Spring Things - Flag Day

Today is Flag Day in the United States.

There is a “Flags on the Village Green” event in Windsor, New York (a rural area near Binghamton) every Memorial Day.

This picture was taken this past Memorial Day (late May) by my "guest photographer".

Flag Day commemorates the day, June 14, 1777, when the Second Continental Congress approved the original design of what became the national flag of the United States.

If you are interested, take this quiz and see how well you do.

Flag Day etiquette.  Do you know how to display the American flag?

Finally, this will explain more about our annual celebration of our flag.

Our flag - long may it wave over a land of freedom.

The Brain Cramp

At least I didn't accidentally shoplift from a charity shop run by nuns, like this midlife blogger did.

But in the spirit of confession, here is my story of what you might call a brain cramp.

In downtown Johnson City, New York, there is a wonderful little health food store.  It has been in business for possibly close to 35 years.

Twice a year, they have a customer appreciation sale.   They had one on Saturday.  They advertise this with a postcard.  If you bring in the postcard, you get a free gift, or entered into a drawing, plus a discount.  Who can resist?

Spouse and I walked in with our postcard, and started down the first aisle (this isn't a big store, so there aren't too many aisles).  Right next to the checkout, one of the first aisle items caught my eye.

It was a bottle, about the size of a 16 oz soda:  Amish formula to treat leg and foot cramps.  

I suffer from foot cramps, and occasional restless leg.  So I stopped to look at the bottle.   The ingredients?   Apple cider vinegar, ginger plant juice and garlic juice. 

Wow, I thought.  It's Amish and it's healthy.  "Does this work?" I asked the young cashier.  "Well", he responded (probably as he's been trained to do), "other customers have told me it does."

I wanted to have both hands free for the remainder of my shopping, so I tucked the bottle under my left armpit and went my merry way.

In the back were samples - delicious tortilla chips fried in coconut oil, organic sparkling water (it was so good!), yogurt, and...sigh, chocolate.

Distracted by the chocolate, and the display of the delicious sparkling water (I drink sparkling water instead of soda, for the most part), I forgot all about the bottle of Amish foot cramp remedy nestling contentedly in my left armpit.  I browsed a few more minutes, picking up several more items.

Spouse and dropped off our selections at the checkout, manned by the same young man.  We paid for our purchase and started out the door.

"What about the bottle under your arm?" the cashier asked.

Uh....what bottle?

Oh, THAT bottle.  I must have turned five shades of red.

"Oh", he said "I thought you were holding it for a separate order."  Nice man.

So we paid for the Amish remedy, my cheeks burning, and left.

OK, it wasn't like stealing from nuns.  But stealing from a local business?   Could you see the headline now?  "Local Blogger AM Steals Foot Cramp Remedy from Store". I would have had to leave town.

So, here's my question: Is there an Amish remedy for brain cramps?

Music Moves Me - Believing in the Goodness of Man

One year ago today, a mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando brought the music to a temporary stop.



When you think of a nightclub, you think of music and dancing, which is what the Music Moves Me blog hop I've started to participate in is all about.  Happiness.  Enjoyment.

We live in uncertain times.  Every day seems to bring breaking news that is more and more depressing.

But the mother of one of the dead said "Even in the midst of evil, you have to believe in the goodness of man."

We all need love, and hope, especially if we don't have much love or hope in our lives.  We need inspiration.  We need songs that will pump us up, that will help us stay strong, that will help us endure.

Today, a little selection of upbeat songs for Music Moves Me.  It seems so inadequate, posting these songs, but music has a power to heal that many aren't even that aware of.

What A Wonderful World, sung by Louis Armstrong.  It speaks for itself.

Believe, by Cher - the original version from 1998.  If you aren't a fan of Auto-Tune software, you won't like how Cher's voice is rendered, but I do (in this song, anyway).

I have been thinking of this song lately.

Everything is Beautiful, by Ray Stevens, is from 1970.  It was not in Steven's usual style- he was more into "gag" songs such as The Streak.  Instead, this song, which has some religious overtones, became one of his best known songs.  But today, go to You Tube, and you will see the snarky comments.

