Which Sunset for Today? #SkywatchFriday

After months and months of hardly any sunsets to show you, I had promised to show you a really good one.

In the meantime, there was another good sunset.

One notable thing about our second summer (right now, writing this on Thursday afternoon, it is 58 F (14.4C) and I'm enjoying every degree of it)  is that the warmish weather is happening after the return of early sunsets.  Tonight, sunset is 4:42 pm.  

On days when I work, it fits right in with when my work days end.  On days off, it's still a convenient time, as we tend to eat supper a little later than many. 

I prefer not to do sunset photography in cold weather where I have to take gloves off.  With this warm wave, I'm comfortable taking pictures.

Also, the sunsets have cooperated with some nice ones.  Thank you, sunsets, for thinking of me and my readers.

The day opened up with frost all over the ground and frost on the windshield of our car. This was about 7:50 am.

Midday.

By 4:52 pm, things were looking promising.

A couple of minutes later, promise kept.

Reflection on the river.

More reflections.

And to all, a good night.

Next week, a different sunset.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.

The Tea Library

I've drank tea all of my life.  In my childhood, I drank black tea, brewed from tea bags.  In the summer I drank ice tea, unsweetened, as is the tradition where I grew up in New York City.

Now, I can no longer tolerate more than a tiny bit of caffeine, and I've switched to either herbal tea or decaf black tea.  I have always been sensitive to cinnamon and that leaves out some herbal and flavored black teas, but I find the herbal tea world is large.  The two herbals I really don't like are roobios (which, unfortunately, is in a lot of blends) and chamomile.  On the other hand, I like hibiscus and mint.

The one thing I regret about my tea habit is the fact that, except for a couple of gift shops that will sell you one herbal tea bag, I can't buy just one tea bag (or enough tea for one ball's worth of loose tea, which I also indulge in sometimes) to try out.  If I don't like the tea, or if my digestion doesn't, I'm stuck with a box of 19 or 23 tea bags.

I'm not a tea connoisseur.  I think I can tell if a tea is really bad (and I know that most tea connoisseurs don't use tea bags - I can understand why, but I tend to be lazy) but I'm willing to try different brands out.

Enter....The Tea Library.  

Yes, one of our local libraries has set up a Tea Library for this winter.  They need contributions of tea bags.  They must be individually wrapped, list ingredients on the wrapper (thank you!) and not be past their expiration date.

If you take tea, the limit is three tea bags.  You also have to sign a register (first name) if you are either taking or donating.

Today, I stopped into this library (I usually don't go to this one) and there was the tea library.  I didn't have any teas but I decided to try three of them.   I figured I couldn't go wrong with Earl Grey, and none of these have roobios or chamomile.
 

Now I'll have to find the time to donate some teas.

Would you take out a tea from a tea library?

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day November 2023 #WordlessWednesday

It's the 15th of the month and another Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

The first frost and freeze have come and gone in my zone 5b area of New York State.  Only some stray kale, carrots, and swiss chard remain in the garden.  The bounty of flowers are a memory.

I scrounged for flowers this November 15 and found more than I thought I would.  The same probably won't be true for December, but one month at a time.

Let's see what I found.

Houseplants.

Plectranthus, which I informally call a Charlie plant.  Years ago, a woman in Ithaca, New York gave me a cutting.  What I have now are cuttings from that original plant.  When I asked her what it was, she said it was a "Charlie plant". Why will always remain a mystery.

Airplane plant is putting out little airplanes.  This is the flower that proceeds the airplane babies.

One of my Thanksgiving cactii is blooming. The other (not shown) may be open by later today.

A wider view.

Hanging baskets:  my two remaining sunpatiens.

 I've taken their hanging baskets inside.

Finally, this cuphea pot didn't make it - or did it?  The part of the pot nearly up against the house must have been close enough to the house and a little piece of one of the plants survived.

Joining two linkups today:  Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted every 15th of the month by Carol at May Dream Gardens, and Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus. 

My 1976 Friendsgiving

It's the season for rerun posts, and here is one of my favorites.

Friendsgiving.  It's become, as we say here in the United States, "a thing".

It's interesting to see how a holiday evolves, because I was introduced to the concept when my spouse was in the military, back in the mid 1970's.  That's way before the TV show Friends, which some credit in making this unofficial holiday popular.  But Thanksgiving among friends is a lot older than the show Friends, and I know this from experience.

Although the term did not make it to the Merriam-Webster dictionary until 2020, military members have been doing this for years, without a name.

Think about it - young men and women hundreds or thousands of miles from home.  For some, it's their first Thanksgiving from home.  Many are single.  Travel home, for many, is out of the question.  Young military people do not make a lot of money.

