The Mystery Butterfly of the Blueberries?

I hope someone can help me name this butterfly.

I found it in a blueberry bush when I was picking blueberries near Castle Creek, New York today.  He (or she) actually stood still long enough that I wondered if the butterfly was somehow stuck in the blueberry bush.  Unfortunately, I could not get the entire butterfly in the picture.

Here's another view, taken right before the mystery butterfly took off.

I'm thinking, from this web page, common buckeye but it doesn't seem to have round spots you see in the picture.

Considering how much I love flowers, I know very little about butterflies, but I'm confident one of my fine readers will give me an ID.

And the blueberries?  It's late in the season, but even with all our rain, they are still coming.  (Had to dodge some sweat bees and yellow jackets, though.)

Incidentally - I made my pictures a little larger.  If you find these hard to load on your mobile device, though, please be sure to let me know.

Pancreatic Cancer

Several years ago (I don't remember exactly when) I heard a rumor that Aretha Franklin had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

On Thursday, sadly, that rumor proved itself correct (I will do a musical tribute post to Aretha Franklin on Monday).

Pancreatic cancer is personal for me.  It killed an aunt, an uncle and a great aunt (both sides of my family have been touched).  Someone I walked with at lunch for years lost her brother in law to it.  A former boss lost her sister to it.  And on and on.

Pancreatic cancer is personal to the purveyor of the best fried fish in the universe, too.

Back in November of 2009, the food truck of a restaurant located in upstate New York, Doug's Fish Fry, did a month of pancreatic cancer fundraisers.  A portion of proceeds were donated to PANCAN.

I wrote most of the following post in November of 2009.  To me, it is shameful that pancreatic cancer remains one of the most deadly, if not most deadly, of cancers.  It's hard to detect early, which would be a key to early treatment.

One day pancreatic cancer will be as easy to diagnose as breast cancer, or cervical cancer.  We can always dream.  And pray.  At one of the fundraisers back in 2009, we saw an information plaque which gave various facts about pancreatic cancer.  One of them was pretty sobering:  it said that the state of pancreatic cancer research is approximately where breast cancer research was in the 1930's.

Well, we who were alive in the 1970's know how much the fight against breast cancer has advanced since then.

Circa 1960's, if a woman was suspected of having breast cancer, she went under the knife.  Many times they did something called a frozen section biopsy while the woman was under.  If this biopsy was positive for cancer, the mastectomy was done then and there.  No counseling, no opportunity for the woman to make a treatment decision, no warning, no nothing.  The woman woke up minus a breast.  Who cared about her feelings?

How grateful we women (and men, as men get breast cancer, too - did you know that?) should be for the amount of progress made since then.

Now it is time to apply that same can-do spirit to pancreatic cancer.  Why?
1.  There was no early detection method for pancreatic cancer (as of 2009, and I believe that is still true).
2.  (partially as a result of #1) this is one of the most deadly forms of cancer there is.  We were talking an approximately 4% survival rate after five years in 2009.  Now it's up to 7%, according to the American Cancer Society.

It is not unknown for people to die less than a month after diagnosis.  That is devastating to the family, never mind the person with the cancer.

3.   Not that celebrities should be more important than the rest of us but do you remember:  Michael Landon?  Jack Benny?  Donna Reed?  Rex Harrison?  Joan Crawford?  Fred Gwynne? Luciano Pavarotti?  (some of these are more baby boomer icon names). How about Sally Ride? Patrick Swayze? Steve Jobs? Bonnie Franklin? Pernell Roberts? And now, Aretha Franklin?

The sad but true fact is that it is the loss of celebrities (or the famous) that call people to action.  Although, as this article points out, there aren't too many "famous" spokepeople for this illness-they don't survive long enough.

If a cause isn't (excuse the expression) "sexy", it doesn't get the money.

Pancreatic cancer certainly doesn't get money for research the way some other cancers do.  Not to take away the importance of any cancer, but I believe funding must become more even between types of cancer.

That would be such a wonderful way to honor the memory of the Queen of Soul.

(Written in honor of my aunt Trudy, who died from pancreatic cancer in August of 1974).

#SkywatchFriday - Mushrooms and Sunsets

I'm always looking for a novel way to watch the sky.