So, to get rid of the haters, this is the perfect song. (And the dance moves aren't bad, either). "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift.

Just because - McArthur Park, as sung by Donna Summer.  Let's Rock It!

Finally, a little bonus,for something upbeat and danceable.  I bring you What is Love, a 1993 dance track by Haddaway (stage name for musician Nestor Alexander Haddaway). 

Yes, dance music is a genre I sometimes can really get into.  Today must be one of those days.  Because we also all need a little happiness.  Even on a day like today.

Because, if we don't believe in the goodness of man, then is there any hope for us?

Have a happy, upbeat week.  And better yet, why don't you join the other Music Moves me Ladies and Gents on the dance floor this week?  Thank you, X-Mas Dolly, Curious as a Cathy , Stacy Uncorked , and JAmerican Spice, our co-hosts of this hop!

A Tulip Poplar

The beauty of trees.

My spouse and I were exercise walking early today, as we knew we would have a record or near-record heat day.

The light was just so beautiful.

Something orange and yellow caught my eye and I looked up.  Way up, into a tree that must have easily been forty or more feet tall.

I know I've seen this tree somewhere, I thought.  And then, it came to me.

It was a tulip poplar.  They are a beautiful tree, and these blooms are loved by wildlife.  They are supposed to be fragrant flowers, although I wasn't going to climb the tree to find out.  In the fall, the leaves turn a beautiful yellow.

They aren't poplars at all, but members of the magnolia family.  They are the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.  They can live up to 300 years, but 100-200 years is more common.

I had to send a picture to the friend I call my "guest photographer".  I knew she and her sister (who has done some of my "mystery flower" IDs - well, many of them) would enjoy the picture.

Several minutes later, my phone dinged.

I have to explain that my friend has photo software I don't have, and without her, I couldn't bring you these new versions of my photo.  So thank you, dear friend.

A closeup.

And a REAL closeup.

I will not be participating with a new #ThursdayTreeLove post (a meme I enjoy) on Thursday, as it is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, but this proves you can love trees any day of the week.

And friends.  What are friends for, besides making your day even more beautiful?

Local Saturday - And Bingo Is Our Name-O

One of my regular readers, a man of high intelligence and impeccable taste (of course-he reads my blog!) expressed his disappointment with yesterday's post.

He was looking forward to an explanation of why one of the nicknames of Binghamton, New York, a small city upstate where I work, is "Bingo".

Another of my regular readers (a woman of high intelligence and impeccable taste...) expressed surprise about our Bingo nickname. 

So, my response to my dear readers is: No, I don't know why Bingo is our name-o.  But I know it could be worse, given all the New York City residents who spell our name with a "p", thinking we are part of The Hamptons.

I fondly remember the children's song Bingo Was His Name-O.  It was a great song to sing on long trips, along with "99 Bottles of Beer".  (OK, I grew up in a different era) But, if you listen to the song:  nothing about Binghamton.

Also, our nickname doesn't have anything to do with the game of Bingo.  In fact, our nickname came before the game became popular, according to the small amount of research available online. I don't think the game was named after us, either. Rather, Bingo is a game originating in Italy.  When it came to the United States, it was originally called Beano.  

The story goes that the name was changed to Beano after someone yelled out "Bingo" when he or she won, rather than "Beano".  I wonder if that Bingo yeller was from Binghamton.

One blogger said the Bingo nickname came from an early 20th century marketing campaign.  But I knew there was a minor league baseball team in Binghamton called the Bingos, and they were playing as early as 1885.  This online article describes their 1887 season.

Building Mural, Chenango Street, downtown Binghamton, NY

I could call the Broome County historian and ask, but that would be too simple.  So I will leave it to my readers - does anyone know the origin of Binghamton's Bingo nickname?

One parting note: A more common nickname for Binghamton (no "P") in the late 19th and early 20th century was "The Parlor City".  That is worth a blog post for another time.

Does your city have a nickname?

Bingo Blue Skies #SkywatchFriday

Binghamton, New York, has the nickname of "Bingo" (among other nicknames).

