Saturday in the Park

Today, we traveled to Norwich, New York to check out Saturday in the Park with Chobani. 

If you are of a certain age and are from the United States you may recognize the name Norwich from "Norwich Aspirin" (1907) and Pepto-Bismol (originally sold in 1901 under the name Cholera Infantum).  Other products produced by the then- Norwich Pharmaceuticals included Unguentine, originally sold as a surgical dressing. Under a different name, this company is still in business.

For a city of some 7000, this Saturday gathering was a blend of farmers markets, crafts, non profits, and people meeting up with each other.

We got there about 90 minutes before it was closed.  Here are some highlights:

Saturday in the park.

The day started with a beautiful blue sky.

If you have had Chobani yogurt, this company is located about 15 miles (24 km) from Norwich.  Chobani likes to give back to communities (including communities in Idaho, where they also have a facility) and its contribution to the gathering included a food truck with free containers of their Greek yogurt (I had a coffee and cream yogurt, so good).  Because I try not to publish faces, I didn't take a picture of the food truck.

The Bread Poets Society (don't you love these puns?) booth was one of two I spent a lot of time at. Deia from Brazil, the Brazilian woman who bakes this bread is a master salesperson.   She allowed us to sample several of her products, including a yucca bread, a cheese bread, and a banana jelly.

No cheese bread was available but we got the last loaf of rye caraway.

The other booth was Little Farmhouse Lavender.  She allowed me to taste honey bees made from lavender flowers and contrast with a springtime honey.  She also taught me some interesting things about lavender, which I may share in a later post.  I bought some essential oil and lip balm from her.

My finds from today.

And, of course, I must include this song. It's so hard to believe this song is over 50 years old.

Enjoying Clouds of September #SkywatchFriday

Fall is here, and before we get distracted by the turning fall foliage, let's look at some of the clouds Nature displayed for us in September.

First, a couple of puddle pictures from September 13.

It's been a while since I've done this.

Skies framed by a bridge September 13.

Interesting sky pattern, September 17.

Waves in the sky September 27. 

Fall is here.

Wrapping up with some sky drama from September 26.

Joining Yogi and other sky watchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

Trees in Love #ThursdayTreeLove

Spouse and I arrived at a place about 20 minutes before it was set to open, so we decided to walk in a nearby park and get some exercise.

Although we've been living in this area for over 35 years, this is the first time we've ever visited this park.  It had a nice walking trail and it was a pleasant walk.

I saw these two trees and I was moved to take their picture.  I forgot why I wanted to take the picture but when I saw it on my phone, I thought it looked like the two trees were trying to touch each other.

Were they in love?  Were they long time companions?  Or just friends?

Some scientists believe trees can communicate with each other.  I wonder.

Joining Parul at Happiness and Food this fourth Thursday of September for #ThursdayTreeLove.

Late September Flowers #WordlessWednesday

It's the end of September. 

We only have a short time left to enjoy outdoor flowers where I live, so why don't I post some recent flower pictures from our yard and my spouse's community garden plot.  In that way, I'll have them to look at when winter descends on us.

 Sedum.

White seashell cosmos.

Pink seashell cosmos.

Candystick zinnia in our community garden raised bed.

A yellow zinnia and a white one.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

The Library Where They Know Your Name #4CLSRoadtrip

Today, on our roadtrip to explore some of the 43 libraries of the Four County Library System (Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Otsego counties), we return to the Binghamton, New York area, which has the highest concentration of population of the four counties.

I had never been to all the libraries of my home county, so this road trip was a great opportunity to learn about all of them.

The town of Fenton, New York (population around 6,600) was established in 1867 and prospered during the years of the Chenango Canal, a feeder canal of the larger Erie Canal system.  It was located on the west side of the town and linked the Susquehanna River with the Erie Canal.  When the railroads became the dominant form of commercial traffic in the 1870's, the Chenango Canal was closed (in 1878) and only small remnants of the canal are visible today.  

It was only open for 44 years.

Fenton, today, is one of 22 towns and cities in Broome County, and I had never been to its library.

Let's visit The Fenton Free Library, which calls itself "The Heart of the Community".

It has an interesting history.

Friends gather here.

The librarian obviously didn't know me or my spouse, but she greeted everyone else who came by during our visit by name. She asked after their family, their pets.  She knew what was happening in their lives. 

We were welcome to make ourselves at home.

Maybe we could stay and play a game.

The entire library had a friendly, country decorated vibe.

Still more libraries to go (I visited 33 total), and I'll blog about several more in the coming months.

Thank you for joining me.

Lost and Found #MusicMovesMe

 It's Monday and it's time for music!

Who are the Music Moves Me bloggers?

The Music Moves Me bloggers blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please!)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and yours truly.

You are welcome to join our Monday music group.  It's so easy. All you have to do is join the linky above with a music post that contains at least one music video.  No music video? Your post may be removed, or may be labeled *NO MUSIC*.We alternate theme weeks and no theme weeks.

For the month of September, our guest host is Sandee from Comedy Plus.  For today,we are given a no theme week: freedom to choose any music we want.

I found myself at a loss for a theme this week.  Loss...lost...what about Lost and Found as my theme for today?

You've Lost that Loving Feeling - Righteous Brothers, from 1974.  I remember wanting so badly to get the single but I didn't have enough money saved up from my allowance.

1979's Lost in Love - Air Supply is a song my spouse can't stand, but I'm writing this post outside and he can't hear it.  Personally, I love it.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2.

Part 2:  Searching and finding...

(I've Been) Searchin' So Long - Leonid and Friends (possibly one of the best cover bands of all time).

