That's Not MY New York

John and I aren't big travelers.  Aside from regular day trips, the farthest we travel is an occasional trip to Vermont or Massachusetts, and sometimes Rhode Island or Connecticut.  Thanks to our daughter and her family....we have expanded our east coast repertoire to include Pennsylvania and Ohio which we travel through to visit their current home in the state of Indiana.  Mostly though I'm a NY homebody and proud of it.  There's a lot to love about my state.  When we are out of state and people ask us where we're from, I tell them NY and immediately chuckle to myself because I know the image that this answer probably creates in their head is this...........

The New York I love, I reside in, is nothing like this.  I have nothing against the city, but I'm not a city girl.  And this is not the NY that is near and dear to my heart.  My New York doesn't look anything like the photo above.  In fact it looks quite the opposite of it.

My NY is filled with rolling hills and pastures.......

My New York isn't filled with concrete and stone, skyscrapers and subways.  My New York is filled with lakes and steams, rivers and mountains.......

My New York is cold and snowy, but with that cold and snow comes pristine beauty....

In my New York, you can meet not only diverse people....you can meet all of God's creatures...

I'm pretty sure you won't be seeing any of these animals on the busy streets of New York City - the NY everyone thinks of when you say you live in New York.  No, my New York is a lot different than the city.  I'm not here to claim that my NY is better than 'the' NY, I'm just here to say that my NY may not be exciting.....it may not have Broadway shows, or speeding taxis or fancy stores.  But it does have something NYC doesn't have.  It has serenity and beauty.  It has untouched countrysides and picturesque horizons as far as the eye can see.  I'll take my NY any day.  Why?  Because I'm not a city girl....I'm a country girl, a NY country girl and I'm proud to say so.   This is MY New York!