The Strangest Easter

Deserted streets. Almost empty highways.  Many stores closed.  A hush descends.

The birds sing and the wind blows, and it feels so strange.

Many people are feeling that right now as we find new ways to survive and thrive in our "new normal".  Today is Easter, a time when many families get together.  For years, we drove about 150 miles to have dinner with one of my spouse's cousins in a New York City suburb.

That's out.  We are left with our thoughts, a feeling of various emotions, as we spend time watching flowers starting to bloom, and spring unfold in upstate New York.

For my spouse and I, Easter was low key.  No family, although I texted with one of my cousisn and spoke to another on the phone.  I also texted with one of my spouse's cousins.

Easter dinner? Just the two of us, and I am grateful for the company.

These came from my late mother-in-law.

These cherry trees, early bloomers in a neighborhood near us, are courtesy of Mother Nature.

 It's a bit gloomy and breezy, but it is spring, and that is what matters.  The cherry trees bloom for just a short time, and we treasure their blooms for that reason.  We hope our social distance situation is temporary, too. 

Has this Easter been strange for you, too?

Sunday is an off day for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  I resume tomorrow, with the letter K.

Journeys #AtoZChallenge

My original topic for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge was "America the Beautiful". I've heard so many true stories these past few days and weeks, though. "America the Beautiful" has taken on a whole new meaning.

All of us have been sent on journeys we never could have imagined.  They are journeys through fear, journeys through faith, journeys confronting our mortality.  They are journeys through unemployment, journeys through trying to ensure the survival of the businesses we may grown and have devoted our lives to. Journeys through learning how to homeschool, and journeys through explaining to children too young to understand what is happening.  Journeys for teens having what appears to be their entire lives disrupted, with no end in sight.

We who are working are  taking journeys of working from home, or journeys of being classed as essential and learning what it is like to have to go to work each day in a pandemic.

Some fields of work that were not valued by our society have proved to be some of the most vital, and getting these people what they deserve will be another journey.

Health care is still another journey.

All our journeys are hard.  I have family in New York City and every one of them knows one or more people who have died.   Each story is tragic.  It is also happening elsewhere.

And I know that to be true, because we have a close relative battling coronavirus in the hospital right now where we live in upstate New York. 

But journeys can and do lead us to unexpected places. 

We all do the best we can.

I will leave you with a jonquil, a yellow bright hope for today and tomorrow.

"J" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Illuminated #AtoZChallenge #SkywatchFriday

Last night we had a gorgeous golden hour and sunset.  Due to several phone calls I had to make, I missed them all. I missed all that illumination.

But I got to thinking that some of the most beautiful illuminated sunsets I've ever seen have been in Florida.

Today, I bring some of them to you.  Some I may have had on my blog before, but they are worth the rerun, if so.

All of these were taken this past January in or near Dunedin, Florida.

How I wish I could turn back the clock.

But we all know that is Impossible.

Still...one can wish.

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

I day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme "America the Beautiful".

Home #ThursdayTreeLove #AtoZChallenge

A funny thing happened on the way to the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Our world is facing another pandemic.  The lives of millions and millions of people have been turned upside down.  We are expected to stay home.

This year, COVID-19 has rewritten the challenges of blogging from a to z.  Some letters have become easy - C for Coronavirus, H for Home, Q for Quarantine.  

Some of us can get out, but we stay in our neighborhoods, for the most part, avoiding people.

Taken 4-7-20

In my neighborhood, there is a park where you can walk on a flood wall.  These trees seem to me to be like sentries for the river.  Guarding, in a way, my home, too.

There is now something else I must ask of you, my blogging friends.

If you believe in prayer, could you offer one up for all those with or possibly with the dread coronavirus, and all the health care workers who are sacrificing so much to take care of them.  The first responders.  The grocery clerks who help feed us. And anyone else I've failed to mention.

May they all be free to return Home one day.

