I was escorted into Maine by Steve Collins, and his team of Belgian Mares
Belgian Meadows offers wagon rides for all occasions, a pumpkin patch, an off beat guest cabin a place for ANY festivity be it weddings or birthday parties, it will accommodate your needs. But what the card/brochure will not tell you is the old world charm and hospitality you will meet at this farm. Owned and operated by Steve Collins for over 20 years Belgian Meadow Farm is very, very busy this time of year. I came thru North Rochester riding north on old hwy 125 when I sensed my position was off I had missed a turn and stopped to ask for help…at Town Line Pizza, umm I thought ” maybe they’ll have a slice of pizza?” I met owners Brenda and Lynn – had a fabulous sub-sandwich instead of the slice of pizza. Well an hour later I meet Steve Collins who just happen to stop in to say hello…. Belgian Meadows was on my route across Maine. And so here I had a much needed place to gather myself for the ride over to the Atlantic and regain my composure coming back as it was very emotional and very hectic in Wells, Maine. I’ll be giving a talk this evening then heading out in the morning. MORE FRIENDS, oh my goodness I do like the people over in this part of our country, the accents and casual flair to them they are as colorful as the leaves falling in the fall breeze.
stone stair case leading to the barn I have only heard about this the barn was kept very clean, no smells, kept the upstairs warm In this part of the country there remain main barns attached to the house.
October 8th we rode into Wells, Maine a bustling ocean beach town. We made it, the Atlantic Ocean….thrilling.
Essie Pearl & Montana Spirit first time on ocean sand
Neither one of the horses have seen the ocean, its sound, it’s smell. The crashing of waves receding then dashing back at them as their nuzzles sniff with curiosity.How must the bigness of it all that I feel, feel to them? I must admit I was moved to tears at the sight of the ocean, at the sight of my two Fjord Mares who so bravely walked and endured the miles with me stepping into the crashing waves. So many of you ask about their health and care and well you should. They are the true champions of the rides. Essie and Spirit are having a much deserved rest here at Riverhurst Farm. Pete and Elaine have been managing the facility for 17 years. Its lovely, old world, quaint..the barn is 200 years old!!! Once a dairy barn now providing motel space for equine guests the farm has a soft, gentle feel to it, very nice. Parson Beach is a 1/4 mile from the farm.
Here is a bit of history that goes with the old barn. In 1812 the old barn provided a safe haven for soldiers of war. According to the Lewiston Journal illustrated magazine august 1937. The Wells Homestead, now a part of Riverhurst, “Sheltered Soldiers in the War of 1812. It was august 9th, 1813 an exiting day in the history of Kennebunk. An American privateer, the Alexander of Salem, mounting 18 guns and commanded by Capt. Crowningshield, came up the coast pursued by the British ships. Before it fell into the hands of the enemy the company were lodged in the Wells home over night , the officers in the house and the seaman in the big barn pictured here. As I said earlier the New Englanders are not short on history, they are submerged in it.
Last night we were lulled to sleep by the sound of the Atlantic Ocean, the reward after so many miles- months of arduous travel. We have been here for 3 days and leave in the morning. Our heads will be shaded from the sun each morning as we face the westward sky. The horses welcome the cooler weather, then so do I, we are all northern bred girls. Thank you Elaine and Pete.
Riverhurst Farm
Rt. 9 Kennebunk
Maine, 04043
207-985-3348
Peter and Elaine King
We all – Essie, Spirit and I alike need a rest, it’s good to be here.
Wells, Maine was an excellent choice to make my east coast landing. The roads leading into town were not terribly busy and for the most part the New Englanders have been courteous. I know that I am a nuisance to most drivers and I do my best to stay over and off the road surface, but still there you are another distraction for people driving down the road with other thoughts on their minds. It is dangerous without doubt.
