Tales of Poinsettias, Amaryllis, and Dead Orchids

I have a very soft spot in my heart for seasonal houseplants.  I can never get a houseplant and then throw it out.  Every houseplant deserves a fair chance. 

Every Black Friday I buy two poinsettias - one for me and one for my mother in law.  They are cheap, and high quality.  It's become a tradition.  As my spouse browses the tools I head right for the rack of 99 cent pointsettias.  They only have red, but who cares?

My mother in law does what most normal people do.  She keeps it for the holidays and then tosses it.

I overwinter mine.

Then, I put it outside for the summer.  In the fall I bring it in, where it usually proceed to die.  (at that point I don't feel guilty any more).  But the spindly specimen above refused to die.  (it's sitting to the left of Black Friday 2010's plant.)  And not only that, without any special handling....it grew a pinkish bract. (it didn't flower).  Right in my northern facing kitchen window.  No "put it in the closet for 14 hours a day, and heaven forbid if you miss one day, it isn't going to color up."

Although....should I admit it, but years ago I actually did just that.  And it really did color up before it died.  But I digress.


Then is the story of my amaryllis plant.

I got this plant in the fall of 2009 from Home Depot-no, make that "I got the bulb in the fall of 2009 from Home Depot".  It was so lonely in its box, and it was 20% off.  How could I resist?

I planted it in a pot,watered, and it dutifully sprouted, grew and bloomed in time for the 2009 holidays.  After the holidays, I put it in another north facing window (I have no shortage of north facing windows), overwintered, and then after frost I put it outside.  It stayed green all summer long.

In the fall I thought "isn't this supposed to go dormant?"  I stopped watering it.  The foliage died back.  I left it until...I think it may have been January, and at that point I thought to myself "I wonder if it will come back?"  The bulb looked green under its brown skin.  So I watered, and nothing.  Nothing for perhaps 6 weeks.

And then there was a sprout.  We had ignition!

March 21 I went on vacation. When I returned on March 31, there was a nice stalk and....the beginning of a bud. (If I knew I would be Blogathoning, I would have documented the entire process.)  Last week it bloomed.  The flowers didn't last long, but I did get a picture.

Last but not least, is my love/hate affair with orchids.

Every year our mall has an Orchid Show.  For three days, center court is occupied by orchid fanciers with their fancy, expensive plants.  Beautiful, expensive plants with their unspoken challenge..."Keep Me Alive.  I Dare You!"

And yours truly always gets suckered into buying one.  And then they last one to two years.  Some rebloom.  They all die.

  

This one is my latest victim.  Pay your respects.  It looks green but I'm sure it will be joining its brothers and sisters in the next orchid world before the end of the year.

Will I buy another one? 

Or, will I think of next week's Ithaca Plant Sale and save my money for that?

Decisions, decisions.

The Greatest Plant Sale on Earth

Ithaca, NY (home of Cornell and Ithaca College) is about a pleasant hour's drive from the Binghamton area.  I am ashamed to say that I mocked Ithaca (actually, Cornell) as a child growing up in the Bronx, singing the ditty that begins

"High above Cayuga's waters, there's an awful smell...."

(I was astounded to discover that my spouse learned the same song, sung to the tune of the the Cornell song, growing up a few miles north of me in Yonkers, NY).

Still, something in me ached to visit the Finger Lakes one day.  I never made it there until I moved to Binghamton in the mid 1980's.  I am so glad that I have had the pleasure of visiting Ithaca many times over the past 20 plus years. 

High above Cayuga's water is....a fascinating college town.

It's an event.  A "happening", if you will.  Or, as the locals say, "Ithaca is Gorges".  If only Binghamton could pull these same things off.   We have an excellent university, too, but somehow....we just aren't a college town.

What does Ithaca feature, besides Cornell?  The greatest library book sale ever. (a bit pricey, but just imagine....an entire WAREHOUSE of books.  I could live out my life in there.)  A great food co-op, Greenstar.  A fascinating Farmers Market (if you can find parking, that is.)  And....the greatest annual plant sale on earth.

Last year, I was privileged to be able to visit Ithaca's annual plant sale, as I blogged about.  I was disappointed to hear that this year's plant sale was going to be in a different location .  The good news is, the location is near a wonderful natural foods store called Ludgate Farms, and a mecca for birders, Sapsucker Woods.

I can't wait.  I'm like a little child, jumping up and down, already dreaming of my purchases to come.

I should report on how I made out with last year's purchases.  A variegated basil, Pesto Perpetuo, did nicely in a pot. (we tried to overwinter it, but it didn't last long.)  Sadly, the heirloom tomato plants we bought (Black Rainbow) did not do all that well in our Earthboxes.  They didn't get late blight (as I feared they would) but just somewhat languished.

This year?  I don't care if it was in the 40's yesterday.  I don't care if we keep getting rain.   I've reviewed the list of vendors.  They include a couple of my favorite Ithaca nurseries.  I am bubbling over.  I can hardly wait.

From Tragedy a Blog was Born - And Now I Do a Blogathon

My several steady fans may be wondering why I have a "Wordcount Blogathon 2011" badge at the top of my blog.

I'm wondering too.

At the end of this month I am going to thank a certain person who will remain nameless (for now)....or kill her. (and you know who you are).

A Blogathon is, simply, a way to compete against yourself.  To write a blog post every day for a month.  A solid month.  An entire, 31 day, month. (couldn't the person who dreamed this up consider February?)  Day after day after day after day....

Now, my anonymous friend had some time to prepare for this.  I found out with only hours left before registration closed.  So I just "did it", jumped feet first, eyes closed, and sent in my registration.

If you are so full of yourself that you think "no problem!  I can think of 31 straight posts, no sweat"...this blogathon is not for you.

I'm petrified.  Know why?  Because people are going to visit my site.  Genuine writers.  As in Professional Writers, Writing Professors,  People who Write For A Living and Actually Make Money off their Blogs through their sweat.  People who know about stuff like grammar, querying, deadlines, rejections.  As opposed to people like me who write because....well, they have to.

They have to write or they explode.


So, how did I ever get into blogging to begin with?

It had to do with the events of April 3, 2009.  That was the date when Binghamton, NY joined the select group of cities and towns of our nation where a madperson grabbed a gun and opened fire.  13 dead innocent people later, our local madman took his own life.

Our paths may have crossed, his and mine.  I frequent the Binghamton library and apparently....so did he.  My son likes to shop at Gander Mountain Sports, where the gunman bought his weapon.  That was scary, too.  But I did not know those things the evening of the shooting.

That evening, I wrote an email to friends, reassuring them I was alive and well (I work in downtown Binghamton, several blocks from the shooting site).  That email, edited, became my first blog post.

So, what are my goals?  Well, losing 30 pounds would be nice.  But seriously, I am not a professional writer and I don't hope to compete with the professional writers.  Rather:  I want to develop the discipline to write regularly - and to gain some skills and knowledge in case I ever have to find another way to make a living.  My back problems prevent me from competing on Dancing with the Stars and my voice would get me a lifetime ban from American Idol, so...making a fool of myself on the Internet is a good alternative.

So far, there has been an additional bonus-being able to visit and comment on some pretty neat blogs written by my fellow Blogathoners.  There's some really good reading out there and I didn't even know about it.  I wouldn't have known it without the Blogathon.  I've been enjoying reading these other blogs, so much so that I didn't even sleep that well last night.

 I don't know if I will get to them all, but I will try. And I will try to make it through the 31 days.

Wish me luck!

Crispy, Crunchy Downtown Binghamton Suffers Another Fire

In case you are wondering why I have a "Wordcount Blogathon 2011" badge on my site, all will be revealed later today....

Two blog posts in one day! (I'll try to remember that later this month when I am dragging myself through a Sahara of lack of inspiration.)  I did that yesterday and hope to do that today.  Not that I'm bragging because I know later this month I will be dragging myself through the hot, sandy desert of lack of inspiration. But in the meantime....