Wednesday, on a recently rare sunny, blue skied day, I  took these pictures in downtown Binghamton, to show both the sky and some of our local downtown buildings.

A silhouette of the Broome County Courthouse, built in 1897.

A noontime picture of a historic church, the United Presbyterian Church on Chenango Street (if you saw my Thursday Tree Love post, the Korean Dogwood is in this church's courtyard).

Finally, from the church courtyard, a picture along Chenango Street.  The tall building in the center of the photo is the historic Press building, once where our daily newspaper was produced, and now student housing called The Printing House. Also on this block is the historic Stone Opera House, which, alas, may never be restored.

Join other bloggers at #SkywatchFriday, where bloggers join every Friday to see the wonderful skies around us.

Entangled #ThursdayTreeLove

A noonday walk on a cloudy day about to turn sunny and mild.

A church courtyard.  My guest photographer and I stepped in, and were amazed by the shrubs and trees in bloom.

These are two Korean dogwood (Cornus kousa) trees, one white, one pink, entangled and blooming together in love.

Did you know about the Christian symbolism of the dogwood? It isn't accidental you find them in so many church courtyards in our area of upstate New York.

A fitting photo for #ThursdayTreeLove, sponsored by Parul at Happiness and Food.  Parul writes:  If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link back to this post. Next week, I will link your posts on my blog and spread some love. Let’s come together to appreciate the beautiful nature around us. 

Will you play?

Spring Things - Irises

Plenty of irises were in bloom this past weekend, here in upstate New York.

We are back in a rainy pattern, so these pictures were taken during a rare moment of sun. Some of these pictures were taken in Binghamton and others in and around Ithaca.

Enjoy!

Lavender colored.

Bi-color

White

Peach and brownish-red. 

Urban Peregrine Falcon Encounter

Adventure can be found on the sidewalks of downtown Binghamton, New York, a small upstate city of about 47,000 population.

Yesterday, I was walking on the sidewalk next to the Security Mutual Building in downtown, on my way to the Broome County library.  Security Mutual owns a 10 story building (the third tallest in downtown) and peregrine falcons have nested on top of the building for years.

Passing by this building is its own adventure.  At this time of years, droppings will come raining down (I got hit a week ago), and it isn't uncommon to find what is left of the falcons' meals (to put it delicately).  Also, the babies experience a high mortality rate.

It is an experience hearing the calls of the adults, and you can sometimes see them flying from building to building.

This one wasn't flying.

This is the third time in my nearly 20 years working downtown that I've seen one of the young birds on the ground.  The bird was obviously injured.

There was a woman guarding it.  She had called for help and was waiting for help to arrive, she explained.  She knew someone with a conservation officer in her family.

I wasn't about to get too close - this was using the zoom on my iPhone.

Other pedestrians weren't stopping.  One, oblivious, almost stepped on the bird, who hobbled out of the way, and hopped into the street and under a parked truck. Finally, the bird emerged and sort of hopped onto a decorative rock. There it stayed until someone came out of the building with a box and managed to put it over the bird.

At that point, I decided the bird was safe, and resumed my walk.  On the way back, a half hour later, everyone was gone, including the bird and the box.

I hope this bird makes it.

Have you ever had a close encounter with a baby bird?

Monday Music Moves Me - Sibling Day

So, it figures.  I'm invited to join a blog hop by the blogger who writes a blog called Curious as a Cathy.  That was in mid May, but things were hectic for me.  So, now that the madness of May is behind me, I decide to link up....

And what is today's topic but Sibling Day.  "Blog about your sibling(s) favorite song(s). " And I have a slight problem....because I'm an only child.

So I am going to change this up a little and feature some music about families, and sisters (and brothers) in general.

I love this song - Our House by Madness, because it is so unlike the small family (after age 12, just my father and me) I grew up in.  And, at that, we didn't even live in a house, but, rather, an apartment in a New York City housing project.

But if a family loves each other, it's a family, right?  So, a song about sisterhood.