Eleanor Vadenais, executive director of Wells Chamber of Commerce helped facilitate my visit to Wells. I have over the years worked with many Chamber of Commerce and have always been very glad I did. Eleanor helped arrange newspaper interviews, camping spaces and the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge visit. I rode in feeling lost and furlong, dirty and tired of it all. The town was busy, far too many people stopping to ask the usual what – where – why questions, all had me pushing the limits. Ahead I could make out a figure jumping up and down waving arms. “Oh, I thought “wonderful, its Eleanor, someone at least has come out to greet me.” Hope rose within me. But as I drew closer I could see it was not Eleanor it was Cathy Schloeder and her husband Mike…FROM MONTANA good friends from Montana!!!
Oh my goodness how could this be??? I knew they were in Maine, vacationing, but that we actually were able to connect was nothing short of miraculous and on this day of all days when I most needed a hearty, familiar hug from back home. Cathy was so confident she would find me she’d purchased a lobster roll for me. I felt as if they carried with them a car load of encouragement, smiles, love and hugs from dear friends and neighbors still back in the Northwest corner of Montana, greeting me at this important junction of my ride. I so needed it. I so very much needed those hugs that day.
With the help of Moores Hardware whose home and place of business we so rudely interrupted Thursday afternoon October 8th – The Moores had land a mile north of where all the shouting and laughing began, I had a perfect place to camp. Eleanor worked her magic, got my next night secured at Riverhurst and the Rachel Carson visit arranged. A full moon presented itself as I ate the food Cathy and Mike left me. I no longer felt alone, what a day…..what a day.
MAINE DINER, Wells, Maine – this place is hopping.
This part of my ride has been dedicated to women. As readers following my rides you know this year we in Montana celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote. Following a number of stops at women’s historical sites earlier this year – Susan B. Anthony, Elisabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage – their homes and grave-sites. Women whose focused, enduring determination gave me as a woman not only the right to vote but the idea of equality.
I thought how fitting to end this years travels by paying homage to yet another woman, Rachel Carson she also wrote a new chapter into our history. Facing ridicule and formidable opposition as did the other women she persevered and today her legacy lives on. To her as to all those women who significantly altered the course of history by demanding liberty, equality she was an individual committed to changing society.
Rachel Carson, writer, scientist, and ecologist, grew up simply in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania. Her mother bequeathed to her a life-long love of nature and the living world that Rachel expressed first as a writer and later as a student of marine biology. Carson graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham College) in 1929, studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, and received her MA in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.
She was hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to write radio scripts during the Depression and supplemented her income writing feature articles on natural history for the Baltimore Sun. She began a fifteen-year career in the federal service as a scientist and editor in 1936 and rose to become Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Here’s the crew holding down the fort, keeping Rachael’s legacy alive
Disturbed by the profligate use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson reluctantly changed her focus in order to warn the public about the long term effects of misusing pesticides. In Silent Spring (1962) she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government, and called for a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world.
Carson was attacked by the chemical industry and some in government as an alarmist, but courageously spoke out to remind us that we are a vulnerable part of the natural world subject to the same damage as the rest of the ecosystem. Testifying before Congress in 1963, Carson called for new policies to protect human health and the environment. Rachel Carson died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer. Her witness for the beauty and integrity of life continues to inspire new generations to protect the living world and all its creatures.
Eleanor from the Chamber of Commerce had time to do a quiet walk thru the park at the Carson Wildlife Refuge with me.
Here We are at Riverhurst Farms the Atlantic Ocean is about 1/4 mile behind us. I carry with me on the coast to coast Canadian ride…INTERNATIONAL LONG RIDERS GUILD FLAG.
LETTER FROM THE GUILD
Dear Bernice,
Often times those who strive to enrich the lives of others never take the time to realize the tremendous long term positive impact they create. Your journey will serve as a tiny seed, the true results of which may not be fully know for many years. Perhaps a child you meet will one day tell her grandchild about the woman on a horse who changed her life via a magical journey? Thus the Guild’s support mirrors your own actions and acknowledges the purity of your mission. Likewise, the Long Riders flag represents all of us who protect, preserve and promote the ancient art of equestrian travel. Protect its message. Carry it with pride and ride well Long Rider.
