July 2021 Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

It's the 15th of the month, and once again Carol at May Dreams Gardens summons us for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  Once again, I greet long time visitors and new bloggers alike to my garden:  Welcome to my zone 5b garden in the Southern Tier of New York State.  It's July 15, summer is at its height (according to me) and it is wet.

Too wet.  Stop, rain, stop!  I've been fortunate.  I haven't been affected by the flash flooding or power outages - yet.   But many people here have.

Some of my plants are getting ready to bloom - hibiscus, tall phlox, cosmos, blackberry lily.  Maybe I can show you some next month.   But the chief perennial in my beds - day lilies - are in full bloom.

Now, morning is breaking, and the day lilies are stretching and yawning.

Despite (or maybe because of?) all the rain, many of my plantings are thriving.  It's time to celebrate, because the day lilies are in bloom. I have so many, in fact, that I am going to gather them in collages.

 I am the world's worst record keeper, but I know where these next ones above came from -Grace Gardens near Penn Yan, New York. They are having an open house this Saturday.

Also from Grace Gardens.  Upper right, more just opening day lilies.  The variety "may" be Bubbly, a short double.

Finally, last of the Grace Gardens set.  On the right is a fully open Bubbly (maybe).

 I've gotten day lilies from various sources over the years.  At least one (I bought two but I don't think one made it through our winters) came from a major garden show in Charleston, South Carolina.  Some came from sales at our local botanical gardens. 

Several from a sale were from a garden in Pennsylvania, donated when the man who owned them could no longer care for his daylilies. 

Daylilies aren't the only flower in bloom.  Here, a cranesbill geranium.

Hosta.  I have several types.
 

Nasturtium.

My one lemon gem marigold plant.  No idea why the others didn't do well.

Not all my petunias.  I got lazy.

I have two everbearing ornamental strawberries in a hanging basket. One has pink flowers and one is white flowered.  Only one is blooming right now.  Yes, the fruit of both is edible but they don't produce all that much.  And, we must safeguard the fruit from birds.

A cucumber flower.  Once again, we are trying to grow cucumbers in a large container because we don't have room in our small front yard (the only place in almost full sun) for a veggie garden.  We rarely succeed in getting more than a handful.  For some reason, cucumbers just never do well for us.

I do know what this is, although I will probably mangle the name.  Loosestrife Lysimarchia "firecracker", was sold to us by our local botanical gardens. I wonder if they were trying to get rid of it, because this stuff is invasive (full disclosure, they did warn us it could spread easily).  On the other hand, it stays fresh in a bouquet for days. The leaves are a beautiful purple, but I honestly would not recommend this to anyone with a small space.

Our pansies are hanging in there. I have some more but this is what my back permitted.

Wild basil.

In our part shade to shade back, most plants are in between bloom, so here are a couple of my fuchsias.

I have so much more but I am running low on energy.  So thank you, Carol, for once again hosting this monthly meme.  I hope you enjoyed my flowers, and will visit some other participants (link at the top of my post).

Anything growing at your house or garden?

Monarch on Milkweed #WordlessWednesday

On July 10th, spouse and I were walking where the milkweed was blooming.  We saw our first monarch.  It fluttered out of range of my iPhone SE first edition, which does not have a good zoom function.

Visible in the upper left - just barely.

Frustration!  Let's be patient and hope the butterfly comes closer.

But then, taking pity of me, he or she alights on a plant just a bit closer.

Success! (too bad zoom lenses for this model iPhone seem to be hard to get).

We've see several monarchs since and several other butterflies.  There's a tiny orange butterfly that seems to alight mainly on white clover and will spread its wings in the sunshine.  I'm trying to identify that one, and may post it over the weekend. 

Meanwhile, I'm joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday

Winds Floods and Raspberry Applesauce

The weather is not being kind to us, or to many people in the United States.

In the Northeast United States, our trials are due to excessive rain and wind. Wednesday night was bad. More rain followed.   Sunday night we had even more rain, flash flood warnings and, a bit after 10 pm, a state of emergency was declared overnight.

I wish we could send that rain to the West Coast.  We've had more than enough for now.

 Here's a couple of pictures to show some of what's happening here.  These first two pictures are the aftermath of our Wednesday wind and rain storm.

Over the weekend, I posted a picture of a tree with red wood.  I was able to get closer to the tree on Sunday after I posted.  I don't think the actual wood is red, but what you are seeing is the layer between the bark and wood.

An uprooted tree shows the power of Nature.

