The Land of Grapes

Plaque on former headquarters of Welch's Grape Juice

Here in upstate New York, the grapes are ripe.  On the roadsides along the Finger Lakes (a little more than an hour from where I live), signs advertise grapes or grape juice for sale.  The wineries prepare for an onslaught of tourists for harvest season.

This past September, I had the privilege of visiting concord grape country.  Mile after mile of grape farms lined the roads along Lake Erie on the New York/Pennsylvania border.

We were told that when the grapes are harvested, the air is scented with the scent of grape jelly.

Many of the fields contain Concord grapes.  Those grapes, the grapes you find in concord grape jelly and grape juice and yes, certain types of very sweet wine.  But, commercial varieties of those products don't always reveal the true taste of the concord grape.  (I never tasted "true" grape jelly until I was about 14 years old - and then, never went back to the commercial type.)  And, if you are a wine drinker, you really should try dry concord wine.  Yes, there's such a thing.

Concord grapes were developed, in 1849, from a wild, North American grape.  I am not any kind of grape expert, but I do know there were problems with disease affecting European grapes that the early settlers tried to grow.  The Concord grape, developed in Concord, Massachusetts escaped those problems because of their native American heritage, plus they matured relatively early, perfect for escaping the first frosts.

Concord grapes ripening near Westfield, New York

In 1869, a New Jersey dentist, Dr.Welch, developed a bottled unfermented grape juice, using the then new process of pasteurization.  We visited the pleasant village of Westfield, New York, where Welch's was headquartered.  The above building, sadly vacant, once contained Welch's headquarters.

Some people do not enjoy eating these grapes fresh, because they have a very tart skin, but I love them. I find the texture of the grape inside to be something like muscadine, but more bursting in flavor (and smaller, too). If I start eating a bunch, I can't stop.

I don't worry too much, because Concord grapes are high in nutrition and low in calories.  They are high in polyphenol, an antioxidant.  They contain vitamin C, calcium and phosphorus. One cup of concord grapes, according to online sources, contains 62 calories. As they are a good natural source of oxalates, these sources warn that people prone to kidney stones should watch intake of Concord grapes. (Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional.)

Today, I dream of grapes, and miles and miles of grapevines....

Dramatic Skies #SkywatchFriday

It's raining, still again, here in upstate New York, so no cloud pictures for this morning.

However, as we approach the last weekend of September, I remember some of the dramatic skies I've seen this month, especially in the area around Lake Erie (in the small town of North East, Pennsylvania).

Enjoy.

Love that "hole" in the sky.

The play of sun and shadow makes for a beautiful contrast.

Now that fall is here, who knows what our weather will be like in October?

Once again, I join Yogi and other bloggers who watch the sky for the weekly #SkywatchFriday.

Peaceful - #ThursdayTreeLove

Today, please enjoy this small grove in a peaceful grove near Lake Erie, in a town called North East, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern United States about a five hour drive from where I live.

Doesn't it say "come here and sit a spell?"

Green leaves...water gently flowing over a small waterfall...what more would you want?

Where I live, fall is finally here.  The last of our hot weather is past. 

Because of all our rain, things are greener than they should be, but in October, I hope to bring you some fall foliage.

Join Parul of Happiness and Food and other lovers of trees every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at #ThursdayTreeLove.

The Luck of the Draw?

It's time to stop and admire the flowers, and ponder aging.

Will there ever be a time where going down to a nearby river and photographing wildflowers will be impossible, physically, for me?

Last night, my spouse spoke to a good friend of my declining mother in law on the phone.  She grew up about 25 years, and a couple of miles, from where I grew up in the Bronx.  We've known each other for almost 48 years - she was my mother in law's next door neighbor for many years.

She's a dynamo.  Several times a year she flies out to California to visit one of her daughters.  She's going to leave for California again shortly.  On the way back, she is going to go to the funeral of someone she knows in North Carolina, and will then visit someone else in South Carolina before she goes home to a New York City suburb.

I wish I had her energy! 

She hasn't had the easiest life.  She lost a son, who was born with a congenital heart condition, when he was a teenager.  Back then, there was no treatment for it.  She dotes on her three daughters and a collection of grandchildren.  She's been a widow for over 25 years.

