Coming Home

I heard an interesting fact today. Cayuga County has 48 of the 50 states represented in the summer on the lake.

Skaneateles Lake is divided principally by two counties: Onondaga (think Syracuse) and Cayuga (Auburn). The northern end is in Onondaga and the southwestern part is in Cayuga. Several towns have lake frontage: Skaneateles (village and town), Spafford, and Niles are the largest. The Skaneateles School District runs about 13 miles down the east side and 11 miles on the west, right into Cayuga County.

So the people who live in Niles represent the states, and I would also wonder about different countries. I know of a family (having sold the house) who come from Uganda every year to spend a month on the lake. They come as the others do, I am sure, for family and tradition.

I spent the afternoon with people who live now in Tennessee. They have retired there, if owning a cattle ranch is actually retirement. They come for the children who remain here and just because. Because it is summer on the lake, because the hummingbirds expect their red flowers, because if you look out from their cliff you can look down on ducks and crows flying below, see wind whipping across the water, watch new homes being built and remember old friends. Besides, the cats like to spread out on the railings in the sun, the landscaping long dreamt about over the winter needs reworking, a new set of French doors could replace the picture window and give that lower room a new purpose. Because it's summer on the lake.