I couldn't resist talking about the second fire in five months in downtown Binghamton, which hit just in time for the lunchtime crowd yesterday.  (this fire was not very far from the buildings in these pictures).

I found out about it when my walking partner and I walked down Court Street (the main street of downtown Binghamton) around 11:45 today, first smelling smoke and then seeing various bystanders and a number of firetrucks.  The smell of smoke hung over the air.  Police diverted traffic as office workers and other residents watched.


Downtown Binghamton has already suffered enough from the first fire.  The historic Press Building and Midtown Mall buildings are being fixed, but it is going to be a long process - especially for the Press Building.  A major downtown street has been blocked off ever since the December fire.

This site has a news video which gives you a good look at some of the historic buildings of downtown Binghamton.

Some whispers of arson....or at least of mystery.  Only time will tell.  They've never identified the full cause of the first fire.  Wonder how they will do on this one.

Paris Was Ours

I have never been to Paris.  I've never been to Europe.  I've never been off the North American continent.  But I would like to one day.  I have some French inlaws, if you can consider an inlaw of your cousin a type of inlaw.  And my brother in law is going to go to France later this year.

So, I was interested in this giveaway...maybe I could get up the courage to actually get on an airplane and fly there.  Well, maybe one day.  First, I would have to get a passport, but that is another story.

I've always been fascinated about expatriats, people who would leave this country to live somewhere else.  I did that on a small scale earlier in life, when I left New York to live in Florida, in Texas, in Kansas, in Arkansas (with a small stint in Iowa).  But I did return....

The anthropology major in me wants to win.

And if I don't win....you can!  Follow the link above but hurry....the contest is almost over.

Will I win? I'll really be surprised, but here goes.

The Secret Fear

I don't blog about really serious subjects too often but it isn't because I don't think of them.  Sometimes I think of serious things too much.

One of them is widowhood.

A work friend returns to work today, a week after entering the club of widowhood. She is (more or less) my age.  I can not even imagine how difficult today will be for her.

I know another person, about five years younger than me, who also entered that state in the recent past.  For this woman,she went to work and came home to find her husband unresponsive. (heart attack).  How ironic that only the day before the woman received recognition for teaching Mission Meltaway, a course that helps people lose weight and gain in good health habits.  Meanwhile, her husband was a long time smoker.

And (I guess ironically, given the events of the last couple of days concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden) there was our co-worker who lost his son on September 11, making his pregnant daughter in law a widow at the same time.

For the woman returning to work today, it was a very long process to get to widowhood, over 6 years, of one health crisis after another, with her husband finally ending up in a nursing home. But anyone in that situation knows that caretaking doesn't end at the nursing home.  Its nature only changes.

That's the scary part about aging.  We don't know what will happen.  Will we have our health until the end?  Or will we end up in a slow decline, due to ill health, accidents, or both?  I think of that a lot with my back problems.  Will I be able to care for my spouse should something happen to him?

And, if we are in loving marriages, which my workfriend was, we know that one day we may either be the caregiver, or the caretaker.  Or both.  And, that one day, chances are we will enter the club that no woman wants to be a member of.  And how we will cope.  And how we will recover, and move on.

It's not something we like to think about.  But today, I am.

Spring at Last! Spring at Last!

Every plant in my front and back yard tells a story.  And they were out telling their stories this past weekend.

This primrose was rescued from the mid winter clearance rack of Wegmans several years ago. I planted it out when weather permitted and it has thrived since.

The first time I ever experienced primroses was during a trip to Seattle in February of 1977.  It seemed like every streetcorner had a planting of them.  Just seeing flowers in bloom in February was enough to get my heart pounding.  In Seattle, we also saw flowering cabbage and kale for the first time.  I love them, but we have a big groundhog problem, and they eat them right up.  So, all of our plants have to be groundhog-resistant.

This, another primrose, was rescued from my mother in law's yard when the overzealous lawn maintenance company who tends her property decided to go on a search-and-destroy mission, keeping things tidy at the expense of any unsuspecting plant that even remotely resembled a weed.

This is a variegated brunneria.  This came from Gibbs Garden Center in LeRaysville, Pennsylvania.  The nice thing about Gibbs is that they are in a harsher zone than we were, so anything that grows there will grow here.  I love the small blue flowers.  Much of our back yard is shady, and it can be a challenge to find perennials for that type of area.  The woman at Gibbs taught us how to garden in shade.  Unlike sun perennial gardening, you go for interesting leaf color or structure rather than large, showy flowers.  This plant is a perfect example of that principal.

 A white hyacinth, and I wish blogs had "smell-o-blog" because the scent of this flower could fill an entire room.

These are some of the daffodils we have.  Our daffodils are a mixture of early, mid season and late.  We get ours from a mail order nursery, Brecks.

Spring....I so wish the weather forecasts are wrong, the sun comes out, and the flowers continue to bloom.

The Wrath of Spring

Yesterday was one of those spring days that made you want to dance and sing, bask in the sunshine, run to the nearest nursery and buy tons of plants.

I knew it is supposed to be rainy and in the forties the rest of this week.  Well, maybe not all week. But I had to soak up that sunshine while it existed.  In the Southern Tier, the sunshine plays a shy, hide and seek game with us while it gives its bright favors to other parts of the country.

Spouse, seeing that Spring Madness had hit, walked around the yard with me as I took pictures of some of my flowers.  But the foot was put down about the nursery, that would have to wait for today.

So I contented myself with taking some pictures of flowers, and dreamed of nursery shopping.

Today, after our exercise walk on the Vestal Rail Trail, we headed for Tioga Gardens.  I love their tropical conservatory.  It is loaded with tropical plants (and open all year), and visiting with their rehab tropical birds is always a treat.  I can spend a lot of time there, and I always buy something (even if it's just an African Violet), so I restrict myself to visiting twice or three times a year.

This time I wanted to pick up some pansies and look at their started plants for after frost.

But this wasn't going to be the typical visit, as we learned very quickly.

As we slowed to make our turn in the parking lot, it was obvious that they had been flooded.

Several days of heavy rains caused our rivers to exit their banks earlier in the week.  It wasn't as extensive as our 2006 flood (That caused part of my neighborhood to be evacuated and caused lots of heartache overall.  We didn't have much damage but I know people in other areas who lost their homes and belongings.). But this flood brought to certain select areas something the Flood of 2006 hadn't as much-mud.   And Tioga Gardens was in one of the unfortunate areas.

Part of the tropical dome conservatory was roped off.  Piles of bagged topsoil and mulch were splattered with dried mud.  Muddy, dead plants were strewn about.  Part of the outdoor displays were roped off.  How much inventory had they lost?  A heartbreak for an established local business.  I doubt any of it was covered by insurance.  Their employees were working diligently, and they were open for business.  Still lots of inventory available for sale, so don't hesitate to come out and support a local business.

I hope the tropical birds are safe.

No, you won't see any pictures.  I learned from the Flood of 2006 that rubberneckers are not welcome in disaster neighborhoods; we aren't zoo animals to be stared at.  So out of respect, we bought our plants (ignoring the obvious reek of flood-if you have never smelled the reek of flood you are fortunate) and left.

Now back at home, spouse is working in the front yard.  Grateful that the flood wasn't as bad as it could have been.  It brings back too many bad memories.

But the rivers are still running high, and we are supposed to get more rain this week.

Suddenly Spring

Only a week ago our trees were just budding out.  Forsythias were out, but winter was hanging on for dear life.  We were still having enough cloudy days with temperatures barely into the 50's.

There is a saying in my spouse's family that late Easters are always hot.  That wasn't the case here, but over the weekend, there was some kind of unseen alarm clock that must have gone off in the natural world.

Don't blink, Southern Tier, or you will miss spring!

