A Bridge Too Far

I am not a novice when it comes to walking on bridges.  I've walked the Brooklyn Bridge (between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn), the Rainbow Bridge (between Niagara Falls, NY and Niagara Falls, Ontario and the Alexandra Bridge between Ottawa, Ontario and Hull, Quebec, among others.

But today I met my match.

My head hangs in shame.  My arthritic right knee and a steep (to my knee, that is) incline did me in.  (memo to self:  lose weight).  I had the physical fitness otherwise and the will.  And the morning was beautiful and sunny.

I did not complete the walking of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge that spans the Cooper River between Charleston, South Carolina and Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina-if you count the long approaches on both sides.
I did do about 3.2 miles (round trip) and I did a bunch of walking afterwards (on flatter paths).  But the bridge defeated me, mere days before the Cooper River Bridge Run where participants will do a lot more than the bridge.

The entire round trip, I figure, would have been about 5.4 miles.

 The approach to the bridge from the Mt. Pleasant side.

This is a very popular bridge.  On this Tuesday morning, there were a variety of walkers and bikers:  mothers with strollers, college students, senior citizens.

One of the many sights from the bridge is the U.S.S. Yorktown at Patriots Point.

After we finished our walk we still had parking time left (you have to prepay, estimating how much time you will need) so we took a walk on the 1250 ft. Mount Pleasant Pier.  Not only was there walking, fishing, and a very nice playground, but there were benches and porch type swings  Here is some detail from a swing.

Hopefully my knee will be better tomorrow, and I will be off to more adventures. (Tomorrow's Spring Things will not be a Charleston post but I promise, you will get to see some of the many flower pictures I've been taking another time.)  Sadly, one of the places I was thinking of visiting, Folly Beach County park, is closed, having been dealt heavy blows by nature - including the same Hurricane Irene that did in parts of upstate NY - but there is so much to do in Charleston, one could spend months here and not run out of things to do.

Adventures in Construction Land

I love travel because of the unexpected.  And sometimes, the very humorous.

Spouse and I. over the past two days, traveled (by car) from the Binghamton, NY area to the Charleston, SC area.  Our heads are still spinning from the road, but by tomorrow we should be recovered and all set to explore the Low Country.

So what did we find just outside our motel? 

Road construction.

But not just any road construction.

We are in "Construction Land". And not only that, it even has its own website.

At the end of the construction area - yes, there a sign telling us we are leaving Construction Land.

So what is happening at South Carolina's newest "theme park"?  A lot of improvements for the boulevard we are staying near.  The project should be finished by December and one hopes it doesn't impact local businesses - quite a number, from the looks of it - too much.  (We did manage to get to the Harris-Teeter supermarket after a couple of attempts at figuring out how to enter the shopping plaza, and picked up 4 cases of Cheerwine, some crab cakes and a container of she-crab soup for dinner.  Earlier, I had bought some Goo Goo Clusters for dessert.)

You  gotta love people who can joke about road construction.

That was our warm welcome to the Charleston area.

Civil War Sunday-The Battle of Charleston Reenactment 2010

 (The above is actually from the 2009 event but I liked it, so hope you enjoy.)
I am continuing a blog post from last Sunday.  Last March, I visited a Civil War reenactment near Charleston, South Carolina.  As I blogged last week, this doesn't commemorate one battle but rather several different skirmishes over the course of the war.

I don't know any Civil War reenactors personally so this may be a common thing, but what struck me about the group participating in this (according to the program) is that the reenactors have formed a Northern regiment, and a Southern regiment, and all members are able to "play" both roles.  I would give them some actual credit, but I apparently lost my program (in our September flood).  If anyone knows any of these reenactors, I would love to hear more about them so I can give their organization proper credit.

As I've blogged before, there is a lot more to a reenactment than people running around with guns and pretending to fight each other. (Those fights can be dangerous, by the way, especially the ones on horseback). There is a very big educational element, and the reenactors in this met with spectators afterwards.

Some of these are not in "order". My uploading function has been balky recently.

First, the assembling. (Federals, and then Confederates.)

 Almost time for battle...and then it begins.

 
Time for the cavalry.http://www.reillysbattery.org/Newsletter/Jul00/deborah_grace.htm

It's time for the soldiers on horseback.

And time for some hand to hand fighting.

There is also an educational component to the reenactments.  Last week I blogged about a Gullah educator and her activities.  Today, a view of the medical tent treating the casualties.

If you are in the Charleston area next weekend, please stop by.  You might just find me there....you just never know where you may find me ramblin'.

Civil War Saturday-St. Patrick's Day Special Edition

A short post today, because a fellow blogger has basically done my work. (Thank you, Carolina HeartStrings). 

I normally don't have Civil War Saturdays but I couldn't resist after reading her post.

I enjoy originality and new views of events and people and  this take on the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley by a South Carolina blogger fits right into that catgory.  I have blogged about the Hunley before, but not quite like this.

On this St. Patrick's Day, it is fitting to consider the contribution of Irish immigrants to the Civil War.  The Carolina HeartStrings post discusses the Irish crew members of this submarine. The Scots contributed also- I have blogged about a local Civil War hero in our Binghamton, New York community, David Ireland, who was an immigrant from Scotland.  Indeed, immigrants from various countries played many parts in our War Between the States.  It wasn't just natives of North and South.

But the Irish contributed more than their share.

