No one wants to admit that autumn is here in the Finger Lakes. Some of the year around dwellers of this beautiful region is having trouble coming to grips with this “last dance” of Mother Nature as she prepares the fields and the forests for the coming cold season.
I was at the local garage last week getting Jeanette’s car New York State inspected and the oil changed. I struck up a conversation with a lady in the waiting room. She was there to have the oil changed in her Mustang convertible. I noted that she still was wearing those flimsy “flip-flop” shoes and she said that she and her husband had so much fun riding around in their convertible this summer. She was having the oil changed and her and her husband were in the process of re-arranging the garage so that that they could store their car for the winter.
Jeanette and I took a ride over to Skaneateles and sure enough, there was one of those long classic and beautiful Buick convertibles with a red leather interior parked across the street from the Sherwood Inn – another example of someone else who refuses to give in to the cooling days and nights here in the Finger Lakes region of New York State.
Just outside of the Sherwood Inn, a couple was sitting on one of the benches, enjoying the view across the street of the park and Skaneateles Lake. They were from Syracuse and of course they know what winter is like in Upstate New York. But for this day, the sun was warm and it was definitely shirtsleeves weather. They noted my Florida baseball cap, but we told them that while we like to go to Florida for a winter vacation, there are plenty of lakeside restaurants, hills covered with vineyards, farm land, and outdoor activities right here to make every day a vacation day for those who live in the Finger Lakes.
There’s no need to worry about the coming of old man Winter just yet as we still have another four to six weeks of premium weather to enjoy Mother Nature’s finest outdoor show.