We went downstate for three days and when we got back on Monday, the Bradford Pears were in bloom.  And now they are fading fast, along with the flowering cherries and some other flowering trees.  The magnolias are budding today;  by Monday they will probably be gone too.  The redbuds are coming out now along with some early azaleas.  Andromedas are still blooming but not for long.   Hey, what happened? 

Unfortunately, this is what happens when we have late springs.  We get the "everything at once" syndrome.  Green bomb.  Suddenly Spring.

Since my back went out again Thursday, I don't know if I will get any "action" shots to show you.  (and, I do mean "action".) 

This does make me long, in a way, for the springs of the south.

On March 21, we stayed in Mt. Airy, North Carolina and the Bradford Pears were in full bloom.

 On March 30, we stayed in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, and the Bradford Pears were in full bloom.

I don't wish for tornadoes but sometimes I wish we could have a spring like that.  The stately progression of one flowering tree after another.  And they even hang around for a while.

But don't get me wrong, I am enjoying every bit of it.  Spring is here, here, here, here!

Bring Me My Chariot of Fire.....

Oh, if only TV had been invented before 1509. And, the Internet.  And Facebook.  Just think.  Instead of having to watch "The Tudors"....

We could have seen the wedding of HenryVIII and Katherine of Aragon live.  And rerun.  And rerun.  And when he married Anne Boleyn someone would maybe have run videos of the weddings side by side.  The birth of his son?  Would Henry have had a Facebook page

Instead, I saw an event today whose broadcast would not have been possible the year I was born.

"In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding...." we were told today.

I got to see about 7 minutes of the royal wedding this morning, scurrying around to get ready for work.  I'm watching it now as a rerun on MSNBC.  With all the power Henry Tudor had at his fingertips, he never could have imagined this.

Instead, I imagine this as a sort-of live telecast of The Tudors.  The very existence of the Church of England that married William and Catherine was thanks to Henry and the inability of Katherine to produce a male heir.  And, even in a 2011 wedding, three reasons were cited for people to marry - the first being the production of children.

Oh Catherine.  Be grateful that you weren't used as a pawn to gain power by your family, as Anne Boleyn was.  And don't feel all that pressure to produce a male heir.  You won't end up in the Tower of London.

When I heard James Middleton give the Bible reading , (the part of the ceremony I saw live) I heard commentary that it didn't uset the translation of the King James Bible - considering that Prince Charles is Patron of the King James Bible Trust.  Hmmm?  Well, nowadays it would be only food for bloggers, not a trip to the chopping block for the offending party.  (it was disappointing in a way, given the 400 year history of the KJB.)

The  homily?   It was very thought provoking.  Especially if you think of Charles and Diana and what became of their marriage.

The special decorations of Westminister Abbey for the wedding?  Made me wish for a HDTV (still don't have one!)


Later in the ceremony I saw Elton John and his husband, singing "Jerusalem" with the crowd. Ever since I first heard that song in Chariots of Fire, it has given me chills to hear it.  I really can't explain why.

I send (over the Internet, this evening) Catherine wishes for a happy, long marriage. (Given William's love of the warrior life, I hope she keeps busy.)   I hope she doesn't suffer the fate of two other famous Catherines:  Katherine of Aragon (daughter of Queen Isabella of Spain) and Catherine Howard.

Useless in Savannah? Or, the Scent of Tobacco

The Daily Beast recently posted a listing of "20 Most Useless College Degrees."

One of the majors was Art, and an accompanying picture showed the campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

If you ever visited downtown Savannah, GA, you wouldn't think an art college was useless, because...well, how do I put it...SCAD basically owns it.  And, however they have managed to do it, they have made a lot of money in the process.

Was it a bad thing?  From the point of view of this tourist, I don't think it was a bad thing at all.  SCAD has given back a lot to Savannah, including a lot of urban renewal.  (and, one of these days, I'll even post some of my Savannah photos.)  Their students provide downtown Savannah with a lot of vitality.  Binghamton could take a lesson from that. (we are trying, true, but still have a long way to go.  Still, if they want to study Savannah in depth, I volunteer to go.  Just not in July or August.  March 17 would be nice.

I tried to support SCAD, honest I did.  We went into one SCAD store hoping to buy a souvenir but found a lot of very pricey items for sale.  True, the items were high quality.  If I had the budget I definitely would have paid $15. for a bottle of tobacco scented hand cream.  Tobacco?  No, it didn't smell like cigarette smoke.  It smelled like tobacco flowers.  I had never smelled this fragrance, and I loved it.  Alas, I passed it up.
...Binghamton could learn a few lessons from Savannah and the role a college can play in the revitalization of a city's downtown.  And, who knows, maybe Binghamton will have a special scent too, one day.

The Green and the Grey

The last couple of days. I got a break from the seemingly eternal winter-into-spring holding pattern we seem to be experiencing here in the southern tier of NY.  I was downstate, 40 miles north of NYC, and to my delight saw enkianthus, andromeda, forsythia (well we have forsythia blooming here too), plus the usual assortment of spring bulbs.  Magnolias were getting ready to pop.  There were also assorted flowering trees putting on a show.  I thought I even saw a weeping peach.

We heard spring peepers!   We saw the sun!

After a two day dose of green, we left, and after passing through Middletown, came back to the grey of the Catskills, which we must cross on the way home.  Fog, grey, drizzle.  At least, by the time we got home, it was close to 65 degrees.  There have been some rumbles of thunder tonight.  We are under a severe thunderstorm warning.

In a way, it's about time. (Hope I don't eat my words.)

Two Springs

My First spring, in mid to late March, was a celebration of all that southern weather could bring in coastal Charleston and Savannah.  Sunshine, warm breezes, blooming dogwoods and azaleas, late daffodils finishing up, early irises opening their flowers, the last of the camillias displaying their rose-like red and pink flowers, the first of the roses showing their buds, thunderstorms, green skies, hail, and torrential rains. (Thankfully for us, the tornadoes held off until we left.)

Now, here in the Southern Tier on Earth Day, the warm breezes are a mostly-distant memory. Here, in Second spring, spring fights for every toe hold, the occasional warm day competing with day after day of unrelenting clouds, chilling winds, with birds singing through it all.  The crocuses have finished.  In today's 30ish degree weather, the daffodils and early tulips nod in the cold breeze, with hyacinths almost ready to open their blossoms.  In our back yard, the Lenten Rose is in bloom and the bloodroot is showing its white flowers.  But I protest at having to enjoy them with a coat on.

Later today, it will be with a raincoat on, too.

On the other hand, I could be living in Fairbanks, Alaska, where the University weather station reports there is still 10 inches of snow on the ground.  Their mean snow melt date is April 22.  Last year the last snow melted on April 21.  Not this year.


Spring in Binghamton, please come!  Please tell me that when Nanticoke Gardens opens on Monday, that you will be ready for their plants.

Civil War Stamps and the Battles of (Manassas? Bull Run?)

I am not a stamp collector, but I did expect there to be an issue of Civil War stamps and I was not disappointed.

Concurrent with the April 12th sesquecentennial of the shelling of Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor, was the release of the first of several Civil War stamps.

I invite you to read the article posted about this issuance....it is a very good one.

One thing I was struck by in the article was the mention of the "Battle of First Bull Run."  This battle was also known as First Manassas.  Bull Run (named after Bull Run Creek) was the name of the battle (actually there were two battles, about 13 months apart) as I learned it, growing up in the North.  First and Second Manassas are the title given by the descendents of the Confederates.  But interestingly, the National Park Service site (a U.S. National Park )is called Manassas National Battlefield Park.

In some ways our country is still divided, even to what we call some battles.  And when I travel in the South, it always strikes me when I see buildings proudly flying what we call the American flag.  And how many proud sons of the South serve in the U.S. Military. (when my spouse was in the military, I can tell you, a lot of his fellow soldiers were from the South.) but in other ways, the Civil War is still being fought at the same time.

