The kids and I visited Ganondagan today, the historic site of a Seneca village. At 4 and 7 I think they were just old enough to learn a little bit and enjoy it. This coming from the girl who was known to walk to the historical society during her summer vacations :)

First we watched the Iroquois creation story, a short animated film. It’s a good thing we were the only ones in the theater because the kids just kept talking and asking questions and pointing out who was the bad guy and who was the good guy. Such commentary!

Next we entered the main exhibit area. We all really enjoyed the interactive map, the kids kept pressing buttons to see where the longhouses, storage silos, waterways and trails would light up. We had our own personal guide which was great too.

Listening to some stories.

The model longhouse was really neat too. I’ve seen it before, but the kids were just as fascinated as I was the first time. There’s actually a full sized replica longhouse on the property. It’s not open during winter, but we’ll have to come check it out in the spring.

I learned that each member of the Iroquois can be identified by their unique headdress. The Iroquois confederacy is made up of the Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga and later a sixth tribe joined, the Tuscarora. These are the Six Nations, the Haudenosaunee “people of the long house.”

This was a really amazing piece, the actual document signed by King Louis XIV giving Marquis de Denonville complete authority to wipe out any natives that stood in the way of New France’s fur trade initiatives. That’s the story of Ganondagan, the 17th century Seneca villagers were killed and their food storage burned by Denonville and his troops.

The last exhibit we saw told the story of the Iroquois National’s lacrosse team. They were set to compete internationally in 2010 but their passports were denied for travel because they were from the Iroquois Confederacy (a recognized Sovereign Nation but not by the English government). They were offered US and Canadian passports to make the trip to England but refused, as it would negate their citizenship in a nation that existed long before the US government.

Finally we checked out some of the kid crafts and activities. We learned about wampum belts and made some of our own.

Leaving the Seneca Art & Culture Center at Ganondagan.

We saw these guys, just hanging out on the pathway back to the car. We also saw a little rainbow (sun halo) that quickly disappeared behind the snow clouds!

In October the kids and I headed to a vineyard to buy different kinds of grape juice. I use it to make jelly and we freeze some to drink through the year. Our first stop was a little overlook above Canandaigua lake. We ran around, rolled down hills, hiked and had our Wendy’s lunch.

We brought our own jugs for the juice. Each week during harvest a few different varieties are available and it’s fun to try different kinds. They range in price from almost $18/gallon for Riesling (which we don’t spring for) to $5/gallon for Catawba.

Ben was fascinated with the measuring instruments, little scientist.

You can sample some juices too, the kids had fun picking some out and mixing them!

Before we left we met this cutie, he’s an English Shepherd, the kind of dog I grew up with.

We had an unusually warm and wonderful October in Upstate NY. One afternoon after Ben got off the bus, we headed to a nearby trail for a little adventure. Ben used to call them “adBentures” :) The kids found a couple of strange looking bugs and then started collecting acorns and nuts.

Then they started drawing pictures on the gravel path. It was pretty cute actually, a few walkers passed by to let us know they’d seen the pictures and it had made them smile.

We took a break on a graffiti covered bench.

And met this handsome fella. His name was Indy and he was very sweet with the kids.

The trees were on fire! October is my favorite!