Time Flies September 2020 #GardenBloggersBloomDay

In my zone 5b garden near Binghamton, New York we are feeling the breath of fall.  The summer had been warmer than normal and also, for the most part, a bit dry.

Not only has the weather suddenly grown colder, but we may have a frost this weekend.  WHAT?

It can't be.  The end of the gardening season?  No, please say noooooo..........

Even as I begin writing this post, I am heartsick over those on the West Coast who may not be joining us today; who have fled deadly fires or who are watching their gardens die as they are prohibited from watering. (The firefighters need every drop).  I hope, if you are reading this, that you are safe.  My thoughts are with you.

It seems like only yesterday that I was putting in plant orders at a local nursery that was offering curbside pickup. Eventually I felt comfortable enough to go to nurseries.

What a year.

I must really enjoy my flowers now, while I can.  They have brought me so much joy in a time of fear, uncertainty, and upheaval.

Where do I even begin?  I'd like to share some of this happiness with you -  Two of my lilies are re blooming.  This is a very large yellow variety.  There's a smaller one, also yellow.

My nasturtiums did not do well this year.  Last year was a banner year; it must have spoiled me.

Sedum.   So dependable.

Garlic chives.

Dahlia.

Purple Aster.   I have two purple asters.  The other one is below.

Mums and double purple asters.

 Last of the tall phlox.

Now, the collages.  Lantana.

Geraniums.

Petunias and million bells.

We bought pansies, hoping to overwinter them.

In our community garden, zinnias are still thriving, but not for long.

Last of the sunflowers.

Moving to my shade garden, shaggy asters, purchased from a wildflower nursery near Ithaca, New York.

Purple turtle head, purchased in 2011 at a farmers market in Asheville, North Carolina.

Finally, heuchera.  Variety "unknown".  This heuchera doesn't have fancy leaves but it is so vigorous.

There's more, but I felt I needed to stop.

Joining up with Carol at May Dreams Gardens for her every 15th of the month Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  Why not travel to her blog and see what other gardeners have posted this September?

Keep on gardening!

The Colors of School #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday.  It's time to get colorful with Music Moves Me!

Who are the members of Music Moves Me ?  We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday. If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join!  Just remember our simple rule:  you must include at least one You Tube or Vimeo video or your post may be subject to removal or labeling "NO MUSIC". You are welcome to write about music. too but there must be at least one music video. 

Every month we have an honorary co-hostess.  For the month of September it's Cathy from Curious As a Cathy.

Today, she has picked the theme of "For National Coloring Day, song titles/lyrics about art in general - or, use your high school colors to build your theme around."

My junior high (what they called middle school "back then") and high school colors both had gold in them. My high school had green where my junior high used blue.  So, why not use all three?

 

But first, a video with amazing cartoon art that tells the story of a song: a-ha and Take on Me. 

If you have the time, here's a video on the making of that video.  If not, let's move on to some Green.

Al Green, that is.  Or, better yet, Reverend Al Green.  Here, though, is a secular song from 1973.  This is a cover of "Unchained Melody" with a wonderful gospel-music type beginning.

My other "green" selection is Green Day with Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams, perhaps my two favorite songs by them.  I know I had Boulevard of Broken Dreams on a Sunday post a couple of weeks ago.  Now my Monday readers will be subjected to enjoy this song as much as I do.

Let's turn to Gold.  

Gold - Spandau Ballet, from 1983.  Love them 80's.

Nostalgia time, next.

Goldfinger was a 1964 hit for Shirley Bassey.  I had the 45 record of this song, which was the theme to a James Bond movie, and I loved trying to hold that final note the way Shirley did.  But this is a slightly different version (she actually recorded two versions, the soundtrack and a single.)  Here is Dame (yes, Dame) Shirley Bassey performing the song at a tribute to one of the co-writers of the song, John Barry, in 2011.  And she can still hold that note!

Blue:

From 1968, some more nostalgia: Crystal Blue Persuasion, sung by Tommy James and the Shondells. 