This woman, who is in her late 80's, walks without any kind of assistance device.  She does have various health problems but has kept on despite them.  When I took the falls prevention class series in 2015 that I've blogged about from time, she eagerly listened to what I've learned and asked for a copy of the handouts.

Is she drinking from a fountain of youth?  I don't know, but right now I'm witnessing the two sides of aging.  The side of my mother in law, whose body is giving out, with a bonus side of early dementia.

And then, there's the other side of aging, which allows one to age with zest.

Do we have a choice in which side we will be in when we are that old?

Or is it just the luck of the draw?

Banned Book Week 2018

Should a book ever be banned?  I asked this question in 2013 and again today.  This year, Banned Book Week is September 23-29.

Some people do a lot for Banned Book Week.  Some write more elegant blog posts.

This is a topic that deserves to be discussed more than one week.  It should be discussed every time someone wants to ban a book.  That would result in a lot of discussion. Why?

You might be surprised at the lists of books that have been banned, at least once, somewhere, by a government, a school.  They include such classics as (I have read most of these, incidentally, and hope I've remained uncorrupted):

The Chocolate War
Two Mark Twain classics:  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
(more on Huck Finn later.)
Black Beauty
To Kill a Mockingbird
Flowers for Algernon
Where's Waldo?
The Call of the Wild
Charlotte's Web
The Hunger Games
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 

Even if you don't believe books should ever be banned (I am one) some books make you think hard. How about Mein Kampf, written by one of the most evil men who ever lived?   I know people whose families suffered greatly in the Holocaust.  I've read the stories of many others, including adults who suffered unbelievably as children and wrote about their experiences in their old age.  And, in this day and age, this type of hatred is on the rise.  Yet, I don't think that book should be banned.

I think, if you hide evil, you increase its power. The spotlight of discussion should be focused on hate.

Violence? Sad, that we have mass shootings nearly every month in this nation (one of these happening in my very own community in April of 2009), but violence in books is an evil we must protect people from?   (And, just ask anyone who grew up in a war torn nation about being exposed to violence.)

If you hide books that discuss bullying frankly, you ignore a problem that has gripped our nation.

How about language?

Huck Finn, with its use of the N word and discussions of pre-Civil War slavery? It makes a lot - a lot - of people uncomfortable.  But, if we don't work through that part of our continuing problems with our legacy of slavery in our country, we will never truly be united.

Even memoirs get banned. How about the Diary of Anne Frank?  Yes, because she dared to write in her diary, while hiding from the Nazis, about feelings arising in her due to puberty.

Courtesy of the American Library Association

To me, with each and every one of these books, it was important to note the public eventually had the right to come to their own conclusions.

I invite you to read a book today, especially if you are a fellow blogger.  And even if you aren't.  Read one that was banned by someone, somewhere, once.  Or one that, maybe, still is.

You have a long list to choose from, including some of the best books ever written.

Songs of Autumn #MusicMoveMe

It's Monday once again, and I welcome you to #MusicMovesMe.

Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? Every other week we have a theme, and on alternate weeks, we can blog about any music we wish.  First, there is XmasDolly, who will be back, hopefully, next week!  Her co-conductors are:  ♥Callie of JAmerican Spice♥,  and ♥Stacy of Stacy Uncorked♥   Also, co-conducting  is  ♥Cathy from Curious as a Cathy♥ (currently filling in for Xmas Dolly- you've done a fantastic job, Cathy! )   And, (last but not least), there's me.

If you do have music to share, you are welcome to link up with us. We'd love to share a dance or two with you!


We really want to boogie with you, but  please keep in mind that this is a blog hop and open to music posts ONLY!

For the month of September, our honorary conductor is Cathy from Curious as a Cathy and her theme for today is "Songs about Things You Like about Autumn".

I'm going to take a slight deviation from this and talk about autumn in general.  Where I live in upstate New York, it is such a beautiful, but bittersweet, season.

I grew up in New York City, and spent some 21 autumns there, so a logical first song would be Frank Sinatra's Autumn in New York.  The hot, humid summer is over and clear skies invite.

The Kink's Autumn Almanac (from 1967) speaks of sweeping up leaves (not always fun, but it gets you outside) and fall sports. And there is that Sunday roast beef, although we've never really indulged in that. My spouse loves football (the American kind) and I don't mind watching it on TV.