But before I show you my newest method, I want to thank everyone who has visited and commented on my blog over the past couple of days.  The wacky weather the Northeast United States has been experiencing has led to flooding in many places.  Tuesday, it was the turn of my area of upstate New York to experience flash flooding.

I am not personally affected but we have more rain in the forecast for tomorrow, and we are not too far from the possibility of river flooding.  If you read my blog posts of September, 2011, you will learn how a flood impacted the life of many in our area, including my spouse and me.

Just one story out of many thousands.

So today, I watch the sky for many reasons.

Take last Friday for example.

Last Friday, we had a "calm before the storm" sunset.  Red sky at night - it was a sailor's delight, but not for long.

I think we were being given a message.  Or a warning.

But what about my newest method of watching the sky?

This is a yellow (the yellow didn't show up too well) mushroom I found growing Wednesday on the grounds of the Broome County Courthouse near where I work in downtown Binghamton, New York.

See the center?  It is full of water from the rains of Tuesday.  And, in that water, the sky is reflected, clouds, trees and all.

Join Yogi and other bloggers watching the sky every Friday on #SkywatchFriday.

Will the Farmers Survive the Flood?

On August 14, flash floods hit a number of upstate New York communities, including the small community of Nichols, New York.

One farm devastated is a family owned operations called Englebert Farms.  It is believed that they are the oldest organic certified dairy in the United States.

This farm, according to Facebook posts, faces an uncertain future after the flood that hit them on Thursday.  Today, I repeat a post from October of 2017, when my spouse and I toured the farm.  It was a wonderful experience.

I wanted to show you a couple more pictures I didn't publish the first time.

A calf.

Pigs.
Your local farmer always needs you, but they need you more than ever after disaster strikes.

Please, support your local farmer today.  They aren't the only farmers suffering; it's just one story I'm aware of.  And now, the post from October 2017 with small edits:

These pictures were taken two Saturdays ago at a Tioga Farm/Art Trail open house at Engelbert Farms near Nichols, New York.

As far as they know, this farm is the oldest organic certified dairy in the United States.The land has been in possession of this family for well over 100 years.

Here are some of their "girls". The barn they are in, by the way, is a shelter.  The cows have free access to the outdoors. 

A farmer feeds a cow.

The milking parlor is antiquated, but fulfills the needs of the farm.

As I spoke with one of the family, and met some more family members, it became obvious just how hard these farmers work. Dairy farming is quite labor intensive, apart from the fact that cows must be milked twice a day, each and every day. 

This farm has a farm store which sells produce in season.

Engelbert  is locally famed for  delicious organic cheese products such as cheese.  They are a bit expensive, but we also buy their cheese from time to time.  If you ever wonder why these products are expensive, you should meet, and talk with, a small farmer.

As we left, the family member giving us the tour said "Feel free to ask questions anytime!"

It is a wonderful thing to meet and talk to a food producer, to see where your food really comes from, and how hard these farmers work to put food on your table.  And if Dutch Hills Creamery (whom I blogged last year-AM) can not get back into operation after a disastrous fire (August 2018 update - sadly, they did not recover), our community will be poorer for that.

Support a local farmer today!

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day August 2018

Devastation all over our area from flooding.  Not our house, but others, many others, mainly to our south, east, west.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning.  The skies were clear.  But, several hours before, it was a way different story.

The rain came again.  Rain storm after rainstorm.  Like much of the Northeast, we have enough rain to spare where I live (zone 5b) in the Binghamton area of upstate New York.  As I write this, the county I live in is under a state of emergency (although my house is safe - at least, unless it rains again.) but our area managed to make the NBC Evening News. 

I wrote my post the day before"just in case".

Here are some soggy pictures for your enjoyment for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  I was astounded to find I still had one daylily blooming, and my turtlehead had its first bloom opening.

So I decided to also run some pictures I took a couple of days ago, before the flash floods started.  These are all still blooming but just aren't photogenic right now.

Black petunia.

Glad.

White marigold.

Dahlia.

Tall phlox.

Cleome.

As far as that rain:  You hear so many people say "I've lived here 30 years and I've never seen anything like this."  Well, yes.

This isn't like rain I've ever seen before. Day after day, the sky is dark, and when the rain comes down, it comes down.   And now I think, what if a tropical storm comes through?


