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I'm Charles Ufford. I'm originally from Upstate NY and am a graduate of SUNY Cobleskill (Landscape Development AAS '87) and Cornell University (Floriculture & Ornamental Horticulture BS '95). Hello all you Big Red alumni and students out there! I'm presently working for Hines Horticulture Inc. of Utica, NY formerly as a plug and cutting grower while also assisting in the propagation of other annuals and perennials in a large greenhouse range. I've been employed there for seven years. Our division is one of the 'color' divisions, as opposed to the original 'nursery stock' divisions which were the original focus of Hines Horticulture Inc. of California. The color division is mainly floral crops, with some vegetable seedling and perennial production.
The outdoors, nature and ecology, designing outdoor use areas, growing miniature and Phalaenopsis species orchids and photographing native terrestrial orchids outdoors and tropical orchids indoors are strong interests of mine. I also love cooking for myself, family and friends when I have the time and the opportunity. At the moment I am the web caretaker, the newsletter editor and the show photographer for the Central New York Orchid Society. I was previously employed at the Ford Hill Country Club in Whitney Point, NY (13 years) and worked the last five years there acting in the capacity of the assistant superintendent. I worked a Winter down in Florida at the Grand Cypress Golf Resort. I enjoy playing golf, and used to be pretty decent when I had the time to practice more and play in leagues. If I had been like Tiger Woods and had been playing since I was three months old, you might be looking at my fan club home page right now, but 'that's life!' I don't really play very much anymore, since I'm not able to play for free anymore; that sort of takes the fun out of it.
Up until the Spring of 2003, Calen (my Border Collie) was a very important part of my life. I decided to pick the GeoCities Heartland Homestead area for my website, because it was an area that highlighted pets. I am also a devoted Christian and believe in respect of others. I picked Heartland/Hills, because I grew up in the hills of Central NYS, and am not fond of flat lands. (can't get up high enough to see anything!) In the past I assisted others with Border Collie Rescue efforts, mainly helping to transport BC's between rescuers and prospective adopters. In the past I have visited with different herding trainers, and had Calen and myself put to the test. Sheep herding with dogs can be a very rewarding and humiliating experience! I have attended a few fun and competition trials, and encourage everyone to go see one if they ever have the chance. Calen received certification as a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) which was a precursor to his possibly doing Animal-Assisted Therapy work. He passed his test with flying colors, but his physical health was not good enough now to handle being in care facilities. He had a bad back and hip, and most of the floors were too slippery for him to walk on. Unfortunately he developed lymphoma or lymph cancer, and the medical treatment helped him for a few months, but he had to be put to sleep in April. If you are a dog owner check for signs of enlarged lymph nodes early and often. Enlarged lymph nodes is always unusual. People can have enlarged lymph nodes without there being concern for anything other than usual infections, but that is not the case with dogs. If caught early enough treatment can be very helpful, and often curative. Also check on the Internet for clinical trials and diets that can help fight off the disease.
Below is a picture of Calen
Calen and I spent 6 1/2 years together, and we both learned alot about each other. He was my pal, and we had many good and bad times together. He and I also put in alot of miles, both running on trails and roads, and walking through many woods. He also swam in many creeks, ponds and rivers, and on his last full day wanted to swim in the canal even though it was covered with ice! I will miss him , but am happy that he doesn't have to suffer anymore. Maybe soon you'll be able to read about my next friend, but a little time will pass first, I think.
I enjoy growing miniature orchids,
mostly Phalaenopsis species and other small, unusual orchids. I am an avid photographer, and am often out in the wilds taking pictures of native orchids. I also take many pictures of my orchid blossoms, and take many pictures of other people's plants, both at their homes and at orchid shows and meetings. I have some pictures that can be viewed at the Central New York Orchid Society's webpage, whose web address is www.cnyos.org. I also am an excellent cook/baker,
am an avid reader, enjoy playing basketball and golf, competed (well, I managed to finish) in the '95 New York City Marathon (4 hours, 15 minutes exactly) and just love just being outdoors
and hiking/biking forest trails. That's how I got my interest in plants and
all. As a kid I used to follow deer trails and discover spring plants like Mayflowers,
Trilliums, wild violets, Lily of the Valley, native orchids, mosses, Wintergreen,
May Apples, Leeks, ferns (did you know that you can eat the rolled-up part
of certain new ferns which are called 'fiddleheads'? Clap yourself on the
back if you knew that!) and alot of other things. My Grandfather had an
extensive knowledge of wild/native/tropical plants, as did family friends
Genevieve Dunham and Ralph Gardner, and personal friends Jim and Grace
Rice of Homer, NY. Mr. Rice introduced me to some new friends, and we've visited some of the Upstate NY bogs looking for native terrestrial orchids.
My Dad had an orchard and fruit beds in our front yard which I learned
how to grow apples and raspberries (and wild blackberries and blueberries),
and we always had a 'Victory Garden', even though the war (WWII) ended
25-30 years before! My father and one of the neighbors up the road used
to send away for fruit stock from the Geneva Fruit Testing Station in Geneva,
NY, and report back to Cornell about how they grew in our climate zone.
You could get unreleased varieties and see how they handled the weather,
and to see if after surviving, how suitable they were for eating or cooking,
how big the trees grew, etc. All of these collective influences
are what has made me the 'plant person' I am today, although many might
shudder if they knew how many orchids I have inadvertantly killed 'learning'
which species I'm 'not' good at growing!
I've travelled to and lived in Jackson, Wyoming for a little while, and it is one of the most scenic spots in our wide country! I could live there forever if the winters weren't so long, the 'real' jobs so few and housing so expensive. (not to mention being very cold.....) My sister lives near there, and was a writer for the Jackson Hole Guide, the area newspaper. Some of the best skiing in the world can be found in Jackson Hole at the Teton Village Ski Resort, or on the western slopes of the Grand Tetons at the Grand Targhee Ski Resort in Idaho. Some of the best powder skiing in the whole world, there! You can have the cordouroy; let me at the trees! I obviously like skiing (and snowboarding), like windsurfing, biking, and much, much more! I've never snowboarded or windsurfed more than a handful of times, but with some decent practice could probably manage to do them again. One of my more recent loves is photography. In the last few years I have taken many pictures of native orchids in the wild, and tropical ones at shows and in other people's greenhouses. It can be very rewarding to travel to a site, find the best flowers, and then try to figure out just what is the best way to capture and image. For one shot I wanted to make with a Graflex 4x5 camera, I had to return to the site two extra times so that I could get the picture with the best lighting. I have a New York Native Orchid educational exhibit which is full of pictures and information that I have displayed at orchid shows both locally and in New York City.
I either have been, or am presently subscribed to email lists about clicker training, Border Collie Rescue), orchids, Animal-Assisted Therapy (or pet therapy), plant tissue culture and know where to access the same for sheep herding and agility for dogs. If you would like any information about any of these subjects, just let me know at
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last updated on Dec 30th, 2005