So you turn to the people you are with - your fellow military people.  We decided to host a Thanksgiving at our one bedroom apartment for some of my spouse's buddies because my spouse loves to cook.  

We did the traditional Thanksgiving with one major exception - a non traditional pie, anyone?  Here is my blog post about the experience.

I don't remember asking for food contributions, but nowadays a lot of Friendsgivings involve potlucks.  And, although our Friendsgiving was on Thanksgiving Day, a lot of young people hold this the weekend before Thanksgiving.  That will be this coming weekend.

After all, not everyone has a happy family life. Some would rather skip the drama.  Or, sometimes, people just want to hang out with friends. Or co-workers.

As far as I'm concerned, Friendsgiving is, and will continue to develop, as a wonderful tradition.

That 1976 Friendsgiving  (what I remember of it) is a cherished memory of my youth.

Or maybe my spouse and I were years ahead of our time.

Have you ever hosted or participated in a Friendsgiving?

Food Family and Friendship #MusicMovesMe

It's almost the middle of November already, and it's time for music!

Let's introduce the Music Moves Me bloggers.

We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please!)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and yours truly.

You are welcome to join our Monday music group.  It's so easy. All you have to do is join the linky above but your post must contain at least one music video.  No music video? Your post may be removed, or may be labeled *NO MUSIC*.

This month our guest host is none other than our head host Xmas Dolly and her theme for this week is "Tunes about food, family, or friendship".

What I found out, in my research, is that a lot of food songs are actually about something we all need, but not food.  So how about a couple of songs with sweetness in their titles?

 

Neil Young and 1977's Sugar Mountain.  It's really not that much about food but about life.  Neil wrote this song on his 19th birthday in 1964 and it was recorded a bit later.

Paul McCartney lends a celery vibe to this 1971 song by the Beach Boys:  Vegetables.

Let's switch to family.

Stevie Wonder and Isn't She Lovely, an ode of love to his newborn daughter, Aisha Morris. (I'll have a bonus song with both of them a little later.)

One of my favorite songs, 1982's Our House by Madness, a song about a working class family.

Friendship songs abound.  Here is Randy Newman and You've Got a Friend in Me.  Originally written for the 1995 movie Toy Story, this song was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.  It's since been used in other Toy Story movies.

Weezer and My Best Friend.

And now for the bonus song I mentioned.  Stevie Wonder and Aisha Morris performing The Girl from Ipanema.

And that's a wrap!

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.

Mid November Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

There is something about a November shadow.

Mid day November 10.

 Sunset shadow November 9.

Late color tree November 5.

Joining Magical Mystical Teacher for #ShadowshotSunday.

Veterans Day 2023

The 11th day of the 11th month at 11am....some call it Remembrance Day.  In the United Sttaes, where we live, we call it Veterans Day.

Thursday, I honored my mother.  Today, I honor all veterans, including my spouse and my father.

Veterans Memorial Endicott, New York, undated, by me

My spouse joined the military in his early 20's.  He spent four years in service (all domestic) and our journey during those years took us from Florida to Texas to Kansas.  I don't think it's an exaggeration to say those years shaped us.  It was quite an education, and I am grateful for it.

I was what they called a military dependent for those four years.  It was an interesting experience and an eye opener.   I've not blogged too much about those years.  Perhaps, I should.

Then, there was my father.

Yesterday was the 58th anniversary of the untimely death of my mother.  I was raised after that point by my father. In those days there was little support for single fathers.

My late father suffered a traumatic brain injury during his World War II (non-combat) service with the Army Air Corp, and lived with seizures and other side effects for the rest of his life.  After he came back from war he found it near impossible to find employment, a fate that too many veterans of our modern wars suffer.  For a time, he ran a newsstand with another veteran.  Finally, he found a civil service job but was never able to rise too high in the ranks, due to his disability.

I never saw a trace of bitterness in my father although I know life was not always kind to him.

Which brings me to this poem.  

I am not a "poetry person" (although there are several poets I do enjoy, in part due to a blogger who posts poetry every Sunday) but this poem always touches my heart. Written by a Canadian soldier in 1915 upon the battle death of his friend in Flanders, Belgium, during World War I.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

John McCrae
 

Second Summer Skies #SkywatchFriday

We are in second summer here in the Southern Tier of New York.  The first frost, the first freeze, the first snow, have come and gone.

Warmish days alternate with days of cold.  Yesterday I was able to sit in the backyard, despite a west wind, and enjoy the birds coming to our bird feeder or rummaging through the leaves on the ground.  Dark eyed juncos.  Tufted titmice.  Carolina wrens. Black capped chickadees.  Northern cardinals (who don't like me sitting in the yard).  Even a goldfinch or two, the males in their muted non breeding plumage of muddy olive greenish.

