Place and Patience #AtoZChallenge

Today, I am blogging about two Places - the bookends of my life up to now, in a way.

My backyard is popping with spring.  Sometimes plants can literally pop up overnight, as these bloodroots can.

 Soon, they will be gone, replaced by other flowers and plants in the Parade of spring.

And there's my trillium.  I bought this plant five years ago. Trilliums, which produce one flower in early spring and then go dormant for the rest of the year, take years to be of blooming size.  One thing you need to grow trilliums is Patience.

The first three years there was no sign of a flower.    Last year, there was a flower bud but it never opened.  I figured "this is the year!"But spring 2019 had arrived, the plant wasn't coming up and I feared it had winter killed, just like  number of my other herbs and plants did.  It wasn't the harshest winter ever but something wasn't right for my garden.

So last night I walked in my yard after work and - there it was, leaves and flower bud at the ready!

Patience....

Which brings me to the other bookend of my life - my childhood neighborhood.

Not too many people can say that they can jump on You Tube and see lots of pictures of their childhood neighborhood.

I am one of those who can, and it's partially because I grew up near a train station in the Bronx (a borough of New York City).  Actually, make that three train stations.

First- a stop on what was once called the Pennsylvania Railroad, then became Penn Central, and finally MetroNorth.

Then, there was the Third Avenue El, which ceased to exist in 1973.  The tracks were torn down soon after but I grew up listening to the screeching of elevated trains rounding a curve.  That sound was not disruptive but, rather, soothing.  Although the train ceased operation in 1973 it remains forever in my memory.

The video above details the last train station which I used all through the first 21 years of my life, Gun Hill Road. If you look to the left about 0:25 of the video, you will see several tall buildings.  Those are part of the housing project where I grew up.

If you look at 2:32 of the above video you will get a glimpse of the neighborhood I grew up in through the windows of the train.

Another video from You Tube; one I used several years ago on my blog. This still is the Immaculate Conception Church.  I used to hang around this church (very beginning of the video) with friends. Sometimes, if there was a wedding, they would allow us to throw rice at the happy couple.

Many of the buildings in this video existed when I was growing up.  The neighborhood has changed greatly, but the buildings (in a way) remain the same.  Just much, much older.

I am amazed at the numbers of fans of trains who post videos on You Tube.  But to my surprise, there's even more.  I grew up across the street from a fire engine company.  They would have open houses and I can remember visiting the station as a child.  They even had a Dalmatian.

Their sirens, when they woke me up at night, reassured me.  They never bothered me at all.

So, imagine my surprise when I found videos of that fire station in action.   There are others but I liked some of the views of the fire station I remember from some 60 years ago.

A Pizza Parlor from my later childhood still exists, in a neighborhood that has changed so much. It started its downhill slide around 1968, perhaps a little earlier.  Many People are working to bring this Part of the Bronx back - people with love of Place, Plus Perseverance and Patience.

Thinking of growing up in the Bronx brings back so many memories and feelings - a Plethora of memories, perhaps.

Can you see pictures of your birthplace on You Tube?

"P" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme - Finding America through Photos.

Origin #AtoZChallenge

New York City.  It's the city many of us think we know, others of us want no part of, and still others dream every waking moment of visiting.

I was fortunate enough to be born in, and grow up in, New York City, so I can call New York City my city of Origin.  I left when I was 21 and have only returned to visit friends and family.  I was never a true child of New York City - always aching for fewer crowds and less congestion.  My father, on the other hand, was born in Brooklyn, spent part of his life in the Bronx, and returned to Brooklyn for his last few years of life.  Except for World War II, he lived there all his life.

I'd like to give you some views of New York City.  Some you will expect.   Some will surprise you.

The Manhattan skyline, up close but not too personal.

This is some more of what you might expect.

From an elevated park called the High Line, you can get quite up close and personal with older buildings.

Tranquility Garden, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn. Yes, there is plenty of green in New York City.

Or, these beautiful houses in (hoping I'm right here) Borough Park, also in Brooklyn.  Yes, there aren't skyscrapers everywhere.

