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As I run I always look for distinctive features or entertaining happenings to share with my readers, and the other day I came up with one.

There used to be a rather unsavory drainage ditch that crossed German Street. Trees and bushes were growing in it, people had thrown in garbage, and it was a breeding ground for a number of unpleasant insects. The village cleaned it out, filled it in and now there remains a black top path surrounded by grass, flowers and young trees. A pleasant addition to a run or walk.

Yesterday I ran down as much of the path as I encountered. This morning I ran in the opposite direction. Halfway through my run I realized I was quite thirsty so directed my steps toward the spring. Ah, bliss! We are so blessed to live in a village with a handily located spring.

As I ran on I saw the hills that comprise both the front and back way to Herkimer County Community College, but I cravenly avoided them. (I may not be much of a runner, but at least I can rock the adverbs. When was the last time you heard somebody use “cravenly” in a sentence?) Both days I ran I noticed houses with a Boilermaker banner hanging out front. Ah, I feel bad to miss it this year. 2012, Utica! I’ll be there!

Of course I always look at other people’s flowers for ideas for my own yard. Today I particularly noticed day lilies. We have some day lilies that were here when we bought the house, and I’ve always thought they look blowsy. I keep seeing ones where whole plant is fuller, the stem with the bloom has nice spiky leaves all the way up and they are only knee high. Not like the ones in my yard, where a tall, bare stalk holds the bloom. As I ran I also saw some tall ones like mine, but they were in a larger area. There, they didn’t look so bad. It’s all about setting.

I also saw people on their front porches enjoying a cup of coffee. That motivated me to keep running, because I promised myself the same treat after my shower. A very effective bribe. Perhaps one day I’ll invest in a lap top, so I can blog from the deck. After all, my blog is all about enjoying what can be found in our own backyard.

Many of the liquor stores in the area offer free wine tastings. It is a great way to discover new wines, increase your knowledge of wines and sometimes be sociable. Friday I went to Vintage Spirits in Herkimer to enjoy one.

Vintage Spirits usually holds a tasting once a month. I’m on the e-mail list, so I had notification. Before I had a computer Bronson Hager would nicely call and let me know when one was coming up. This is how local businesses treat you right.

Bronson started me out with El Coto Rosado (Rose) Rioja 2010. Bronson is great at these wine tastings, because he can suggest the best tasting order, and he knows a lot about the grapes and the wine making process. I learned a lot of what little I know about wine making at Vintage Spirits tastings. The Rosado was the most delicate wine of the afternoon. It was very light, not too sweet, an excellent summer wine. I could picture myself sipping it as I sat on my deck some afternoon or evening.

Next I tried the William Fevre Chablis Champs Royaux 2009. It was barrel aged, Bronson told me, but not heavily oaked like some Chardonnays. I’ve found I don’t care for the heavily oaked Chardonnays (doesn’t that make me sound like a real oenophile to say that?). I liked that one a lot. I put a star by it, because the price tag was $19.99, so I didn’t intend to buy it right away. I confess I tend to buy the $7.99 Nathanson’s Creek or Avia (that probably wrecks my oenophile cred, doesn’t it?).

At this point, a few more people were there tasting, so we were all comparing notes about what we liked and when we drank it. I’m not one for food and wine pairings, since I often sip a glass before or after dinner, but one gentleman talked about what the various wines would go with. I recommended to latecomers the wines I had tasted and liked. I like to be sociable at every opportunity.

My other favorite of the day was the Tradition Merlot from Milbrandt Vineyards. I learned they are allowed to call it Merlot if there is a large enough percentage of Merlot grapes in it. This one had 78% Merlot, 16% Caberet Sauvignon (one of my favorites because it’s fun to say and fun to drink), 5% Malbec and 1% Barbera. I wrote “Yummy!” in the little book I bring to tastings. Then I added “very smooth, interesting finish” to be more oenophile-ish.