I was serenaded by the west wind and the rustling of the remaining leaves as I wrote this post, enjoying the intermittent sunshine that would disappear in a sunset in another two and a half hours.

On days I work, I get out less than a half hour before sunset now.  We've headed a couple of times to our neighborhood park after work.  I captured a sunset yesterday evening which I may share with you next Friday.  For now, I'm picking some skies from erlier in the week.

Tuesday around 12:30 pm. Soon, we will see nothing but white and grey gloom.  But not yet.

Around 4:35 pm the same day.

Thursday was a mild day and we took a walk on the Vestal Rail Trail.  There were still some leaves on the trees - imagine that on November 9.

These maples will be bare soon.

As will these (I think) Norway maples.

I will end this post with a coming attraction from yesterday's sunset.  More next Friday.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.

Every November 9

Part of this post was originally published in November of 2015.  A fellow blogger inspired me to rerun it with some changes and edits.

It is a common meme for bloggers to give advice to their younger selves.

Today, 58 years after my mother died during the 1965 Northeast blackout, I would love nothing better to reach out to a 12 years old girl who had just been through one of the most traumatic nights of her life.  Me.

Back in 2015,  I blogged about a blackout, which affected some 30 million people in Canada and the Northeastern United States on November 9, 1965. (Note, some of the links in that post may be dead).  One of my commenters on that post asked if my Mom had died because of the blackout.  I don't think so, although it may indirectly have contributed.

My mother had not been feeling well that day, and had come close to calling my father at work and asking him to come home.  But she didn't.  As a result, when the lights went out about 5:27 pm, my father was on a New York City subway, one of some 800,000 riders in transit that evening.  He didn't get out on the street until about 10:30 pm.

My Dad had to wait on a long line for a pay phone to call home.   (If you are wondering why the phones worked, it was simple - these were true landlines, in 1965, and worked independently of the power grid.).

It was too late by the time he reached us. 

My father, eventually, did make it home.  Only as an adult, and later, as a mother, did I ever think of the trauma he went through that night and in the days and weeks later.  He had the added responsibility of having to raise me alone, in addition to losing the wife he loved.  

It's sobering to realize that most all of the adults I interacted with during the blackout (and the people in those historic pictures) are now dead or elderly.  

Today, it's still hard for me to blog about that night.  But one thing my Mom installed in me was my love of growing things.  Even though my Mom only had  the space on her apartment windowsill to grow her beloved houseplants, I still remember the trees in the housing project I grew up in.

Pictures taken October 26, 2023

I wonder if any of the trees in my childhood housing project (not these!) that witnessed the blackout are still alive.  I actually went on Google Maps yesterday to look at where I grew up, so long ago.

Returning to what the senior me would tell that 12 year old girl, it is simple:

"Dear 12 year old me, who spent years blaming herself for her mother's death, you were not responsible.  You can't put responsibility on yourself for your mother's illness, or the events of that night.  But children, and in many ways you were still a child on that night, think in ways different than those of adults.  One day, you will know that. "

Even now, it is hard for me to write about the events of that night and how they changed me forever.  Instead, I will turn to a book called Motherless Daughters - The Legacy of Loss by Hope Edelman. As it happens, the therapist I eventually saw in my 40's was herself a motherless daughter, and knew this book would help me.  In some ways, it was like the book had been written just for me.  In fact, it was written as a result of hundreds of interviews with motherless daughters.  Daughters like me.Ms. Edelman said, in the book:

“When a daughter loses a mother, the intervals between grief responses lengthen over time, but her longing never disappears. It always hovers at the edge of her awareness, prepared to surface at any time, in any place, in the least expected ways.”

In some ways, I envy those who have had their mothers all these years.  I never got to know my mother as an adult.  I suspect that my teen years would have been extremely stormy with her.  I sometimes wonder how different my life would have been.  Her hopes for me were not what I wanted to do with my life.

As Ms. Edelman also said:  “I truly believe that the death of my mother has made me the way I am today. I am a survivor, mentally strong, determined, strong willed, self-reliant, and independent. I also keep most of my pain, anger and feelings inside." It took me years to learn the lesson that sometimes you just have to reach out for help.  But still, I am a bit of an over planner - I tend to have plans A, B, C and D where others may be lucky to come up with a plan B.  I know this is a trait of motherless daughters.

I had a lawyer write my first will when I was in my 30's, before I even had a child.  How many women in their 30's write a will?

Getting back to what I would also say to the 12 year old me, how about this:  "You are a good person. Be good to yourself.  Be kind to yourself when you are feeling low. You can't control many things in life.  But you are stronger than you think.  You are capable of great things. Your life ahead will be full of adventure, happiness, but also more great sadness and hurt.  But you will get through it all."

 Sending love now to my 12 year old self.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Clash of the Seasons #WordlessWednesday

Look at this photo.

This was taken at the end of October in a local park.  Looks like a typical New York fall photo, does it not?

 

But, just a few yards away....

Holiday decorations?

They were putting up lights for the park's annual Holiday display which starts November 19.  These are hard to see but the one on the far right has a snowman.

It's a beautiful light display at night, when cars drive through the park for a fee.

Even the first picture has one of the lighting displays, just barely visible a little below the middle of the photo.

Too soon?

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for #WordlessWednesday.

Treasure Your Vote

I originally posted about politics and one of my in laws being able to vote on November 8, 2011,  election day that year.  

As my regular readers know, my spouse has a younger brother who is autistic.  He is also a frequent listener to the news and is interested in politics.  We saw him recently, and he told us he was voting next year.  He told us his choice for President, although no one has earned a party nomination yet.

In 2016, he voted in the New York presidential primary in April.  He made his mind up from watching the TV news shows he watched.

Not only that, he voted for President, and, furthermore, voted the opposite of how his mother (who he relied on so emotionally and physically at the time) was going to vote.  It led to some interesting comments from my mother in law, who wasn't seeming to like the fact that he wasn't just following along with whatever she said.

Since then, he has made gains in independence, with a lot of help from many people.

In 2018, though, I don't think he voted. We don't press him one way or the other, as he has a right to his private thoughts, so we don't know why.  I wonder, though, if the intensity of this election cycle overwhelmed him.  His mother was also terminally ill.  She died the day after Thanksgiving in 2018.

Voting, for someone with a disability (intellectual or physically) can be a hard thing.   Believe it or not, a person with intellectual disabilities can actually be stripped of their right to vote.  But there is support out there, and information.

It can still be difficult.  In fact, my brother in law, who is in his 60's, voted for the first time in 2004.

I repeat this post in honor of my brother in law.  I also honor those who didn't have the right to vote for years in our country, including women, people of color, Natives, and others.

Please, if you are in the United States, vote today if you didn't already early vote.  Every vote counts, even for offices you may think hold little or now importance.

And now, my post from 2011.

From November of 2011 - Autism Votes (with some edits)

A Facebook post by a Facebook friend of mine, a woman who has an adult son on the autistic spectrum, inspired this post.

Her son voted for the first time in 2011. Although she is his legal guardian, her son retains his right to vote.  She told her Facebook friends that her son has looked forward to exercising his vote for years.  This was a big day for him, having turned 18.

It's also a big day for our country for another reason.

Her son is on the leading edge of a wave of adults and soon to be adults with autism.  

Just wait until all those adults with autism, who have been given the tools and supports to vote, start to exercise that right. 

Growing up, my brother in law was never encouraged to vote nor were people like him ever expected to vote.  This just didn't happen.  The belief was that they weren't "normal".  So their voices, and opinions, were unheard.

In 2004, a person who worked with him in a support role decided that my brother in law should exercise his right to vote.  He watches a news station that carries a lot of political discussions and has formed very definite political opinions.  Why shouldn't he vote?  She worked with him, he did vote, and he was very proud of voting for the presidential candidate of his choice.

For the first time, his voice was heard.

It is not easy for a person with autism to vote, as described here, but it can be done with proper education and proper support.  This issue isn't restricted to the United States, either.

It will be interesting to hear what these new adults with autism have to say in the voting booth.

Sowing the Seeds of Music #MusicMovesMe

It's the first Monday of November, and it's time for music.

Let's introduce the Music Moves Me bloggers.

We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please!)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and yours truly.

You are welcome to join our Monday music group.  It's so easy. All you have to do is join the linky above but your post must contain at least one music video.  No music video? Your post may be removed, or may be labeled *NO MUSIC*.

This month our guest host is none other than our head host Xmas Dolly and her theme for this week is "You Pick Freedom of Choice Week".

I am thinking today of 80's music.  I heard some of these songs on a fall foliage drive the last week of October, and I want to bring back the memory of a mild early fall day.

From 1985, a-ha and The Sun Always Shines on TV.   

In A Big Country - Big Country, from 1983. And no, what you are hearing are not bagpipes.  It is a guitar special effect. from what I've read.

Tears for Fears - Sowing the Seeds of Love, from 1989.

