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Up for an adventure? We have been hosting since 2019 and we are eager to meet you and hear what you think of our acres. The gorgeous sunsets over Lake Ontario are world renowned, and our primitive camp sites are just one half mile from the lake. The terrain is hilly, elevation ranges from 320' - 380'. Due to the location on the hill, great views of the spectacular sunrise can also be seen. Excellent opportunities for bird watching, we have seen everything from goldfinches to bald eagles, with sightings of indigo buntings, sparrowhawks, snow and Canada geese, according to season. Wildflowers, berries and herbs are in abundance, when in season. Being right near the fourth largest Great Lake, the campgrounds is a great spot for cloud watching, kite sailing and star viewing - there is no light pollution. Fresh water divers? There are dozens of sunken shipwrecks in Lake Ontario and in April 2019, NOAA proposed the designation of a national marine sanctuary in eastern Lake Ontario to protect historically significant shipwrecks and maritime heritage resources. Oh, and did I mention the world class fishing?
Co-owner, Valerie, is a permaculturist and welcomes conversation about anything environmental. The flattest part of the hill was once under cultivation but since 2010 has been allowed to revert to woodlands. Fruit and nut trees have been planted, as well as some berries. Seasoned firewood is plentiful from the prunings as well as from deadfall and extra can be purchased at the farm - $5. per bundle. (Per New York State DEC regulation, untreated firewood may not be moved over 50 miles.) There is a working rocket mass heater in the barn and it will be fired up and roaring between October and April. Knitting and crocheting lessons are yours for the asking - inquire about availability. Co-owner, William, may also be persuaded to show you some guitar licks.
At the edges of the property you can see neighbors' houses but campsites are secluded. Sterling Nature Center (Great Blue Heron rookery!) and Sterling Renaissance Festival are each 4 miles away. Gas station and farm store (great home-baked pies there!) are each 3 miles away. Sterling Creek Canoe & Kayak Launch - 3.5 miles. Fair Haven Beach State Park and Little Sodus Bay - 7.5 miles. City of Oswego and NY State University - 6 miles. And, if you are of that persuasion, the nearest McDonald's and Subway are 7 miles and Walmart is 10 miles away.
Thorndon Meadows acknowledges we are on native land originally inhabited by the Cayuga (Guyohkohnyoh – The People of the Great Swamp) of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy who were scattered by European settlers in the early 1800’s. We honor their stewardship and those who care for the land generations after. This land is not ours, it is our turn, and we are grateful to share it with our guests. We are committed to learning and protecting the land as its temporary caretakers. We invite you to appreciate the land with us, all are welcome.
Please take responsibility for the energy you bring to this space. Campfires are encouraged but bonfires are not allowed. If you are unsure, just ask.
Because I could be anywhere on the property and I would like to be available when you arrive, please advise me if you know you will be arriving after 5 PM. All revenue from camping goes back into the property to continue to improve your experience.
While we are open to winter camping, the farm road is on a hill that must be navigated to reach the campsites. In snowy or icy (or extremely muddy) conditions this may prove impossible for a typical vehicle and even give some 4-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicles some trouble. There is room at the bottom of the hill for off road parking for one vehicle. It would then require hiking up about 500 feet to reach campsites. Also, when the weather is dropping below freezing (which could be between late October -- early May), you are advised to bring your own water as water left overnight will freeze.
Specific directions will be sent on day of check-in.
Was there for discussion/presentation about Drives and transverses. To me. Central Park is got the most part an obstruction between east and west sides.
Found a stray cat here after a night out. A great place to make new friends
If this unicorn knows one thing, it’s how he struts his mane becoming the main attraction in this beloved park. This north meadow park held the reunion of other unicorns with sparkles flying in air. Do you smell, what I just stepped in? Unicorn poo… maintenance needed in aisle one please. ^_^
Ghosts flee my soul en masse when I venture onto the North Meadow.
Such a day - frigid, piercing, like a widow's gaze when you ask her whether she murdered her husband by dragging his unconscious form onto the Chesapeake and when it had frozen over dissolving the bones in her bathtub and if she had any recommendations for how to get rid of the hair at that point - reminds one of one's mother.
Such was my attitude at the peak of a callous morning, gazing out onto the poplars and wondering whether this was in fact the fate of a father long lost to the ages. Perhaps the grass heard me, as it whistled past the feet of joggers inundated with their podcasts and their NPR and their Wait Waits Don't Tell Them, and if they heard anything it was only the whisper of a life that led beyond the distractions of some Frankensteined fitness, some existence past the pressures of following the winding paths day in and day out until their salvation of the mind expires in a cacophony of fervor heretofore unknown by even a rural juror. For the mind cannot break when it believes what it buys, I thought to myself as I gracefully tripped on a rock so carefully thrown in the middle of a path as to extinguish my brief career at its sullen height.
But as my mother always said, murder past its statute of limitations is just a way to pass a cocktail party and pass another olive for mother dear's martini, so with a light of her Lucky and a nod to the owl outside, I listened and soon forgot its plaintive lullaby:
What have you done? I like to ask myself
In an accusatory tone on days
When rain taps against sills and spares the glass
And winks at me with ev'ry drop a phrase:
What have you got there? Something you bought with
Piles of pretty pennies? I don't believe
In pennies and I will drown you, but in
The meantime I will send down taps to cleave
Your mind in two and wrest your nerves apart
From a dancing glance to your darting heart.