We Are Family, a 1979 hit by Sister Sledge

Now, it's the turn of brothers, and I have to turn serious.  You don't have to have siblings to have brothers - anyone who has ever served in wartime can tell you that.  So, I will end my post with a Dire Straits song written in 1982.  It is, alas, still relevant today.  The video itself is beautiful.

But let's dispel this mood, and be positive with "Roar" by Katy Perry, as sung at One Love Manchester yesterday.

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by X-Mas Dolly, Callie, Cathy, and Stacy, so be sure and visit them.

Do you have siblings? What songs do you think of when you think of them?

In Times Like These

Today, I feature a couple of flower pictures but for a different reason than most days.

Yesterday, I went to a street festival in Ithaca, New York, home of Cornell University.

I watched these high school students play steel drums, and enjoyed some locally made food.

And, while I sat on a ledge, eating a locally made sausage (it was good, too!), I suddenly had a random thought. 

We were so vulnerable.  We were on a closed off street, and throngs of people were out there enjoying the  beautiful spring day you can see in the picture above. (Today, we are back to rain).  But the happy vibes could change at any moment, and that is what our modern terrorists feed on.

In London, last night, they fed again.

I have several British friends on Facebook.  I've never met any of them in person, but I read, helplessly, their posts last night.  Two lived in London until not that long ago, and were asking everyone they knew to let them know if they were safe.  Another posted that her son, who lives in London, had already reached out to her and he was safe.

Safe, yes, but traumatized.  Again.

This is our modern world.  And we have to figure out how to stop this.  We are all vunerable, but there are also solutions to all problems.

The trick, of course, is to find a solution that will not turn our democracies into dictatorships headed by strongmen who promise security, but then spread their own type of terror.  Most Americans do not know what that is like, but I grew up among men and women who knew what that was like firsthand.

Fear can do strange and terrible things to populations searching for security.

Just ask those survivors, fewer every day, who were alive during the days leading to World War II. My growing up neighbors are all dead now, but they taught me well just by their existence.  They never talked about it (trauma does that to you) but I read a lot about that era, growing up in the 50's and 60's.

Today, for us all, one more flower, bathed in the sunlight of what is called the Golden Hour in photography.  There is a cliche that it is darkest before the dawn.  I fear it is going to be darker before the sun rises for us again.

I just hope we can make our way through this latest challenge to our civilization without losing our freedom.

Sustainable Saturday - Food Coexistence

More and more, I am seeing a blending of cultures around me here in upstate New York.  It had been something I took for granted when I grew up in New York City, but, the upstate New York of today is a way different place than the upstate New York I moved to over 30 years ago.

Take the Saturday farmer's market in Ithaca, New York (about an hour from where I live), for example.  These are perfect examples of what one could call food coexistence.

Prepared food for sale included this booth, selling Tibetan and Chilean food. I'm sorry I didn't try the momos - I saw them again at a street festival earlier today, which I will blog about in the coming days.

One farmer was selling American type lettuce and rainbow chard, and Asian greens. (Senposai is a favorite of ours - we can not buy it where we live).

The same farmer was selling something called Vivid Choi.  Have any of my readers tried this?

A couple of vendors were selling cheese in a European style.

But most of all, there is one thing that speaks all languages - flowers.  Years ago, you didn't find markets in the United States selling flowers.  Now, it seems that all of them do.

Did you visit a farmer's market today?

Here Came the Sun #Skywatch Friday

Sunny days have been rare here in upstate New York.

May 27, Otsiningo Park, Binghamton

This became our normal sky in May.

Downtown Binghamton, New York

But, on May 31, May decided we deserved a sunny day to end the month.

And so we had one, until the thunderstorms came several hours later.  

But at least we saw the sun.

Join other bloggers at #SkywatchFriday, where bloggers post their pictures of the beautiful skies of our world.

Grancy Greybeard - #ThursdayTreeLove

The first time I saw this native American tree, I thought "how beautiful".

Against a historic downtown Binghamton backdrop, and a blue sky, it is even more beautiful.  Here's a little information about this tree.

Grancy Greybeard, Fringe Tree, Old Man's Beard.  It is called many names.

This is a closeup of the flowers.

This variety of tree, Chionanthus virginicus, is in bloom right now where I live.

Enjoy this flower for today's #ThursdayTreeLove, hosted by Parul Thakur.  If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree and link it back to her post. Let’s appreciate Nature around us!

Spring Things - Reviewing May

The month of May is my favorite month.  It's been that way for many years, from my times of living in Kansas, to Arkansas, and, finally, to upstate New York.

When I lived in Kansas and Arkansas, it was also tornado season, but that didn't matter.

I love the rush of flowers, one after the other.  This May has been wet, and also cold.  The cold is actually in the flowers' favor, making them last loner.

Here are my memories of May, tracked by these flowers I've seen on various exercise walks.

Cherry blossoms on May 1 (most of these pictures were taken on the West Side of Binghamton, New York).

Tulips.

More tulips (my house).

Creeping phlox.

Dogwoods, the second week of May.

Allium

My red columbine.

Lilacs.

By May 21, the azaleas were in full bloom.

Mollis azalea.

One of my rhodedendrons, May 27.

May ends with variegated weigela.

We've had so much rain. It makes me wonder - what will June bring?

What's blooming where you live?

The Organic Life

Have you ever started to blog about something, and it turns into something else altogether?

I have, and it has happened so many times. 

I started out thinking about our community garden (I still will blog about it in the near future) and some difficulties with it.  But how did we even begin gardening?   Time for a detour.

Time to stop and smell the...honey locusts

I have memories of a magazine called Organic Gardening, which started publishing in the 1940's. Good memories It was a major influence in my life during my 20's and 30's (1970's and 1980's), especially when my spouse and I homesteaded in Northwest Arkansas.   

I kept reading it even after we returned to our native New York State in the mid-80's, and began to rent plots in a local community garden.

But times change.

A bit less than three years ago, my beloved Organic Gardening magazine turned into something called Rodale's Organic Life, more of a lifestyle magazine.

I wasn't totally happy about the change, and I wasn't the only one.

But I was going to give it a chance.

That magazine, and Mother Earth News, were more than just magazines to me.

I remember going to the Fayetteville, Arkansas library once day (perhaps around 1981 or 1982) and finding, in a giveaway bin, many issues of Organic Gardening.  Some of them were already 10 or 20 years old.  I treasured them, and even moved back to New York with them.  But, eventually, I donated them to the library in Endicott, New York and they found an eager new home (because I got to see the woman who grabbed them, eagerly).

So, getting back to Rodale's Organic Life, I accepted the change, although I wasn't really happy. I started to read back issues at the library.  But then came the May/June 2016 issue.  The theme was "love". Nothing wrong with love, right?

The issue talked about all kinds of love.  Love of peaches.  Love of good cooking.  The free food in India's Golden Temple, served with love.

And...products, non gardening products, designed for the love that, sometimes, produces new, baby gardeners. 

This (at the time) 63 year old woman, who does not consider herself a prude (but I am a product of the 1950's, after all) just stared at two articles which covered various organic (even vegan) devices and other helpful products related to...um, something we share in common with the birds and the bees. 

Not exactly the Organic Gardening of my homesteading days, was it?

I showed one of the articles to my spouse, and he said  "where was this 30 years ago?"

A peaceful farm, Hopewell Junction, New York September 11, 2016

The point isn't that Organic Gardening had morphed into a publication that had strayed away (in my view) from its core values of gardening.  I didn't quite know what to think.

But then, there was even more change.  Earlier this year, the magazine ceased its print edition.  It "went digital".

I think the organic movement needs to teach that the basis of life, food, can be grown in a way that is friendly to our planet. No matter how rich or poor you are.  Or how young or how old.  Male or female.

Digital.  Or print.  I mourn the magazine I once knew.

But I will embrace the digital presence it has become, and see what becomes of it.

Strawberry in bloom, Binghamton, New York, May 2017

However it's done, that teaching is a good thing.

I'm following the former Organic Gardening on Instagram now, along with some favorite seed companies.I'll give it a chance.

If I could show the digital world to my 30ish year old homesteading self, I think she would have approved that message.

It's a timeless message, after all.

Remembering is Our Duty

(My Music Monday post was posted yesterday, if you are looking for it.)

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day when we honor war dead and, increasingly, living veterans.  It is a holiday that dates back to the years immediately after the United States Civil War.  For years, it was known as Decoration Day, a day for decorating the graves of the Civil War dead.

For years, someone has cruised our neighborhood sometime during the Saturday before Memorial Day, leaving small American flags on the curbs.  They are picked up right after Memorial Day is over.

Seen in front yard, Binghamton, New York

These remind us that freedom is not free.  Some of our sons, our daughters, our neighbors, paid the ultimate price.  Others were civilians caught up in war.

In Europe, poppies are a symbol associated with the mourning of fallen soldiers.  Wild poppies have been seen blooming on otherwise barren battlefields.

I grew up at a time when veterans of a current war were spat upon.  Now, we are finally coming around to recognizing our veterans, as this haunting story of a veteran shows.

If you need more inspiration, join this 99 year old survivor of the Bataan Death March on an eight mile stretch of an annual 26 mile memorial march.  He will turn 100 on July 14.

The philosopher/poet Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, who we knew as George Santayana, wrote in 1905  "Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it".  There's another saying I've read, and I don't know who said it (it apparently was not Mark Twain, and there are a couple of versions of the quote):  "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme".

We must remember history.  It is our duty.

Music Sunday - On the Front Lines

Today, in the United States, the air waves are full of tributes to singer/songwriter Gregg Allman, who died yesterday(possibly from complications of liver cancer), at the age of 69.  It has been such a tragic week for music and music fans, starting with the bombing of the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England (more on that later in this post).

Allman was one of many who were so creative, and also so self-destructive.  I constantly wonder about this combination, and why (in my view) it exists.

As tomorrow is Memorial Day in the United States, I am moving my Music Monday to today.

I will let Allman's music speak for itself.  What else can I add? 

Whipping Post.

Mellissa, such a sweet song.

And, a hit song on his own; "I'm No Angel".  He wasn't.

Rockers reacted in the modern way, on Twitter.

Meanwhile, in England, nearly a week after a terrorist bombing at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, the singer beloved by so many teens and preteens (and even their parents) announced a benefit concert with proceeds going to the victims' families.  She announced this with a moving letter to her fans.

In honor of all those at that concert, here is a video of Dangerous Woman.

Meanwhile, Grande's mother has been placed under heavy security.

We live in sobering times, and depend on those in the entertainment business to help us cope with sorrow and uncertainty.  Now, after Bataclan, and Manchester, entertainers are now on the front lines. 

Local Saturday - The One Thing Missing

On this Memorial Day weekend, unlike many Americans, we are staying local.

The rhododendrons are blooming, and I want to start you off with a picture of one of mine.  One thing is missing out of this picture, though - can you guess what it is?

While you think, here are some other pictures of our day.

We started our day at the local farmers market in Binghamton, in upstate New York.  The mushroom vendor we were hoping to buy from did not come today, but there were plenty of eggs to choose from.

Even more eggs - how's this for a selection?

A favorite vendor in the market for many is a Peruvian bakery, perhaps from the cookies she samples each week.  Once you taste, you just have to buy a package.  She's branched out into other foods, and they don't last long.  She is such a hard worker, she deserves all her success

After a short trip to our community garden (worth its own blog post), we planted some plants at the house.  Here is some basil now in our front yard.

I want to leave you with one thought today, after showing you this delicious food.  Remember the picture of the rhododendron flower at the top of my post. I told you there was one thing missing.

I am sorry to say I had no problems taking this picture.  And it makes me sad.

In past years, this bush would have been swarming by bees.  But, in the past few years, there have been fewer and fewer bees feeding off the blooms.

This year, I haven't seen one bee on this bush.

One small thing, perhaps, but other people I know are reporting the same thing.   This video explains some what is going on - entertaining, perhaps, but also frightening.

Are you noticing fewer bees where you live?