I tried a few more things, including an Arbor Mist Pinot Noir Pomegranate and a Heron Hill Vineyards Late Harvest Vidal Blanc, which I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be nuts about because I don’t care for sweet wines. But I have two sisters and a mother who do like sweet wines, and I may purchase one of these bottles the next time they are coming to my house.

When I was first deciding to start a blog, I considered doing a wine blog. I think there is room in the blogosphere for a wine blog that describes wines as “yummy.” Of course I would have to say more that “yummy,” and I think in this blog post I managed it. But I don’t think I could go wine tasting every day and keep my day job, so I will stick to the occasional wine post when it relates to the Mohawk Valley,

Vintage Spirits is located at 246 Mohawk St., Herkimer, 315-866-6800.

Friday we went to one of my favorite Mohawk Valley things, the Ilion Farmers’ Market at Clapsaddle Farm on Otsego Street, Ilion. The market runs Fridays from noon to six and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The market used to run during the summer only in the field, but it last winter it went to year round in the barn. You have to be a little careful walking, because the floor is not the smoothest, but it’s worth it. It is a fun, historic setting. I overheard Jim Parker tell somebody how old the barn is, but I stupidly did not write the year down. I think somewhere in the late 1800s.

Jim Parker, of course, is the local artist who paints historical scenes of the area and who owns Clapsaddle Farm. I have a t-shirt of one of his prints of Ilion, which I purchased at a craft fair a couple of years ago, but it was dirty so I couldn’t wear it yesterday. We also have on our wall a print of a winter scene we bought a few months ago, the first time we checked out the farmers’ market in the barn.

Friday we arrived early. They were still waiting on some baked goods, which they encouraged us to stick around for but which I knew I must resist. I scanned the shelf of jars looking for some hot garlic pickles I had previously purchased but had consumed the last of. Alas, they were not available, and I could not quite make up my mind between sweet bread and butter chips and sour dill.

We recognized one of the vendors from the Mohawk Farmer’s Market, Rosemary Fohs of Pillow Creations Plus.

“I think I bought an apron from you,” I said. She remembered me, and showed me some of her other wares. I especially admired some canvas totes. I think they would make great gifts, ideally suited for Steven’s notion of “put a present in a present.”

Rosemary also told us she intended to participate in the Ilion Village Wide Garage Sales July 16. She and her husband will be switching off between the farmers’ market and their house. Having missed the village wide sales in both Herkimer and Mohawk, I have some hopes of finagling my schedule to make Ilion’s.

We also looked at some lovely wooden furniture, and browsed through some Jim Parker prints. He has some on note cards and coffee mugs. I definitely will buy a Jim Parker coffee mug as soon as I make up my mind which one I want.

I conclude by saying the Ilion Farmers’ Market is well worth a stop, for the setting, for the goods, and for the fun people you’ll meet.

The headline is a quote from the commercial. You have to hear it in a heavy Arnold Schwarznegger-like accent.

I’ll preface this by saying I love bread. Bread has gotten a bad reputation these days, I think largely due to the Atkins Diet, which I will not go within 10 feet of (South Beach for me!). And a lot of bread is just boring, fairly tasteless, not very nutritious calories. But good bread is yummy and good for you. Sourdough and whole grain bread is specifically good for dieters. Other breads, eaten in moderation, taste good and will enhance your quality of life. Remember, we all have to eat, we may as well enjoy it.

Therefore it was with joy and pride that Steven and I drove out Rt. 28 in Herkimer to the Heidelberg Bakery to treat ourselves to some of the best bread you can buy. You can purchase Heidelberg Bread in the super market, but I think it’s fun to drive to the source every once in a while. For one thing, they also have yummy baked goods so you can treat yourself to a cookie or turnover for the ride home.

We were delighted to note that the Cafe is open again, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Too bad we had just eaten breakfast or we would have grabbed a seat and had a feast. But that’s material for a future blog post. Yesterday we got a loaf of Sourdough, one of Multigrain, and two chocolate chip truffle cookies. The cookies didn’t look like such a much, with little bitty chocolate chips, but they were filled with truffle. A great treat for a Thursday morning.

