Category: Finger Lakes Region of New York State

The ancient wisdom of trees.

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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

During the series of Part 4 I caught this shot of fallen leaves with alternating bands of sun and shadow from the surrounding young forest.

Today, there is a patchwork of private land and National Forest. This line of color marks the forest boundary on the eastern ridge side.

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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

In the long history of this forested ridge two Iroquois tribes visited this unproductive land for tree nuts and hunting, unproductive in that the soil did not support agriculture. After the Revolutionary War, the British siding Iroquois tribes were driven away and the land given as one mile square blocks to soldiers, in payment for service. Those who settled this ridge cleared the land and farmed as best they could. During the Depression era, many of these farms were abandoned and others sold to the Federal government.

Today, there is a patchwork of private land and National Forest. We stand here just across a border with a private pasture featured in Part 3. This is land returning to forest.

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In this series of three exposures I whittled away at edges to achieve the final result in this third.

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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

In the long history of this forested ridge two Iroquois tribes relied on this land for tree nuts and hunting, the soil did not support agriculture. After the Revolutionary War, the British siding Iroquois tribes were driven away and the land given as one mile square blocks to soldiers, in payment for service. During the Depression era, many of these farms were abandoned and others sold to the Federal government.

Today, there is a patchwork of private land and National Forest. This line of color marks the forest boundary on the eastern ridge side.

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I positioned the tripod against the barbed wire fence marking the posted property. A few barbs and sear goldenrod flowers just visible in the lower right corner.

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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

An open road, autumn morning, a hiking trail under a setting moon. Thirty miles of hiking trails thread these 16,212 acres. Some, like the Backbone trail, traverse farmland reverted to forest and meadow, popular for horseback riding.

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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

The only National Forest in New York State, this land is visible as a ridge to the west of our home. Here we are on the west side, the ridge of Seneca Lake in the distance.

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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills