As we wrap up week five of New York on Pause and continue finding ways to keep sane during the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to touch base with a few people. All of the folks who jumped on as guests this weekend are people I really respect and enjoy talking with, so it was great to connect with them!
Here’s a recap of the weekend shows.
Naturally Green
This week on the Naturally Green show, I was joined by Larry Nau of Bergen Water Gardens.
He is building a Lotus, Tropical Waterlily, and Carnivorous Plant empire on Buffalo Road just west of Churchville. With one of the largest collections of lotus plants in the country, Bergen Water Gardens is a true destination in our area. During the current shutdown, he’s still operating and making plants available, so I wanted to chat with him and find out how it was working.
To stream this episode, head over to the show here.
For The Love Of Food
While many businesses deemed by the state of New York as non-essential are currently not operating, there are still a lot of eateries and restaurants who have redesigned their model to deliver products.
One of those businesses is Joe Bean Coffee on Blossom Road in Rochester. Co-owner Kathy Turiano has been a guest on the show in the past, but it was a real treat to chat with her now and find out how Joe Bean is working to keep their coffee roastery and bar up and running.
To stream this episode, head over to the show here.
Discover The Finger Lakes
Exploring our region while most businesses aren’t open isn’t easy. Luckily, there are a bunch of resources online that we can checkout to plan our explorations when we open back up. During this hour, I was joined by Chris Clemens of Exploring Upstate.
His blog is a compendium of posts that follow him through the Finger Lakes and beyond into the rest of Upstate New York in search of local culture, history, food, and everything else.
To stream this episode, head over to the show here.
The Grapevine
Hour 1
In the first hour of this weeks wine show I wanted to take an opportunity to talk more about the shutdown is impacting local wineries. Inspired by an article published on Esquire, we’ll touch on the ethics of the Federal CARES Act and how large businesses might be grabbing up more of the bailout funding, effectively keeping small businesses from benefiting.
To stream the first hour of the wine show, head over to this post.
Hour 2
During the second hour of The Grapevine I was joined by Scott Bronstein of Barnstormer Winery on the west side of Seneca Lake.
One of the elements of the Finger Lakes winery industry that has always captivated my attention is how support each of the business owners are to one another. On this episode Scott really delved into how local wineries are helping one another to move through the struggle of an economic shutdown.
To stream this second hour of the wine show, head over to this post.
Be Well, Friends
While I recap a weekend of connecting with some of my favorite people on these shows, I’m already looking forward to being able to visit local businesses and connect with one another face to face. I know we’re faced with a major undertaking, but I continue to maintain hope that if we all do the right thing, we’ve got a shot at making it though this.
Wear your masks when in public. Keep 6 feet apart from people. Continue to care for yourselves and keep hope for your communities.
See you next week.