You can like Heidelberg Bakery on facebook, or you can visit their website http://www.heidelbergbakingco.com. Or take a drive out Rt 28 in Herkimer and enjoy!

Since I plugged the newspaper yesterday, I thought today I’d give a shout out to NewsChannel 2, WKTV Utica. My problem is, I like to actually go to the place or do the thing I blog about right before I blog about it, and I’ve been either at work or asleep for most of the news broadcasts in the last 24 hours. I did catch the last 15 minutes of News at Sunrise, but that was with my first cup of coffee. Not my best time.

But I do love local news, and I enjoy WKTV whenever I catch it. I was upset recently when WKTV had a dispute with Time Warner Cable, and we were threatened with losing it. Turned out Herkimer County was not part of the dispute, and they resolved it anyways, so phew (wiping imaginary sweat off forehead). I’ve mentioned that I know Dave Dellacese from Ilion Little Theatre. I’ve also met Bill Worden and his wife. They are quite charming. Ask them about meeting over a piece of pie and cup of coffee at the Woolworth lunch counter.

Thanks to the internet I do not have to totally miss my WKTV fix due to scheduling conflicts. I can go to http://www.wktv.com, which is what I did this morning before writing this post. I could review all the stories, get weather, community events and more. I had to click on a headline about a drunken teen going to the police station to complain about a parking ticket. You can’t make this stuff up. They have some useful ads too. Did you know Dave Koz (one of our favorite jazz artists) is coming to Turning Stone? I was especially pleased to see the community events. I can use that to plan ahead. Maybe I can have fewer lame blog posts like this one.

You can also friend WKTV on Facebook. Steven has been their friend for a while and gets breaking news before I do. I finally friended them too so I won’t miss out.

I think WKTV is a definite asset to the Mohawk Valley. If you haven’t already, check them out on the television or the internet.

As I picked up the paper today, I thought, “What shall I blog about? Oh dear, what shall I blog about?” Then I looked at the paper and realized it is the first day of the new format for the Utica Observer Dispatch and the Herkimer Telegram. Doesn’t that work out well?

Let me preface this by saying that I love newspapers. I know we can get our news from the television and the internet, but I like picking up the paper, spreading it open and perusing it. The television gives you everything in their time, and scrolling down the computer screen just doesn’t have the same pleasure for me. Also my eyes like the printed page better. Could it be the presbyopia? Or am I just old and set in my ways? Let’s not go there. Just suffice it to say, I get two newspapers a day and I like it.

For weeks now the O-D has been printing an article answering questions about the new format: Will we have the same amount of news? Why the switch? Why are you getting rid of Dilbert and Doonesbury? The last question was of some importance to me as Dilbert and Doonesbury are two of my favorite strips. Of course, I knew why they are getting rid of them: they took a reader poll and I predicted the two most intelligent but controversial strips would go. That is, the two strips that sometimes some people don’t “get.” OK, sometimes I don’t get them either, or think they’re very funny. But I usually like them, and in Doonesbury I am very absorbed in the stories of some of the characters. Like Toggle, the veteran who suffered a traumatic head injury and is now attending college and working as a sound engineer. He is dating Alex, Michael Doonesbury’s too-smart-for-her-own-good daughter. Imagine my delight when I saw the O-D had wisely moved Doonesbury to the Opinion page. I know the Rome Sentinel has always done that, and I kept saying to my husband that the O-D should follow suit. So a big woo-hoo for keeping Doonesbury.

As for the rest of the paper, I like the new format. It is a little smaller and so less awkward. The printing is of higher quality. There were no pages with black blobs or smears; all was easy to read. The format is a little different, too. The sections today were News, Community, Sports and Living. They still highlight local attractions and businesses, good for planning future blog posts. Today’s Living section highlighted farmer’s markets, one of my favorite things. They had a big article with tips for getting the most out of the markets and a personalized account by Cassaundra Baber about her experience at one. I was disappointed that they did not include a list of local farmer’s markets. They had a web site you could go to, but I would have liked to see a side bar I could cut out for future reference. Did I mention I’m a little old fashioned? Did I have to mention it?

Well, I think this has been my longest blog yet. I’ll conclude with a recommendation to read the O-D and/or the Telegram. Excellent publications in and about the Mohawk Valley.

I thought Constable Hall deserved its own blog post, since it is open for the season and not just for the car show. For those of you who did not read yesterday’s post, Constable Hall is located at the intersection of John Street and NY Route 26, in Constableville. They host a car show and craft fair on Father’s Day.

The Hall was build in the early 1800s by William Constable Jr., the grandson of Dr. John Constable, who came to North American as a surgeon in the British army during the French and Indian War. That Constable fought on the wrong side of the Revolutionary War. His eldest son, William Constable Sr. tried to remain neutral, but ended up serving as an aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Lafayette. The pamphlet I picked up did not say how awkward family reunions became after the war.

As you enter the Hall you can pick up a self guided tour sheet which tells about the various furnishings, some of which are original. For example, an eagle paperweight on the desk in the drawing room was a gift from Alexander Hamilton, William Sr.’s lawyer. I recently read a biography of Alexander Hamilton, so I felt a little connection there. The rooms include bedrooms, a drawing room, a game room and a library. There are three stories including the basement, which also houses the gift shop. I purchased a few postcards. I might send one to a soldier I know in Afghanistan.

I mentioned the garden in my previous post, but I’ll mention it again since it is part of the ongoing display. The hedge enclosing it is the original buckthorn imported from Ireland, according to the pamphlet. The garden is divided into four quadrants. There is a sundial in the middle and an arch at one end. I struck a dramatic pose in the arch. My sister said, “Steve, your wife wants you to take a picture.”

“Only if I’m beautiful,” I said. “Take a picture if I’m beautiful.”

A lady who happened to be walking by turned around and said, “You’re ravishing, darling.”

Too bad I don’t have a scanner to post the picture. Of course, we have an old 35 mm camera, and the picture is not developed yet, so I have no idea how it turned out, ravishing, beautiful or otherwise.

Constable Hall is open from mid-May to Oct. 15, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 pm.m Sunday. Weddings can be held in the garden. For rates and more information call 315-397-2323 or visit their website http://www.constablehall.org.

On Father’s Day we went with my father to the Antique Car Show and Craft Fair in Constableville, NY.

We met in Rome, and my sister Cheryl drove her van up Rt 26 to Constableville, which is a far enough drive not to be considered in the Mohawk Valley yet close enough (obviously) to be within reach. Our party included me, Steven, my Dad, Cheryl and Cheryl’s daughter Kimberly. My Mom stayed home.

Dad paid our $3 admission fee, although I told him that since it was Father’s Day we should be paying for him.

“We have this argument every year,” Cheryl told me. “He always wins.”

The cars ranged from Model T’s to more recent models. Late ’40s through early ’70s are my favorite years. I love the lines, especially of a ’70s convertible. Dad says that is when cars had style, and I agree. Dad is very knowledgeable about cars. He can say which were authentic colors, and he can name a specific year without looking at the card on the dashboard.

A couple of cars had a sign that said, “Don’t judge,” and I wondered if those cars had done something wrong. Cheryl told me it was because the cars were to be adjudicated, but I continued to make jokes. “That car has had a tough life. He did what he had to do. Society is to blame.” I’m that way.

Closer to Constable Hall the craft fair was set up. There was wood working, jewelry, clothing and more. We also walked through the garden, comparing it to our own and our mother’s efforts (better than mine, not as good as Mom’s). Food was available, and we enjoyed hamburgers (me and Cheryl), pulled pork (Kimberly), hot dogs (Dad) and nachos (Steven). Constable Hall was also open. Steven and I walked through while the other strolled through the cars again. That will provide material for my next blog post.

Constableville hosts the car show every Father’s Day, and my Dad almost always goes. That is as good an endorsement as a car show needs. You’ll have to wait a year, but that’s another thing you can do close to the Mohawk Valley.

Today’s blog post concerns a bit of local history. I’ve mentioned walking by the 1836 Jail, which once housed the murderer Chester Gilette. I thought I would talk a little bit about the murder.

I don’t remember when I first heard about the murder, but the first time I learned much about it was while we were living in Georgia. Steven gave me a book he had found in Watertown, Adirondack Tragedy: The Gilette Murder Case of 1906 by Joseph W. Brownell and Patricia A. Wawrzaszek.

The story begins in Cortland, NY, at the Gilette Skirt Factory. Chester, a nephew of the factory owner, started romancing Grace Brown, an innocent farm girl from Otselic in Chenango County. As sometimes happens to young couples, Grace became pregnant and Chester did not want to get married.

Chester convinced Grace to go on a trip with him. The two met in DeRuyter where they boarded a train to Canastota. From Canastota, they went to Utica. Imagine my delight, sitting in Georgia and reading about Utica, NY. Oh well, as we used to say, it takes so little to please some people.

The actual murder took place in the Adirondacks, not the Mohawk Valley. First stop was Tupper Lake. From there they went to Big Moose Lake, where the two went out in a row boat and Grace was never seen alive again.

District Attorney George W. Ward, Deputy Sheriff Granville Ingraham and Undersheriff Austin Klock travelled from Herkimer through Utica and up into the Adirondacks to investigate. Chester was arrested at the Arrowhead Hotel in Inlet. He was returned to Herkimer where the sensational trial took place.

If I’ve piqued your interest, I highly recommend Adirondack Tragedy. Another excellent book is Murder in the Adirondacks by Craig Brandon. I know at least the Brandon book is available at the Herkimer County Historical Society or at Gems Along the Mohawk in Herkimer. Craig Brandon also edited and annotated Grace Brown’s Love Letters. See, people used to write actual letters in those days. I like to write letters myself, although few people write back. But I digress.

The Gilette murder case inspired Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy and the movie A Place in the Sun. I love the movie, but it is not really the same story. For one thing, none of it takes place in the Mohawk Valley. What’s that all about?

Sometimes you can enjoy the Mohawk Valley just by staying home.

Let’s start by acknowledging that a good time in many cases involves food. Someone will tell me that this is an attitude that led to the obesity crisis in this country. Oh, don’t start. I’m not saying I NEED food to have a good time. I’m saying I need to eat to live, I might as well enjoy it.

So there I was, tired and hungry after a day’s work and my only plans for dinner were just too labor intensive. But we have a telephone and a folder full of menus from a number of great local places that deliver. Last night we decided on Carney’s Corners in Herkimer.

We got an Italian sub and garlic wings. Tabby was very excited when the delivery guy showed up. Of course Steven neglected to close the inner door before opening the outer door, so she ran right out onto the porch to greet him. I don’t know if most of the delivery people around here are dog lovers or if our dog is just particularly lovable (which of course she is), but we haven’t scared off a delivery person yet.

Carney’s Corners, 232 N. Washington St., Herkimer, is open seven days. They offer a variety of subs, pizza and more. For more information call 315-866-7191.

Well, this makes for a pretty short blog post. Alas, I don’t have a cheesy TCM movie to report. Instead we indulged in one my guilty pleasures: World’s Dumbest on TruTV. In case you’re not familiar with it: they show videos of people doing various stupid things with commentary by D-List celebrities. Last night was World’s Dumbest Daredevils, but they also do Partiers, Entertainers and my personal favorite Criminals. So far none of the clips I’ve seen have come from the Mohawk Valley, but I’ll keep looking. That will surely be worthy of a mention in the blog.