The Blog

One of the first times I looked over the Go Outside Map, I was a little shocked that Forest Lawn Cemetery was listed. Aren’t cemeteries a place of final resting? I’ve always thought that you only go to the cemetery to visit and maintain your loved ones graves, so the idea of sending people there to run, walk, bird watch and more seemed strange. Noticing my apprehension towards trekking Forest Lawn, my team assigned me to write its Feature Friday piece. They assured me that this cemetery was designed for both the dead and the living, and they were right.

This article originally ran in the Holiday 2012 edition of Edible Buffalo. GrowWNY.org has republished this article in honor of Feature Friday. The Feature Friday blog series features different locations around Western New York where families can enjoy the region and its environment. Featured locations are usually taken from the Go Outside Map, but this week we decided to change it up a bit. Today we are featuring a local business that was written about in the Edible Buffalo magazine: the Portage Pie Co. Remember to buy local this holiday season!

By Patti Orton

The name sounds like an eatery you would find in an urban warehouse district.  But in reality, Portage Pie Co. is a neither an eatery, nor metropolitan-based. It is in the charming village of Westfield, NY. Inside the building, which dates back to the 1850s as a blacksmith shop, the Thayer family rolls out hundreds of homemade pies. Confirming your arrival before you even get to the entrance is the aroma of hot, buttery, browned pie.

Who cooks for me? Who cooks for you?

You may be wondering what those two questions have to do with the Beaver Meadow Audubon Center, but they aren’t actually questions at all. When you say them together, the phrase “who cooks for me, who cooks for you,” is actually the call of a Barred Owl. Try saying it a couple of times without moving your lips, and you will get an idea of what I got to hear at the Center this past weekend on the Owl Prowl.

Owl Prowl is just one of the many educational programs that make Beaver Meadow Audubon Center a great place for learning. Recently, I packed my car full of friends and warm clothes, and headed to North Java for a night walk. When we got there, we were immersed in a presentation on the different type of owls in our region. The naturalist was explaining to our group how an Owl Prowl works, what type of owls we might hear, and what they look like if we would be lucky enough to see them.

 

Many would consider the Welland Canal, right in our backyard, to be one of the world's greatest man-made wonders. It is important because of its ability to move cargo ships up and down the Niagara Escarpment, which consequently contributes to the economic growth and development of Canada and the United States. Approximately 40 million metric tons of cargo is carried through the Welland Canal annually.

The transportation of goods is not the Welland Canal's only purpose. The canal's founding father, William Hamilton Merritt, originally envisioned the canal as a way of providing a consistent source of water for local mills. Today, that purpose still holds true with the canal's water being a major resource for industry in Niagara, as well as providing water to people for everyday use. It also provides a source for recreational activity with people watching the big ships, fishing, hiking and boating all summer long.