin in the middle of the woods, and I may never go camping in a tent for a week without an actual toilet again, but I am starting to see the beauty in a renewed way. I even own plants now!

I spent my vacation time this summer exploring the magical gorges in Ithaca and the so-hard-to-articulate-because-the-beauty-is-overwhelming Fallingwaters. My sister, Kerri, and I tasted wines from the Finger Lakes. I highly recommend the Americana and The Thirsty Owl Wineries. Kerri and I both took home bottles of Apparition, named after the ghost at Americana, and Snow Owl. I learned that I actually enjoy white wines, and have expanded my palate beyond Pinot Noir. We hiked up Buttermilk Falls and enjoyed it completely. Fallingwaters deserves a blog post all its own.** It was the single most beautiful home I have ever been inside. 

There is no chance of my resignation from a city life. I love the sounds of the city, the convenience, arts and culture, and friends. Still, I'm happy to see growth and interest, to discover beauty in, for me, unexpected places. 



* I understand that saying this makes me sound like a spoiled, ungrateful child. My apologies.
**I plan on writing one on Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture after I visit Graycliff later this summer.