Finally, Paul Mauriet's 1968 instrumental hit Love Is Blue.  Oh for the days of instrumentals...

And that is a wrap.

Same time, same place, next Monday!

Blurred Library Visit

In happier times, Your Home Public Library in Johnson City, New York celebrated its 100th anniversary (still in its original building) in 2017.

Back then, the fact that they were operating during the 1918 flu pandemic was a historical curiosity.

None of us ever dreamed that I would be participating in a similar history.

Our libraries in New York State closed in mid-March.  In our area, they actually closed several days before the official state announcement, as I recall.  Before that, they had tried to sanitize materials for a few days. 

Now, they are open (in our area) to the public on a limited basis now,. They had opened a few weeks prior for curbside pickup only.  In contrast, New York City has only opened certain branches, and those are "grab and go" only.

So, until yesterday, I had not been in a library since mid-March, and I decided I finally wanted to go.  Just to see....

Masks are required and you can only stay at this library for 15 minutes.

X marks the spot - social distancing, I assume for if there is a line to get in.

We went up the stairs.  Only one entrance, a side entrance, is open.  For safety, we went right as it opened for the day.  There was only one other visitor waiting for the opening.

The librarian (in a mask, of course) greeted us, and asked if we had been there since the reopening.  We hadn't, so she briefly explained the rules.  There was a red cart by the inside entrance for returns.  We were allowed to browse, but if we touched a book or magazine and decided we didn't want it, we had to return it to a handy red cart.  The drapes, incidentally, are over all the computer equipment.  No computers.  Any returned materials that you take out, incidentally, quarantine for seven days and then are sanitized.

You may not want to look at this picture for too long. I decided to take a picture of the children's library section, which had no one in there.  This is the picture I got.  Apparently my iPhone decided to get all blurry on me, which was fine.  The sign on the floor is a social distancing reminder.  Those reminders are everywhere.

 

This is how the children's room would have looked in happier times (February, 2017, to be exact).

An entire section by the main (closed) entrance was cleared of books and devoted to sanitation supplies, and the two librarians by the checkout (guarded by plexiglass) were discussing sanitation the entire time I was there.

I felt for them, as I do for all who are working for our benefit in these times.

For now, I am not sure I will return in person, or if I will continue to depend on curbside pickup.

But I just had to know how it was in there - and now I do.

Stay safe, my beloved library friends.

 

And Like a Dream

And like a dream, 2020 continues.

Now summer is almost gone.  Also, maybe part of the West Coast of our United States.  

It's chilling seeing what is happening.  I know some of these people posting those pictures or announcing they are under evacuation orders.  Years ago, I was in a (relatively small) fire. The event happened in Staten Island, a borough of New York City, and is still called Black Saturday.  But it gave me a taste (I was 10 at the time) of how deadly and quick fire can be.

May today not be a Black Saturday for the West Coast.  Meanwhile, on the East Coast, the Southern Tier of New York State to be exact...

The calendar says September 12 but the chill morning says otherwise.  The temperature dipped into the low 50's this morning.  There may be scattered frost early next week.  Soon it will be time for me to triage my outdoor plants and see what I want to bring indoors, or take cuttings of.

In the meantime, nature is decorating, too.

New York (I think) asters - I saw my first ones yesterday.

Goldenrod.

Purple loosestrife, invasive but pretty.

Woodland sunflower and goldenrod.

White turtlehead.

At a veggie stand, purple and white cauliflower.

Grapes (these are not your normal white grapes; they are a small variety).

White acorn squash. 

So, the dream that is 2020 continues, sometimes nightmare, sometimes seasonal, sometimes interesting.

May your dreams not be nightmares.

Some September 11 Skies #SkywatchFriday

It is hard to believe that September 11, 2001 was 19 years ago.   Each year on that date, our country relives its sadness.

Here is one of my September 11 posts if you care to read it.  If not, please stick around for my sky pictures taken on September 11 of recent years.

Yonkers, New York (a city that borders New York City to the North), September 11, 2016.

9-11 memorial at a cemetery in Westchester County, New York - one of many memorials in our country.