But enough of this (and no, I wasn't going out in the middle of the night to photograph flash floods.  It's time to go raspberry picking and then make some raspberry applesauce.

Red raspberries are not a big U-Pick crop where I live in the Southern Tier of New York, unlike apples and blueberries.  The season is short - very short - because raspberries are fragile, and will mold right up if the weather is rainy.  And, oh yes, did I mention the thorns?  You've got to be careful.  Every rose, it is said, has its thorn, and the same is true for the delicious red raspberry.  Ouch.

But you can't beat fresh raspberries.

Now, about the rain and mold.

That is exactly what happened this year. The picking season is only a week or so old, and it may almost be over (per the farmer I talked to). 

Saturday, spouse and I, along with possibly every other person who enjoys raspberry picking in this area, descended on the same U Pick farm to gather raspberries while we had a break in our rainy weather.

We picked about three pounds, and immediately froze them.  We were afraid they would mold up even overnight in the fridge.

Back in 2016, I posted some raspberry recipes.  Today, I want to revisit raspberry applesauce.  It's basically apples cooked and then mixed with sieved raspberries.  Some years (like last year) we don't get the chance to pick raspberries so we weren't going to wait until apple season in the fall.  We had four large Gala apples in the fridge, so decided, since it was raining on Sunday, to spend some time making the apples. 

The ingredients are simple - raspberries (frozen are fine), cooking or all purpose apples, sugar.  We didn't weigh the apples or measure the raspberries, so the ratio of apples to raspberries is up to you.

 Defrost and heat the raspberries.  (Don't add any water).

While you are doing this, peel, core and chunk up your apples.  Put the apples in a separate saucepan and add some water, just (for these four apples) 1/4 cup.  Don't worry if any peel is left on.   Cook on low heat 20-30 minutes.  While the apples cook, take raspberries off the heat and let them cool some.

Mash up the apples with a potato masher. 

Now comes the hardest part.  Unless you want your applesauce full of raspberry seeds, you will have to strain the raspberries.

This is how spouse does it.  Add the seedless raspberry puree to the applesauce.

Keep chunky or smooth.  Spouse used a portable hand held blender to puree the mixture.  Then, taste and add sugar to taste.  

You are done!

If you can't use it right away, you will want to freeze.  Spouse freezes this in quart freezer bags so they can lie flat.  Don't forget to label with name of the food and the date prepared.

And, oh, the farmer we talked to as he weighed our purchase?  It's a gamble, he said. (This U Pick operation actually concentrates on apples.  They are famous for their raspberry applesauce and I suspect that's why they grow the raspberries.)  They've been growing raspberries for over 10 years now.  They used to grow strawberries, but gave up last year.  Sweet cherries were also something they gave up - cherries do well along the Finger Lakes, but not where we live.

He shrugged when we asked him if they would have more picking dates.  Not before midweek, he said, if at all.  But it's all part of farming, he continued.

Thank heavens for our farmers and their perseverance through winds, floods and more.

The Summer of 1971 #MusicMovesMe

 

It's Monday, and it is time for Music!

Who are the Music Moves Me 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 , please!)   First, there is XmasDolly.  Her co-hosts are: Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, and me. 

Each month we have a guest conductor. This month we once again welcome Songbird from Songbird's Crazy World.

Why not join us?  We'd love to have you.

Songbird's theme for today is:  "You Pick" so we can pick what we want.  I'm moved today to pick the summer of 1971.  So hard to believe it's been 50 years.

Here are some of my favorite songs from the summer of 1971.

Daddy Dewdrop and  "Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It)"

Carole King - It's Too Late.

You've Got a Friend - James Taylor, written in January 1971 by Carole King. Both James Taylor and Carole King won Grammy's for this song.

"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" by Paul Revere and the Raiders.  True, the terms "Indian" and "Red Man" are frowned upon now, but interestingly, it was written by John Loundermilk and first recorded in 1959 by Marvin Rainwater, a rockabilly star of the 1950's. Rainwater's name of the song was "The Pale Faced Indian" and that, Paul Revere and Loudermilk's original had slightly different lyrics.  Rainwater claimed to be 1/4 Cherokee.  I never knew Paul Revere's version was a cover until I researched this song.

The Doors' Riders on the Storm was released in June of 1971, shortly before Jim Morrison died.  I owned the album, and must have played it a million times (at least).

Last but not least - The Who and Won't Get Fooled Again. 

And that's a summer wrap!

Join me again next week for more music.

The New Space Race

I wonder how many SF writers foresaw all the twists and turns of our space program.

I grew up during the space race with the USSR years. We would watch space launches, on TV, in our New York City elementary school classrooms.  When I was about 10, I read my first SF novel,    I was in high school when we landed on the moon and watched, live, as Neil Armstrong took his first blurry steps.  He wasn't blurry, of course but the picture on our black and white TV was.  I heard his first words.

When my son was growing up, we would get space race videos out of the library and watch them with our son.

Now, as a senior citizen, I think about how far we have come.  Today, a nearly 71 year old man and a small crew went up to the edges of space in a private aircraft, and landed safely in a spaceport in New Mexico.  He said "I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars."  He dreamed and trained and trained some more. I wonder if he ever dreamed of being in what many are calling a "billionaire's space race."  To me, it's sometimes grown men acting like small children in a schoolyard, taunting each other with "my spaceship is bigger than yours." (or has more windows, goes faster, or whatever).

Some say Sir Branson should have spent his money on fighting climate change or some other Earthly endeavor.  Or that fine, he got his wish, and now, let's move on.

But I continue to ponder. There's a lot about this I'm not (in all honesty) comfortable with, such as the extensive taxpayer funding of the Spaceport America facility where the Virgin Galactic launches take place. (Will the everyday person ever see a return on that investment, or will space become a playground, and eventually, a possible refuge for the rich?)  But, on the other hand,  space has to be part of our future.  If these billionaires don't move us forward, who will?

So now, the next installment will be July 20, when Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin take their turn.

Another Boulevard of Broken Trees

 Our country is experiencing bad weather in so many states.  

Wednesday night it was our turn in the area where I live in New York State. Trees down, people without power - at one point, over 10,000 without power.  Yesterday, the local utility (NYSEG) started to distribute dry ice to residents.  Today, we saw utility repair type trucks from a couple of out of town companies.  I just checked NYSEG's website and it appears all but a few households have had their power restored.  Thankfully, our hot weather had paused for the occasion.

I know one person who lost her garage when a tree came down.  Their gas grill was blown across the street.  She was positive it was a small tornado, but it appears to have been "only" a microburst.

I didn't want to take pictures in my immediate neighborhood (at least two neighbors lost parts of trees and there were branches down everywhere) or in a residential area, so we headed to the Vestal Rail Trail. These pictures were taken July 9, after crews had a chance to clear the path.

The interesting thing about this first downed tree (see upper center) is the red color of the splintered wood (noting that most of the foliage belongs to a sumac, not the tree that came down, and the red in the lower left are the sumac's red berry clusters.)  In a search, I come up with dawn redwoods, but do they grow in my part of New York State?  If anyone has a guess, I'd love to know in the comments.

A broken tree along the Boulevard of Broken Trees.

A (I'm guessing) male sumac down here.

 Parts of trees.

At another park, I saw several small branches driven into the ground.   Here is one (upper left).  It doesn't look impressive but I think it's more evidence of the microburst, given there were several of these, just not close enough to photograph together.

I missed the weather excitement in New York City from the recent tropical storm, but I wrote about a different downstate weather event on March 13, 2010.  Here is my original "Boulevard of Broken Trees" post.  If I had only known then how the weather would turn even more deadly.

The Boulevard of Broken Trees - March 13, 2010

 We are 40 miles north of NYC today, and experiencing a nor'easter.  The house where we are staying has lost power twice already.  There are downed trees everywhere, both from last month's snowstorm and today's windstorm.  On the Taconic Parkway there are a lot of old historic stone fences - a lot of them have damage from last month's storm.

After the power went off this morning, we went to McDonald's that had power for breakfast.  Just as we were finishing up there, the power went off.  Everyone laughed-obviously it isn't a rare occurrence down here.

Where we live, we escaped last month's snowstorm but down here, the tree services will have job security for a long time.  I have not seen anything quite like it in many many years.

Today we are having lots of wind and rain.  We had to drive to a party in Yonkers and on the way home there was a traffic tieup on the Sprain Brook Parkway due to a tree that had come down, blocking the leftmost of 3 northbound lanes.  Fortunately it appeared no one was hurt-but in the past people have been killed on this parkway from falling trees.

We saw signs that the nearby Sawmill Parkway entrances were closed due to flooding, and I don't think it will be long before the Bronx River Parkway and the Sprain Brook are closed down, too.

I hope the power stays on tonight and we don't have any trees that fall down here.

We sometimes call Binghamton "Borington"...and on days like this, we can be grateful for Borington's boring weather.