Searchin' - Leonard Skynnyrd

Call this a bonus song: not my normal posted genres but I enjoy a lot of this group's songs.

One more, going back to being lost:  The song LosT from Bring Me the Horizon works with heavy topics - drug abuse, mental illness, and an obsenity or two or three (and I decided not to show the official video) but it fits the theme.  And one might think the music (if they did an instrumental of this) belongs in a video game.

And that's a wrap.

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me!

Blues in the Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

Last Saturday (September 16) was the annual Blues on the Bridge music festival in downtown Binghamton, New York.

The bridge the festival used to be held on (it's a different, nearby bridge now, because the festival outgrew the original bridge) casts a shadow on the river.

A commemorative statue called The Skirmisher.  Hundreds pass it every day without knowing its interesting history.  There is a time capsule under this nearly 100 year old statue, which commemorates those area residents who served in the Spanish-American war and has been moved twice since its erection.

The man who designed this statue also designed the west pediment of the U.S. Supreme Court building.

Nearby, shadows at the entrance of a short pedestrian tunnel which is part of the riverwalk also in downtown Binghamton, New York.

Joining Magical Mystery Teacher for #ShadowshotSunday.

Wasabi or Not

 Here are some pictures from our community garden plots on the last day of summer where I live in the Southern Tier of New York State.  Gardening is mostly done but here are some survivors in our two raised beds.

Rhubarb chard.

Carrots.

Broccoli and lettuce.  There are a couple of short sunflowers in back of the broccoli that are getting ready to bloom.  Hopefully, first frost doesn't come this week (it isn't supposed to).

Last of the Asian greens.

Tomatoes are dead but here are some still ripening cherry tomatoes.

And then there is the wasabi.

Or is it? (the pink flowers are the plant in question; the larger plants in the picture are zinnias).

Some explanation.

Wasabi is a member of the brassica family, which includes cauliflower, broccoli, kale, mustard, and horseradish.

It is also known as Japanese horseradish, and you should know that most of the wasabi served in the United States is not true wasabi.  True wasabi is hard to grow and it is expensive.

So when we saw "wasabi" plants for sale in an end of season clearance in a New York State nursery about an hour from us, we decided to buy a plant.  We put it into a raised bed near our zinnias.  This bed is in full sun.

Mid-summer the plant started to bloom.  We did some research (should we cut off the flower buds?) and from what we read, this may not be a wasabi plant.

The plant is still flowering and the seed pods growing (next to last photo above)  look like those of radishes.  I have only seen horseradish (common horseradish) leaves a couple of times and I'm not sure this is even horseradish.  Naturally I didn't take a picture of the leaves, but horseradish is supposed to have white flowers, not purple.

I have no idea what to do with this plant, which is thriving in the raised bed.I've not going to eat any of this plant unless I get a good ID, somehow.

Oh well-each gardening season has to have its mystery.

Bennington Battle Monument Skies #SkywatchFriday

Vermont is not a state of skyscrapers.  

The Bennington Battle Monument in Bennington, Vermont, is the fifth tallest structure in the state of Vermont at 306 feet (93 meters).  It was dedicated in 1891 and commemorates a battle fought during our Revolutionary War. (In contrast, the tallest building currently completed in Vermont is only 124 feet high (11 stories)).

There is an observation area inside at the top.  The first two times we visited Bennington, the elevator was out of order.  This time, on September 3, it was working, and we went up.  We were fortunate - it was closed for much of the summer because of flooding in many part of Vermont and the need for maintenance.

I forgot to note the direction I was looking at for each photo, but in at least one of them, you are also viewing New York State.  The shadow here is the shadow of the monument in the afternoon sun.

Here's an August 2022 photo of the monument.

The blocks are made of limestone.

We were fortunate to have a somewhat clear day.

Now that we've seen the view from all four directions, do you want to see the observation deck from the inside?  Of course you do.

As you would expect, there wasn't a lot of room up there.

Another interesting find:  fossils in the limestone blocks.  This picture was taken outside near the bottom.

Traveling is always an adventure.

Joining Yogi and other sky loving bloggers for #SkywatchFriday.

Fall Is Nearly Here

Say goodbye to summer - the long days, the songs of birds, watermelon, a relaxing of life, no fear of frost or early snowstorms.

Autumn begins on Saturday but the signs of fall precede it.

No filter was applied to this picture.  I don't know why it has the orange cast, but it came by it naturally.  I don't think it's the several orange cauliflower (that are really orange) in the photo.

This tiny garden on the Vestal, New York rail trail pays tribute to someone who died in 2002.  It was redone recently with those rocks (possibly because it was being invaded by Japanese knotweed) and a fall display lives there now.

Japanese anemone, which blooms each September.  It's one of my final perennials to bloom.
 

Beets at a farm market's stand.

Peppers.  Some supermarkets here sell potted ornamental pepper plants in the fall but we got this ornamental purple pepper from a nursery near Syracuse, New York back in the spring.

Pumpkin spice everything.  Incidentally "made with verified rescued pumpkins" is a real thing.  Fruit and veggies that doesn't look perfect, too often, ends up in landfills here in the United States.  Why?

We can't stop it.  Autumn is nearly here.  Our trees aren't turning yet, but once they start, I'll be caught up in that beauty.

Stay tuned.

Pollinator Garden #WordlessWednesday

Pollinator garden, downtown Binghamton, New York, September 16, near Confluence Park (where the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers meet).

Welcoming sign.

Stiff goldenrod (according to my iPhone Plant ID app).

Asters.

Hostas, ornamental grass and a purple flower that I can't remember.

Zinnias.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.