At this point, I would also like to expand a little on something else the Carolina HeartStrings blog discussed - the fact that citizens of the Northern and Southern states, even to this day, name this war that occurred from 1861-1865 differently.  I call it the "Civil War", remaining true to my New York (Northern United States) roots.  There is a very nice discussion of the different naming of this war online.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention another link in the blog post I am discussing, a very nice discussion of some of the treasures (treasures of history, that is) recovered from the Hunley, that are not normally shown to the public.  One of these treasures mentions a battle in Tennessee whose anniversary is coming up next month.  A terrible battle - and one that I will blog about in the coming weeks.

Note, starting Monday, I will be taking time off here and there so I hope you enjoy my "best of AM" posts.

Westover Blooms after the Flood

For all the times we had one or two feet of snow on the ground on March 16....

For all the times we sat and stared at the Weather Channel and saw other people getting spring, but not us....

For the time (I think it was March 19 of last year) we were on the road in Southeast Virginia, saw a church sign announcing "Spring is God's Postcard" and thought our postcard had been Returned to Sender, Address Unknown...

For all the misery the weather caused upstate NY last year, including towns flooded and destroyed by Hurricane (well, maybe by then Tropical Storm) Irene and our area flooded by Tropical Storm Lee following in Irene's wake, including a lot of my neighborhood, Westover (near Johnson City, NY), we've been given a gift.  Along with much of the Northeast, we have been given the gift of early spring, some plants coming out a month ahead of schedule.

Is all forgiven?

No.  You can't forgive the weather, because there is no malice. The weather acts as it will. But sometimes, after a flood, the sun finally comes out and shines a rainbow down.

This year our spring postcard was delivered early.  Late this afternoon I took a walk around Westover and found this...

A crocus....

Yellow daffodils planted in the front of our Y, which had flooded in September (and is just about back to normal now after cleaning up from that and a fire the following month....)

...more crocuses...

..a bush buds out

And, at my house, I found my crocuses (about the last in the neighborhood!) had finally opened.

Now - we must hold our breath.  Because weather can be fickle.  It's easy to forget it is still winter.

And then what?

But in the meantime, I an drinking in every drop of spring.

Zombies and St. Patricks Day

Zombie mashups are the order of the day.

The father of the Little Women beomes a werewolf in one mashup.  Jane Austin wrote about them in another.  Not only was Abraham Lincoln a vampire hunter, but St. Patrick was really trying to rid the Emerald Isle of....zombies.

Yes.  St. Patrick's Day (tomorrow) is a zombie holiday, which may come as a surprise to the good residents of Ireland, and certain American cities such as Savannah, GA.  But I digress.)

Here's the true story of St. Patrick, as revealed by author Dan DeWitt.

Note that in a lot of modern zombie literature, zombies are not quite the traditional Voudon zombies.  Rather, they originate  from some type of virus (natural or man made by terrorists or others).  The first victims get the virus, die and reanimate as mindless, vicious creatures who have an insatiable hunger for living human flesh.  So their first act once reanimated is to attack the nearest living humans.  Once bitten, the next human victim gets the virus, dies, reanimates.  Repeat the process, many times. 

The plague spreads rapidly, with the government unable to fight it, usually ending up in a total destruction of civilization.  Of course, civilization doesn't fall until  there are many thrilling battles, explosions and so forth, with the zombies always winning.  These are a totally different enemy and can only be...er, killed...(re-killed?) in one particular way.  Of course it takes a while to figure it out and by the time the remaining humans do, it's too late.

The destruction of civilization? That is generally known as the "Zombie Apocalypse".

Zombies show up a lot nowadays in video games and popular literature and movies.  I especially love a local cable commercial, where Ricky Gervais refuses a Facebook friending invitation, and is suddenly plunged into a zombie apocalypse.  As he's running down the street being chased by zombies, soldiers and a helicopter, he is trying to accept the friend invite, saying he was "only kidding".

It really looks good in HD.  Although, just so you know, Time-Warner, it's starting to get a wee bit stale.

But St Patrick's Day and zombies?

Sure enough,..

Here are zombies in a St. Patrick's Day parade.

And you can even purchase a Celtic Zombie Pride greeting card.

I find zombies fascinating.  At least until the real zombie apocalypse hits. (and if it does, Ace has the products you need.).  You'll never think of St. Patrick's Day in the same way after a zombie apocalypse.  No one appreciated the job he did on the Emerald Isle, and now the zombies have regrouped.  And soon, they will be after our green beer.

Which brings the question, how did a holiday celebrating a saint evolve (or devolve?) into a secular holiday featuring shamrocks, corned beef and cabbage (we are having ours tonight) and green beer (no)?

In the meantime, remember to accept all Facebook "friend" invitations.  Especially tomorrow, on St Patrick's Day.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day March 2012- The Winter of our Content

Like so many gardeners living in the Northeast, we have been full of wonder over our mild winter.  Normally, our area of upstate NY (Binghamton area) gets 80 inches or more of snow.  This year...it's been hardly noticeable.  And spring is a good month ahead of schedule.

In some years, my Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (thank you again, May Dreams Gardens, for sponsoring this monthly event) would have consisted of pictures of 1 or 2 feet of snow on our yard.  But not this year.  Our high today was 73 at the house.  Yesterday was 63,  Monday was warm, and this warmth will continue for at least another week.  These aren't records.  But the day after day warmth - that is the big news.

Crocuses have been popping and blooming in local yards everywhere:  except in my northern exposure front yard.

I thought today would be a day of embarrassment.  I had pictures of my African violets and my Christmas cactus all ready to go.  But when I got home from work tonight, a surprise awaited.

One primrose had flowers opening.

And then I saw open buds on a second primrose.

In my lawn, crocuses had popped up and were getting ready to flower.

In the front of our house, an evergreen hedge is 'blooming'.

On the side of my house, a lilac is budding out.  Now I'll have to hold my breath that the cold weather doesn't come back. 

And what about other Binghamton area yards?  On my way home tonight, I saw an andromeda in bloom (right side of picture).

And, in another yard, a mystery plant.

And finally, another patch of crocuses.

What will happen between now and May?  I hope only good things.

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, are you having an early spring too?

And, regardless of where you live, happy GBBD!

Winter Wednesday - Spring Springs

Today will be my last Winter Wednesday post.

Unbelievably, spring is actually here before the March 20 (first day of spring this year) on the calendar.  Usually it doesn't come in our area, flower wise, until some time in mid April.  But plants are a good month (or more) ahead of schedule, thanks to our mild winter here in upstate NY (and a lot of the country.)  Yesterday it reached 72 degrees at our house.  Today it was "only" 63 degrees.

And not only that, today I saw my first robin.  I'm sure they've been out there for a while, but this robin is my first of spr....I mean, winter.  Still winter.

So, on the cusp of spring, I see bare trees (this one, although you can barely see it, has a male cardinal in the upper middle....)

And then I see bushes starting to leaf out. (Look in the middle of the thick branch).

And the crocuses are blooming.

Tomorrow, the warm weather continues.  In fact, it's supposed to continue for the next few days.


What will next Wednesday bring?  Whatever it does it will have a new name.

Spring Things.

Please, winter.  Goodbye, and don't come back.

Best of AM -The Great Reaction of 2011

This post was from August of 2011 - and if I only knew what the next month would bring - the earthquake was only the beginning-we ended up with major flooding in September of 2011.  And then, in October of 2012 - Superstorm Sandy struck just 100 miles from us.

Please enjoy this post about an earthquake here in upstate New York, where we normally don't get them, and the aftermath....

The Great Reaction of 2011

Well, this was a change of plans.  I was going to blog about someone living in the midwest (outside the "crepe myrtle" zone).  Everyone told her no, crepe myrtles (a large shrub I've blogged about before) won't grow in your area.  But no, she tried it anyway.  And guess what.  Her crepe myrtle grew and she called it her "beautiful Says Who tree.

I was going to talk about how maybe I should go for it and try to grow a crepe myrtle, although I don't know what zone she lives in.  Microclimes can only help you out so much.

But today we had an earthquake, and it was a lot more exciting than the earthquake I blogged about last year.

No, wait,  it wasn't the earthquake that was so exciting.  It was everyone's reactions.

This isn't my first earthquake but it was the scariest by far.  I was at my desk at work when suddenly the building lurched and things on my desk started swaying back and forth.  Even after the pit in my stomach cleared up, a co-worker's bouquet kept vibrating.

I thought at first someone had rammed into the building (that actually happened once) but when the motion kept going, I realized it was an earthquake.

People evacuated at least one of the tall (if you can call a 10 or 11 story building "tall") buildings downtown.   I am, of course, writing of downtown Binghamton, NY.  And, thanks to the Internet, I soon knew that the earthquake was in - Virginia?  and only 5.9? I couldn't believe how we felt it here.  I still can't believe it.  I missed Twitter (the same Twitter I resisted joining for so long) because it is blocked at work.  Figured that would be the place to get my information.

When I got home, I found out just how much excitement I had missed, here in my little upstate NY enclave. Cell phone networks jammed.  The Capitol and Mall evacuated.  NYC buildings evacuated.  Commuter trains running slow.  The National Cathedral damaged.  A cousin in law in Texas posted on Facebook declaring he was praying for all of us.  (I did appreciate the prayers but, honest, we are OK.)  My friend in Tunisia posted on Facebook bragging about how nice the beaches were today there in earthquake-safe Tunisia.

My young adult son called.  Mom, did you feel it?  He (he works at night) was woken up.  Ever the scientist, he noticed how his TV was moving back and forth and then it suddenly changed motion and started to move side to side.  And then he left his mobile home just to be safe.  He's all prepared for natural disasters and childed me that I'm not.  He usually doesn't call just to chat, so it was nice to hear from him.

Well, it seems none of us in the Northeast are prepared for natural disasters. Earthquakes, anyway.

And now, for Hurricane Irene...

Light at the End of the Tunnel

The last place I expected to find people offering mental health services was our Home and Garden Show this past weekend in Binghamton, New York.  But this is no normal year.here in upstate NY. We are just recently six months past the day the rivers, filled with torrential rain from Troopical Storm Lee, flooded.our area.

Normally, at a Home and Garden show you find lots of contractors ready to remodel your home or build you a new one.  You'll find roofers, kitchen contractors, plumbers, window contractors, landscapers, and  more.

What you usually don't expect to find is FEMA.  Or, mental health professionals and volunteers ready to talk to showgoers.

We talked to one contractor while a loop of work in progress on a finished basement played on a TV set.  We paid closer attention to the loop when the contractor told us that the film was of....his basement.  He lives in one of the worst affected neighborhoods, Twin Orchards in Vestal.   The film was of an addition, finished three days before the flood.  It had to be gutted and rebuilt.

Another contractor was one we had used a couple of years ago to replace a large living room window.  He remembered us.  His business is in our neighborhood, Westover.  The flood almost took his business.

I've talked about the flood a lot in the past six months but one thing I haven't touched on that much is the stress, anxiety and lots of other emotions that take their toll on people (in general) whether or not they were physically affected by the flood.  Just being here, just living here, was enough.  I haven't spoken of it that much because it is too personal (except if you are a neighbor or co worker, or someone else from this area.  Because then, you know.)  The first sense I got of the enormity of the problem was when I was searching through the FEMA site at the time I made my claim.  There was a link for mental health resources.  One link.

The one link was for - a suicide hotline.

 A special program called Project Recovery has been reaching out to our neighborhood, Twin Orchards and others.  They have left leaflets on our door. They talk to people both flooded out and those who weren't  They run support groups (there's one near me).  In fact, one of the volunteers told me she had volunteered because she had not suffered herself.  She felt the need to reach out.

There were four volunteers at the Home and Garden show when we visited.  They were asking passerby's "how are you feeling".  Some people walked by.  But others stopped.

They showed us a chart, looking like a hospital chart in those cartoons where someone is sick in bed.  Up and down, up and down.  Right now, the volunteer told me, we are at the six month anniversary.  Things are down emotionally for a lot of people. She told me recovery is not a steady process. There will be other dips.  There will be another big dip at the one year anniversary in September.

But after the one year anniversary, she told me, the line will go back up.

And that time it will stay up.


It is good to know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Best of AM - Cutler Botanical Gardens

This is from a post that ran in June of 2011, featuring pictures I took on Father's Day (mid June) at the Cutler Botanic Gardens in Binghamton, NY.

Enjoy!

First, a lovely Cornus kousa, or Korean Dogwood.  They have become pretty popular around here.  They bloom over a month after the "regular" dogwoods bloom.

Next, a Fragrant Mock Orange or Philadelphus coronarius.  If only I had Blog-O-Smell so you could catch the sweet scent of this shrub.

Next, one of the perennial displays.  The plant in the back (which is blurry) was a total mystery to me, and I could not find a tag.  Of course.

Another display, including a nice stand of lillies.

And finally, a view of their rock garden.

I thought I had taken pictures of their Heirloom Rose Garden, but when I went to download my pictures I only found one picture.  I have see if I can go back and take some more.  I think I was too busy smelling the flowers to take pictures.  The day lilies, by now, should be blooming nice-they were just starting on Sunday.

I'll take the rose picture, in the meantime, and combine it with a rose feature I want to do in the near future.

Please, if you are in the area of southern NY on I-81, stop by this small gem of the Southern Tier.  It is free, and it will be worth your time.

St. Patrick's Day Crochet

Even though we are still several days away from St. Patrick's Day I wanted to share some "green" photos this week. (and wait until you see what I have planned for St. Patrick's Day itself.  You'll never guess!)

I've been crocheting for some 40 years now.  I don't do as much as I used to, for various reasons, (mainly FarmVille and blogging!) but I still crochet a gift or two a year, and I also work on crochet projects when I am on the road, since my loving spouse does the driving.

I haven't really blogged much about it (well, maybe not at all) until now but crochet has been a treasured part of my life.  My Mom wanted to teach me to crochet but rheumatoid arthritis robbed her of her ability to do any needlework by the time I was old enough. Instead, a high school friend taught me, and I've never looked back.  But although she didn't teach me, I still feel a link to my Mom whenever I pick up that hook.

I wanted to share a couple of the projects so I can also get them up on Pinterest.  These are both projects I worked on 20 or more years ago.  I got the afghan pattern from a magazine that no longer exists, I believe.

I have no idea where I got the pattern for the Christmas stocking.  But there is a special reason why the stocking has shamrocks on it...I'll let you guess why.

This week, I'll share one more project I made some years ago.  It's not a holiday project but something I made for my then young son years and years ago.


Do you have a favorite time or place to crochet?  Have you found your online life interferes with your needlework hobbies?

Civil War Sunday-The Battle of Charleston Reenactment -Gullah Culture

I'm basking here in my upstate New York backyard.  It's 62 degrees and sunny, with a little bit of a breeze. Thw ing chimes are chiming, the birds are singing, and the neighborhood woodpecker was out earlier on a nearby utility post, alternating between pecking and preening.

Spring is here.

For the Civil War soldiers of March and April of 1862, there was little rest as winter became spring.  The Peninsula Campaign of 1862 was in full swing in the Tidewater of Virginia (I blogged about the Great Battle of the Ironclads at the Battle of Hampton Roads last week)and that would have been a logical stop in a Civil War vacation.  However, in the near future, my Civil War travels will be leading me shortly in another direction:

Charleston, South Carolina.  (land of camelias, azaleas, wisterias and WARMTH).

My spouse and I visited Charleston, SC last year and, partially due to somehow getting lost (and turned around big time) while trying to find the building where the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was being restored, ended up serendipitously at a Civil War reenactment.  For the next couple of weeks, I'd like to share some of my photos.

The "Battle of Charleston" being reenacted is not one battle, but rather several rolled into one event. (Charleston and vicinity was also the site of several Revolutionary War battles, which we hope to investigate further once the Civil War sesquicentennial is over.).  I'll write more about the battle next week.  But what I enjoyed most about this reenactment (in addition to the battle, of course) was the local flavor - Gullah flavor, to be exact.

At the "typical" Civil War reenactors, not all reenactors are soldiers.  Some portray other people of the period, to educate the public about various aspects of life in the 1861-1865 period.  And not all reenactors ar men, either.

The Gullahs are African Americans living in the "low country" region of both South Carolina and Georgia.  They are descendents of slaves brought over from rice growing areas of Africa.  Their masters used the slaves' rice growing skills to start a rice growing industry in the low country.  During the Civil War, a number of Gullah slaves fought for the Union side in the First South Carolina Volunteers.


The Gullahs spoke a distinctive language, a type of  "Creole".  Their culture, happily, has been quite persistent.  Gullahs also live outside of the Low Country - for example, in my native New York City.

Today, the Gullah handwoven sweet grass baskets (a dying art) are sold at Charleston's City Market and also on various roadside stands. 

I got a chance to talk to this woman, who works to preserve the Gullah heritage and teach it to others.  She was very proud of the fact that everyone of her children have, or are, attending college.

 She has also participated in various oral story telling events in various parts of the country.  But at the reenactment, her interest was education.  Here' she demonstrates making flour meal by hand.

Oh...do we hear horses?  The calvary is coming....and the battle is about to begin!

Stay tuned for Part 2  - the battle.

My Childhood on Barsoom

 A 10 year old in New York City, housebound because of a leg broken in three places due to a roller skating accident.  Waiting in the hospital for her leg to be checked during her recovery, her mother went to the hospital book store and bought a paperback book for her to read.  The girl loved to read.

The girl, now grown, has no idea why her mother picked this book.  Maybe it was because she enjoyed Tarzan movies, and her mother saw the author - Edgar Rice Burroughs, and thought her daughter would enjoy it.

The name of the book?  A Princess of Mars.  The year?  Let's just say the 1960's.

Within 50 pages, she had fallen in love.  She devoured the books, which were being released one by one by Ballentine books.  Eventually she found, and read, all 11 books.  And by the way, she still has them, every one.  They are so fragile she doesn't dare touch them but they are a treasured part of her past.  Read over and over (except the last book which I admit, never caught my interest in the same way as the other 10).

I am waiting to see what my Facebook friends and my blog readers think of the movie John Carter of Mars, because this little girl, now grown and the author of this blog, is waiting to see if this movie is a disappointment or something she should see.

I have walked the surface of Barsoom (Mars) so many times in my imagination.  And when I met a man in college who also loved the series....well the rest was history.

If you have seen the movie, please tell me - what did you think?  Should a middle aged woman who fell in love with John Carter (not in a romantic way, but as an action hero) when she was 10 see this movie?

Where the Feet Have No Name (or, Running Down the River)

Oh, how I wish that headline (blogline?) was mine.  It is so....perfect.  The perfect example of the perfect headline (if it had been a blog, that is) that would have drawn readers in.

But it isn't mine and I must give full credit.  I suppose "mystery of the floating feet" or "whose feet were these, anyway?"  just would not have read the same.  In fact, the entire story has become a punner's paradise, complete with an oceanographer whose nickname is Dr. Duck. (not Dr. Scholl's?)

I learned tonight - on, of all places, a political talk show - that the "mystery of the feet" has been solved.

This fascinating mystery started in 2007 when feet (yes, human feet) enclosed in sneakers started to float ashore between Washington State and British Columbia.   I'll spare you the gory details.

Most of the....er, former owners of the feet have now been identified.   And, contrary to popular opinion, it wasn't the Mob, or a Sasquatch with a foot fetish, who did it.  Some morbid people even thought the feet came from a plane crash.

Now investigators have concluded the deaths were all accidental -some were suicides who had jumped off various area bridges.  The sneakers were so well made that they protected the feet, which were carried by various currents to where they were found, while the rest of the remains....well, remained.

So, with all due respect, I know these fe...I mean, people, had families, had people who loved them, and deaths should not be made fun of.  I guess this whole thing was so bizarre that it just struck a certain part of the imagination.

And the media isn't done yet, either.  For example, quoting from one of these articles:

"The B.C. coroner echoed that suspicion this week. "I think there are a lot more cases" destined to be discovered, Fonseca said. "I don't think there's a soul out there that doesn't check every shoe they find on a beach.""

Soul.  Ouch.

But I'll never think of beach coming in the same way again.

The Six Month Anniversary-A Disaster in the Electronic Age

Tonight, I went out to the Facebook Binghamton Flood 2011 page.  I had not been to that page in months.  But not that long ago, it had been a lifeline of sorts, along with various other electronic resources.

I had promised, months ago, to talk about electronic resources I used when this disaster hit our area, and I was some 10 hours away in Southern Maine. It's about time I keep that promise.

Let me explain....

 
Today is the six month anniversary of flooding that started six months ago yesterday here in upstate NY with flash flooding and continued today as streams and rivers overflowed, giving up after our soggiest weather year in history, under the strain of 10 plus inches of rain from Tropical Storm Lee.  I've written these words so many times now that my fingers type the word without effort, without thought.

Ironically, the 6 month date was a Thursday, too:  Thursday, September 8. The same day the Binghamton Flood 2011 site was set up.



 I followed the progress  flood several ways:
1.  through Twitter, which I think was the most immediate.  One link twittered under a hashtag set up for flood news provided a mashup of an area Google map and road closures.  If only we had listened:  it was more accurate than 511, which led us astray when we tried to return home.  A reporter from a local paper also posted Twitter updates.  Actually I would have depended on it more but I didn't think about using Twitter until the very last.  Shame on me.

2.  through Facebook:  the posts and photo updates from my son, stranded in our house after his neighborhood suffered a flash flood (he barely got out).  Hours after he got to our house, our neighborhood started to flood.  When the firemen came to announce an evacuation at 2:30 am on Thursday morning, my son refused to leave and spent the next couple of days stranded, with a couple of neighbors (one disabled) to keep him company.

I also communicated with one of those neighbors through Facebook chat.  (as he reads my blog, I want to tell him, once again, "thank you.")

3.  Through a reporter who lived over the river in downtown Binghamton,NY and set up a video camera, giving live updates through the night.

4. Through phone.  You might say "that isn't electronic" but our phone service is carried over the Internet.  It was fortunate we never lost power.

I was very lucky that the motel I was staying in (not a chain) had a good Internet connection because my lifeline was electronic. 

Email?  Not so much, except to update some relatives who were not on Facebook. 

At some point, I discovered the Binghamton Flood 2011 Facebook site and after I was home it became a lifeline, advising of stores closed, or where you could do laundry (maybe), updates on lifting of boil water orders,  advising when roads reopened, communicating stories, and  enabling readers to upload photos.  


We've come a long way, baby (as the old advertising slogan once said.)

We have a long way to go.  Our ups and down will continue.  I still don't know if my neighborhood of Westover has a future.

But whatever that future is, I know this:  social media allowed us of the flood to tell our stories to the world.  And, I thank my readers for all of their support these past six months.

The Six Month Anniversary--Triumph Over Disaster?

Six months ago today, the floods started.

Six months ago, few of us dreamed what the next six months would bring to so many of us in the Southern Tier of upstate New York.  Those of us who lost our homes...our businesses....our basements...our neighborhoods...and even our jobs.  If you look back and search my blog for "Binghamton Flood of 2011" you will see the progression of our area's story.  (more on this tomorrow.)

Now, for employees of one business in our area, a six month wait appears to be over.

For six months, we held our breath while one of our larger area employers, BAE Industries, decided what their future in this area would be.  Their 640,000. square foot building was ruined.  Two months of 24/7 cleanup were for naught.  BAE abandoned the building and ripped their sign off the front.  It became what I called "TheNakedBuilding". I took this picture on one of the last days where a skeleton crew of BAE employees occupied it.

On February 29, they left for good.  The building, the future....shrouded in shadow.

Today, on the 6 month anniversary of the flood and of the last day BAE occupied an unruined building, BAE announced its future.

They are staying.  They are permanently going to occupy six buildings in the original IBM Campus in Endicott, about 5 miles to the west of Westover, near Johnson City, New York.  Endicott has seen better days - a lot of better days.  It has sadly gone quite downhill in the last 15 or so years.  It breaks my heart, as I worked in Endicott for many years. (not at IBM).

For years IBM occupied a large campus in Endicott  Now, many layoffs later, many of the buildings are vacant. (the campus is now known as "Huron" and IBM is down to about 900 employees.)  BAE had moved into six of those buildings soon after the flood.  Now, they are staying. (although - I must note that some NY legislation is still needed to make this a true "done deal".)

Endicott is hoping the 1300 employees will help bring their community back from the brink. 

In this long strange trip, I hope that BAE and its employees can finally rest.  Endicott will be a good home to them.  Our neighborhood's loss will be their gain. 

The future of some parts of Westover is still in doubt.  And soon, the demolition of TheNakedBuilding will begin.  Perhaps the Bradford Pears in front of the building will bloom one last time in May.

And then it will be....The Beginning?

Winter Wednesday-Twilight Zone Wildflowers

March 4, 2012.  Circle this date on your gardening calendar.  This was the first day that I saw crocuses blooming in Binghamton, NY, in upstate NY.  My guess is, this is either a record for earliest crocuses, or close to it.

Not only crocuses are in blooms.  Snowdrops are blooming.  So is a mystery wildflower I found growing in one lawn, in the neighborhood where Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling grew up. . There were several clumps of these mystery flowers.

I didn't have my camera Friday and couldn't get back to that neighborhood until today.   I tried to get close, and so this is pretty blurry.   I took another picture after this, and it is even worse.  So this is all I can offer you.

Herewith....the first wildflower photo of spring. Those flowers, by the way, were very small.  I know small is relative but....these were small.

And then, there were those snowdrops.

And those crocuses.  By the time I got there today, they had closed up for the night, so not much to see, either.

Near to where we parked, a large clump of daffodils was starting to color up.  Maybe by the weekend....

Crocuses and wildflowers on March 4.  Hardly any snow this winter here on the edge of the New York snowbelt..  Could it be we have crossed....crossed over into...The Twilight Zone?

If you know what the mystery flowers in the first photo are, could you let me know?

