Week of July 21

The beach for our Keuka Lake house faces west and is at the bottom of a rather steep slope, requiring a stairway to reach the water.  When we purchased the property 17 years ago, the seasonal stream next to the house emptied into the lake here and had dug a large and unattractive gully, which continued to erode with each rainstorm.  We then planned and carried out a huge project to turn the waterfront into a wall of boulders, a walkway of stone steps, and a series of waterfalls to handle the run-off from the hill above.  This then provided the opportunity for a rock garden, to grow amongst the rocks.  The upper reaches are covered by trailing forsythia, which provide a hillside of yellow in the early spring.  The rocky areas lining the steps are filled with sedums and rock cresses creeping along with succulent green foliage and yellow, pink, and white flowers.  The afternoon sun beats down on them, occasional flash floods cover them with silt, and the northwest winter winds buffet them, so they have to be resilient.  They provide softness, color, and interest to our beach where the whole family enjoys the cool clear waters of Keuka Lake.