Jolly Trolley Variety Store; we stopped for breakfast but found so much more. First the breakfast; french toast that is coated with corn flakes and topped with wild blueberries, very nice; and a tasty, big appetite satisfying western omelet. Then the more: it is like a toy store, grocery, drug store, homegoods and craft market all in one. The walls are lined with Dushore souvenir hats, tees and of all things, painted toilet seats. The toilet seats are a product of Dushore’s Founders Day Celebration that is held in August. We missed the outhouses races and beer keg rolling that are part of the big doings but the toilet seats are prominently displayed on the dining room walls a Jolly Trolley. Most depict local scenes or landmarks and proudly display the ribbon bestowed by whoever does the judging. It sounds like August might be a fine time to visit Dushore.

Low clearances and steep grades make for complicated route finding as we plan to move from Treman near Ithaca to Ricketts Glen; but, Kent figured it out. We break camp in the rain and set off under grey, drippy skies. We wind through farm land and near enough to oil patch to share the road with their heavy vehicles. It is uneventful for us but there are many signs of heavy road damage from fast streams all along US 220, probably from August rains. All is well at Ricketts Glen and we settle into camp. Skies threaten and we have more afternoon and evening rain. We manage to get out for a bit to scout trailhead locations (and to have a dip of Hershey’s teaberry ice cream) but mostly keep high and dry at home. Tomorrow is to be beautiful so we will head out to check these trails. The recent rain should make the water falls spectacular…the trails icky muddy too! We shall see.

Oh, we have ZERO cell coverage here so posts will be clumpy as we make them whenever we are out and about.

Kent is off doing laundry. Thank you. Thank you. I am hiding out at home and catching up with my blogging and maybe some bird ID review. I am having trouble with a couple hawks we have seen too. I think they are broad winged? We haven’t seen them very often and these are juveniles with less distinct markings than in the adults. Figuring it out is half the fun with birding.

We head out to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge on the north end of Cayuga Lake. Ponds have been let down to expose underwater plants and seeds. Canada Geese are taking full advantage of the place. There is a smattering of ducks as well but I am really out of practice identifying then especially in non-breeding plumage. I am sure I will be even worse with waders who pretty much all look alike in the winter. I need to spend a little time with my Sibley’s. The drive to and from the refuge is through peaceful farm and orchard land and through small towns. There is little traffic so Kent can enjoy it too. We happen to pass the Purity ice cream shop on our way back to camp so we just have to stop. Kent got another turtle sundae and I, in the spirit of the season, went for an apple crisp sundae. It was a good choice. We will have salad for supper!

It is 43F this morning and we dawdle getting up. After a late breakfast we head north along Seneca Lake to check out the vistas and maybe a winery. We stroll a bit in Sampson State Park and find a bright sunny spot with a great view to laze a while and have lunch. We choose Wagner Winery and Brewery for our tasting stop. The main draw? They have root beer. Ok, not the traditional target when ones goes tasting but it sounded fun. The barkeep was great and the root beer fantastic. Unfortunately they only have it on tap so we can’t take any with us. We lounged out on their deck with a wide view of grapevines and Seneca Lake. Their café is well recommended too but we passed on it this time. We will have to return one day. We wind through the countryside toward home with plans for a quiet evening in camp.

I always forget how many food choices there are at farmers markets. The Ithaca Market is no exception and I was sorry I wasn’t hungrier. We skipped Thai and BBQ and crepes and wraps and lots more. I sampled rhubarb wine (ol so sweet) and garlic/scape pesto plus shared a cider donut with Kent. We continued our practice of sampling cinnamon rolls whenever presented the option. We rated this one fair…a bit dry. Tomatoes looked wonderful so we had to have more as well sweet corn and local greens. We will be eating well the next couple days. Home we go to store our goodies.

Enfield Creek at our park was the site of a grist mill in the early 1800s. They have preserved the main building and much of the equipment. The water wheel is gone but all the drive mechanisms are still in place. Since it no longer operates, we got close enough to see how some of the great mechanisms worked. I learned a few new things.

A local drumming group put on a concert by the falls. I checked it out for a bit but the roar of the water mostly drowned out their sound. It added a bit of culture to close out the day.