Backdrop of the Turner Home Kelly laughing at my temporary fly mask
A thick layer of dew greets us each morning. Fog rises slowly to reveal a display of color that I have a hard time describing. I have never seen the Northeast in its glorious fall attire. Rusty reds, gentle golds, pale pinks billow out like fluff. It’s as if a head of broccoli had been painted by a Picasso. I have joined the stream of “leaf peepers”. In two weeks, Columbus Day weekend will be the height of this brilliant season. I’ll be heading back from the Atlantic coast by then.
The Turner home in Plymouth, Vermont is one of those bubbly, lively revolving door households where you can not help but be devoured by “family.” Its sisters and husbands and neighbors, brothers and children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and….food, dogs and talk and everything that reminds us of how fortunate we are. Its been one of those stops.
campsite at the Turners
Kelly Siemans has been my east coast connection – helping to facilitate boxes of supplies, suggestions on routes and this much needed 5 day “get myself together” stop. Her aunt Mina Turner and her husband Dick live here. I’m camped under giant Maple trees with the horses in a portable fence next to me. I met Kelly years ago when she ventured to Montana for work at the Glacier Institute.
The Historical Coolidge Estate in only a mile away. Kelly and I rode over.
The weather has been cool at night but hot all afternoon, intense short lived heat like a shot of hot exhaust from a passing car. Fall just may linger on, but the heat will not last much longer. Horses are in good shape, they’ll be a handful when I head out this week.
My last stretch for this year, about 300 miles left – from here to Wells, Maine then back here to Plymouth, then over to Fort Edward, New York where I’ll plant my camp for 5 months. Wait for spring to set me free once again.
I have chosen with the help of Kelly to make Wells, Maine my furthest point eastward. It is the home of Rachel Carson’s National Wildlife Refuge. Like Susan B. Anthony, Stanton and Gage this courageous woman …. Rachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose book Silent Spring and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement.
A look behind…
From Rome, New York the trail took me due east one night I spent at John Furlong’s backyard. I rode into Northfield late afternoon and met Rhea an artist with a flare for adventure…. and a host of others at the city park. Rhea found a place for us to camp at her friend Ruby’s farm, then I got passed on to another friend of a friend…. Jim Shriner who passed me on to the Clothiers farm in Corinth, New York who passed me on to Dick Manell for an over night south of Hudson Falls. There I met David and Cathy Lamando at the local diner. They invited me to over night near Granville, New York. Cathy runs a therapeutic riding program. From there I made my way across the Vermont state line and stepped into beauty beyond anything I have ever seen, there is nothing like it. Fall in Vermont…goodness who would have thought?
When I rode thru Fort Edward I met Darlene Lundgren. She was on her lovely front porch talking on the phone as I rode by, I shouted out what a pretty front yard she had so nicely decorated in fall decor. Well, Darlene drove passed me later in the day and stopped (I was taking a break in a nearby park) Well long story short Darlene has kindly offered me and my horses a place to winter!!
I must admit I feel relieved to have a place secured, I’ll be close to town and Darlene has lived in Fort Edwards for many years and knows many people. I am looking forward to a long break. The miles do take its toll and all of us Essie, Spirit and I do need a winter rest.
NEW YORK IS NOT SHORT ON HISTORY! Matilda Joslyn Gage Home/Foundation – FAYETTEVILLE, N.Y.
