"It is Painted Post, after all,” is a joke, turned into a signal, turned into a clue, turned into legend. The answers to the questions at the beginning of this review are partly found in the way Crance layers in hints of a deeper mythology. The inextricably woven bond between the local folklore and the tragedies and triumphs of the Ernst family.
--From a reader review of The Last Coon Hunter by Mattea Orr, Author
--From a reader review of The Last Coon Hunter by Mattea Orr, Author
Mid-spring atop one of the tall hills in the Painted Post region
A Genre's Expectations
Every literary genre has certain expected tropes--and the family saga genre--like the Ryland Creek saga--is no exception.
Alongside multiple points of view when telling the story (else it wouldn't be a 'family' saga), the setting is extremely important.
For Ryland Creek, the setting focuses on the forests of Upstate New York in general and Painted Post in particular.
So this page is dedicated to the very real town of Painted Post, New York--my hometown for many years.
Every literary genre has certain expected tropes--and the family saga genre--like the Ryland Creek saga--is no exception.
Alongside multiple points of view when telling the story (else it wouldn't be a 'family' saga), the setting is extremely important.
For Ryland Creek, the setting focuses on the forests of Upstate New York in general and Painted Post in particular.
So this page is dedicated to the very real town of Painted Post, New York--my hometown for many years.
In early fall: One of the many swamps in my hometown of Painted Post
The Most Asked Question*
One of the first and most often asked questions of someone in the military is about your hometown. That's quite understandable when folks from across the country and even the world are brought together for the first time. Having served in the US Air Force for years and having had many duty assignments, the conversation went something like this:
"Where are you from?" they would ask.
"Painted Post."
"Where?"
"Painted Post . . . in Upstate New York."
"Where's that near?"
"Big Flats and Horseheads . . . New York."
"Oh, now I know you're just making that up!"
But I wasn't.
Painted Post truly exists (as does Big Flats and Horseheads), so part of my "revenge on their disbelief" was to write a novel series based in my beloved hometown.
*For many years, this conversation recurred before the time of Google.
One of the first and most often asked questions of someone in the military is about your hometown. That's quite understandable when folks from across the country and even the world are brought together for the first time. Having served in the US Air Force for years and having had many duty assignments, the conversation went something like this:
"Where are you from?" they would ask.
"Painted Post."
"Where?"
"Painted Post . . . in Upstate New York."
"Where's that near?"
"Big Flats and Horseheads . . . New York."
"Oh, now I know you're just making that up!"
But I wasn't.
Painted Post truly exists (as does Big Flats and Horseheads), so part of my "revenge on their disbelief" was to write a novel series based in my beloved hometown.
*For many years, this conversation recurred before the time of Google.
Late spring: flowering mountain laurel in Painted Post.
The Wonderful Seasons in this Storied Place
Although residents of Painted Post aren't always enamored with the harsh winters that do come to pass, Upstate New York is blessed with all four seasons in all their glory. Here are some pictures by season, beginning with my favorite: fall.
Although residents of Painted Post aren't always enamored with the harsh winters that do come to pass, Upstate New York is blessed with all four seasons in all their glory. Here are some pictures by season, beginning with my favorite: fall.
Fall Scenery
Pictured from upper left to right:
1) and 2) Tannery Creek (which inspired the fictional "Channery Creek" in An Exceptional Hound: Book II of the Ryland Creek Saga) in Lindley, New York--part of the larger historical region of Painted Post, 3) a forgotten logging road covered with fallen red and sugar maple leaves, 4) milkweed in autumn, 5) and hillside ablaze with the colors of fall, 6) one of the many ponds/swamps abounding in this part of Upstate New York.
1) and 2) Tannery Creek (which inspired the fictional "Channery Creek" in An Exceptional Hound: Book II of the Ryland Creek Saga) in Lindley, New York--part of the larger historical region of Painted Post, 3) a forgotten logging road covered with fallen red and sugar maple leaves, 4) milkweed in autumn, 5) and hillside ablaze with the colors of fall, 6) one of the many ponds/swamps abounding in this part of Upstate New York.
And Speaking of Winter . . .
"You are but a lion in winter."
"Perhaps you're too young to remember, but the winters in Painted Post can be quite harsh."
--from The Master of Hounds: Book IV of the Ryland Creek Saga
I've spent many a day and night in the wintertime forests of Painted Post.
It is often a time of silence.
A pristine solitude.
In the presence of something far greater than oneself.
"You are but a lion in winter."
"Perhaps you're too young to remember, but the winters in Painted Post can be quite harsh."
--from The Master of Hounds: Book IV of the Ryland Creek Saga
I've spent many a day and night in the wintertime forests of Painted Post.
It is often a time of silence.
A pristine solitude.
In the presence of something far greater than oneself.
Pictured from upper left to right:
1) (The real) Seth negotiating the frozen stream that inspired the fictional Ryland Creek, 2) an early winter snow clinging to the branches of many different tree species, 3) "Frozen ice lily pads", 4) a red fox, likely hunting mice beneath the snow, 5) the early afternoon sun breaking through frozen hemlocks in the Painted Post region, 6) from a distance, the waterfalls that inspired several scenes in the Ryland Creek saga.