The weather cooling down and leaves falling are two things I enjoy, and the simplicity of the lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel's Leaves that are Green (1965 and 1966 - this is the 1966 version) tell quite a story. It's really about death, a topic with a lot of personal significance to me right now.

A lot of autumn songs are dark, because, after all, autumn for us is the death of summer, the end of the growing season, and the beginning of the long dark winter.

Which is why I love this song so much - Roxy Music's More than This, because it brings dreamy pleasure to the season.

And finally, if you have some 23 minutes to spare (this really is several compositions all combined - some instrumental, some not), Dream Theater's 1995 title song from A Change of Seasons does it all.  My son introduced me to Dream Theater several years ago.

Hope to see you next Monday - same time, same place (as the old saying goes).

Butterflies as Omens?

This has been a strange summer.  I will see butterflies in the summer, but have never had much success in photographing them.  This year, I can almost swear they are following me around.

Today, yet again, a monarch butterfly fluttered by towards the end of the exercise walk my spouse and were taking.  In the other direction, a woman and a young girl paused, but then walked on. 

I stopped, feeling the butterfly would land near me.  It's been that kind of year.

I was right.  It landed by the side of the path.

I inched closer.  iPhones don't zoom well (at least the older ones don't) but I decided to do a zoom.  I bent down, although my back immediately went on Red Alert.

And then I patiently waited for it to spread its wings again,

and was rewarded.

I know that some consider butterflies as omens.  Some believe butterflies are an omen of change (not always good change) and some believe orange butterflies, in particular, signify a change or an opportunity to come.  Others believe loved deceased ones use butterflies as a tool to communicate with us. 

My mother in law's health has been declining all summer, and I don't know if this and the butterfly visits are at all coincidence.  I'm not spooked, just a bit intrigued.

So...coincidence?  Or not?

First Day of Fall 2018

The first day of fall in the Binghamton area of upstate New York turned out to the the opposite of what the summer has been - cool (estimated low for tonight 42 degrees) and breezy.  And we have another break in the rain.

In the stores, everything is pumpkin spice.  Cookies, cereals, spreads, yogurt, you name it.

The crickets are chirping slower and slower.

The trees in downtown Binghamton are starting to turn, although this may be stress from all the rain.

In my yard the signs of fall are all there.

Some years ago, a nursery in Ithaca, NY gave us an aster plant and it is in full bloom.

Sedum colors up in my front yard.

The mums  are budding.  They were gifts to my mother in law in May, who was in a long term care facility (she has been hospitalized for nearly a week now - I'll provide an update in a few days).  We planted them when their blooms faded, just to see what would happen.  I doubt they will survive the winter, though (these types of mums don't tend to be hardy in our climate.)

And in our community garden, zinnias are about the only thing remaining.

Fall is a time of changes - and a time to be retrospective, as the first cold winds blow, and as I watch my mother in law in what will probably be her last few months of life.

But it's a part of the life we all cherish, while we are able to enjoy it.

Last Week of Summer Skies - #SkywatchFriday

By the time the first clouds from what remained of Hurricane Florence started passing over the part of upstate New York where I live, it was no longer a hurricane.  But it was still a threat (although, of course, not anywhere near what the southeastern United States experienced).

The first of the clouds were beautiful, though.  I was at a free outdoor concert Sunday put on at the edge of downtown Binghamton, New York called Blues on the Bridge.  It had been a clear, very warm day but that was about to end.

As the golden hour progressed, the hills glowed, almost like fall foliage.

As the sun started to set, I was more interested in the sky than the music, and my spouse and I left the concert to go home.

As my spouse drove west, I kept clicking.

And finally the sunset erupted in fire.

This time, the red sky at night did not result in a sailor's delight.

My heart goes out to those affected by the full strength Florence.

This, and most every Friday, I join Yogi and other bloggers who watch the sky at #SkywatchFriday

The Joining of Two Rivers

Years ago, when I lived in Wichita, Kansas, there was a belief held by some that our city would never be hit by a tornado because being located at the confluence of two rivers protected us from those dreaded events.

I don't know if that's true, but I've lived near a city with another confluence for many years now.

Confluence Park is a park on the edge of downtown Binghamton, New York where the Chenango River meets up with the mighty Susquehanna.

This is the historic Washington Street bridge, which is now a pedestrian-only bridge, spanning downtown and the South side of Binghamton.

