I’m excited to introduce the creator of this month’s cover illustration, Darryl Abraham, whose work you’ll continue to see in our pages. Raised in Naples, New York, where he now has his studio, Darryl’s work is informed by the region’s culture and environment, including farms, trout streams, gardens and fruit trees, grange halls, church picnics, tractors, and music—especially accordion, piano, and harmonica players. His sculptures and drawings of farmhouses, stores, boats, and landscapes celebrate the history of the Finger Lakes region. You’ll find his whimsical watercolors in gift shops and wineries, his artwork on store signs and murals.

“I’ve always enjoyed the magazine,” Darryl told us when we asked him to join our team. “It has a great down-home flavor. I’m really honored.” Our common thread, he says, is we celebrate the unique area we live in. Darryl used to travel down to Tioga County regularly when he was an adjunct instructor at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. That’s how I first came to know him. I looked forward to the time each fall when he’d bring me down flats of Niagara and concord grapes for jelly-making.

Kris Pearson, executive director of the Arts Center of Yates County calls him an American original and remembers how he bounded barefoot out of his studio to his garden to collect fresh garlic as a parting gift. His work is like his life: mixed media, rustic, and free style. Kris says, “Check out his stuff—it’s fun and funky!”

So fun and funky the Smithsonian purchased the mixed media sculpture Honeymoon Hotel for their permanent collection. His work is also in permanent collections in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and the United States Embassy in Tokyo. He’s had numerous gallery exhibits up and down the east coast and has been a guest artist at several institutions, including in Israel. He is currently represented by Oxford Gallery in Rochester, Artizann’s in Naples, and Lauren Hirsh Custom Framing in Naples. Once again, his studio at 8634 Route 21 is on the Naples Open Studio Tour October 1 and 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Always the first weekend in October, drop in to see him. You can find out more about the tour at naplesopenstudiotrail.com and more about Darryl at darrylabraham.com.

Mountain Home is also proud to introduce a new writer. You first read Terence Lane in the May 2022 cover story on wine stemware, “Fragile Pleasures.” I was looking for sommeliers to interview, found Terence, and found out he’s a writer too. Terence moved to Watkins Glen from New York City during the pandemic and is now the head of the Lakewood Vineyards tasting room. Drop by and ask for him if you get a flight. He has a story to pair with every wine. We’ve asked Terence, who wrote this month’s cover story, to write a column for us where he can regularly share his wit and wisdom concerning all things wine, grape, and Finger Lakes. That column, Planet of the Grapes, debuts in this issue.

Autumn is a time in which we remember our goodbyes, but we also want to celebrate our hellos.