SFLM Blog

by Helen Heizyk Growing up near Cass Park in Ithaca I made the trip from there to Taughannock Falls State Park by car many, many times. This past week I traveled the distance from the Park to Ithaca and back on my bike for the first time, along the Black Diamond...

A fraction of the birds you can see and hear in the Townsend Grady Wildlife Preserve. Take a trip and start your own birding book! Photos courtesy of Helen Heizyk. On perhaps the most lovely day of peak migration, a small group of us ventured out into the...

Are you prepared for another invasion?!?  Gypsy moths are back in force!  They are one of America’s most destructive pests, and they are in the midst of a resurgence.  Healthy trees are vital in controlling erosion, reducing contaminated run-off, and...

When faced with a challenge, one must go through a series of steps to come to a feasible solution. Here at the Finger Lakes Museum we were able to tackle one of our recent challenges with your help! [Bonus challenge: write this blog post with as many song lyrics as...

The Finger Lakes Museum was the site of the ,Eaton Birding Society kayaking trip, where several members paddled in the morning sun and spotted birds along the way. A beautiful morning and a successful birding trip, Carolyn Jacobs shared her notes with us, tracking...

“Keep close to Nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” John Muir The two places I go when I need to wash my spirit clean are to a long sandy beach or to a favorite trail in the...

written by guest blogger, Pat Atkinson In these days of social distancing, what better activity to do on a beautiful early spring day than to take a walk down one of my favorite paths on the west side of Canadice Lake. The morning grey, cloudy skies soon gave way to a...

The male Eastern Bluebird is a brilliant royal blue on the back and head and warm red-brown on the breast. The female is grayer with blue tinges in the wings and tail. You can find them year-round here in the Finger Lakes. They perch on wires, posts, and low branches,...

The Finger Lakes Museum would like to thank the Paddle Keuka 5K sponsors. The 4th annual event was held on beautiful, picture perfect Saturday August 3rd. Participants enjoyed tunes from a DJ before and after their race, post-race refreshments and Grove Boys chicken...

This month's blog post is written by the FLM's very own Pat Atkinson. Licensed ACA Kayak Instructor, NYS Guide and long-time FLM volunteer, you can find Pat visiting the campus to guide paddles or stopping in to say hello to everyone with her pup, Tree. This month's...

This month's blog follows the lake of the month theme and highlights Canadice Lake. Written by guest blogger, D.E. Bentley, she shares her experience of first "meeting" Canadice Lake and the constant discovery that has taken place of the area since. Thank you for...

A bright and glorious morning was a special gift for us on this year’s Bird Walk! For two delightful hours, we traipsed through the Townsend-Grady Wildlife Preserve to reacquaint ourselves with our fine-feathered friends. Thanks to our wonderful guides Mahlon and...

Part of the wonderful thing about the Finger Lakes is the incredible amount of history, both general and personal, that surrounds these beautiful lakes. It is not uncommon to hear from families that have spent generations growing up in a certain house, on a specific...

As a relatively recent transplant from Florida, I was pleasantly surprised by the area that I didn’t know much about when we first made the big cross-country move to the Finger Lakes. We moved to Geneva so I was familiar with Seneca Lake and my husband works in...

Our focus on the Finger Lakes this month is Cayuga Lake. Travel the ,Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway, an 87-mile loop around the lake, and you will find will find deep gorges, waterfalls, incredible landscape views, tourist and cultural attractions and more! You will also...

On one of the coldest days of the year, I decided it might be prudent to do some indoor exploring near Seneca Lake, our focus lake for February. I took along my intrepid mother for a museum adventure. First stop: Geneva History Museum, run by the Geneva Historical...

The Finger Lakes Museum & Aquarium (FLM&A) was one of ten applicants to be awarded a Trees for Tribs Grant through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Trees for Tribs Grant Program supports efforts to reforest New York's...

As I sit in front of my computer mulling over ideas for our Museum blog I find myself repeatedly distracted by the activity outside my window. Here in the Finger Lakes, over the past couple of days, Meteorologists (of the human species) have been alerting us to an...

The holiday season always seems to bring a fair amount of nostalgia. We look back on the past year, or years passed, often with a mix of emotions. Mrs. Maude Van Duyne, who lived much of her life in Canadice, was a frequent contributor of historical sketches and other...

Well, it’s the most wonderfully busy time of the year, and I won’t get to visit Canadice, our Lake of the Month, in December! So instead, I am whetting my appetite for an adventure in 2019. As many locals know, Canadice and Hemlock are the only Finger Lakes with...

November was approaching, and I was contemplating the Lake of the Month. I thought to myself, what could possibly be going on at Hemlock Lake in November?!? Well, imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled across the Little Lakes Community Association (LLCA) in...

On a recent FLM&A Adventure Team visit to Cayuga Lake, I was charmed by a visit to the Ithaca Children’s Garden! In a picturesque setting overlooking the south end of the lake, the Ithaca Children’s Garden is “an award-winning 3-acre public children’s garden...