Join Parul and tree loving bloggers each second and fourth Thursday for #ThursdayTreeLove.

"H" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

I may not be able to get back to you right away but - I will.

Grace and Gardens #AtoZChallenge

In a time of stress, gardens help to center us.

They don't need to be large.  This is at our local YMCA.

They can grow food - a local community garden in a residental neighborhood of Binghamton, New York.

There is a garden called Grace Gardens in the Finger Lakes of New York State, which specializes in daylilies.  I have many garden pictures on my phone, but I thought this garden fit the theme best.

There are small hidden houses.

Purple flowers.

And, of course, day lilies.

I was amazed to find this place is run by an older husband and wife - and the husband used to work in the neighborhood where I live, years ago.  It's truly a small world.

I've tried to keep these posts short, with more photos than words, because I want this blog to be at least a temporary oasis in the middle of chaos.

Do you have a favorite garden?

"G" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme "America the Beautiful".

Farminton Fayetteville Florida (and) Flowers #AtoZChallenge

"F" is such an easy letter, or so we think.  For my theme of "America the Beautiful", I have so many choices.

There is Farmington, Arkansas, just to the west of Fayetteville, where it "Feels Like Home". (Or, at least it did in 2013.

Speaking of Fayetteville, how about this waterfall? (Technically, it might be in Johnson, but I am saying it is in Fayetteville).

Florida - one of many Florida sunset pictures on my camera.

Flowers? The daffodils are blooming where I live in upstate New York.  Despite what is going on in the world and with humanity, flower bulbs sprout and bloom each year without fail.

Flowers, Dunedin, Florida, January 2020

Flowers don't ask much of us.

Please accept them as my gift to you.

"F" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

My theme:  America the Beautiful

Everybody (You Need Someone to Lean On) #MusicMovesMe #AtoZChallenge

It's time for another episode of #MusicMovesMe. It is also "E" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

So here's a picture of one of the beautiful buildings on East (Avenue) in Rochester, New York.

And an Euphorbia in my yard (from a past year).

But now, it's time for MUSIC!

Who are the members of Music Moves Me ?  We are bloggers who blog with music each Monday. If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only- Please post containing links to You Tube or Vimeo for actual music.  Other posts are subject to removal or labeling as "No Music".)  Every other week we have a theme and on alternate weeks we have "You Pick".  

Our conductors? First, there is XmasDolly.  Her chief co-conductor is Cathy of Curious as a Cathy. Her other co-conductors are Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and me.  

For April, our guest conductor is Binky the Cat and his Granny at their blog Angelswhisper2011. Their theme:  You Pick.

I pick...songs beginning with the letter E.  Turns out there are a lot of them.

As a preteen, my son loved the Backstreet Boys.  I listened to this song so many times that I grew to love it, too.  "Everybody (Backstreet's Back).

The song Edelweiss, from the Broadway show (and later the movie) The Sound of Music, is so beautiful that many people think it is the national anthem of Austria. It isn't.  It was the last song written by

Three Dog Night and Eli's Coming.  This is a live performance with a beginning that goes on forever.

Rod Stewart and Every Picture Tells A Story.

I was going to end with a song written by Gordon Lightfoot and sung by the great Elvis - Early Morning Rain.  But we found out the other day that the great Bill Withers had died at the age of 81.

So many have leaned on this song during times of trouble, and today, many more are finding inspiration in it. 

Such as in this more recent cover, by various artists.  "There's Always Tomorrow".

And so ends E Day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme:  America the Beautiful.

Decisions Decisions

Every decision we make in life has consequences.   Now, they can be a matter of life or death.

Do we safely stay at home or in our back yards?

Bloodroot 4-5-20

The bloodroot is blooming.  This is an early spring flower we planted several years ago.  It comes up every year and blooms for a handful of days.  My spouse and are fortunate.  He is retired, but if he hadn't been, he would have been in the thick of this as an essential worker (non medical) with extensive public contact.