(Even in 2021).

Visiting the River #SkywatchFriday

Where I live in the Southern Tier of New York, it's been stormy.  As I write this (Thursday evening) thousands are still without power but I'm fortunate.  We never lost ours.  Two of our neighbors lost parts of their trees.  One had branches on their porch and car.  Ugh.  Fortunate again, but it reminded us that it could have been us.

So let's go back a week or so.

Down near the river, July 3.  

Clouds above, muddy river below.  As mentioned, we've been having a lot of rainy weather recently.

A man, a boy, and (the dots right "above" them) some geese.

Hard to see, but in the lowest center, a goose sits.  What is he or she thinking?

Those clouds are starting to look not so good.  Time to head back in.

After the storm, cloud reflections on a road that needs just a bit of fixing up.

Joining Yogi and the skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.

Linden Tree Very Pretty #ThursdayTreeLove

 Once again, I present the majestic linden tree (also known as the basswood tree), which stopped blooming in my area of New York State a bit over two weeks ago.

 It may be hard for you to appreciate the size from a photo, but this is a big tree.   This particular street in Binghamton, New York (Grand Boulevard) is partially lined with these trees. I don't know how old these trees are, but I've read that some can have a lifespan of up to 1,000 years.

Some interesting facts about the linden.

The seed pods come out before the flowers open.

The flowers are fragrant and bees love them.  Looking at this picture, you may ask, where are the bees? There weren't too many.  They seem to decrease each year, a worrisome trend.

Let's take a last, long distance look.

Here's a post I wrote on these trees in a previous year with more information.

I'll be joining Parul at Happiness and Food, hopefully later today, for #ThursdayTreeLove.

The Grace of Daylilies #WordlessWednesday

 Last week, I mentioned a daylily garden/nursery in Penn Yan, New York (in the Finger Lakes region) called Grace Gardens.  I have several day lilies I bought from them between 2018 and 2019, and they are in bloom now.

Enjoy!  The names of these are lost in the mists of my mind and my awful (correction, nonexistent) record keeping but I think I've seen one of them in a day lily display garden at our local botanical gardens.  Maybe I should start with that one.

The lily on top "may" be a short, double variety called Bubbly.

A red daylily.

A beautiful pink.

Lavender.

And one I may have had on my blog before, orange.

Now, I have other day lilies to show you, but they will have to wait for another day.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Monarch's Friend Milkweed

Not every moment of the pandemic (for me) has been bad.  It's led to some discoveries that I may never have stumbled across except for the fact that I needed a nearby place to walk during the lockdown.  After it was over, we kept walking there on occasion.

It is in a low place adjacent to the Susquehanna River, and is bordered by a floodwall.  And, on that floodwall, wildflowers grow.

These photos were taken in the past week.

Right now, the milkweed is blooming.

You may have heard of milkweed, a plant that is getting more and more attention as it is the sole food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars.  By eating the milkweed's toxic leaves (which, obviously are not toxic to them) the caterpillars become adults who are, in turn, toxic or bad tasting to many who would otherwise eat them.

The flowers are beautiful.

They also have a wonderful scent I wish I could convey to you by smell-o-blog. 

But the plants are disappearing in the wild due to loss of habitat, and so are the monarchs.

Here are some of the native milkweeds - at least one, if you live in the United States, is native to your area.  Canadian?  Here's some information for you.

We are encouraged to grow milkweed but you really need the right place - otherwise it might take over.  I have not planted it in my yard.  Interestingly, our local Wild Birds Unlimited was offering a small packet of milkweed seeds with purchase.  I got one but after reading up, I decided I didn't have the right environment for them.  Too bad.

In my three walks during which I took these photos, I only saw one monarch.  Last year, there were a lot more.  I'm just hoping it's because it's too early for them.

 

And, to end this post, a monarch (taken in 2017) butterfly on a zinnia.

Yes, milkweed - friend to the monarch, this butterfly of beauty.

Fairy Tales Fantasy and Princesses #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday, and it is time for Music!

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 , please!)   First, there is XmasDolly, now settled in her new blogging home.  Her co-hosts are: Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, and me. Each month we have a guest conductor. This month we are going to welcome Songbird from Songbird's Crazy World.

Why not join us?  The linky is at the bottom of this poast.  We'd love to have you.

Songbird's younger daughter is celebrating her 29th birthday and is a Disney Princess and Harry Potter fan.  So, the theme for today is:  "Songs of Fantasy, Magic and/or Fairy Tales".