The other day, I blogged about the Lott House, a circa 1800 farmhouse in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn.  Would you expect to see a farmhouse in New York City?  Here it is, decorated for Christmas.

"O" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme: Finding America through Photos.

Notre Dame #AtoZChallenge

Needless to say, upon hearing of the tragic fire at Notre Dame Cathedral yesterday, I repurposed my scheduled "N" post and knew that I must blog about Paris' beloved cathedral.

Notre Dame - some 850 years old, in the process of renovations.  Certainly the interior is gravely damaged.  Priceless art destroyed, in a building that took two centuries to build.  It took several hours to burn.  Millions of people are in shock.  It isn't just because a building in Paris burned.  It is because a symbol of art, faith, great literature and so much more burned as we were able to watch live on television or online.

Watching video of crowds singing hymns in the nighttime, lit by the flames, gave me chills.

As I blog this, knowing that this is Holy Week for Christians, we don't know yet if the Crown of Thorns relic was able to be saved. 

A brief history of Notre Dame.

Paris has suffered much in the past 100 years.  War.  Terrorism.  Destruction. But there is so much history, and now another chapter of history is being written.

There is hope, as fundraising for rebuilding begins tomorrow.  Fire has destroyed before.  It will destroy again.  But humanity knows how to rebuild.  And, there is a lot that was not destroyed. The organ was saved.  Many of the rose windows are intact.  Many artworks are safe (some removed just last week as part of the renovation.) The original stone arch of the roof remains. There is hope. 

Here's another take on the subject of Notre Dame, one I never would have thought of.

"N" day on the #AtoZChallenge.  My theme (abandoned for today) "Finding America through Photos".

March (of Spring) - Garden Bloggers Bloom Day April 2019

If you are looking for my Monday Music Moves Me and A to Z Challenge post, please click here. ( Even if you aren't, you are welcome to join in after reading this.)

In my zone 5b upstate New York garden, it's been rainy. We had a thunderstorm last night with downpours and the "s" word (snow) is actually in the forecast for tonight.  Spring has been playing hide and go seek with us.

There is also good news: finally, I have outdoor flowers to share with you. 

But first, the indoor.  This one Phalaenopsis orchid has rebloomed again, as it does each March and April for me for several years now, and it has not disappointed again.

One of my African violets is reblooming.

Another (purchased earlier) is still blooming.

Outdoors, alas, my crocus did not last long enough for GBBD.  Instead, there is bloodroot.

White Lenten Rose.

My pink Lenten Rose is finally opening up.  The name of the variety is long forgotten, but its flowers face down.  Still it is reliable - the white one tries to bloom as early as January and sometimes has been caught by freezes without snow cover.

I made up this basket of johnny jump-ups last weekend.  It's blooming happily now.

And, oh yes, my pansies.  White with a hit of a purple face.

Traditional yellow with a black face.

We are concerned, spouse and I, as we survey our front and back yards. It appears we took a hit in losing plants over the winter.  Our variegated euphorbia doesn't seem to be coming back.  Our April Rose camilla, which we have been trying to grow outside its zone, looks like it is ailing.  Only time will tell if it recovers.  Our wormwood also seems to be among the missing.  I'm not sure any of our tulips will produce buds.

We also realized, as we coped with the last days of my late mother in law, that we never dug up my beloved Dahlias (see first picture in this post.)  Barring a miracle, they would not have survived our winter.  But perhaps that will clear the way for some new and better flowers.

Thanks, as always, go to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for making Garden Bloggers Bloom Day possible.

See you next month.

Music #AtoZChallenge #MusicMovesMe

(If you are looking for my Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post, please look here.)

Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only on this music train, please!)   First, there is XmasDolly,   Her co-conductors are:   Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, Cathy of Curious as a Cathy and me.  Callie of JAmerican Spice pops in from time to time.
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Our guest conductor for the month of May is Kim of the ReInvintaged Life, and she has chosen a theme:  "song where a particular instrument has moved you - whether it’s a favorite vocal sound, bass line, drumming/beats, piano, guitar solo”.  Since I am participating in the AtoZ Challenge, that means (for me) also songs beginning with the letter M.