Happy 100th Birthday to My Favorite Cookie

I could say "my favorite cookie" is my spouse's aunt, who turned 100 back in January, but she isn't.  Although, she is barely older than a famous cookie, which turned 100 today.

 

Yes, the Oreo.

You Tube has a wonderful video on Facebook for its fans - fireworks in China.  It's a "private" video so I can't share it.

 

I never thought of International Oreos, but they are all over the world.  So I won't explain to my readers what Oreos are, except that when I grew up there was only one kind - one flavor.  Chocolate cookies with vanilla cream. That's it.

Now, of course, you find regular, chocolate, peanut butter, mint, Double Stuf, Golden Oreos, double delight Oreos that are both regular and golden, fudge covered, Oreos with ice cream stuffing.....

In the United States, our Oreos are made by Kraft Foods.  Which leads to a puzzling thing:  if you live in the United States, go into your food store and look at the various flavors.  Some are made here.  Some are made in Canada.  I wonder why.

 

I can kick myself for missing the Birthday Cake Oreo, which I saw in the store, and didn't jump on.  Now I know why they had that flavor....

And now, as a birthday gift to their fans, I propose that Oreo create an International Sampler.  Why?  If you look at the list of flavors that have been sold in other countries, some of them sound very interesting:

Blueberry ice cream, lemon ice, orange/mango, dulce de leche, and my favorite, sold in Canada but only sold here for a few months back in 2010...

 

Wonderful Canadian Strawberry Milkshake Oreos! 

 

In honor of these Canadian Oreos, I will end by reprinting a post from 2009. 

 

 Are any of you celebrating the Oreo birthday today?  Would you want to see any of the International flavors sold here?  Here's my little ode to Strawberry Milkshake Oreos....

 

In 2008, traveling in New Brunswick, CN we ran across Strawberry Milkshake Oreos. Oreos in Canada are manufactured by Christie, which is a brand name of Kraft Canada. (And no, I'm not being paid to post this).


For some reason, when I eat the Canadian equivalents of U.S. brands, I always like the Canadian versions better. This includes Special K Cereal, which has changed here in the States but is like what I remember from my childhood in Canada. Also Cadbury bars, which are not the same as the Hershey (sorry, Hershey) versions sold here in the states. And finally, potato chips. Where else can you buy potato chip flavors such as Roasted Chicken and Gravy, Ketchup (a long time favorite of mine), and Curry?


Well, in a store in Saint John, New Brunswick, we hit the jackpot. Christie Strawberry Milkshake Oreos! What a match made in heaven. Crispy (probably thanks to the trans fats it had-yum!) and...well, I am no fan of artificial flavor, but these were Maximum Strawberry Bliss. I only bought one package. I should have purchased more. Well such are the pleasant surprises of travel. Fast forward 9 months....


I had just purchased several packages of Newman-O's at a very good price. Went into our local supermarket to pick up something for a BBQ and there they were....I blinked and the mirage did not disappear.


Strawberry Milkshake Oreos!


I bought one package. Brought it home. Waited until after supper. Opened the package.


Yes!!!!!!


And the best part? We looked at the label and they were made in....Canada.


Nabisco, thank you thank you thank you. But please reconsider on one thing. These are marked "Limited Edition". Please say it ain't so.

Winter or Spring?

Yesterday, walking on the West Side of Binghamton, NY, I finally saw crocuses.  They were blooming in several front yards (alas, I didn't have my camera) along with snowdrops.  Some daffodil flower heads were starting to color up, too.

And then the snow showers started.  And then the temperature dropped.  This morning, it was 20, with a frosting of snow on the sidewalks.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be 15 when I wake up.  At least no snow is expected.

But then it it supposed to be near 60 by Wednesday.

We've only had about three days this winter where we couldn't see the grass poking up.

So what will happen when spring comes?  It isn't too far away on the calendar. 

This is the least snowy winter we have ever had, barring our two winters in Florida.  Less snow cover than the one winter we spent in Wichita Falls, Texas (of course that year they had a record snowstorm. But still....).  Less snow cover than five winters in Northwest Arkansas.  Less snow cover than four winters in Wichita, KS.

Parts of this country have already paid a severe price for this winter.  Ask the folks of Kentucky, Missouri and Indiana, some of whom had to deal with snow falling on the ruins of their towns.

I can't help but wonder what is in store for us. But in the meantime, I am going to remember to bring my camera tomorrow, and take pictures of those crocuses.

Civil War Sunday-The Battle of Hampton Roads and the Link with Johnson City, NY

On Thursday and Friday of this week is the 150th anniversary of a major battle.

You may know it better as the battle of the "Monitor vs. Merrimack". (although, in another inaccuracy, the ship was then known as the C.S.S. Virginia.  But I learned it as the Merrimack.)

Many people neglect the naval aspect of the Civil War.  I was one of them, until I attended a reenactment weekend in the summer of 2008 on some rural land in the Town of Binghamton, in upstate New York.  There was an exhibit there educating people on the naval battles of the Civil War, the life of sailors, and the importance of the battles.  I learned, for the first time, about the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley (which I will be visiting later this month, finally:  Hurrah!) and also about the Pennisula Campaign of 1862, during which this most famous of the Civil War naval battles took place. 

There was also a reinactor playing a Confederate General (I'm not sure which one) who very eloquently pled the case of the South. I learned a lot from him.  Even if I, as a Northerner, don't necessarily agree, it is important to listen and try to understand.

