Welcome! Join me daily as I blog about flowers, gardening, my photography adventures, life in upstate New York, the importance of chocolate in a well lived life, or anything else on my mind.
A couple of days ago, my spouse had a dream: in September, we would be hit by a cold wave, with temperatures in the mid teens (approximately -9 Celsius) and snow on the ground.
Please, not yet.
Right now, where I live in upstate New York the leaves on many trees are close to turning the dull green that precedes their starting the shut down process that makes them lose leaves and go into winter dormancy.
But not yet. Earlier in August, this tree at our local botanical gardens shone with green and yellow variegated leaves.
Here is a closeup.
There is no tag on the tree so I have no idea what kind of tree it is. It isn't common. If anyone knows, I would love to know.
In the meantime, the tree stands - a mystery to all but, apparently, itself.
Join Parul each second and fourth Thursday for #ThursdayTreeLove, and see what the tree lovers of the world are photographing for your delight.
Friday, spouse and I started to exercise on the Vestal Rail Trail when it started to rain.
We walked in it for a while, but the rain got heavier and we took refuge under a bridge. Under and near the bridge various wildflowers were growing. Out my iPhone went, as we sheltered.
I'll blog more about this walk on Friday but for now, I present these wildflowers to brighten your Wednesday.
Related, yellow jewelweed (Impatiens pallida)attracts hummingbirds and bumblebees. I see the two growing close together on various walking trails here in the Southern Tier of New York.
Wild morning glory. These can be pretty but deadly, choking other plants to death - you don't want the wild kind in your garden.
At the beginning of 2016, I wrote a post about a contest a small
town movie theater owner in Maine, up north near the New Brunswick
(Canada) border, was running. The prize: his theater, which is on the National Historic Register.
I am going to rerun the post, and, at the end, post an update.
But first, a cartoon. Yes, that's what they used to do in the old days, although this cartoon (post Mel Blanc) is from 1991.
And now, our feature blog post.
Did you used to have a favorite movie theater growing up?
I did. This contest made me think back to my childhood, growing up in
the Bronx (a borough of New York City) in the 1950's and 1960's.
Back in the 1950's and 1960's, instead of going to the local shopping
mall and going into an cinema with multiple screens, you went to a local
movie theater. There was one screen, and you got two pictures for your
admission fee.
My parents were far from wealthy, and we rarely went to a movie. But when we did, it was a big event. Several blocks away was a bigger theatre.
Where I live, near Binghamton, New York, there are no more family theaters. The remains of some, abandoned for years, exist, slowly
crumbling.
So what better thing would there be to do on a cold winter's day in
upstate New York than to sit down and write an essay so that I can own
my very own movie theater.
To quote from the Temple Theater website:
" The Temple Theater is at the center of Market Square in historic
downtown Houlton, Maine. The Temple building is over 6000 sq. ft. on
each floor, built to last in 1918 of wood, steel, and brick as a proud
architectural addition to Houlton.....
The theater and building are in fully operational condition.
The theater has run almost continuously since 1918. There is space and approved plans for expansion of theater space.
The Temple Theater is the quintessential small town movie theater.
There is steady attendance and good community support for the theater."
The new owner would also have won $25,000.
So what ever happened? Not enough people entered. The money was
refunded. But, I read later in 2016 that someone from the town, now living in New Jersey, was
moving back, would buy the theater, and planned to live upstairs.
Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? We are bloggers who blog about music
each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most
welcome to join! (Music Posts Only on this music train, please!) First,
there isXmasDolly. Her chief co-conductor is Cathy of Curious as a Cathy. Her other co-conductors are: Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and me.
John from the Sound of One Hand Typing is our guest conductor for today. His theme needs a little bit of explanation:
Musical Acrostics! In honor
of the birthday of Charles E. Hires (1851-1937), the first commercial
brewer of root beer, build a playlist in which the first letters of the
songs spell out ROOT BEER.
I love root beer! I was thrilled, too, when I lived in rural Arkansas with my spouse, that we had a couple of sarsaparilla trees. Their roots smell like root beer. A root beer float would refresh in the coming heat wave ahead. But enough of that.
So, anyway,- what I wanted to do is feature more music from the iconic Woodstock concert of August 15-16-17, 1969. I tried to do a Woodstock playlist as much as I could. I didn't completely succeed, but perhaps that was part of the fun the fun.
I rarely do playlists, so after spending about 20 minutes trying to add it to my blog,, I gave up. I used to be able to do this and it seems I can't anymore. So I tried this other method and "I think" it worked. For me, anyway. You'll have to click on the three lines on the right, I suspect.
I worked on part of this playlist with my spouse, so thank you, spouse, for some of your inspiration.
This is the Woodstock or Woodstock related playlist I hope plays for you:
Rock and Soul Music - Country Joe and the Fish On The Road Again by Canned Heat.
Overture by The Who (not played at Woodstock) Tommy, Can You Hear Me (not a Woodstock recording) from The Who, also from the Tommy album.
Born on the Bayou. Creedence Clearwater RevivalEskimo Blue Day - Jefferson Airplane (audio from Woodstock only) Everything's Gonna Be All Right - Paul Butterfield Blues Band Rainbows All Over Your Blues - John Sebastian(of the Lovin' Spoonful). Thank you again, spouse. Now, after all that, I hope people can access the playlist. If they can't, I'll have to come back tonight and post the videos separately. That's a bubbly musical wrap. See you next week - same time, same blog!
At a farmers market, everyday veggies and fruits take on new personalities.
How about these eggs? (yes, those are their real colors).
Cucumbers look just a little different.
Honey is in the comb.
Garlic is white, and onions are yellow or red, and all are waiting for a good cook.
Corn awaits the person longing for summer bicolored sweetness.
And blueberries show ripeness with a white powdered like coating.
Our world is full of color, and everyday objects can become special if you look at them in a slightly different way.
And about my blueberries (which I got at a U Pick place) I intend to make a dump cake with them.
The end is near for blueberry season, and we are one day closer to fall. But for now, the farmers's market still says "summer".