This first song is one I love so much that I've had it on my music posts more than once - Roxy Music and "More than This".  This song sweeps me away in imagery and harmony.

The 1970's - Mercy, Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye.  What beautiful lyrics.

This doesn't have a title beginning with M, but Mike and the Mechanics wrote a song with such beautiful, true, haunting lyrics and music, it still gives me chills to listen to this after all these years.  I think few can listen to this song without feeling great emotion.  I bring you "The Living Years".

Another from the 1970's Masterpiece.  to me everything about this song is perfect - the music, the singing.  Every note in the exact place it should be. Lyrics that tell a story that must be told.  A warning, this song is some 13 minutes long; you'll have to devote some time.

Back to the 1980's, Mad World by Tears for Fears.  I like the Gary Jules cover even better, but decided to feature the original.

The Crash Test Dummies once did a song called Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.  This song proves that you should feel free to be weird.

One More - Berlin - (The) Metro.  For this I decided to use an extended Mix.  My imagination flies to new places when I hear this song.

So now, it's time for the credits. Maestro, roll 'em!

"M" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge #AtoZChallenge
And All the Fine Music Lovers at #MusicMovesMe!

Come back again next week, same time, same place!

Spring Keeps Marching On - And Do You Read Cursive?

Tomorrow is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, where gardeners from all over the world post what is blooming in their worlds.  But today, history needs your help.

Flowers first.

This crocus in my front yard won't make it.  I only had four come up this year and three flowers were shredded by winds we had all week.

Here in upstate New York, on my off day from the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I am enjoying every moment of spring - the days spring shows up, that is.

Today is not one of those days.  But yesterday was, and I headed out with my spouse to Cutler Botanical Gardens in Binghamton, New York to check spring out.

These trees, which may be maples, normally have small red flowers.  This year they are so big the trees almost can rank as a flower ornamental.

With the arrival of spring, we say goodbye to these yellow and red twigged dogwoods.  Once they leaf out, the colors will not be distinctive.

But hello daffodils.

Hello other spring bulbs.

Before I leave, hello blooming shrub.

Tomorrow a two-fer for you - my Music Move sMe and AtoZ Challenge "M" post (combined) and my Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post.

And now for the help needed.  Do you read cursive?  If you do, the Library of Congress and the National Archives need your help.  This is so amazing I have to share this article from a Michigan newspaper.

After all there are thousands of historical documents out there and new generations (including my son's) that can not read cursive.

Preserving history is up to my generation and maybe yours.

Can you help?

Little (Church) and Lott (House) #AtoZChallenge

Today, for "L" day in the #AtoZChallenge, I take you to a church in Manhattan and an 18th century farmhouse (yes, farmhouse) in Brooklyn.


The "Little Church Around the Corner" is an Episcopal Church (the formal name is the Church of the Transfiguration but that doesn't begin with "L" located on West 29th Street in Manhattan.

This picture really shows how "little" it is compared to its neighbors.

The congregation was founded in 1848 and the church building dates from 1850.  It was declared a national landmark in 1973.  It has a long and distinguished history, including being used as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and a shelter for African Americans during the terrible Draft Riots of 1863.  It has ties of many years with the New York City theatre community, dating from around 1870.

The Hendrick Lott house is one of the oldest houses in New York's borough of Brooklyn, dating from 1800, although it incorporates part of a structure dating from 1720.

I have family living in the neighborhood the Lott House is located in, and my son (who is now in his late 20's) has memories of walking to the house, then neglected and in disrepair, the property overgrown, with his cousin.  He was about five at the time. 

When we visited last year at Christmastime with my son, the house was one of the first things he wanted to see.

How happy he was to see that the house is being restored, although visitors are only permitted on special occasions.  I can't even imagine how valuable the land (the house sits on about 3/10 of an acre) it sits on is.  I think its survival was little short of amazing.