A fountain at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY (Dutchess County) September 11, 2019. (Right now, the public is not permitted on the campus).

A year ago, September 11, 2019, my spouse and I were visiting historic sites in Dutchess County, New York, about 90 miles from New York City.  Franklin Roosevelt, our President during most of our Great Depression and World War II, lived in Hyde Park, New York.

This was his house.

Roosevelt, who had polio as an adult, lived in times where he could now show that he was disabled if he wanted to hold political office.  But, at home, he could drop a lot of pretense.  He designed some scenic overlooks for his viewing pleasure.

More scenery.

 

Speaking of scenery, here's a couple more pictures, taken on September 11, 2017 in Putnam County, New York, about 40 miles north of New York City.

Doesn't it look peaceful?

So unlike what happened in a different year, in a different place.

I promise never to forget those who died on that day, in the weeks and years following, and even more recently, heroic first responders from that time and survivors of 9/11 (at least 42) who passed this year from COVID-19.  May their memories be a blessing.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday

 

The Road Taken #ThursdayTreeLove

As apple picking time has arrived in upstate New York, I'll have to feature an apple tree post, but not today.

Instead, I have this walking path in Otsiningo Park, Binghamton, New York for you.

So green, so lush with trees, but in another month, the trees will start to turn color and shed their leaves.  Invisible to us, the initial processes may have already started.

Nature moves in cycles and rhythms known to herself and her creatures, but we "civilized" humans ignore these cycles and rhythms at our peril.  We have caused (or accelerated) climate change, and the world is paying the price.

With the fires impacting so much of the West Coast of the United States, I can only watch in horror from safety many miles (and even more kilometers) away.

These fires are burning thousands and thousands of acres, driving people out of their homes, and producing smoking breathing conditions for millions, including those living in some major cities.  Through blogging, I know several people who have been personally impacted by these fires (and, in real life, a co worker's daughter was impacted enough some three years ago to move from California back to her native New York State).

But those impacted by the fire are only a small part of the population that is, or will be suffering, due to climate change.  The question now becomes: we know the road taken.  Can we get onto a different road, or is it too late?

Will we wake up and listen to nature, to the trees?

Joining Parul and other tree lovers from around the world for #ThursdayTreeLove.

Almost Wordless Story Houses #WordlessWednesday

Yesterday, I took you into the Story Garden in Binghamton, New York, which is adjacent to a children's museum called The Discovery Center.

Today, some more pictures.

Here is one of the several houses where, in non-COVID times, a child can curl up in and read a book. 

Isn't it cozy inside?

Here's another one of the houses. 

And yes, there is even a Tree House within the Story Garden.  Perhaps I'll take you there another time.

A child still can explore this garden - so can a young at heart adult.

Joining up with Sandee at #WordlessWednesday.

The Story Garden

This year we can't Rock and Roar at the Zoo. That annual free music festival at the Ross Park Zoo,  like almost everything else, has been cancelled.  New York State is very strict about any activity that can draw crowds.  It would have taken place yesterday (Labor Day) and I missed having it. Between mid August and mid September there would be so much free local music for the taking here in the Binghamton, New York area, if only...

But I could do the next best thing - visit a Story Garden.

The Discovery Center, a hands-on children's museum in Binghamton, New York, has to operate under many state imposed safety mandates in these times, and, right now, it is only open (by appointment only) three days a week, with limited hours and modified exhibits.

Outside their building is a garden which is free to the community and open, right now, six days a week now.  It's called The Story Garden and it's a garden that exists to inspire young children to read.  It was created by our local Junior League with funding provided by various sponsors, and has existed for over 10 years.

I've visited it each year during Rock and Roar at the Zoo (the Zoo is in walking distance of this museum) and taken pictures.  I enjoy seeing the changes from year to year. Of course, this year, it was just a little....different.

Shall we enter?

The Lorax (Dr. Seuss) wears a mask.

It's a place to go bananas.

Or a place to chase butterflies. 

You can go into the Wild Woods.

A garden must have flower beds.

Here and there, there are little houses to explore.

That's enough for today - more tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday.

Memories and Commemorations #MusicMovesMe

 Once again, it's Monday.  It's time for music, and it's time for Music Moves Me!

Who are the members of Music Moves Me ?  We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday. If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join!  Just remember our simple rule:  you must include at least one You Tube or Vimeo video or your post may be subject to removal or labeling "NO MUSIC". You are welcome to write about music. too but there must be at least one music video. 

It's the first Monday in September, and it's Labor Day, and guess who is our honorary co-hostess for the month of September?  None other than Cathy from Curious As a Cathy.

Today, she has picked the theme of "You Pick".  So anything goes, as long as it is related to music videos!

There are so many things to remember this week.  Labor Day.  September 11.  I don't quite know how to begin.  So much to pay tribute to.

At the end of this post there will be some pictures.  I hope you stick around for them.

I didn't know this, but Paul McCartney was sitting on a plane at a New York City airport and witnessed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York City, the Pentagon and a plane, Flight 93, which was taken down by its passengers before it could hit its target.   This is his recollection and his tribute:  "Freedom/Let It Be"

This song is written from the viewpoint of a young man whose father died from cancer several years before, but the song has become intertwined with remembering the 9/11 attacks.  Green Day and their 2005 "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

May those innocents who died that day, and the approximately 1,400 rescue workers who have perished from their work that day and the following weeks, be remembered always.

Heroes in the making, here is an article about children of firefighters who died on 9/11 or due to 9/11 illnesses, graduating from FDNY in 2019.

Today is also Labor Day here in the United States.  So let's blog some about working.

A classic from Sam Cooke:  Chain Gang, from 1960.  This song tells a story of a tragic time in our history, and the use of convict labor rented out to others.  Not all work is voluntary.

Working In a Coal Mine, covered by Devo in 1981.

And finally, a video that made me cry - maybe we all need a good cry this week.  This is a Japanese video telling the story of a woman (who is getting married) and how her mother taught her the piano as a child. After her mother dies, she sees her father (who doesn't know how to play) use the beloved piano as a shelf for knickknacks and junk.  In her grief, she walks out on her father - who then....(you'll have to watch the video.)

I promised you some photos.

Wall of Remembrance, MCU Park, Brooklyn, New York.  One of the firefighters this wall pays tribute to went to my high school.

More Wall of Remembrance.

9/11 Memorial in Westchester County, New York, taken September 11, 2019.

The 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is Friday.  May we never forget.

Join me again next Monday, same time, same place.

Labor Day Shoutout

Tomorrow, in the United States, is Labor Day, a holiday supposed to honor those in the United States who labor.

In the year of COVID-19, of course, this has taken on new meaning.

Back in March and April, when a number of states (including my New York State) had to shut down, those classed as essential workers had to stay on the job.  I was fortunate - I am classed as an essential worker, but was able to telecommute. My son, on the other hand, had to continue to work at his workplace.  My spouse, now retired, would have been an essential worker in constant contact with the public if he was still working.  My spouse and I, both senior citizens, would have had to make the choice of continuing to work or not.

At least spouse and I had a choice.

Another of my cousins continued to work retail (and is still doing so) in an essential retail setting.  Another one of my cousins is a teacher in New York City.  I've been told by her mother, who also worked for the New York City schools but is now retired, that many teachers are taking early retirement.  They literally fear for their lives. 

Another one of my cousins is an emergency room in a Midwest hospital and his niece entered nursing school this past August.

For me, and many of my readers, this has become personal.

When my autistic brother in law contacted COVID-19 in April, my family entered a world where our only contact with him was through his health care workers.  He was hospitalized for three weeks and was in a skilled nursing facility set up by the agency that provides his housing and services for another two weeks.  One of their workers took him to the ER and stayed with him until the hospital made her go home.

Thankfully, she did not get COVID-19.  She's leaving her position later this month and our family wishes her the best.  Other employees at similar agencies paid the ultimate price.