Why would we care about First Manassas or First Bull Run, whatever you want to call it?  Because this was the battle (fought July 21, 1861) where both sides first truly realized that this war was not going away, that both sides were going to be into it for the long haul.  Many of the symbols we associate with the Civil War grew out of this battle.  The Union troops or Federals wearing blue, the Confederates wearing gray or butternut brown, the flag we know as the Confederate flag (there were several, and my favorite, the Stars and Bars, looked too much like a U.S. flag in the windless conditions of the battlefield that day)

No one could have seen what that long haul would cost.  Over 618,000 dead.  If you look at the population of our country in 1870 (39,800,000) it comes out to about 2% of the population.

We can only imagine how devastating this must have been, to both North and South, especially to the people of the South. (some may wonder, why is a Northerner being sympathetic to the South?  Keep in mind that they bore the brunt of the civilian casualties.  Maybe they "deserved" it but if they deserved it, that is a discussion for another day.) And while we are at it, let's remember some of the places that suffered greatly before and during the Civil War.  Bloody Kansas wasn't named Bloody Kansas for nothing. (and I did live in Kansas, earlier in life, for about 4 years).

Recently, Time Magazine ran an article on Why the U.S. is still fighting the Civil War.  The horror was so great that we blocked chunks of "why" out of our collective mind...and many people are still doing it.

Myself, I can identify with the Civil War so much....yet (as I've blogged before) I had no ancestors here at the time.

So, as part of my interest, I'm seriously thinking about visiting Manassas for the July 21st anniversary of First Manassas, First Bull Run or whatever you want to call it.   Depends on if I drive my spouse crazy with this outburst of history.

Virginia Tech Anniversary and the Civil War

Today is the 4th anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre. From one town impacted by a massacre in April to another, I remember this anniversary, just as I did when I passed the exit for Virginia Tech in my travels last month.  We had our anniversary recently, and we are trying to look ahead.

The Virginia Tech website looks ahead.  One feature on today's website was an article by someone attempting to save old battlefields from development.  Why should anyone care?  Because it is so important to know our heritage, both the good and the bad.   So sometimes it is good to look upon the past to learn lessons we can apply to the present.   And that is why the 150th anniversary of the Civil War is important to dwell upon.  Similar to the 1960's (the last "big" anniversary) we live in times full of change and uncertainty.  So it was in the 1860's too.   So it has been many times in our country's history. 

We have a lot to learn.  It is even instructive to delve into why we've forgotten so much.

I will be writing more on the Civil War (as promised), in the near future.

Should I Save the Date?

I had read about it....and now they have reached downtown Binghamton.

Major networks have reported about this.

Billboards have sprung up in many cities warning about it.

It is almost the day of judgment, and the announcement has reached downtown Binghamton.  Yes, the caravan of brightly painted RV's, announcing the end of the world on 5/21 of this year, has arrived.

About 10:30 this morning I was in a meeting, facing a window looking at a particular intersection, and I was amazed to see a fleet of what I thought were painted delivery vans (they were RV's) going down the street.  Their message?  The World was ending!  The date was May 21!  It wasn't going to be 2012 but 2011! The Bible guaranteed it!

At one point a woman exited one of the vehicles, took up residence in front of an office building, and started to hand out leaflets.

My spouse saw three of the vehicles in another part of the city later in the day.

Of course, only time will tell if this latest calculation is correct. But it would be a waste of time to point out all the other times people have been wrong about "the end".  After all, as investment companies like to say "Past performance is not indicative of future results." 

But interestingly....our local paper's website didn't have anything at all to say about the visit.

Crack Willows

I haven't indulged my FarmVille obsession on this blog for a few months.  So, today I'd like to speak about drug-addicted trees....no, wait.  There really is such a thing as Crack Willows, one of FarmVille's latest introduction.

Recently, FarmVille has permitted us to operate farms in England (FarmVille English Countryside).  We travel to and from our English farms on a motorized dirigible...sort of a steampunk-like touch, perhaps.  A number of English-like items have been introduced, such as Dexter cows, Sebright chickens (I almost purchased one in real life, regret that I never did), Modern Game Hens and now....crack willows.

Crack willows are so named because of their tendency to have branches separate from the main tree with a distinct cracking sound.  Such branches will travel down rivers and then easily root out and take root sometimes miles from where they started.  They root so easily that in our country, they are considered invasive.  

They even form hybrids with native willows.

They are all over NY State and a number of other states.  They are European in origin but I guess I've seen them everywhere and not even known about them.

Until FarmVille, I never even heard of them.

So who says playing computer games isn't educational.  And seriously, invasive plants are a serious matter.  Who knows, perhaps FarmVille can help us become educated to some of them.

The Civil War - Ft. Sumter

I was not able to make the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, at Ft. Sumter, in Charleston Harbor.  But, I did visit Charleston in March and I must say that Charleston must have more history per square inch than almost any other city in the United States.

 As a "Yankee", it is also fascinating to me to see "the other side".

If I had made it, there would have been so much to see and experience.

But in another way, it was good that we were able to experience a lot of downtown Charleston instead of chasing around various Civil War venues.

On a building downtown is this plaque.  The actual building is no longer there but at this site the Ordinance of Secession  for South Carolina was passed.  South Carolina was the first state to leave the Union, in December of 1860.

Over the next four months, a crisis built at a fort in Charleston Harbor, Ft. Sumter.  Actually, not too much of Ft. Sumter from the Civil War exists; much of what is on the site now dates from the Spanish-American War.  Nevertheless, there is a lot to see.


This first picture is the boarding of the ferry that takes you to Ft. Sumter.  The ferry ride lasts about 1/2 hour each way and you have an hour or so to tour the fort.  Boarding, we had a good view of the lovely Ravenel Bridge that spans the Cooper River.  Charleston lies between two rivers, the Ashley and the Cooper.

A taped narrative plays as the ferry approaches the island Ft. Sumter is located on.

When you embark at the Fort, what you see remaining of the Civil War fought looks like this.  It is amazing, given the bombardment this fort suffered, that any of it is still standing.

Inside one of the Spanish-American War buildings, is a museum where the Ft. Sumter Flag is on display....battered but in a place of honor.  There are 33 stars (states) on this flag. (It wasn't until later that I was told that flash photography can damage old cloth...but there was no sign prohibiting flash photography that I saw.  After the fort was surrendered to the Confederacy the union Major kept the flag.  This flag traveled throughout the North and was "auctioned off" to raise funds for the war.

On the way back, you can see the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, that is on display in Patriots Point in Charleston Harbor.

In a way it's good that we visited before the crush of people coming to commemorate the anniversary.

We enjoyed our visit very much but wish we had had more time to explore.

More on Charleston Rice

It is amazing how our recent trip to the Low Country turned into a combination of enjoying the spring flowers and finding all sorts of local food to take home.  The other day, we turned to another burlap bag of local rice we brought home, Aromatic Brown Rice.

Spouse, our family cook, made a pilaf of it and declared the aroma was equal to that of basmati rice.  It cooked up nice and flavorful.  As we prefer whole grains in our diet, the fact that it was brown rice was a plus.

Now, rice pilaf (to the best of my knowledge) is not a staple of the Low Country.  The popular preparation for rice is Red Rice, which is basically rice cooked with bacon, tomatoes, onion, and pepper and some other ingredients.  However, I seem to have a problem with tomatoes at times, so we didn't try it that way.

We also bought a Charleston recipe book, and there is a Red Rice recipe in the book, so our next rice recipe should be out of that book.

I could write a month's worth of food posts related to the Low Country.  Some of the foods we enjoyed were flounder, she-crab soup, shrimp and grits (and salmon and grits-believe it or not, yummy).  Hush Puppies were popular, but were a bit on the sweet side.  Speaking of flounder, I didn't have the style most popular in Charleston - Crispy Flounder.  Crispy Flounder, as served in Charleston, is a whole flounder (minus the head), which is battered, scored, and fried.

Between dreaming of Charleston food and posting on the Civil War, I should be busy for a while.

Second Blog Anniversary - Thank you!

On this second anniversary of my blog, I am going to link to my very first blog entry, which was my "eyewitness" account of being out and about in downtown Binghamton while the "hostage" crisis (which turned out to be much, much worse) at the American Civic Association was taking place.

I'm glad this spurred me into starting this blog.  And I'm glad I haven't had anything as exciting as that day to report to you, my readers.

And no, I am not going to offer a prize to my faithful readers like some blogs do.  However: I do want to say, to all of you, that I appreciate your reading and following my various ramblings.  I hope I have informed you, entertained you, given you some occasional food for thought.  I hope I have not wasted your precious reading time.

Thank you for following my blog, and I look forward to writing for your pleasure in the year ahead.

The Civil War and Me

In commemeration of the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Civil war our local PBS station has been rerunning Ken Burns "Civil War" film series from 1989.  Last night, they had the last episode-the southern surrender and the aftermath.  It included two "moving pictures", one from the "Great Reunion", the 50th anniversary reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg (1913) and one of the 75th anniversary reunion.

I wasn't able to find video of the 1913 reunion online but I did find some still pictures.  I was able to find, at this same link, a video (not on the Ken Burns film) showing some of the veterans being wheeled in, one carried in on a stretcher, for the 75th anniversary reunion in 1938.

The last verified Civil War veteran died in 1956.

It has always amazed me, as a person who loves history, how I love to learn about the Civil War when, in fact, none of my family lived in the United States when the war was fought.   Or, how I have memories of the 100th anniversary happening, but my parents weren't going to take me anywhere and so I never got to visit any Civil War sites before I was an adult.  But the Civil War has a hold on my heart.  There is just "something" about it, something that makes me want to learn and experience....more and more and more.

I am far from an expert, I wouldn't even call myself a Civil War buff, but there is just something about standing on a Civil War battlefield.  It literally gives me chills.  And, I can't wait to do Civil War related things over the next 5 years.

Because of vacation timing at work, I couldn't be at the beginning-in Charleston, SC, 150 years later, April 12, 2011.  But I will be there in spirit, with some photos of my recent visit to Charleston and a couple of Civil War related activities.  And hopefully, over the next 5 years, I'll be able to visit some special Civil War sites at the "right time."

Incidentally, there are a lot of Civil War websites - I enjoy one in particular, sonofthesouth.net, which contains a section that is a treasure trove of Civil War information.  But there are many, many others.

And Now, The Lawsuit

It was only a matter of time. 

A lawsuit has resulted from the tragic mass shooting at the American Civic Association on April 3, 2009.  The Gander Mountain store in question is located in nearby Johnson City.

I have some opinions on the subject, but will not voice them, only to say that I can not put myself in the shoes of one of the people directly affected by the shooting.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, however, especially given that this shooting took place in New York State.

Carolina Gold Rice

My recent trip to Charleston, SC held several pleasant surprises for me.  First and foremost, was our proximity (an easy walk down the narrow sidewalks of the historic Ansonborough neighborhood where we stayed, a walk appreciated by my gimpy back) to the Charleston City Market.

 The Market consists of several open buildings in a four block area. These are the entrances to two of the buildings.

The Market (at least, at this time of year) is not primarily a "farmers market" and not all the goods are locally produced, either.  But we had a wonderful time talking and interacting with some of the local artists, and went back several times.  (note, there are no pictures of those artists or their work.  I would not ever do that without permission, and I know many artists do not want pictures taken.)  If I end up posting photos of some work in the future, it will be of work that I purchased and credit will be given.)

One product that is local, and a revival of a historic heirloom food, is Carolina Gold Rice.

What we bought was grown locally and distributed through Charleston Specialty Foods. The distinctive yellow cloth bags packages of this rice are sold by several vendors at the market, and also are for sale at various historical venues throughout the Charleston area.  As the bag explains:

"In 1685, a distressed merchant ship paid for repairs in Charleston with a small quantity of rice seed from Madagascar.  Dr. Henry Woodward planted the seed in South Carolina, beginning the state's 200 year history as the leading rice producer in the United States."


So why should you pay a lot more for an heirloom variety of rice than the plain old (I won't mention any brand names) stuff you find on the supermarket shelves?

For various reasons, the cultivation of rice had slowed in the South Carolina low country, and much "Carolina Rice" is actually grown outside of the Carolinas.  The Carolina Gold Rice Foundation is attempting a comeback for this rice, and as the bag also explains "We are proud to be South Carolina's first product made with Green-e Certified Renewable Energy."

So how can you go wrong?  In one swoop you encourage the production of heritage foodstuffs, and support renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.

The rice can be ordered online or by calling 1-877-RICE-4-YOU. (and please note I am not being paid for this, or any other, endorsement I may make.)

So, how does it taste?  And what is the rice like?

I would judge it as medium grain.

It's definitely distinctive, and delicious.   Spouse (our family cook) made a pilaf with it.  It came out fluffy, and nice.

Nothing could be....err, finer.

Leopold's Ice Cream

One week ago, I was walking the streets of 87 degree downtown Savannah, GA.  As a northerner sick of winter and desperate for spring, I wanted sunshine, but not that much heat.  Somewhat exhausted by the walking and the heat, my spouse and I ducked into an ice cream shop we had both heard about, and wanted to try.

We were treated to some of the best ice cream we have every had.  I don't say that lightly; I have been a fan of Ithaca's Purity Ice Cream for years, and have also enjoyed the products of the Cayuga Lake Creamery.  (As always, I have received no compensation for these types of endorsements).

Make room, upstate NY Ice Cream, I now have a new co-favorite.

Leopold's Ice Cream.

The present owner (Stratton Leopold), one of the sons of the founder, used to be a Hollywood producer and various one sheet movie posters decorate the store along with other movie memorabilia.  As the website also explains,

"Much of the décor is original including the original soda fountain, soda fountain cover, back bar, sundae holders, banana split boats, malted milk dispenser, etc., etc., are available and are still being used. Even the old Philco radio and the wooden, interior phone booth from the old store are being used."

This is part of the store interior (it was hard getting pictures, given the crowds and the narrowness of part of the store.)

And these are some of the movie posters.

I wish I could have transported the ice cream back to Binghamton.  Of course, it is all natural and artificial dyes are not used, according to the website.  (otherwise, would I be writing about it?)

We didn't purchase the Tutti-Frutti favored by Savannah's famed late singer and songwriter Johnny Mercer but the seasonal Guiness and Girl Scout Thin Mints (the founder of the Girl Scouts came from Savannah) were greatly enjoyed.  These were seasonal flavors.

Not long after we had the ice cream, the heavens opened and torrential rain and hail poured down on Savannah.  We left downtown earlier than we had planned, and headed for the Byrd Cookie Company....a tale for another day.

The Second Anniversary - A Moment of Cybersilence

A "moment of silence" in between blogging about my recent travels.

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the senseless shooting at the American Civic Association building on Front Street in downtown Binghamton.

So much has happened since then - sadly, these shootings continue, such as the recent tragedy in Tuscon, AZ demonstrate.  And, several days ago, as (on our way home) we passed the exit for Virginia Tech and I remembered what happened there nearly four years ago.

For us here in Binghamton, what has been the aftermath?  For the family, friends and surviving co-workers, life has gone on for them.  Money is being raised for a memorial, but we "aren't there" yet.  For the rest of us-knowledge that life can change in a split second.

Meanwhile, today, the anniversary will be marked quietly at the ACA building.

The Book and the Cook

I am in Myrtle Beach, on a slow connection, so I hope this post is successful.

Today I said a reluctant farewell to the city of The Book and The Cook.  I don't know how well off Savannah would be without the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which is called "The Book" there locally.  As for The Cook, she is (of course), Paula Deen, who is practically a one person industry all by herself.  Not that I envy her; she has had a hard life and deserves all of her success.

But I digress.

Since I can't write a long post, I will summarize what I liked about Savannah.

1.  Abercorn Street, south of downtown, with its broad boulevard lined with blooming azaleeas and hawthornes, and its canopy of live oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. (and yes, I know enough to stay far away from Spanish Moss.  As a former resident of Arkansas, I know a lot about chiggers.)

2.  Bonaventure Cemetery.  Words could not do justice to the beauty of this place.  So I will, again, wait until I can upload pictures.

3.  The Byrd Cookie Company.  Paula Deen tested, AM approved.  There were samples of all the flavors, and each flavor was better than the flavor before.

3.  The Savannah Peanut Company.  Not really Savannah peanuts, they come from Virginia, but one could make a lunch of the samples.  (yes, I bought some, too.)  Not as good as River Street Sweets but the price was right.

4.  River Street Sweets.  Praline heaven! (I didn't buy the pralines, but I wish I could have bottled the fragrance.)

More on Savannah....and Myrtle Beach....when I have a good connection again.

A Rainy Evening in Georgia (with Hail)

Today, after a 37 year wait, I finally set foot in Savannah.

In 1974 we took a trip from New York City to Tampa, Florida, on I-95 and passed through Savannah.  I remember seeing all the palm trees (they are probably really palmettos) and wanting to see the city.  I've passed through it 3 times since on the auto train, but was never able to stop.

Two years ago we had a visit planned and had to cancel it due to car trouble.

This time-we made it!

We took one of those trolley tours of downtown Savannah.  Had about 2 hours of good walking after and then it started getting really dark.  Spouse pointed out the blue green color of the sky.  It's been a long time since we've seen something like that.  He told us we'd better get back to where our car was parked (in the lot of the Savannah visitors center).  Not two minutes after we got to the center the heavens opened.  Had torrential rains (still is pouring) with lightening and nickel sized hail.  I'm sure we had a little damage to the car but not worried about it right now.

So there is still a lot to see.  And, eventually I will write about it complete with photos.

Charleston it is not and I was not expecting it to be.  There is more crime, and a bit of "edginess" to it but, as a fan of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil....well it did not disappoint, not at all.

You would not believe the scenery.  Boulevards with dividers full of blooming azaleas and hawthorn trees with live oaks dripping with spanish moss arching over the roads.  The squares...all 22 of them....beckoned with fountains, with flowering trees and bushes, with statues.

Forsyth Park was everything we'd thought it would be, and more.  Beautiful fountain.  Part of the fountain area was roped off for a wedding.   Families frolicked in the heat.  It was humid but not overly so.

We haven't made it yet to Bonaventure Cemetary and don't know if we will.  

One place we did make it to was the Byrd Cookie Company.  That deserves its own blog entry.

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain in the morning and then taper off.  Tomorrow it's only supposed to get to 59 degrees!  Moreland, Georgia made it into the news with their hail.  It wasn't as bad here and we will hope it remains that way.

The Quick Highlights of Charleston

Charleston.....such a wonderful place.  I will have a lot of really nice memories.  I hope to write more in depth later, but for now...

1.  The downtown neighborhoods. We made the right decision (a little pricey, but right) to stay in a bed and breakfast.  We got free parking and a location in walking distance to almost everything downtown.  It was so "cool" to make believe we belonged there.  We got a nice piazza to spend some reading time on, too.

One nice thing Charleston does is put the neighborhood name right on the street signs.  So you know you are in Ansonborough (the neighborhood we lived in), the French Quarter (yes, Charleston has a French Quarter), or whatever.

The B&B operator gave us good restaurant advice, and let me hook into her internet when my wireless decided not to function.  Thank you, Fantasia B&B, you were the peak of hospitality.

2.  The historic B&B (see above) we stayed at.  Will try to post some pictures when my computer cooperates.

3. Two great restaurants, Hymans Seafood and Jestine's Kitchen.

4.  All the historic churches, parks, the Pineapple Fountain and the Charleston City Market.

5.  Magnolia Plantation.

6.  Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began.  In fact, the Confederacy began in downtown Charleston, but Charleston paid the price...more on that later, again if I have the time to write about it.

7. She-Crab Soup, Salmon and Grits (I don't do shrimp), and the other wonderful low country food we ate.

8.  KKBE.  Another Charleston institution that deserves a blog entry.

9.  Watching the Charleston "Rickshaws" (bicycle cabs.)

10.  Calhoun Mansion's garden area, free of charge.

11.  Earthling Day Spa.  Pricey, and didn't do as much for my back as I had hoped, but the masseuse was excellent, and the spa was spotlessly clean.


What did I miss out on?

1.  The horse drawn wagon tours.  Decided we'd be better off walking....and walking....and walking.  Maybe next time. (Note, one thing the tourist guides don't mention is that the streets smell like....well, the liquid the horses leave behind.)

2.  The Citadel.  Looking forward to the Friday precision drill but they went on spring break at end of classes Friday.

3.  Several downtown mansions, mainly because we ran out of time. 

4. Middleton Place (another plantation), Charles Town landing, and Drayton Hall.

Thank you, Charleston.  I have enough material for a years worth of blogs, if I can remember even half of what I experienced.

And now, on to Savannah.

Charleston is Awesome....Except For This

Is it my imagination, or are the timeshare sellers getting more desperate?

The Florida landscape is full of information stands that...well, they have informational brochures, but once they get you over to their booth, you are suddenly being offered free tickets to various attractions "if only" you listen to a short presentation.

I didn't expect it in Charleston.

And I didn't expect one of these high pressure salesmen working in, of all places, a restaurant gift shop. He wasn't selling timeshares but some kind of travel website membership.  The premise was still the same, get free tickets in return for listening to a presentation.

We ran from that as fast as we could.  And oh by the way, restaurant (I won't name the guilty party but I should) you may be interested in knowing I would have bought more of your "stuff" because the price was right, but I didn't want that guy pestering me again.  So I didn't.

Before we caught on to these bogus visitors stands we had one of these hucksters literally pull us in from us walking past them on Meeting Street, a main street in downtown Charleston.

I wonder how many tourists get sucked into this.  Since we knew this scam from Florida, we sniffed it out quickly. But I bet not everyone does-obviously, or they wouldn't be there.  And, quite honestly, I didn't expect something like that.

So if you visit Charleston, beware!  (I know there are people who can withstand the sales pitches and take advantage of the tickets, but I don't feel like going through the aggrevation.)

(end of lecture.  And also end of my stay in Charleston.  Have so much to write about. and so little time....)

The Charleston City Market

Forgive me if these blog entries seem a little disjointed.  Between my back and trying to learn to use a Mac (with its frustrating disappearing cursor every time something autosaves) this is quite the experience.

We've made (in the last 24 hours) 3 trips to the nearby  Charleston city market.  By now I am almost a pro at walking down the unbelievably narrow sidewalks.

I wish I had some pictures to show you, but you will have to use your imagination.

Imagine several very long covered buildings.  At the front of each, older black women weave sweetgrass baskets.  Inside, more older black women weaving baskets, plus what the owner of the B&B calls "trash to treasure".  It is a definite step up from a flea market, and....well, they sell everything from trinkets to genuine art.

One thing we purchased (in addition to a small sweetgrass basket-how could we not?) was a painted brick.  A Charleston tradition is something called "hurricane painting".  Every time a hurricane sweeps through and damages the city, the hurricane artists gather debris and paint on it, creating works of art.

This particular artist was painting on historic bricks, and the designs were wonderful. When I can, I will (if I have the time!) take a picture of this brick.   I think the brick came from Hurricane Hugo damage but I honestly do not remember.

We also got some local food, packaged for tourists, but that she-crab soup is so good, we wanted a mix so we could make it at home.  And, the bag is quite decorative too.

Charleston

I have finally managed (using a loaner Mac computer, which I am trying to learn how to use) to sign onto my blog.  I apologize for the lack of pictures but I won't have any until I can use my computer again.

Anyway......

What a sight for spring-starved eyes.  While it is busy snowing back home (with temperature highs in the 20's scheduled for tomorrow) I am in a paradise of palmettos, flowering peach, sago palm, azaleas, poppies, yellow jessamine and who knows what else.

Only one problem-my back.

I would highly suggest that you never take a 850 mile road trip 45 minutes after you throw your back out.  But it was spring or bust, and I think I have bust.

Today, still in a lot of pain, I made an appointment with a massage person here in downtown Charleston.  It was a great 1 hour massage but I don't think it did a whole lot of good.  Spouse has been very good about it, and I am sitting here with an ice pack on that very sore back.

About the B&B:  It is called the Fantasia B&B on George St., in the historic Ansonborough district of downtown Savannah.  The house was built in 1813, which, by Charleston standards, means the house is quite recent.  The house has a piazza, which....well, here in Charleston, although the entrance to houses is in the front, the porches are built on the side.  These porches are called piazzas.  I haven't sat on our piazza yet because my back and the furniture here isn't getting along.

But the B&B owner is absolutely wonderful.

This morning she gave us a couple of walking tour maps, and we did a lot of walking (yes it hurts my back but those horse drawn carriages right now, I think, would be even worse).  We went up and down so many streets I can't think of them all.  Houses built in the 1740's, houses where George Washington slept, the church that both George Washington and Robert E. Lee worshipped at.  And the site of where South Carolina seceeded.

Tomorrow or Friday, we plan to see Ft. Sumter, speaking of the War of Northern Aggres....I mean, the Civil War.

In many of the historic houses, the passerby can catch glimpses of picture postcard gardens.  A tantalizing peak at paradise....for some reason it reminds me of Brooklyn.

A local Harris-Teeter store (we have a full kitchen) has supplied a number of meals.  And, another sight for sore New York eyes, they sell wine.  And not just $2.98 WalMart wine.  There is some pretty fine wine in that store.  Plus cigars, and other things you would not find in your average New York grocery.

Tonight we are going to have store-made shecrab soup.  And speaking of which, my next post will discuss the Charleston City Market.

The South Shall Rise Again (Probably Part 1 of Several)

Decided to visit the Wal-Mart in Mt. Airy.   There are some regional food specialties we love, and needed to get some supplies for my back problem.

In the parking lot....well, you know the "People of Wal-Mart" website?  I wish I had my camera handy when a pickup roared through the lot, complete with a full sized Confederate Stars and Bars mounted in the bed.

Then there was the lady, quite obese, who sported what looked like a tattoo of the Virgin Mary on her upper arm.  I didn't want to obviously stare so I gave up trying to figure her tattoo out.

The Wal-Mart cashier didn't blink an eye when we brought our cart to the register.  Our haul included:

A box of Mint Crunch Moon Pies.  (new flavor, and out of this world.)

Two jars of Dukes Mayonnaise.  (Best.  Mayonnaise.  Ever.)  OK, that isn't from North Carolina but don't know if they sell it further north than Mt. Airy.

A six pack of .5 liter Diet Cheerwine. (Cheerwine is not wine.  It is a cherry flavored, caffinated soda, a North Carolina product.)

A bottle of Biltmore Estate wine, from Asheville, NC. (noting that in New York, wine can only be sold in liquor stores unless they are wine coolers, or under 5% alcohol, you do not find wine in Wal-Mart.)

Two bottles of a California wine, costing $2.97 each (!!!!!) and a couple of bottles of some other North Caorlina wine.  One a scuppernong wine, the other a muscadine.  Both are southern type grapes that you do not find in our dreary, cold climate.  (some of this wine will be gifts).

And, last but not least, a six pack of North Carolina beer.

Also noting here that Wal-Mart is a native Southern chain, originating in Arkansas.

Yes, the South will rise again, no doubt financed by Northerners who come to the South to escape winter.

If Spring is God's Postcard, He has Played a Joke on the North

If you live in a cold, snowy climate (like upstate NY) you know the feeling just about March.....total winter burnout.  Hence, we were scheduled to leave the Binghamton area today for the sunny south.

But Binghamton wasn't going to let us go easily.

We got up about 5am.  Dressed, made coffee, packed what wasn't already in the car.  I was putting gloves in my coat pockets when.....

My back.  Huge spasm.  OUCHHHHHH

I spent the next 45 minutes trying to get to the point where I could leave the house and get to the car.  Wondering if I should even try to travel.  Trying to remember when my chiropractor opened on Mondays.  But it wasn't near as bad as the back meltdown of a year and a half ago that lead to 4 months of physical therapy, various chiropractic visits and an MRI.  So I decided to try it, I was so desperate to experience spring.

Not so fast.  It was sleeting outside.  It was crunchy and I was wearing sneakers. My wonderful spouse had put ice melt down and held my hand as I hobbled to the car.  The next 60 miles or so of driving was sleet, some freezing drizzle, snow.  As we got into Pennsylvania snow coated all the trees.  The sleet crunched under the tires.  It was still dark and a bit scary.  Would we make it to Scranton?

We stopped at Dobbs in Great Bend for their wonderful blueberry pancakes.  Spouse had an omelet.

Then, south.  From Lenox to Scranton it was totally snow and sleet.  Had to slow down to 40.  Turns out the delay due to my bath was to our disadvantage.

Finally, south of Scranton, the slushy mix was changing over to rain.  By the time we got to Hazleton, it was rain and....

Fog.  Deep fog.  And slush.

For the next 40 miles, fog.  Finally we started exiting the mountains and the fog stopped.

And then my son called.

He told me "you are lucky you left."  He left work about 7am and ended up driving home in freezing rain.  He said he barely made it home.

So our drive to Mt. Airy and my back cost us a lot of time, but we did get here.  No Andy Griffith tourism this time (we were too late - those stores close at 5) but there was the local Wal-Mart....which was another story.

Oh, about the title of this blog entry.  The "spring is God's postcard" was on a billboard next to a Pentecostal church in southern Virginia.

As for Binghamton, that same deity gave us spring this past week....and then yanked it away.

Yanked it 546 miles away, to be exact.

Hairy Woodpecker or Downy Woodpecker?

Today, enjoying our 64 degree weather (last day of that for a while) spouse had just gotten out of his car when he heard a tapping sound.  Looking up at an electric pole near our driveway, he observed a small black and white bird pecking away where a small piece of the pole was trying to come off.


Looking at a wonderful website the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has, we have concluded he was watching either a Downy Woodpecker or a Hairy Woodpecker.


But which one was it?


Apparently telling a downy apart from a hairy is one of the first challenges a new birder faces.  They look very much alike, so much so that Cornell provides a visual comparison of the two.


For the Hairy Woodpecker, Cornell instructs us: "Note the well-developed "comma-shaped" black mark extending from the shoulder onto the breast. This feature is often less obvious in Downy's and is sometimes a useful distinguishing mark."

And, I guess we should have "Look for black on the outer tail feathers."

What spouse had observed the most was the drum. So sure enough, this website had audio files of the call and drum of each, and this clinched it.  No doubt in spouse's mind, it was a downy woodpecker.

Is this the beginning of a new hobby for our old age? 


Thank you for the research material, Cornell!

The Irish Mystery of the Snow Bugs

Today, we got up to 60 degrees - with sun.  Only 11 days after our 21 inches of snow, most of it has melted.  Must have been the luck of the Irish.

After work, spouse and I took a 25 minutes walk, then we came home to finish up dinner.  Reaching for a coffee cup in the car, I was brought up short by an old memory of the years we lived here when there was still lots of snow on the ground at this time of year, and sometimes even into April.

A snow bug was on the coffee cup.

I don't know what they are, and I don't have a camera on my cell phone to show you.  But did it ever bring back memories of when my son was young.