Of the three women whose historical homes I visited this past month, it is Matilda Joslyn Gage that I find the most interesting. She was not only concerned with women’s rights but in humanity, liberty for all. She cared deeply about the injustices inflicted upon the Native American Nations. Her home played a part in the abolition of slavery. She wrote fluently with sharp criticism against religion, politics, social norms. I have posted an excerpt from the foundation page as there is so much to say about this woman and I have so little time to do so. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Sally Wagner Founding Director before leaving. I have watched her You-Tube videos several times and have admired her work for years.The folks at Matilda J. Gage Home – Sarah Flick (left)site director, Dave Kellogg – Board Member and my guide thru the home and Sally Wagner. THANK YOU
One of the most radical, far-sighted and articulate early feminists, Matilda Joslyn Gage was deliberately written out of history after her death in 1898 by an increasingly conservative suffrage movement. Equal in importance to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Gage is all but unknown today. Efforts are under way to correct that.
The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation took root in 2000 when Sally Roesch Wagner, the leading authority on Gage, brought together a nationwide network of diverse people with a common goal: to bring this vitally important suffragist back to her rightful place in history.
The Foundation is dedicated not only to educating current and future generations about the lifelong work of this major woman’s rights thinker, author and activist, but also its power to drive contemporary social change.
While restoring knowledge of Gage’s contributions, which continue to be of great relevance today, the Gage Foundation (soon to be called the Gage Center) is also an educational resource for discussion and dialogue about the human rights issues to which she dedicated her life.
“We know we are right; we know we shall be successful,
we know the day is not far distant, when this government and the world
will acknowledge the exact and permanent political equality of man and woman …”
– Matilda Joslyn Gage
Gage stood for:
Gage opposed:
Egalitarianism
Peace and justice for all
Women’s rights / human rights
Separation of church and state
Religious freedom
Treaty rights and Native Sovereignty
A woman’s right to her own body
Helping slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad
Breaking the law to create justice
Suppression of truth
Degradation of women
Double standards
Church abuse of power
Religious fundamentalism
Forcing citizenship on Native men
Trafficking in women
Slavery and servitude of condition, denying any group their rights
Denying women the right to vote
“When all humanity works for humanity, when the life-business of men and women
becomes one united partnership in all matters which concern each,
when neither sex, race, color, or previous condition
is held as a bar to the exercise of human faculties,
the world will hold in its hands the promise of a millennium
which will work out its own fulfillment.”
– Matilda Joslyn Gage
As I rode away I could not also help to be grateful for those dedicated individuals who keep these women’s lives on the history books and accessible to us. Without their hard work where would we be?
New York roads, although busy, I must say people have been courteous and move over or slow down even though I know I must be a nuisance to them. The state roads are not littered, creeks and most Rivers are clear.
I rode the Historic Erie Canal and it may have been the prettiest 36miles I have EVER ridden. Stopped at the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum off the Historic Erie Canal is fascinating a must stop. The whole Erie Canal story was really all new to me. We traveled the “tow path” which led along the deep canal. The mules walked this path with young children at their tails pulling the big boats up and down the canal.
The horses now wear flannel sheets at night to keep the cool damp air off their backs. Mosquitoes and flies torment us less and less.
I could not be riding these roads without the Black Smith Shop(see sponsorship page) horse shoes that keep us safe on wet pavement. I am just plain loving my ride through New York!!
Fayetteville was one lively stop, thank you all of you that made the visit so interesting and just plain fun. Special thank you to the Hullars for letting us camp on their lovely grounds near the fish ponds.
Joanne Zimmer as if on cue stopped as I rode along a very dangerous busy road south of Fayetteville and asked if I needed a place to spend the night. I did but what I really needed was a haul around a very dangerous “I should not be riding-road” Thank you so much Joanne!!
Elaine MacLachlan put us up in her back yard and gave us a meal and quiet place to rest.
