More Canandaigua Lake "cozy cottages" & gardens...

Not quite the little cozy cottage, but this three-car garage behemoth is among the newer cottages along Seneca Point Road. Can you imagine having this as your SECOND home?

Last weekend we were in Canadaigua, NY - the fourth largest of the 11 Finger Lakes and home to our state wineries and grape pies. Canandiagua Lake is the second-most expensive lake property in the country (according to tax-cost-per-foot for lake frontage) after Lake Tahoe. The cottages here are not quite the quaint image of a little place on the lake. But I'd kill to own one of them just the same. As long as I didn't have the tax bill to go along with them.

The Weather Channel recently named the Finger Lakes region the No. 1 Lakeside Retreat in the world. We took a short walk along Seneca Point Road, probably the most exclusive, toniest part of the lake. Here are some of the "cottages" and their front gardens/landscapes.


The natural-look yard - no cost, no mowing, no chemicals.


The not so natural yard, costs, mowing, and chemicals.


Nice landscaping. Pretty place. Its site setting and breaking of the mass of the building belies its size.


The water side of this place must be spectacular.


One of my favorites on the lake.


It gets hilly fast along the roadside. Many have found unique ways to deal with hills, plantings and architecture.


This place always reminded me of a New Orleans vernacular.


This is a 1,180 sq. ft. garage with a one bedroom, one bath unit on top. This was built, and a matching boathouse across the street on the lake was constructed. It is for sale, along with the architectural plans for the not-yet-built matching house. It can be yours for $1,009,900.


Another favorite. Used to be a factory of some sort. In past years, it's been rentable.


This one belongs to folks we know, another flight attendant that works with my wife, commuting to Newark from Rochester. It's a home passed down through her husband's family, now shared by his siblings and their families.


The bear sits (stands?) in front of the house at the very top of this post. It's carved from a tree cut down to build the house.