Back when we had long winters, starting sometime in February, and certainly in March, I would go out with my young son and there, on the surface of the snow, would be elongated greyish bugs. (maybe beetles, I am no expert.)  Lots of them, crawling around on the snow.  We loved to watch them.

I haven't seen them in years. But then again we've rarely had snow into the middle of March in the last few years.  (Weather, don't get any ideas.)

I tried to google what I saw and didn't have much luck.  So,  if you know what these insects are, let me know.  I found this on a blog, but I don't think this is what our snow bugs (or beetles) are.

Some cities dye their rivers or fountains green for St. Patrick's Day. Binghamton?  Well, we have snow bugs.

Guideposts-A Shout Out For Great Customer Service

Good customer service is so hard to come by nowadays, that good customer service deserves a cyber-shoutout.

There is a magazine called Guideposts.  As they say on their website "We’ll bring you true stories of hope, faith, personal growth and positive thinking, plus inspiring quotes, daily devotionals and prayers for every need. A little inspiration…it can change your day, even your life."

My mother in law had subscribed to Guideposts magazine for many years.  She is a deeply religious woman and I'm sure this magazine brought her a lot of inspiration and comfort.   I would occasionally get her issues after she had accumulated a stack.  But in a recent visit to my mother in law, she told me "I haven't seen an issue in quite a while".  She gave me the remaining issues she had, which were a couple of years old.


From what I could tell, the subscription expired in 2009.  Puzzled, I contacted Guideposts.  I explained that she had fallen, was confined to her house due to her injuries and the terrible winter they were having where she lives, and if they could check into this.  I found it hard to believe she would have let the magazine lapse.



Indeed, the subscription had expired back in 2009.  But what happened next absolutely delighted me.  They told me they had given her a free one year subscription.  And sure enough, when I visited her last week, she had her first issue of the "reinstated" subscription.

Thank you, Guideposts, for this gesture to a long time customer.

Binghamton Clothing Fire Aftermath

Back in December, I told you that someone I know, in the communications field, was going to give me various "old time Binghamton" photos. They were in the "public domain" and I could publish them on my blog.  I now have these.  I haven't had a chance to go through a lot of these but I wanted to post one of these, as an experiment, since I recently blogged about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the similar fire in Binghamton.  (and if these are photos that I do not have a right to publish, I guess I am going to find out about it.)

This is a photo of a gathering (before the?) funeral for the fire victims.

I suppose I should be out there taking pictures of the aftermath of our 18 inches of snow but....it is so much nicer inside, thinking of history.

If I have the time (and right now I do not) I will try to get some of the other pictures posted at a future date.

Notes:  the Security Mutual building (built 1904, still standing) is visible in the upper right of the photo.  The "bump" is a building now occupied by Boscovs Department Store, also still standing.  The building right behind where the streetcars are parked, recently renovated in the past couple of years, now houses RiverRead Books, our local independent bookseller.

The actual fire location "probably" was just to the left, outside the range of this photo.

And, don't you wonder how people dressed the way they did (given this was July) without getting heatstroke?

Robin Igloos

I hope the robins I blogged about yesterday built themselves some snug igloos yesterday afternoon and picked up a space heater or two at Kovarik Hardware, because we have ourselves a state of emergency and the roads are closed due to snow. They won't be flying anywhere for a bit.

The funny thing is I was just messaging back and forth with a local Facebook friend, a FB friend in New Jersey, and my Farming Through the Revolution Facebook friend in Tunisia (things are calm there) about our weather, while emailing someone in Fayetteville, NY (a suburb of Syracuse).  Our wonderful electronic age does lead to some interesting situations, which I am reporting to you on using a "web log" (blog).

So I'm home for this morning.  I haven't gone out yet.  My poor spouse actually made it to work but he had quite the adventure.  I'm sure he's not thinking about robins right now.

And gee, I was going to blog about someone I indirectly know who won the lottery, but this is more fun.

Only two more weeks to (ha ha) spring.

Some Very Ticked Off First Robins of Spring

Two of my Facebook friends reported seeing their first robins of spring today.  I didn't have that opportunity, being enroute from a trip downstate - just in time for it to start snowing.  Right now we have about 2 inches on the ground.

Yesterday, when I left on my (shortened, due to the weather) trip, it was 48 here.

We got back in time to see part of our lawn uncovered for the first time since December-for a few minutes.

It's supposed to go down to 19 tonight with wind gusts up to 22 mph.

Is that any way to greet the first robins of spring?

Happy Birthday to a "Lost Friend"

Somewhere out there is a friend from my childhood I've had no contact with since right around the time we started high school.  Today would be her birthday.

Although we spent a lot of time together as children, we grew apart in what is now called the pre teen years.  We spent a lot of time playing Barbie and Ken.  I had a Barbie, she had a Ken.  Oh, if only I had that Barbie now, it probably is worth a bunch of money.  It must have been purchased in the first couple of years after Barbies came out.  It had blonde hair in an early 60's a la Mad Men hairstyle, and a small wardrobe including a red pencil skirt and a (my pride and joy) wedding gown.  Its arms and legs would not bend (I so wished they would be able to) and its feet were shaped to only accept high heeled shoes. 

Her Ken had brown hair, plastic.  Its arms and legs didn't bend either.  We would take our dolls on "dates".  My Barbie was her Ken's fiancee.

We did other things too, not just playing with Barbies.  I loved being in her apartment, with the plastic covered furniture.  Everything was so clean.  There was a reason for that.

Her mother had a heart condition and was ill.  She needed to be on oxygen.  Yet, she was very kind to me and after my mother died, I would sometimes go down to her apartment (we lived in the same apartment building) and she would feed me breakfast. Then, my friend and I would walk to junior high together.

When we had our junior high graduation, we went to a beauty parlor early in the morning and had our hair done together.  The graduation was at the Loews Paradise in the Bronx, one of the most beautiful movie theatres of all time.  Of course, at that time we never realized what a treasure we had in our own back yards (so to speak - we had no back yards in our apartment building.)  (My high school graduation was there, too.)

Why did we grow apart?  It's complicated but....in the City there were very few options if you lived in a school district that had terrible schools.  Our local high school (now closed, in its original form, broken up into several smaller schools inside the building) was Evander Childs.  At one time it was considered an excellent school.  By the mid 60's, one did not aspire to go there (later it became even worse, which is why it was finally closed.  Consider this:  both the junior high and high school I went to were closed down because they were so terrible.)  I escaped that urban blight of a high school by passing an exam and being accepted to a high school called the Bronx High School of Science. 

My friend?  She didn't, and went to Evander Childs.

At any rate, I have not seen her in about 40 years.

Whereever you are, friend of my childhood, I hope you've had a good life.  I've looked for you on Facebook without success.  So I hope you are alive and well.  Happy birthday.  Maybe one day we'll find each other, and maybe we'll find we have something to connect us once again.  I hope so.

Wendell Berry, Harper Lee and Thoughts on Aging

Wendell Berry....a voice from my past, now to be honored by the President.

It's been many years since I've read one of his books. Right now, I am pretty bummed at the prospect of aging and watching people I love or have been in my life one way or another age.  I'm going through a mini-crisis, such as it is, as I approach the ripe old age of 60.

Wendell Berry passed that milestone a while ago.  (Another person to be honored, Harper Lee, passed it even longer ago than that.whose sister I knew just lost her sister this past week to Alzheimers.  I watch Alzheimer's (or something like it) rob a neighbor of his life, his wit, his memory.

Aging...you become so fragile.  It can be so very depressing knowing that I am watching what could be my fate.

But on the other hand....

What a wonderful thing, to have your lifes work influence so many people, to have your writings influence so many people.....and to live to see it.

I can only aspire to a fraction of what these two writers have accomplished....Wendell Berry with over 40 books....and Harper Lee-with just one.

Please someone....tell me that aging has an upside.  Because right now I can't see one, and that roll of toilet paper is unrolling faster....and faster....and faster.