Nothing Will Eat You Here

We were driving home from dinner in Lewiston one night when my husband decided to take a different route home. We drove past Bond Lake and on a whim pulled in. It was right before dusk when the sky turned shades of orange in front of us.

My kids jumped out of the car eager to throw rocks in the water. They tried their hardest to skip a rock across the lake but decided it was more fun to launch tiny pebbles in the air and watch the rainfall of splashes left behind. My kids edged closer and closer to the murky lake water full of plant life and twisted tree branches protruding from the darkness.

My first instinct was to tell them to back up. "Watch out for gators!" played on repeat in my mind. But there are no alligators in New York. While this may not seem like a big deal, coming from a place where seeing an alligator is a daily occurrence, this is life changing. I'm not exaggerating.

Growing up in the south, you're always on alert for gators. They're everywhere -on golf courses, in retention ponds, sometimes just wandering down a neighborhood sidewalk. True story -I once saw an alligator in a neighbor's yard, three feet from their front door, still as can be with his mouth wide open.

You never get to close to ponds in South Carolina. You just don't. Especially if you are a small human or with a dog.

Alligators are in lakes, too. And yes, people will still swim in them. But I guarantee the person swimming is always scanning to see if they spot a gator snout floating by.

So when my kids ran up and down the water's edge at Bond Lake, I sighed a big ole sigh of relief. Nothing was going to jump out of the water to grab them.

If you haven't been to Bond Lake on Lower Mountain Road, you should. We've been several times in the evening to walk around. It's a beautiful, relaxing spot to take a moment and enjoy the sunset.

It's Been a Minute

It's been a long time since I wrote a blog post for this site, and there's a very good reason for that. I've learned over the last year to appreciate the good days. I have lived in Western New York for a little over one year now. The winters can be harsh, that's no secret. There are some days I'm especially glad I get to write from home. But, winter only last so long.

Starting mid-May until, well, last week, I spent all my free time outside. Any chance I had, between writing to make money, cleaning the house and grocery shopping, I spent outdoors. The kids and I rode bikes, went for walks, or just sat outside. When my husband got off work in the evenings he joined us. The weather from May to October is perfection.

There's a reason if you walk around a neighborhood on a Saturday morning, everyone has their garage door open. There are street festivals, outdoor concerts, and things to do almost every night of the week. On nice days, everyone flocks outside.

So I haven't been on here because, well, I've been outside. Now, the days are about to get shorter, it's getting cold and our free time will adjust to being indoors. But that's ok because I know what's coming. I know I love snow for Christmas. I know January and February will be hard. I know March will bring spring fever and April will start to bring warmer days.

I have dreams of writing here everyday, sharing good things about where I live. I know now that I will get distracted by those good things, and that's ok, too.

In the meantime, here's a pic of what fall is like...perfection.