Greetings from Sodus, NY

Hi, everyone! We are very soggy here in normally-beautiful central upstate New York. I'm looking forward to chatting with as many of you as possible during this coming week.

Hi Mary-

Welcome!
I am now in NE Ohio, but grew up in Upstate NY, not so far from you (between Syracuse and Watertown).

Glad to see you here.

Mariamne

Hi, Mariamne,

Thanks for the nice Welcome message!

Your name certainly caught my attention--the spelling of your first name is unusual, and then I am an old fan of the Laura Ingalls (Wilder) families. Are you related in any way to them?

My husband is from the Watertown, NY area--Sackets Harbor, actually. I'll bet you know where that is!

--Mary

Mary Moss-Sprague : Welcome to Permies, take the time to look around, and come back often. With over 17,000 members, we have lots of interests, and very soon
you will too ! You will always remember your first few posts here in Permies !

My wife Martha and I live in Edwards, New York 50 Miles above Watertown, approximately 30 miles cross country from the Cornell Co-operative Extension Farm outside
of Canton NY. We have fond memories of our Central NY friends, mostly from our time at 'the Glen'. Now we are mostly old home bodies, though we are planing a rental
truck trip to Canandaigua NY, related to Energy conservation and Cheap Heat !

For the Good of the Craft ! Be safe, keep warm ! As always, your comments and questions are solicited and Welcome ! PYRO - Logical Big AL !

Hi, Allen,

Thanks for the warm, fuzzy welcome!

Looks as though we've got several members living in our not-too-distant region. We are actually considering the idea of moving to Sackets Harbor in the next couple of years, but aren't sure if everything will work out to do that.

Meanwhile, we're having fun getting rid of our lawn as much as possible, much to the consternation of many folks around here who consider their lawns to be trophies and status symbols. Trying to explain the principles of permaculture to them is an exercise in futility. They think going "the other way" is just way too much work! :-0

--Mary

Welcome Mary!

Just realized that you're all pretty close from me in Kingston!

We used to be even closer; we had a summer "camp" at Three Mile Bay, and used to listen to a radio station from Kingston! Small world, indeed.

Hi Mary-

Yes, I am related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. However, it is such a distant relationship, it is quite possible that you are 'as related' or more related to her than me!

And yes, I know Watertown especially, and some of Sackets.
You might ask your husband if he recalls the Crystal Restaurant, still on Public Square, which bills itself as "the Oldest Established Restaurant in Watertown"?
At least a few summers ago, I know that they were using strawberries grown by a young friend of mine for their strawberry shortcake! Yum!

Hi, Allen--I have more relatives up in the Canton-Potsdam area, and so, have visited there, often.

And Adrien -- sorry to say I had to look at a map for Kingston -- it's so much closer to Watertown than I'd realized. As kids, our parents and teachers turned right, and drove us straight past, on to Montreal! I should have realized, though, because when traveling in the area, I always hear radio stations out of Kingston.

Best wishes, all-
Mariamne

Hi, Mariamne,

Nah, I still think you're probably more closely related to Laura Ingalls, even "distantly," than I may be. Distant connections count! Interestingly, back in 1985 when I lived in Oregon, I met a chap with that same last name, asked if he was related, and it turned out that Laura's uncle, Hiram Ingalls, was his great-great grandfather! He brought me over some genealogical charts and stuff and it was so fun to realize that this man was actually related to an author and person I admire greatly. This fellow was about my age when we met, and I was chagrined and saddened to learn recently that he has since passed away from cancer.

Have you ever been to Malone, NY and visited the Almanzo Wilder museum there? Part of the original Wilder farm is open to visitors; we went over there and toured the house (amazing how small the rooms are compared to homes now!), the rebuilt barns, etc. Really fun and such a delightfully thrilling sensation to know that we were in the same place where Laura's husband had lived. Also, during one of my jaunts to San Francisco, I made contact with one of the people involved in producing Laura's book, "West From Home." This woman gave me the exact directions to the apartment building where Laura had stayed with their daughter, Rose, during her visit to the International "fair" that was held there in the early 1900's. I found the place, and it was really neat to stand there and, again, know that Laura had walked in this same street.

Ah, well, enough of that! What's your passion in permaculture/gardening?

--Mary

Mariamne Ingalls : The Old Wilder Farm outside Malone NY was and still is a popular school outing destination ! The Medical Reserve Unit I was attached to used to
climb all over Owls Head, do a Road March and finish our day after setting up a field unit (think M.A.S.H. ) at the farm ! I'm proud of our North Country roots !

For the Good of the Crafts ! Think like fire flo like gas, PYRO - MAGICLY Big AL !

Mary and Allen-

No, I have not been to the Wilder place in Malone, NY-- I will have to remedy that! (Evidently I have not been listening carefully enough to my Aunts! Shame upon me.)

And as to my "why" of permaculture: there are so many reasons. But maybe I can best get at what appeals, by giving a quote I ran across in the last 2 weeks, from Midwest Permaculture's Plant Guilds free ebook*:

Milton Dixon, editor, writes in the Editor's Note:
"All plants naturally grow with other species in nature, rather than in single species groups. When a person enters into relationship with those plants by selecting which ones will be present, we call that a plant guild."

It is really that phrase: "When a person enters into relationship with those plants...." that got me. That is what my natural approach is to the natural environment: entering into relationship. And I'd like to do so a little less like The Red Queen: "Off with their heads!", and a little more like Masanobu Fukuoka.

Mary -- I'm looking forward to learning more about your book this week, and the QandA about "Stand Up and Garden" and related topics, in the forums!

'Ta!
Mariamne

* http://midwestpermaculture.com/2013/04/plant-guilds/