The first two songs bring me back to my childhood.

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs had a hit in 1966 with the song "Little Red Riding Hood".  Ahhowwwl! (The roots of the actual fairy tale may date from over 1,000 years ago, according to something I read online).

My spouse and I loved the Aqualung album by Jethro Tull and owned it (in vinyl, of course, back in those days).  I'm not sure how much this song had to do with its title but here it is:  Mother Goose, from 1971.

I am not a huge Disney fan, but one movie I loved was the 1992 movie "Aladdin".  It's a good thing I liked it, too, as my then toddler son also liked it..  About 2,000 views later, I still liked this song very much.  Let's go ahead and ride with Aladdin and Princess Jasmine in "A Whole New World".

The other Disney princess I am featuring is Snow White.  This song was released on a 78 record from the 1937 Disney movie of the same name. (How many of you remember 78's?) Here is Adriana Caselotti singing "Whistle While You Work."

OK, dear readers, don't desert me.  It's time for fantasy and it's going to get weird, but weird is all part of fantasy, right?   If you are eating or drinking, please finish your beverage or snack before you tackle this one.  This song is from 1967 and I swear it is real, not somebody's fever dream.  This is Leonard Nimoy singing "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" (from 1967) and, well, the song has elements of creatures from fairy tales, and is based on one of the all time best fantasy book series - well, sort of.  So I say it counts.

This is a live version of White Rabbit by the Jefferson Airplane, appearing on the Smothers Brothers .  I owned the 45 (what they called a "single" back then) and played it almost to death.  You could say, I guess, that it is based on the book Alice in Wonderland. Check out that 60's psychedelic background.

And last, but definitely not least, I will end this with a 1982 fav of mine.  I'm surprised I've never put this in any of my 1980's music posts.  It's about the fantasy life - sort of.  Rock out to Aldo Nova and "Fantasy".

That's all for this week! Tune in again next week, same place, maybe even the same time.

Three Cheers for Independence Day

Today, in the United States, it is Independence Day.  For this year, it's going to be cause for great celebration.

Let's celebrate with some flowers.

Red geraniums

White impatiens after a rain (with one pink impatien).

About as close to blue as you can get in a cultivated flower.

Even wildflowers want to celebrate Independence Day

No Red but I do have a White Queen Anne's Lace with a Japanese beetle on it.

The closest one can come to blue in a wildflower - here, chicory.

Independence Day would not be complete without some music, so here is some "America" themed music.  My favorite piece of fireworks music is this song by James Brown: Living in America.

Three cheers for the red, white and blue.  Our country is flawed, yes, but we also have a lot to celebrate.  Let today be the day to do it.

July 2013 Revisited

 In July of 2013, we were commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, which took place July 1, 2 and 3, 1863.  This battle, fought near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is said to have been the defining moment of who would win the United States Civil War.

I wrote many posts during the 150th anniversary of the war (1861-1865) including this one on July 3, 2013. 

I had wanted so much to be able to visit Gettysburg that week.   There was supposed to be a large gathering to commemorate that watershed battle, but, unfortunately, many people had the same idea and, unlike me, they didn't try to make last minute plans.

Spouse and I had already taken time off from work.

I was not happy, but then fate intervened.

I was so positive I had written a blog post about what happened next, but if I did, I can't find it on my blog, so here goes (eight years later).

First, I need to explain that many years ago, both this cousin (let's call her "H") and my childhood best friend (BFF) were house hunting in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City.  H has spent almost her entire life in Brooklyn.  BFF grew up with me in the Bronx (another borough) but, as an adult, moved to an apartment in Brooklyn at the time she got married.  Anyway, H and BFF found themselves at the same open house.  

They hit it off.  They became friends, not knowing (at first) that they had something else in common.  Or, actually, someone else.  Me.

(Just as another fun fact, a good friend of BFF's husband was the son of my next door neighbor in the Bronx, proving that even New York City, with its eight million people, can be a small world at times.)

At some point, they found out they had me in common, and when spouse and I came to Brooklyn, we always tried to visit both of them.

Fast forward to 2013.  About a year and a half before, BFF had been diagnosed with cancer.  As the summer of 2013 came close, she was doing well.

One late June day, H called to catch up on life.  In talking with her, she mentioned that, on July 4, BFF had planned a BBQ.  Among other people, H was invited.  Too bad I couldn't be there, as I lived 150 miles away, and probably had other plans....or could I?

I contacted BFF, and sure, we were welcome to come.  And to stay with her and husband.