Red Skies at Night, a 1982 hit for The Fixx, a band I loved and it's been a while since I heard one of their songs.  This video said it had the original version and it did have some differences from what I remember.  So, why not?  Sadly, the lyrics have become so relevant once again.

Last, but far from least, a song Alex Chilton by The Replacements, from 1987.  This song is a homage to Chilton, who was a lead singer for the Box Tops and a group called Big Star. He was also a music producer and songwriter, who, sadly died from a heart attack at the age of 59 in 2010.  I heard this on the drive and I hadn't heard it in such a long time.

And that's a wrap!

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.

The Lasts

Standard Time sadness.

Nature is (in a way) closing up for the winter.   So are most of our farm markets.

Today, sunset will be at 4:53 pm.

Last week, thinking we would have our first frost on Halloween, I went out and took some pictures of my last flowers.  Now, they are gone.

Enjoy their beauty.

Zinnia in shadow.

Last dahlia with some allium seedheads below it.

Last cosmos.

Last lantana.

Last marigold.

I will miss them.

Tomorrow, join me and other music bloggers for #MusicMovesMe.

Falling Back 2023

For years, I've blogged about our twice a year time change.  Spring ahead, fall back.

Tomorrow, in the United States, we "fall back" an hour at 2am, and resume Standard Time.  This will last until March 10, when we will "spring ahead" an hour, and spend the day totally disoriented.

I'll be disoriented tomorrow, too.

For years, people have been trying to either get us on year round Daylight Saving Time or year round Standard Time (the time we are falling back to tomorrow).  As of now, many states have passed measures to make one form of time permanent but federal legislation is needed to allow these laws to go into effect.  My state, New York, has seven bills pending but none have made progress so far.  There are bills to both make Daylight Saving Time permanent (which needs federal legislation) and one to make Standard Time permanent (which does not).

If we aren't careful, we may end up with a patchwork of states on Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time. (People in Indiana may still remember when, during the summer, part of the state was on Eastern Daylight Saving Time, part on Eastern Standard Time, part on Central Daylight Saving Time and part on Central Standard Time.  I didn't live in Indiana but I traveled through it on occasion, and it was confusing.  This was fixed in 2006, when the entire state implemented Daylight Saving Time.

Arizona and Hawaii have year round Standard Time.  However, the part of the Diné land that is in Arizona observes Daylight Saving Time so they can be in sync with their territory in other neighboring states.

Meanwhile, some doctors think that we would be more healthy with year round Standard Time.

Confused yet?

So are we.

Bottom line:  until we make up our mind (and don't we have so many other pressing matters?) we will keep going through this twice a year ritual.

Transition Skies #SkywatchFriday

Skies from the end of October and beginning of November in the Southern Tier of New York.  This is the transition from fall to winter.

Skies peeking out from yellowing up maples October 25. 

These trees are mainly bare now.

After sunset October 28, as we came home from a party.

Clouds gathering around 8am on November 1.  I was trying to get a shot of sunrays through the clouds but I didn't succeed.

The grimness of winter skies is already setting in.  We had snow flurries, a snow squall, and some sleet later that day.

Nature changed its mood again the afternoon of November 2.

Don't forget, we in the United States who have Daylight Saving Time, to set our clocks back before 2am Sunday.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

After the Frost

On the morning of November 1, we had our first frost.  This morning, we had our first freeze, and a dusting of snow (I haven't gone out yet to face it.)

The end of the growing season always brings sadness to my heart.  

But there is also beauty. 

Frost on sage leaves.

Frost on euphorbia.

Astilbe leaves.

More leaves.

Toad lily flowers survived in our back yard but they probably didn't survive the freeze this morning.  I haven't looked yet.

For Halloween, we had the grand total of 10 trick or treaters.  Anyone for candy?

Yesterday, we had snow showers (above freezing so it didn't stick) and some sleet.  Maybe it was just as well as the town sent the leaf vacuum machine down the street yesterday.  It was a little premature, I think.  Many leaves still haven't fallen so we are fortunate we didn't get more than a dusting of snow.

Now, we'll have to get to work and rake up our lawn.

No matter what the calendar says, winter has arrived.

RIP fall.

Greenstar Scarecrows #WordlessWednesday

Can you stand one more post about scarecrows?  Please say "Yes".

These scarecrows were in the Greenstar food co op in Ithaca, New York when spouse and I shopped there a couple of weeks ago.  Apparently there was a contest going on and members (which we are not) could vote for their favorite.

Which one would you have chosen? (Note, I don't know who won).

Number 1

Number 2 (apparently, his name is Randy).

Number 3

Joining Sandee's #Wordless Wednesday at her blog Comedy Plus.