Confluence Park sign (sorry, not too readable)

Roses.

Zinnias (same zinnias where I took the monarch butterfly pictures in Tuesday's post.)

There is something else about rivers. They flood.  We've had a lot of rain this summer, and we can only hope we don't get much more. So far we have had a couple of flooding events, all flash flooding, but if the Susquehanna and Chenango flood, we are in trouble.

Speaking of weather - come back tomorrow, for some amazing sky pictures.

Finally, thank you to those who read my post yesterday, and for commenting.  Thank you for continuing to think of my mother in law.  This morning, she continues in the hospital.  Doctors did a procedure yesterday to help drain her left lung and got a lot of the fluid out.  She didn't have enough stamina to be able to complete the procedure.  This is not a procedure that can be repeated too many times, and it would be less and less successful each time as scar tissue would start to build, however.

So that particular journey continues.

I Ask, Why?

Yom Kipur began at sundown last night.  As someone who is Jewish by ethnic heritage but not that religious, I still hold this holiday in awe.  I no longer fast, and I do not attend religious services, but I stay off the Internet and social media and keep a low profile.   So, this post is being written before sundown on Tuesday.

Let me explain about the last 24 hours.

My mother in law is 90.  She's a three time cancer survivor and has been a widow for almost 20 years.  She raised four good children. I'm married to the oldest.  One is developmentally disabled, and she did the best she could in a time when such children, many times were institutionalized.

It has not been a good age 90 for her, as a mix of dementia and medical issues have created the need for her to have 24 hour care. The family finally had to make the decision to put her into a skilled nursing facility.  This decision was gut-wrenching.  Since April, she has been hospitalized...oh, let's see, five times for pneumonia. I'm actually starting to lose track.

So, at 10:45 last (Monday) night, the phone rang. It was the facility she lives in. Upshot was, my mother in law was on the way to her next pneumonia hospitalization.  It was not unexpected.

Making a long story short, we weren't able to see her in the emergency room (ER) until almost midnight.  The drive, thankfully, was short, but it was through the remnants of what was once Hurricane Florence.  The rain was coming down in torrents.  Water was collecting on the sidewalk as we sloshed to the ER entrance.  This hospital turned out to be full - nay, past full, with ER patients everywhere.  But my mother in law had gotten a room.

My mother in law was scared.  She was asking for her autistic son. (In case you wonder, he now lives in what is called a supportive apartment.  But part of the autistic package is anxiety, and he knows his Mom is heading towards the finish line. And she forgets he no longer lives with her.).  She kept trying to talk. With a mask over her head (to help her breathe), it really wasn't possible.   She begged for water, something she could not have under the circumstances.

Every time I see my mother in law, I see a once vital woman.  When she is feeling good she laughs, remembers the past (the present is usually a bit beyond her), tells the same stories six times.  She has a hearty appetite - eats more than a lot of the residents. When she is not feeling good...well, those moments are more and more frequent.  We see her suffer, again and again, especially during these hospitalizations.

I can truly tell you that, as much as my sister in law and I have had our "moments" with her, there are many who love her.  And if you don't love her (and I do), you have to admire her.

They finally found a room for her and she is hospitalized.   I pray she gets better, but then it's back to the facility.  Rinse and repeat.  In six weeks, will she be back in the hospital?

Was this what old age was supposed to be?  Is all this part of our Creator's plan, to have her suffer so much?  Was it? (I'm not asking for an answer.  I suspect I won't get one in this life.)

I never was a deep thinker but I ponder this more and more, especially now, on Yom Kipur eve.

But wait, there's more.

When we started the drive home, bleery from lack of sleep, there was even more water.  We were fortunate - we are safe and didn't have to travel through any flooded roads.  But flash flooding has hit various places in our area - no, nothing like North Carolina, but extensive.  Right now, my son's town is under a state of emergency.  At least one local business, flooded at the beginning of their busy season, has to make the decision on whether to come back or not.  It's their second flood. They make the best holiday cookies ever.  It's a family business.

I can be grateful I wasn't flooded - this time.

A lot of things to ponder tonight and tomorrow.

And I, like many before me, ask....why?

Monarch at the Blues

On Sunday, I attended an annual free outdoor concert held on the edge of downtown Binghamton, New York called Blues on the Bridge.  We usually attend for two or three hours.  Local bands play approximate 30 minute sets, from 12pm, ending around 9pm. 