Luck?  Or something more?

Knowlton (Township) New Jersey - #SkywatchFriday

If I mentioned Knowlton to you, you might well give me a blank look.

But if I mention the Delaware Water Gap - well, that's something different.

The Delaware Water Gap, on the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a "gap"where a river (the Delaware River, in this case) cuts through a mountain range.  Not only is the Delaware Water Gap a major recreational area in the Northeast United States, but it has historical significance, too, as it allowed travel in colonial times - the steep mountains on either side would have made travel quite difficult.

It is beautiful and the sky was, too, on this September day in 2016 when we traveled this road from Pennsylvania into New Jersey.

Ah, late summer, crossing the Delaware River.

Are they saying the view is postcard perfect?

I thought it was, as we crossed into rural Knowlton Township, New Jersey. 

Join Yogi and the other bloggers who watch the sky at #SkywatchFriday.

"K" day at #AtoZChallenge.  My theme:  "Finding America through Photos".

Johns (Pass) and near Johnson City #ThursdayTreeLove #AtoZChallenge

This week is the week that nature decided to spring to life where I live in the Southern Tier of New York State.

Because today I am doing two challenges (I'm temporarily not participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge because it just got to be too much) I am going to start with a tree.  No, not a tree where I live near Johnson City, New York,

No, for Thursday Tree Love I give you a tree from January.  Think of it:  we arrive in Florida from the frozen north and are greeted by this palm tree in Johns Pass Village, near Madeira Beach on the west coast of Florida.  It was green!  It was a tree that could not grow where I live.  Perfect!

Johns Pass Village was so welcoming.  But that was then, and this was now.

Now, temperatures would be hot.  And, we have a miracle going on where live.

It's the miracle of spring, which makes winter suffering fade into memory.

It's seeing bare trees one day and buds on the branches the next.  I always think "how do they know when it's time?"

Then, the springtime flowers start their season.  One of the early ones is the crocus.

Like many of our bulbs (and our plants) they need the winter dormancy.  They can't grow in Florida unless you treat like annuals, or plant prechilled bulbs indoors.

So, I am going to cheat just a little.  These crocuses are not from Johnson City but grow only a mile or two away.  So why not?  It's "J" day and my theme is "Finding America through Photos."

Florida had its season. Winter.  Now, I'm in the moment here - the moment of promise, of growth, and, yes, unsettled weather, of a New York spring  We aren't done with frost or even freezes (yesterday was so cold!). And maybe not even (boo) snow. But that day of warmth is coming.

Just a few weeks away. Just a few....

Join Parul and other tree loving bloggers for #ThursdayTreeLove.

"J" day in the #AtoZChallenge.

Ithaca (New York) - #AtoZChallenge

Ithaca, New York is a college town located in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, about an hour to the west and north of where I live.  One blog post could not even begin to do it justice.

I have a love-hate relationship with Ithaca.  It's a wonderful place to visit, but, over the years, I've found that wonderful places to visit don't tend to be wonderful places to live.  But I try to make it up to Ithaca at least two or three times a year.  One of those times should be just around the corner.

Today, I want to give you a quick snapshot of Ithaca. First, the Farmers Market at Steamboat Springs, along the shore of Cayuga Lake near to where this Finger Lake begins.  Much of the produce is organic, and, besides veggies, you will find lots of prepared food, and many artisans selling their wares.

Speaking of the lake....

Lovely walking trail.

The traffic in Ithaca can be terrible (not Orlando terrible, but "jammed up in a small space" terrible.  A bicycle might, or might not, be a better idea.

Here and there, you will find houses with solar panels.  This house looks like it is saving rainwater.

Video I took at the Ithaca Festival, a festival that takes place the first weekend of June. 

If you have children, you will want to check out the impressive science museum that was inspired (and helped) by the late Carl Sagan. 

Some of the many blog posts I've written about Ithaca, if these few pictures encourage you to read and see more:

Dragon Boat Festival
Plant and book sales
Buy Local
More Steamboat Landing Farmers Market

"I" Day