I'm still working and am in an essential industry but I am fortunate enough to be able to work at home.  So we are able to stay home.   We own our home and we have a back yard.  It's small.

It's sufficient.

But many have to be working out there, some risking their lives for the rest of us. More, perhaps, than we think.  If you don't go to the store and use a delivery service, you may be risking someone else's life.  That's sobering.   These people's sacrifices help us to make decisions.

My crocuses, 4-4-20

Maybe we can take walks to see spring unfolding.  Maybe we stay at home and work on projects we never had time for.  Maybe we call and talk to relatives who are isolated in one way or another.

And maybe we take a minute before judging by appearances.  I am guilty of that myself.

Those people not keeping social distance? Well, my autistic brother, who lives in supportive housing, isn't allowed to go anywhere, for the duration, without a staff member present.   Or that person who seems to be in the supermarket several times a week? Perhaps that person is doing shopping for elderly family members, or elderly neighbors.

We all have to make decisions.  I had a bizarre (well, it would have been bizarre in other times) visit from a family member today, because she made a good decision.  She called us from her car, and we came out and talked to her on the phone.  Us on the sidewalk, her in her car parked next to our house. We could see each other but not touch.  This woman has a physical issue that makes it difficult to walk and she also has several health issues that make her high risk.

She chose not to expose herself to us, or vice-versa.

Why was she out?  Well, she had just come from the cemetery with her husband.  They were visiting her mother's grave.  Her elderly Dad, who is in her 80's, was there at the gravesite, too. They came in separate cars and visited, keeping distance again, with each other.  Both of these people are very social people.  It must have been so hard to be so close, and yet so far.

This is our world now, though.

Each decision we make keeps ourselves and others healthy.  Or not.

Let's each decide wisely.

Tomorrow, it's back to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme is "America the Beautiful".  I hope you've enjoyed my posts so far.

Dunedin Decorations #AtoZChallenge

It's time to take a virtual trip from my home in the Southern Tier of upstate New York to Dunedin, Florida.

Dunedin located in Pinellas County, Florida, along with St. Petersburg and Clearwater.  It's a different kind of place, though - one part Scottish, one part art colony, one part Florida.  Some very nice walking and biking trails.  I hope spouse and I can go back one day.

In January, it's a wonderful place for people from the frigid parts of the United States to visit.  We were fortunate enough to be able to visit for several days this past January, before the coronavirus got going.

You would expect water in a Florida location.  But do you see that little blue object left center?

I can't remember if this is the same one, but here's a Dolphin Decoration.

And a Little Free Library.

a

A surfboard bench near the library.

One more dolphin.

Those were the Days....

"D" day in the A to Z Challenge.  My theme "America the Beautiful".

Coronavirus and Commemoration #SkywatchFriday #AtoZChallenge

I am Committed to watching the sky, even if it has to be from my living room window or my backyard, due to COVID-19. Tonight we would have had our First Friday in downtown Binghamton.  That, now, is on hold, along with almost everything else.

This is a closed school in Binghamton, New York - actually, it is the middle school that Rod Serling (of Twilight Zone fame) attended. Spooky in this lighting, isn't it?

But, for this first Skywatch of the 2020 Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I also bring you some Clouds and skies of places  that begin with C.

Like this Charleston, South Carolina sunset.

Canandaigua Lake, New York.

Another Canandaigua Lake, 2016.

Cayce, South Carolina, August of 2017.  I wonder what they like to do there (at least, in happier times).  I love the sunset in broad daylight.  The Palmetto and moon are the state symbol of South Carolina.  Golf...well, golf is golf.

And finally, Columbia, South Carolina, the day after the total eclipse of the sun.  Looks so pretty, but it was so very hot.

Want more?  Join Yogi and the other bloggers of #SkywatchFriday.

One additional, sad note (and you can choose not to read on):  On April 3rd of each year, I Commemorate the mass murder at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York, which is tied for 14th worst in United States mass shootings with Columbine.   It led to me starting to blog.  This post of April 10, 2009 was the first post I made.