And, I would add, during my education in New York public schools, it was the only Civil War naval battle I learned about.  Although, I admit my memory could be faulty.  (let's just say this was in the 1960's....)

You have to admit, it's a little difficult to visit a naval battleground.  But, besides the obviously strategic importance of the naval battles, there is the aspect of technology that fascinates many people.

I have since also learned about the link between our part of upstate NY and the Monitor.  Some of the wood cut and milled for the Monitor came from an area near to where I live.  At one time, there was a historical marker at the Oakdale Mall shopping center in Johnson City commemorating this fact.  Bigler's Steam Mill, which milled that wood, is where the shopping center sits now.   I still don't know what happened to the marker, which disappeared years ago.

I was hoping to visit Hampton Roads and Newport News later this month.  I will be visiting South and North Carolina instead, but hope to get to the U.S.S. Monitor center of the Mariners Museum one day-and complete the circle of the origins of the Monitor.

The Invasion of the Winter Insects

Today, in upstate NY, it was sunny, very breezy, warmish (upper 40's) and....full of insects.

At least the blue sky wasn't full of tornadoes.  My hearts go out to those in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and other places hit by the recent unseasonal outbreaks.  I used to live in tornado alley and...well, all I can do at this point is hold you all in my thoughts.  A very small thing.

As far as upstate NY, no severe weather (yet) but another early surprise of our strangest-ever winter?

Winter insects are not unknown here.  Back in the "good old days" of us getting 80-100 inches of snow in a season (well, as late as last year, but never mind that) we used to get insects in February.  They would come out on sunny days and walk right on top of the snow. We called them "snow bugs" and actually, there is such a thing as insects who live during the snowy season.  The ones I remember were probably beetles - I haven't seen them in recent years (maybe I looked harder with a young son I was showing the wonders of Nature to) but I remember them as long and black.

The insects today weren't them.  (For one thing we don't. - once again - have snow.)

No, this is what I saw.  They were winged, and they were flying in an area of the West Side of Binghamton. We saw them while exercise walking.  Later, while shopping in our neighborhood near Johnson City NY, we saw some more.  It's hard to see on the sidewalk, but one is directly to the left of the shriveled up crab apple in the upper left of this photo.

Here is another view.

I suspect these are termites.  And if so, they are just a little early.  I also wonder, with the flooding we got in September, and our mild winter, if we are going to reap a bumper crop of insects.

I'm sorry I couldn't do better but I don't always move well, or quickly, and my camera has a long lag time with the shutter.  Does anyone have a guess as to what these insects could be?

Are you having early insects, too?

Thundersnow

Our weird winter continues.....

Last night (Thursday morning) we had a thundersnow storm around 2:30 a.m.  I slept through it!  Spouse was woken up.  We had about 20 minutes of snow and sleet, leaving a mess of slush all over the ground.

Today, the weather forecast calls for possible thunderstorms late.

What does that mean?  I dread to think of it.

Many people in other parts of the country have already learned the hard way, with deadly tornadoes.  These are coming earlier than normal.  Plants are blooming earlier than normal in many parts of the country.

There is folklore I blogged about last week concerning what happens when you have thunder before the leaves on the trees are larger than a squirrel's ear.  That happened after a midday storm with thunder (and yes, I was awake for that one.)  I didn't read the one about thunder in winter meaning snow in 10 days.  (I don't know about all "old wives tales" but I have personally witnessed the one about seeing the underside of leaves (makes a silvery sheen) means heavy rain will come later in the day.

2012 has only just begun.....

Does anyone else have any more old folklore about thunder before any leaves are on the trees?  And more than once?

Requiem for a Small Business

Small businesses go under every day.  But this business was special and made a difference in a lot of lives here in Westover.

Tony B's Tires in Westover, near Johnson City, New York, was closed yesterday with a real estate sign hanging on the door.  This came suddenly.  They were open as late as Monday.

They weren't just a tire shop. They just weren't auto mechanics.  They were a Westover institution.

What happened?  We knew Tony was ailing.  But we knew the business was ailing too.  The flood our area suffered on September 7-8, 2011 due to Tropical Storm Lee affected a lot of businesses.  Ironically, Tony B's was open, at least by Monday, September 12.  But enough of their business came from BAE Industries, a block down the road, and BAE's building was flooded, taking 1300 jobs with them.  The building isn't salvageable and will be torn down.  I understand that yesterday was their last day (a skeleton crew has been working there since November) in Westover,  After the flood, BAE moved, at least temporarily, to a site about 5 miles down the road.

It took enough of Tony's business with them, apparently.

Do you know what else it took?  Caring and compassionate service. And not just for people who had their cars fixed there or bought their tires there. (We did both).  Tony and his staff spent countless hours with neighborhood teens, including my son.  My son learned a lot of his auto repair skills from them and wthey ere unfailingly patient.  They stayed open late once to help out a relative of mine from NYC who was visiting.
The first few years he was open, he would hold a birthday party for his business, complete with prizes.  My son was young then, and attended with the other neighborhood kids.  One year I won a picnic cooler and some accessories.  I had it for years.

We were customers of his for years.  My spouse was there last month and they didn't give any indication they were about to close.  He would have gone back next month. My son just had his car inspected there about a month ago.  Now they are gone.

Another small business gone.  They will be hard to replace.

A story repeated too many times.