We came. We had a wonderful visit and 4th of July BBQ with BFF, H, and BFF's other friends.     We had a great time, that first few days of July we spent down there.   

BFF loved to crochet and knit.  During her treatments, she would work on outfits for pediatric cancer patients, and she showed me some of her work.  Here is one picture of her work.

The next day, we went into Manhattan on the subway and walked (in that 90 plus degree heat) the  entire High Line.  Here's a post I wrote about it at the time.  At one time, this was an elevated railroad track.  Now, it's one of the most successful urban parks in the United States, full of art work.  The neighboring buildings take advantage of its popularity, too.

This is not a story with a happy ending, I'm sorry to say.

This visit was the last time I saw my BFF "well".   She passed away in 2015.  May she forever rest in peace.

But if I I had been able to find lodging down in Gettysburg, I never would been able to go to that wonderful BBQ, and spend other quality time with her before and after.

Maybe some things are meant to be.  Each July 4, I think back on that special July 4 I spent in Brooklyn.

May my readers in the United States have a happy and meaningful Independence Day.  Tomorrow I will have a happier post - I promise.

Heat and Clouds #SkywatchFriday

Welcome to the first Skywatch of summer!

It's interesting to see the clouds in the midst of a heatwave.  We in the Northeast United States did not experience the heat of the Pacific Northwest, but it was hot and humid for us, compared to what we normally get at the end of June.  The temperatures were at the time the photos were taken, not necessarily our high for the day.

Monday - 93F (33.8 C), but Tuesday promised to be worse.

Tuesday - 95F when I took this.  It got up to 97 degrees (36.1 C)

Then the storms came. I took this and the next picture just before they hit. We were getting a lot of lightning and I didn't want to be outside for it.

Another angle.

Last storm picture.  It was late in the day, and by the time the storm abated, I didn't really want to go outside.  We had several more thunderstorms (rolling thunder) that night, and some heavy downpours.  We needed the rain.

Wednesday it was hot and sticky, and yes, it ended up raining again.  This cloud made me think of a dragon.

Finally, yesterday, we got relief.  Oh, wonderful 70's.

Joining Yogi and other sky watchers for #SkywatchFriday.

Fickle Fingers and Daylilies

On this first month of July, we hope and wish for many things. (I also wish my Canadian readers a Happy Canada Day.)

The year is half over.  We are hopefully exiting a heat wave in the Northeast United States that might have been newsworthy except for the blistering heat wave that hit the Pacific Northwest of our country.  I have experienced 112F. I can't begin to imagine 117.

But today, my thoughts are directed towards those three of those who have left us in the past year.  So many, too many, hit by the fickle finger of fate. But these people intersected with my life in some way.

One was a gentleman, musician, newsletter writer and former businessman I blogged about just a few days ago.  He passed away days after I blogged about him. I liked his band.  I was an occasional reader of a music newsletter that he wrote anonymously (once he was dying, he revealed himself).  May he rest in peace.

One was a Facebook friend in another country, a woman I had never met in person. I found a Facebook friend of hers in  Facebook group that I had joined.  Don't ask how a Jewish gal from New York City  ended up as Facebook friends with a Christian romance writer from South Africa, but the Internet can be like that. We really didn't interact much and, in retrospect, I regret that.  This woman was only 50 years old, and died on June 25, after a battle with COVID-19. Its Delta variant is surging in her country.  May she rest in peace.

The third, a woman I had met back in 2018 and had a very nice chat with her and her husband, died nearly a year ago.  Tom and Kathy Rood owned a daylily garden, Grace Gardens, in Penn Yan, New York. (Penn Yan is in the New York Finger Lakes, near Keuka Lake.)  Grace Gardens is gorgeous when the day lilies are in bloom  (I've blogged about it several times).  

I found out last week, when I received a postcard from her husband Tom announcing their annual open house (we didn't attend last year due to COVID). The postcard also announced Kathy's death in September 2020 and her obituary mentioned a short battle with cancer  May Kathy rest in peace.

Kathy was an expert daylily hybridizer and had several daylily varieties named after her. She was also an accomplished artist.

I can pay some tribute to Kathy with daylilies.  Mine are starting to bloom.  I know these came from Grace Gardens because of where we planted them.  

I might be able to look back in my blog and identify them.  My record keeping, to be blunt, is awful. But not today.

If you like these, I have more (purchased from various sources) to show you another day.

Happy July to us all, as we in the Northern hemisphere settle into summer.