The health care workers and support staff we spoke to almost always were able to take the time to talk to us, provide updates, and reassurance, and just kept on keeping on.  They worked hard and yet they took the time to support US.  I will never forget that.

(I will say here that his need for hospitalization was so rapid after he started to show initial symptoms that it was past scary.  I don't have words for anyone who thinks this disease is "the flu" or, worse, a hoax, or even thinks about harassing health care workers.)

I would like to say one last thing.

Essential workers do not care if you support the Democratic or Republican candidate for any office.  They are there to serve you.   By serving you, they sometimes put their lives in danger.

In return, it would be a wonderful thing if everyone in our country could show respect for them in turn by their actions.  Many of these workers put their lives on the line for our health, for our food, for our transportation, for our packages in the mail, each and every day.

This year, honor them on Labor Day with your actions, today, tomorrow and every day.

If you have a story about essential workers (yourself or someone who has helped you), I'd love to know in the comments.  And, as always, I reserve the right to remove attempted posts that are disrespectful or inappropriate.

Behind That Mask at the Farmers Market

Behind that mask, you don't know me and I don't know you.

Except sometimes, you do.

We were at a local farmers market today.  I was a little annoyed because I saw some older women who were wearing signs (not just name tags, but covering part of their chest)  with the names of various candidates.  One was a Presidential candidate and the others were names of people running for local offices.

Suddenly, I heard someone yell out our first names.

She was one of the people wearing a candidate's name and yes, I certainly remembered her.

She worked at my son's school, and they had a lot of (good) interactions.

It's been a long time.  He has a "3" in his age number now.

"B!" I smiled, from behind my mask.  Yes, sure enough.  It had been years.  But it was her.

We talked for a couple of minutes. Unfortunately we didn't live in the district where she was running so we can't vote for her, but she asked after my son. I caught her up about what he was doing and when I praised my son, she responded "yes, he was always a sweet boy." (that wasn't always true but yes, he does have a good heart).

It got me to thinking.

You don't see me smile when you greet me.  You don't see how happy I am to interact with you.  There have been so few people I've interacted with in person, these past few months.  I work from home and correspond with co workers by chat, phone, email and online meeting apps.

I shop for groceries.   Everywhere, there are yellow lines to mark where I can stand, and in which direction I can move.  I know the drill now, which yellow line to stand behind at each point in the process.  I get on line to check out.  The clerk then rings up my purchases.  I'm motioned closer and I pay the clerk, who is protected by a mask and a plexiglass shield. 

I smile. The smile is hidden.  But I still smile.  When will I lose the habit of smiling?
Never, I don't think, because, you know what?  You can still see someone smile by looking in their eyes.

But, back to the farmer's market.  "B" introduced me to another candidate, who was running for family court judge. (In our area, certain judges have to run for election).  I have only been in a courtroom once in my life, and it was for the hearing where my spouse was named my disabled brother in law's guardian.  I was scared to death, just being in a courtroom.

But now, this judge was just in street clothes, with a mask on.  We spoke.  A pleasant conversation.  And yes, I will vote for her.

It's a funny thing, wearing a mask.

And, speaking of local farmers markets, these pictures aren't from today, but could have been.  Peppers have been so sweet this summer.

Leeks and kohlrabi.

Colors are such a delight.  

So is sweet corn, picked fresh.  We purchased a couple of ears today.

Summer is still with us.

Oh, one more thing.  Voting is so important this November.  Please, please, be sure you are registered and please plan on how you are going to vote.   (And, I could add, please vote only once!)

But, whatever you do, if you are 18 or older, PLEASE VOTE.  Our nation is depending on you.

From Storm to Hope #SkywatchFriday

 It takes so little to change a mood.

Next week is the week I would normally have gone on vacation.   Needless to say, that's not what I am going to be doing next week, although I hope to take a day trip somewhere.

Just to rub it in, Facebook keeps sending me memories of past trips and suggests I share them with my friends.  Seven years ago - Arkansas and a little of Missouri.  Six years ago - Cooperstown, New York and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Four years ago - you get the picture.