So many Americans have survived floods and fires and my heart goes out to those facing those situations today.  Some may even be participants in this monthly Garden Bloggers Bloom Day meme hosted each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  On the 15th of each month, we show what is blooming in our houses or gardens.

I would much rather think of beauty, and flowers like these double impatiens.

Now, please go and visit others participating in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, while I continue to hope that the rain finally stops, before anyone else in my area makes the local news because they are homeless, or because their hamlet was wiped out by floods.

Another Milestone

This is my 3,200th blog post.  You could say my blog is aging.  Perhaps entering its true maturity?

3200 posts, over a little more than nine years.  Next April will mark my 10th blogaversary, and I've been posting daily since late April of 2011.

I didn't plan on any of this, but here I am and here you are, my reader.   And you know what? Without you, dear reader, I wouldn't be here.

So thank you, everyone reading this.

Every few years, we go through a little mini crisis of meaning.  For me, at 65, it's not the same as it was when I was younger. But, it's more pressing as I know time is running out.

The phone rang early one morning two weeks ago, about 10 minutes before I normally wake up.  Spouse was already at work. I didn't get to it in time, and the answering machine picked up.  When I got there, a man's voice was speaking, saying something about a person being taken to the ER.  In my still-dazed mind, I thought my spouse had had a heart attack at work.

Turns out it was someone at the long-term facility where my 90 year old mother in law lives.  She was being sent to the emergency room (ER).  Again.  Fourth time since the beginning of April.  The first ER trip is what landed her in where she lives now. At least this call wasn't at 1:30 am, like the last one was.

For my mother in law, these haven't been the golden years for a few years. (She spent five days in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs, by the way, but survived this latest crisis.

As I witness what is happening to her, it makes me think about what I have done with my life so far, and what (if I get that chance) I could do in the future.

Lemon Supreme Day Lily, purchased in July 2018

Not high anxiety.  Not yet.  Maybe just call it a yellow alert.  And I'd rather see a yellow daylily than a yellow alert, any day.  But I'm thinking of this, even as I plan post #3201.  Maybe I'll call today Lemon Supreme, like this beautiful lily I bought in July.  It isn't much now but I'll hope for next year.

Please come back tomorrow, for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and post #3201.

Rock of Animals #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and I welcome you to #MusicMovesMe.

But first:  This is my 3,199th blog post, meaning tomorrow will be my 3,200th blog post.  What do you think I should do to celebrate?

I'm not sure yet, but I'll try to think of something good.  And now, back to our regularly scheduled music post.

Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? Every other week we have a theme, and on alternate weeks, we can blog about any music we wish.  We are headed by our head Engineer XmasDolly.  Her co-conductors are:  ♥Callie of JAmerican Spice♥, (who right now is only able to post occasionally due to vision issues - please keep her in your thoughts as she takes this journey) and ♥Stacy of Stacy Uncorked♥   Also, co-conducting  is  ♥Cathy from Curious as a Cathy♥ although she will become a temporary head Engineer later this month.   And, (last but not least), there's little ol' me.

This month, our Guest Conductor is Marry Burris of Jingle Jangle Jungle and she has declared the theme for today:  Songs/Artists with Animals in the Song Titles/Band Names.

That's a pretty broad category, and I can't wait to see what others on this train have picked!

I am going to take a really broad definition of "animals" and include anything living.

First, I wish I could have included the Beatles and I Am the Walrus - but apparently, this is one of the songs that is taken off of You Tube as soon as it is put on, so no I Am the Walrus.

This is the first song that came to my mind: See You Later, Alligator, as performed in 1956 by Bill Haley and His Comets

Elusive Butterfly - a 1966 hit by Bob Lind.

The band Whitesnake performs Still of the Night and - well, the last few seconds make it clear what the song is about, in case you weren't able to figure it out.

Surfin' Bird by the Trashmen - one of my spouse's childhood favs.  Yes, the Bird is the Word! 

One of my childhood faves - The Tokens and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

Barracuda by Heart

BONUS if you have 17 minutes to spare, check this song out.  If you don't, why not just listen to the first two minutes and the last two? Iron Butterfly - and the full version of  (OK, OK, you don't have to listen to all of it - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

Have a wonderful Monday.