I have been in Rome for two nights at the Erie Canal Historic Village west of town. Stephen Bootroyd is the Curator and gave us a dry place to rest and take care of errands. It poured today, glad to be in. Times up this is all for now. Heading east for Vermont. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/2014/09/06/bernice-endes-just-horsing-around/15228829/
“In the past week I have met the Mayor of Caledonia. I have spoken with the Master of the Hunt from Geneseo, I’ve been interviewed by a half a dozen news reporters. I’ve visited with a young teenager who is captain of the soccer team and I have spoken with a farmer managing a dairy herd. They all have one thing in common and that is they are all women. And like me who has ridden across the country-alone-a single woman, we are walking through doors unlocked by this courageous, self determined woman – Susan B. Anthony.
She was the glue that held women together long enough for the radical idea of female emancipation, for not simply the right to vote but to self-govern themselves to take hold, sink into the minds of millions until finally, there was no going back.
I have ridden here from the Northwest corner of Montana where we commemorate the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote. I am here to pay homage, to remember, to say “thank you.”
Please let us not forget these “brave beyond words” women and the men who supported the novel idea of liberty for all.” Bernice Ende
“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.”
“The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball — the further I am rolled the more I gain.” ― Susan B. Anthony
Debra Hughes & Montana Spiritvisiting the Susan B. Anthony home
Rochester Mounted police (officer Cicoria center) escorted us into the quiet lovely neighborhood
September 4th, 2014
From Caledonia, to Rochester New York. Sergeant Gary Cicoria from the Livingston Mounted Patrol hauled Essie, Spirit and I to Mt. Hope Cemetery. We unloaded the 3 horses nearby and rode in the north gate greeted by friends, press and representatives from the Susan B. Anthony foundation. Debra Hughes – director of the Susan B. Anthony home was also there with warm welcome. I was asked “how do you feel?, “what are your thoughts?” …. What do you say to a woman who devoted her life to unlocking doors you now freely walk thru? What do you say to the woman who cleared what was once a pitiful path to become what is now a free-way that I travel on. I simply could not even believe I was there! I was moved and humbled to simply be there. From the grave site Sgt. Cicoria then hauled us across town for our visit of the Susan B. Anthony home. Where two more officers (whose names I sadly did not write down) from the Rochester Mounted Patrol joined the festivities and once again we rode into a neighborhood setting where history was made. In the park were bronze castings of Susan B. Anthony and Fredrick Douglass sitting in chairs having tea. If you EVER have the chance to visit Rochester please do see the Susan B. Anthony home. The home has been restored and is packed full of sentiments left behind from a time where women had only begun to see the possibilities.
www.susanbanthonyhouse.org
The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House was the home of the legendary American civil rights leader during the 40 most politically active years of her life, and the site of her famous arrest for voting in 1872. This home was the headquarters of the National American Woman Suffrage Association when she was its president. This is also where she died in 1906 at age 86, following her “Failure is Impossible” speech in Baltimore. A sincere and heart felt thank you to all of you who work so hard at keeping these historical sites functioning and available to the public. WONDERFUL
Following our visit: Denea Van Bartel hauled us out of the city to Bloomfield, NY where Beth and Peter Harrison hosted my night and I camped on their lovely farm with Essie and Spirit in a large paddock. We enjoyed dinner and wine with Denea and her two young children as well as Sophie and Alexander Harrison who showed me nearly everything in their colorful bedrooms. Thank you all of you, thank you.
SENECA FALLS, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 6th, 2014
I spent the night in Geneva at the Taylor residence. Tommy Taylor invited us in when I stopped him while in his pickup in front a big red barn (behind it would have been a good spot to camp, so I raced up before he drove off) The big red barn contains one of his businesses “TOMMY T’s” party tents and tables. Well long story short. I had delicious NY steak and visited with the whole family and had a wonderful time, even slept inside, well in the screen porch with the horses nearby, it stormed that night. I was up early as The Women’s Rights National Historic Park were expecting me at 2pm and I had about 12 miles to ride on hwy 20&5, very busy road.