Nothing like self-pity, here in upstate New York.

So yesterday, my mood was a bit dark.  The Health Department had issued a warning regarding someone who went to a health club that had just reopened, under strict New York State rules, on August 24.  Then there's the cluster of cases (I don't have to say cases of what) at a university an hour from me (it made the national news) that made them, today, send everyone home for the fall semester.  We are a sort-of college town, too, and many of us are holding our breaths.

Like this sky of late August.

You could imagine rain was pouring down in black and white.

But then, the mood changed.

The light of sunset appeared.

And grew.

Hope for a better tomorrow shone through the puddles of doubt.

If you want to see even more great skies, why not surf over to #SkywatchFriday, where Yogi and other bloggers gather each Friday to watch the sky?

(Those memory nudges from Facebook did serve a purpose, though - you'll see how next Friday.)

Number 41 and the Boys of Summer

In July of 2019, I blogged about "The Miracle Boys of Summer".  Today, we have one fewer.  Hall of Famer pitchTom Seaver died yesterday, at the age 75.  He had  Lewy Body dementia but it was announced the contributing cause of death was COVID-19.

A couple of times over the years, I blogged about Tom Seaver and the Midnight Sun game he pitched for the Alaska Goldpanners in 1965.

Seeing the Midnight Sun game is on my bucket list - it is played in Fairbanks on the longest day of the year, starting around 10pm, and is played without any artificial lighting.

As for "The Miracle Boys of Summer", here is that post:

With age comes nostalgia.  In my mind, they will be forever young.  Even if you don't like baseball, please stick around for this story.

I grew up in the Bronx in the 1950's and 1960's.  The New York City I was born into had three major league teams.  The teams were the New York Yankees, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.

The year I was born, the Yankees played the Dodgers in the World Series, and the Yankees won. In fact, until 1959, the World Series featured at least one New York City team.  Sometimes both were New York City teams.

But by the time I was old enough to discover and start loving baseball, those days were over. As it happens, neither of my parents were baseball fans, but I managed to discover the sport.  Meanwhile,the Dodgers and the Giants fled New York City for California.  There was only one team left in town, the Bronx Bombers (nickname for the Yankees) and I became a Yankees fan.

In 1962, New York City gained a second team - the New York Mets.  Managed by the former Yankees manager Casey Stengel and populated with a combination of young players and players way past their prime (some of them from the Dodgers), they quickly gained the love of New York City fans.  Lovable, yes.  But champions they were not.

They were bad.  No, they were BAD.  Their first season, they won 40 games and lost 120. The second year they improved, winning 51 games (and losing 111).  For several years, they were mired in mediocrity, but the love of their fans never wavered.  And, during that time period, I abandoned the Yankees and turned to the New York Mets.  The Amazin' Mets.

Then, along came 1969.  In a series of what seemed to be miracles, the Mets started to win game after day (that year, they won 100 games) as the front runner Cubs faded.  The Mets united a city that seemed to be deteriorating daily.   My spouse was at the game where they won the pennant against the Braves.  I cheered from the classrooms I was attending as a high school senior.

Then, in one final miracle, they went to the World Series - and won in five games (the Series is a best four of seven).

This past weekend, the 1969 Mets were given the keys to the city by the Mayor.   It was a weekend of memories, a weekend of nostalgia.

It's been 50 years.  I am a senior citizen now and no longer a baseball fan.  But this brought me back to a special time.  I wish I could have been at Citi Field, but it wasn't all joy. The years have not been kind to all of the Miracle Mets, just as the years aren't necessarily kind to us.

Not all of  the 1969 Mets were there. Their manager, former Dodger Gil Hodges, died at the age of 47. Their general manager (Johnny Murphy) died in 1970.  One of their stars, Tommy Agee, died in 1981 at age 58.  Another, Tug McGraw (better known to many as Tim McGraw's father) died from brain cancer in 2004 at the age of 59 . Donn Clendenon, who became a lawyer after his playing days were over, is no longer with us.  Ed Charles died last year. 