1) (The real) Seth negotiating the frozen stream that inspired the fictional Ryland Creek, 2) an early winter snow clinging to the branches of many different tree species, 3) "Frozen ice lily pads", 4) a red fox, likely hunting mice beneath the snow, 5) the early afternoon sun breaking through frozen hemlocks in the Painted Post region, 6) from a distance, the waterfalls that inspired several scenes in the Ryland Creek saga.
Come Springtime
Pictured from upper left to right:
1) A willow, once its own island whose branches have forged an isthmus to the land, in a swamp in the Painted Post region, 2) purple aster, 3) a beaver pond in spring and a place of many frogs, 4) conchs growing on dead white birches as other trees sprout new buds, 5) fiddle heads in a swamp. 6) shelf varnish (also a type of conch) growing on an old hemlock log.
1) A willow, once its own island whose branches have forged an isthmus to the land, in a swamp in the Painted Post region, 2) purple aster, 3) a beaver pond in spring and a place of many frogs, 4) conchs growing on dead white birches as other trees sprout new buds, 5) fiddle heads in a swamp. 6) shelf varnish (also a type of conch) growing on an old hemlock log.
And of course, Summer!
Pictured starting from upper left to the right in each row:
1) Ripening black berries--a favorite draw of many forest denizens to include raccoon, deer, and bear, 2) unripe huckleberries, 3) the confluence of the Conhocton and Tioga Rivers to form the Chemung River, which gives Painted Post her name: The Land of the Three Rivers, 4) deadly cows parsnip (cousin to the even more deadly Giant Hogweed), 5) the uncommon yellow staghorn fungus, 6) perhaps a more timeless photo: what appears to be the image of a fossilized human footprint in the stream that inspired Ryland Creek; it could be my imagination seeing this footprint (writer!), but then again, it is Painted Post.
1) Ripening black berries--a favorite draw of many forest denizens to include raccoon, deer, and bear, 2) unripe huckleberries, 3) the confluence of the Conhocton and Tioga Rivers to form the Chemung River, which gives Painted Post her name: The Land of the Three Rivers, 4) deadly cows parsnip (cousin to the even more deadly Giant Hogweed), 5) the uncommon yellow staghorn fungus, 6) perhaps a more timeless photo: what appears to be the image of a fossilized human footprint in the stream that inspired Ryland Creek; it could be my imagination seeing this footprint (writer!), but then again, it is Painted Post.
From the Land to the Wildlife
Beginning in the upper left-hand corner from left to right in each row:
1) A snapping turtle found on the backroads of Caton, NY very near a swamp. 2) Two bears caught on game camera--likely a mama and a yearling sow from the winter before; if there are other cubs, they were hiding off camera. 3) A buck in early fall on the game camera. 4) Another buck a year later. 5) A opossum. 6) Another (large!) bear cutting right before the game cam. 7) A relative new returnee to the forests of Painted Post--a young fisher cat, first cousin to the wolverine. 8) A raccoon (of course!).
9) A mother porcupine followed by her youngun--called a porcupette or cub.
1) A snapping turtle found on the backroads of Caton, NY very near a swamp. 2) Two bears caught on game camera--likely a mama and a yearling sow from the winter before; if there are other cubs, they were hiding off camera. 3) A buck in early fall on the game camera. 4) Another buck a year later. 5) A opossum. 6) Another (large!) bear cutting right before the game cam. 7) A relative new returnee to the forests of Painted Post--a young fisher cat, first cousin to the wolverine. 8) A raccoon (of course!).
9) A mother porcupine followed by her youngun--called a porcupette or cub.
The Thing About Trees
The forests of Upstate New York are quintessential to the plots throughout the entire Ryland Creek saga.
And how can you have a forest without trees?
Thus, trees--the hard and softwood species, the autumn colors, and even the haunting legends of the Black Oaks (a real species of oak)--are integral to the tales of chasing raccoon. So, here are some of the local arboreal species found in abundance in the Painted Post and Salamanca, NY, regions.
Starting in the upper left hand corning and moving from left to right in each row: 1) A stand of basswoods trees, 2) a chestnut oak, sometimes referred to as a rock oak, 3: a large white oak, 4) a tall red oak, 5) the northern white pine, reputed to grow the tallest in NY State, 6) the diamond-patterned bark of a white ash.
The forests of Upstate New York are quintessential to the plots throughout the entire Ryland Creek saga.
And how can you have a forest without trees?
Thus, trees--the hard and softwood species, the autumn colors, and even the haunting legends of the Black Oaks (a real species of oak)--are integral to the tales of chasing raccoon. So, here are some of the local arboreal species found in abundance in the Painted Post and Salamanca, NY, regions.
Starting in the upper left hand corning and moving from left to right in each row: 1) A stand of basswoods trees, 2) a chestnut oak, sometimes referred to as a rock oak, 3: a large white oak, 4) a tall red oak, 5) the northern white pine, reputed to grow the tallest in NY State, 6) the diamond-patterned bark of a white ash.