Gathered together on two hot days in July of 1848, one hundred women and men echoed these words with their signatures in support of the Declaration of Sentiments. Just 10 days earlier on July 9th, five reform-minded women met at a social gathering in Waterloo, New York and decided to hold a convention, a very common way to promote change in 1848. They published a “call” in the local newspaper inviting people to “…a Convention to discuss the social, civil and religious rights and condition of woman.” The convention was to be held on July 19th and 20th in the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, three miles east of Waterloo. Relying heavily on pre-existing networks of reformers, relatives and friends, the convention drew over 300 people.
This is really where it all got started!! I tied the horses up behind the building and with in a few minutes Kimberly Szewczyk came walking out with a host of other women visiting from Buffalo one of which was Deputy Major Ellen E. Grant. Kimberly has a great knack for bringing the past to present and I was very impressed with her ability to connect yesterday with today. It truly was an important stop for me. I have read about, studied about this town and how it provided the backdrop for these extraordinary women to mount up the courage and do something!! John on of several guides and interpreters provided an excellent tour as we visited Elizabeth Cady Stanton home a 1/4 mile away on the other side of the Erie Canal. I found my self whispering “I am in her home,” “I am standing on the same porch that her and Stanton wrote speeches.
Elisabeth Cady Stanton home with other guests touring
The town of Seneca Falls is beautiful, the architecture unbelievable. I would have ridden 5000 miles to visit these two sights I truly felt honored to be there. Very exciting for me. Thank you Kimberly and the park attendants that watched the two horses as I toured and visited the sights.
Thank you also to Jeff Shipley who works with the Seneca Falls Chamber of Commerce. He assisted in finding me a place to camp at Vince’s Park north of town where I now update the website. Thank you so very much all of you!!!
photos from John Adamski Kimberly Szewczyk chief of education and interpretation
I must share a few photos from the Caledonia stop. It was here I waited at the Fair Grounds for two days got a good rest, well kind of, it was pretty peppy at this stop also. What a pretty town Caledonia is, and so many people out on the streets walking and visiting, shade trees, park like setting and a roundabout in the center. I wish I had more photos. As I said earlier JoAnne Crossman was my overseer, in charge of my stay. The “Chamber Chicks” as she called Lisa Burns and Laura Lane called her and said “she’s coming in a couple of days, take care of her” or something like that. I don’t think JoAnne really knew what to expect but she is the kind of gal that hits the road running…
Here is Laura (Chamber of Commerce Geneseo) directing traffic, ie all of us! She did a great job as did Lisa Burns organizing the event. I think it went very well and we had a fair amount of people who came and many many emails continue to come in.
The Mayor Debbie Davis and Joanne Crossman came out to see us off.
Sergent Gary Cicoria mounted police hauled me in with his horse saddled in a Tuckers Endurance saddle I might add. Here we are ready to shake, raddle and roll into Rochester. There had been a shooting in Rochester the night before and one of his comrades a young police officer had been shot and fatally killed. The atmosphere was a bit somber on this morning Bob Hilderbrant was the fair president and manager of the facility I could not believe this party that happened the night before I left. Bob built a fire for heaven sakes , the sky’s cleared and we drank a bit of New York’s finest wines and how nice was that!
Here is all my stuff out side the library which was closed for the day.
AND last but not least there are the Caledonia Hookers yes that’s right each and every one of these fine ladies are a”HOOKER” and what a wild bunch they were when Joanne and I popped in to the WOOLERY down town.( before the party to invite them of course) Who’s their leader? Major Davis!!!
Oh yes they hook rugs, beautiful rugs and wall hangings
I so enjoyed this visit, thank you all of you I leave with a big smile on my face.
From the Caladonia Fair Grounds, Essie, Spirit and I will be hauled into Rochester, NY by Gary Ciccoria (mounted police). First stop is Mt. Hope Cemetery to see Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass’s grave-sites. The Rochester Mounted Police will then escort me to the Susan B. Anthony home, 17 Madison St, Rochester, NY. Debra Hughes, Executive Director of the home is expecting us by 1:15 pm. This event will be televised and covered by the local press. As I said earlier I am stopping in this part of New York to pay homage to the women who so bravely planted the seed of “women’s rights.” Taking time to honor the legacy. It was here in Rochester, Seneca Falls and Syracuse New York, in the mid 1800’s that the call for female emancipation, equality and the right to vote became a reality. In an era when women had little or no rights a few remarkably courageous, intelligent women led by Susan B. Anthony cried out for change. Let us never forget the women who gave their lives to bring us liberty.