Tom Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher, has dementia (he wasn't able to attend).  Eddie Kranepool recently had a kidney transplant.  

And there are those who are still active in their communities such as Cleon Jones, who was 26 when he played in 1969.  Now he is 86 and a community volunteer, still active in making where he lives in Alabama a better place for its residents.

A weekend of nostalgia over, we all return to everyday.  Time marches on, and we know there will be no 75th anniversary with the original players.  Time marches on.

But for this weekend, it was a chance to look back at our youth, our childhoods.

Tom Seaver, may you forever RIP.

The Butterfly Moment #WordlessWednesday

Shhh, butterfly, I'm sneaking up on you.

I've seen so many monarch butterflies this year.  It could be the amount of time I've been spending outdoors.

This one alighted while I was exercise walking and patiently waited for me to get up close. My guess is this is one of the monarchs that are in the midst of their fall migration,

What a miracle their migration is.  In the fall, they migrate some 3,000 miles to Mexico.  In the spring the migration takes several generations for the return.  Finally, sometime next year, we will see them here in upstate New York.

Perfect for a #WordlessWednesday.

 

Joining up with Sandee's Comedy Plus  for her Wordless Wednesday.

 

Joining up with Natasha at Natasha's Musing for her #WordlessWednesday

The Books and the Bees

Not everything about these times is bad - sometimes I have to remember that there is beauty and hope out there, and things I am able to do.

One of those things to do is being able to spend more time outdoors, even if it is watching squirrels, birds and insects in my yard.

 I even got to see a cardinal and get its picture.  Not a great one, but....

At least I have a yard and a place to sit.  I'm grateful for the little things. 

I'm grateful for having a spouse who gardens while I work from home, and doesn't laugh at me too hard when I compose a "still life" of some of the vegetables of his labor.

Then, there's reading.  I'm fortunate to be an introvert who is also a bookworm.  Perhaps less so than in my youth, because now I'm more impatient.  I toss more books on my "DNF" pile (did not finish) than wade through.  Even now, in the pandemic.  Maybe especially now.  A book has to be good for me to finish it.

One of the "never may have happened except for the pandemic" was, as a resident of New York State, being given the ability to download the E Books app of the New York City public library and take out virtual books.  For the first time, I'm really enjoying e-books.

So far on my "Did Too Finish" NYC library e-book list: Educated, by Tara Westover, Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi, The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood, and The Lost Husband by Katherine Center.  There are several more books which are "reserve" only.  I must have good taste.

I've also read several books from the local library.  It's so frustrating to do curbside pickup only, but I've managed.  (Thank you, Your Home Library librarian Emily).

However, a couple of days ago I was able to download "The Bees" by Laline Paull, and I haven't been able to put it down.  (In fact, I don't want to blog anymore; I want to get back to it!)  It may not be a good book for you, but part of the attraction is - my spouse kept bees once.  No, not here in New York State. Years ago, when we lived in rural Arkansas.

We (and I do mean "we" because I talked spouse into it) kept bees because we thought we should.  And therein, as the saying goes, lies a tale.

Maybe I'll even blog about it one day.  No promises, though.

Author Laline Paull was fascinated by bees, and found that learning about their lives and habits was so fascinating that she ended up writing a fiction book about the life and times of a worker bee. (All I did was agree with my spouse that we weren't cut out to be beekeepers.)

I was immediately swept into the story of a creature who communicates by scent, by dancing, by reading signals in the hide with her feet.

The Bees is a dystopian story.  I was drawn in by its honey and was hooked from the first page.  That's not usual for me nowadays.  It's not cute, and there is a lot of death in it. The bees have enemies within the hive and without.   But, for every death, there are poetic passages that take your breath away.

 I send my thanks to the New York Public Library for letting me share your collection.  I hope that continues once you physically reopen all your branches.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm making a beeline for my iPad, so I can get this wonderful story finished tonight.  Maybe I'll ever reread it before it is due, and vanishes from my iPad.

Have you increased your reading during the pandemic? Have you found new authors, new favorite books?