LOL, I can't take credit for moving this one up - wolfsong328 did it, and I enjoyed reading it for the first time. Unusual town names are nothing new in Upstate NY, either. There are so many unusual names/pronunciations that one radio station here made up their own spoof song, based on Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire," called "We Didn't Say Your Town Right." Nunda = Nun-DAY Avon = A-vahn (hard A, as in "flat") Endicott = EN-dee-cot (I still can't say it that way, and I've lived near there for 12 years. . . .)Cuylerville = KYE-ler-vill Geneseo = jenn-eh-SEE-oh Apalachin = A-puh-LAY-kin Owego = oh-WE-go Chemung = sheh-MUNG Olean = OH-lee-ann Newark Valley = NERK Valley (to locals) Skaneateles = "Skinny Atlas" to people who live there, "scan-ee-AT-ll-us" to others Then there's Painted Post, Horseheads, Sanitaria Springs, Big Flats, and any number of wonderful Native American-derived names. Nothing suggestive (although I wonder if the kids in Vestal get teased about "vestal virgins"). Laurel

Yeah, this will never happen. But, not for the reasons you think. The sort of land elk need is now protected. Not for the beneficial ecological / environmental purposes, they have been prioritized for mega solar companies. Albany has put a target on the backs of Hudson Valley areas like Greene & Ulster Counties, specifically to clear cut vital habitat, forests, meadows, farmland and so on to make room for industrial scale solar farms that render the earth, dead, useless at the end of their roughly 25 year life-span. That's the future of NY State as long as Albany law-makers have their way.

Hey, guys! I am in WNY also, not far from your areas! I am in southern-most Erie County at its border with Cattaraugus County, near Routes 62 & 39 Intersection. I have been seeing more & more Bald Eagles fly over my rural property, for about the past 6 or 7 years. I can tell you where to go to easily see nesting Bald Eagles, that is not terribly far from your area... Go to Countryside Gravel (Gernatt Gravel), Lake Flavia, in South Dayton, NY. on Route 62. Take Route 62 right thru Hamburg, Water Valley, Eden, North Collins, Collins, Gowanda, Dayton, South Dayton. Lake Flavia is a reclaimed former gravel pit owned by Gernatt Gravel. The are was turned into a large pond/small lake, landscaped & managed area, stocked with fish, and birdwatching is allowed there along the shoreline. On Route 62, go past Gernatt Gravel's current operation in South Dayton (you will see huge mounds of sand and lots of heavy equipment), until you come to public parking lot about 1/4 mile down the road on the left (there is a sign at the road) and you will see a horse & buggy hitching post for use by the Amish neighbors. Just past the parking lot, you will see a large white barn and silo, also on the left. In the parking lot you will see a sign posted with a few rules for use of the area. From this parking lot, park about in the middle and look straight across the water. You will see one large, modern style house that belongs to Gernatt's. Look to the right along the treeline until you see a group of trees taht look lighter colored against a backdrop of darker trees. About halfway between the house and lighter trees, look towards the tops of the trees until you see a dark spot near the top in one of the trees. That is the Bald Eagle's nest.They have used this same nest for several years. And they are still at Countryside Gravel - Lake Flavia now (NOV 13). I was up there twice this week and saw both adult Bald Eagles both times. This year the Eagle pair successfully fledged 2 young (of course, the younger Eagles will be all brown until about their 3rd year, when they get the Bald Eagles' white head and tail feathers that are so familiar to us. Along the same treeline several yards further to the right, you will see a nesting platform built up into one of the trees. This is a nesting platform constructed specifically for these nesting Bald Eagles. Gernatt Gravel would like to expand their current quarry area but the Dept of Fish & Wildlife will not let them move the current Eagle's nest. So they are attempting to lure the Bale Eagles into choosing to use this new nesting platform built just for them, out of the way of their gravel operations. It will be interesting to see how this all works out! This has been an active week at Countryside Gravel - Lake Flavia... A rarity was spotted there this week, a HUDSONIAN GODWIT, a shorebird, seen by several birders. Just today, there was a possible sighting of a Ross's Goose there. And yesterday a sighting of a Red-throated Grebe and a lone Greater Yellowlegs was flushed out by a birder, another shorebird. I was there myself on NOV 9, 10, and 12 and saw the following... many Canada Geese, 14 blue phase Snow Geese (watched them fly in and land on the water), 2 adult Bald Eagles, American Coot, Ring-Necked ducks, Ruddy ducks, Common Loon, Greater Scaup, Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Mallards, Redhead ducks, Bufflehead ducks, ass't Gulls. This area is often windy & cold so dress appropriately and bring gloves & hat. Also Red-tailed hawks, a Whitetail buck deer, Crows Gail R (WNY)

We're between counties, since we're getting ready to move. Camden County--mostly known for crime, since the county seat is the #1 most violent city in the country. But also known as being the childhood home of Kelly Rippa; some of the best school systems in the country (outside of the city, of course). Nice aquarium. Lots of shopping. One town there is called "Haddonfield"--and was the inspiration for the town in the Halloween movies--the author went to school with DH, and there is even a character in one of her movies with HIS NAME! Cumberland county--since we're new here, I only know a few. It's home to the city where Dr. Welch invented grape juice. The Cohanzick (Sp?) Zoo. Glass making used to be one of the main industries. Wheaten Village is a glass museum. DD found a place in the county where she and a friend were enjoying the scenary, taking photos, and when they looked at their pictures, there women screaming standing behind them--women WHO WERE NOT THERE when they took the pictures.