September 1st 2014 The Pond residence
It happened again, an innocent bystander caught off guard by the sound of steel horseshoes on pavement, clip clop clip clop.
I watched the woman busy at her work as I approached her home on Reservoir road east of Genoseo. Her head popped up and she made a quick turn then a double take. She turned from her pick up truck which she was cleaning, both doors wide open, cleaning essentials brush, soap, sponge lay about when the distraction occurred. Her face lit up, she dropped the rag she had in her hand and walked toward me wearing a look of surprise etched on both corners of her broad smile.. I met Cindy Pond and stayed two days! I wasn’t going to – I mean it was never my intention to stay, first Cindy said, “why don’t you come in and rest the horses?” then it was, “would you like to hose the horses off with water?” then it was “why don’t we put them in the paddock and they can graze” then it was “come on in and have something to eat and drink” Then I met Pat, Cindy’s mother who’s historic white stately house the family lived in. Then Walter Cindy’s husband came in and then Geneva, Walter and Cindy’s daughter home for summer months from university study joined in on the festivities and I must say two “lively, chatty, dinners and guest days unfolded. However the rulers of the house were not the above mentioned it was these two characters whom I will call “Prince charming to the left and your majesty the Queen and supreme ruler to the right. Smiles lots of smiles, many thanks to the Pond family.
I’ve been “handed over” to Joanne Crossman, bee keeper, retired USDA – loan officer for 30 years, community activist, wife of Bruce Crossman, sheepherder, spinner and all around shaker and mover. She made arrangements for a two day stop over at the Caledonia Fair Grounds. Bob Hilderbrant, manager of the fair grounds has stopped by to see if I needed anything, as have a host of other people, tonight it will be local wine and cheese (Joanne’s doing’s). Thank you all so very much I am beginning to feel like a celebrity. However… I know I am just a long lonesome long rider, dirty much of the time.
I have somehow ridden into the Genesse Valley. The oldest Hunt exists here… It’s horse country!! I think there may be more horses here than in Montana! I will share more of that history with you later. I will say again the air is saturated with history. And people are very proud of the legacies that exist here. I am moved by the interest and willingness the New Yorkers have to share their historical stories. I sometimes feel I’m in a National Velvet novel, the steeple chase field, the Hunt, the cobblestone homes. I am so enjoying my ride thru New York, its been one surprise after another.
Joanne showing me the Oldest fish hatchery in New York
patch, an off beat guest cabin a place for ANY festivity be it weddings or birthday parties, it will accommodate your needs. But what the card/brochure will not tell you is the old world charm and hospitality you will meet at this farm. Owned and operated by Steve Collins for over 20 years Belgian Meadow Farm is very, very busy this time of year. I came thru North Rochester riding north on old hwy 125 when I sensed my position was off I had missed a turn and stopped to ask for help…at Town Line Pizza, umm I thought ” maybe they’ll have a slice of pizza?” I met owners Brenda and Lynn – had a fabulous sub-sandwich instead of the slice of pizza. Well an hour later I meet Steve Collins who just happen to stop in to say hello…. Belgian Meadows was on my route across Maine. 
And so here I had a much needed place to gather myself for the ride over to the Atlantic and regain my composure coming back as it was very emotional and very hectic in Wells, Maine. I’ll be giving a talk this evening then heading out in the morning. MORE FRIENDS, oh my goodness I do like the people over in this part of our country, the accents and casual flair to them they are as colorful as the leaves falling in the fall breeze.