Now, it seems to far away.  But I will not forget, and neither will the people of Binghamton.  May the 13 innocents who died that day rest in peace.  And may our heroes vanquish the Coronavirus that is taking so many lives today, all over the world.

Some previous posts honoring those who died on that day:
Crocus of Commemoration 
Commemoration
Mrs. King's Dolls

May they forever Rest in Peace.

For me, their murders will always be tied to "C" day of the A to Z Challenge.

"C" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme "America the Beautiful".

Binghamton and Boast #AtoZChallenge

Welcome to the second day of the Blogging from A to Z challenge.  Today, I publish my 3800th post and I'd like to boast about it a minute.

What a milestone!

It's hard to believe I'm coming up, later this month, on the 11th anniversary of my blog.

Binghamton, New York is where I have worked for the past 20 plus years. It's a city of some 47,000 people.  I first visited it in 1970 with my then-best friend and her mother.  We drove up from New York City, where we all then lived, to pick up some artwork my friend's uncle was trying to sell on consignment.  Little did I dream that I would live in Binghamton for several months, and eventually work downtown.

It's seen better times, but it is on its way back up.  I blogged about Binghamton for "B" day in this Challenge a year or two ago, but I am going to do it again.

Now that I work from home because of the coronavirus, I am not going to see downtown Binghamton for a while.

I don't know when I will return.

Hopefully it will be later this spring.  Meanwhile:

Some of our historic buildings.

Another view.

I love the reflections.

I love it when its daylilies bloom.

I love it when ducks rest along the river (we have two of rivers, not just one).

I love it in fall.

I miss normal.  I miss the everyday, even a wet sunrise.

One last picture - the middle school Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame went to (he grew up in Binghamton).  It's not downtown but who cares?

Funny how you don't treasure things until they are gone.

Some of my many other posts about Binghamton:
The Stone Opera House
The Writer Once Without Honor
Annual downtown caroling
A Courthouse Community Garden (alas, it did not succeed.)
A Look Back at a 2010 Fire

"B" day #AtoZChallenge.  My theme:  America the Beautiful.

Art #AtoZChallenge

With the letter A, the Blogging from A to Z Challenge begins.

This is a challenge even in the best of times.  On April 1 (today) our blog post must begin with "A". Tomorrow, "B", and so forth, six days a week, Sundays excepted.  Simple to describe - hard to do, especially when you get to X.

This is not the best of times.  That's no April Fool.

Who am I?   I live in the Southern Tier of New York State.  I've been blogging since 2009 - daily, since April of 2011.  I enjoy taking pictures.  I still work full time, although that won't be true by the end of this challenge.  Just having a job in this time is something to be grateful for.

My original theme for A to Z was "America the Beautiful" and I am going to stick to that as much as possible.  My goal is to bring some comfort and beauty into these most dire of times, as I sort through my more than 10,000 pictures (yes, you read that right) on my iPhone.

A crisis comes to each generation, and our time has come.   Will love win?

We need love and compassion more than ever.

Will we spread kindness at this time, or make things harder for our world?

These  pictures were taken during a festival called LUMA which is held every September in downtown Binghamton, New York. This year, coronavirus willing, it will be held September 10-12.

Street art, Binghamton, New York

One day, we'll be able to walk the streets of our city or town, and maybe even catch a meal outdoors.  Until then, photos I've taken in the past few years (mostly of sites in the Northeastern United States) will have to take the place of being there in person.

A final look- Mosaic art in downtown Binghamton.

I hope this post has given you some joy today.

Starting today I'll be hoping to visit some of the other A to Z blogs.  If you comment, I will try my very best to visit, so please be sure to leave a link if you want a visit from me.  It may not be right away, as I am still working, but I will visit.

"A" Day on Blogging from A to Z.  My theme:  America the Beautiful.