During a break I decided to stretch, and walked over to a large bed of zinnias in what we call Confluence Park, where the Chenango and Susquehanna rivers come together.

Another photographer had the same idea.  Posed with her phone, I followed where her camera was pointed.

A monarch butterfly was sitting on a zinnia.

It flitted around the flower.

I didn't want to scare it away.

It went to another flower.  And then it flitted away.

So, I guess butterflies like blues/rock concerts, too.

Don't Leave Me Driftwood #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and I welcome you to #MusicMovesMe.

Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? Every other week we have a theme, and on alternate weeks, we can blog about any music we wish.  We are headed by our head Engineer XmasDolly, who is still recovering from surgery.  Her co-conductors are:  ♥Callie of JAmerican Spice♥, (who is also recovering from surgery) and ♥Stacy of Stacy Uncorked♥   Also, co-conducting  is  ♥Cathy from Curious as a Cathy♥ (currently filling in as the temporary head Engineer )   And, (last but not least), there's me.
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If you do have music to share, you are welcome to link up with us. We'd love to hear from you!  

But, the times being what they are, I must also add a disclaimer: We really want to boogie with you, but we do work hard to bring you music - please keep in mind that this is a blog hop and open to music posts ONLY!

Today, our guest Conductor Cathy from Curious as a Cathy has declared a Free Day- we can blog about whatever we want. 

Today I was inspired by, of all things, driftwood.

We recently visited Presque Isle, a Pennsylvania state park along the shores of Lake Erie near Erie, Pennsylvania,.  It's a popular vacation spot, but after Labor Day, the vacationer population decreases dramatically.  In some places, you have the park almost to yourself.

As I listened to Lake Erie (which is so massive you think you are hearing the ocean) and walked on one of the nearly deserted beaches, I saw driftwood and took this picture.

All I could think about was this song:  Driftwood, by the Moody Blues, from 1978.

And, after I came home, this song: Sailing, by Christopher Cross. 

Finally, although not quite about the ocean, here Mike and the Mechanics perform their beautiful "The Living Years".  This is the third anniversary of the entry of a dear friend into Heaven.  May she forever RIP.

By the way, I thought I spied David Ogden Stiers in one of the choruses used in this video - I really wonder if it was him.  I'm sure one of my fellow music bloggers will know!

Hope to see you again next week! 

Just What is Local?

When is local not local?  I know when, and this sign I saw in a local supermarket produce department today said it all for me:

Definitely not in Canada.  The Canadian border is some three hours from here, true.  But...for me, not local.  Sound the buzzer....

So, exactly where does "local" begin?

(Incidentally, I am not getting reimbursed in any way for blogging about these products - just to get THAT out of the way.)

In a local supermarket (chain headquartered in upstate New York) back in 2013, someone was sampling Pastabilities Spicy Hot Tomato Oil.  From a co worker who lives near Syracuse, I know that this has been around for many years, and is produced by a Syracuse restaurant.    So today, I got to try it and... it's yummy.  And spicy, but not in a bad way.

But...it isn't made in Syracuse.  Not any more. It's made in Massachusetts, which is even further away than Syracuse. Sigh.

My co-worker told me to try a different product, something called Cheeky Monkey. (This product is a tomato/garlic dipping oil-apparently, a competitor of the oil I sampled today.) Now THAT, she assured me, is locally made.  It is also sold in the year round CNY Regional Market in Syracuse, which she assures me is well worth the drive.  Of course that, was then, and this is now (2018)...

While I was mulling over the dueling tomato oil dips, I ran across a NY made pasta.  Flour City Pasta looks to be a high quality product, and is made using heirloom grain varieties.  New York is a large state.   The problem?  It is made near Rochester, a good two and a half hour drive away from us.  I must admit I passed on it - it was not cheap. [Since 2013, I've been to Rochester and have bought it there].

So....at what point does local not become local?  I wish I had a good answer for that.

Do you have any thoughts on what defines "truly local" food?

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day Sept 2018 - First and Last A to Z

It's a day of first and lasts today in my zone 5b upstate New York garden.  I think the garden did this just for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

My last day lily (except for a plant I suspect may be a Stella D'Oro, but its origins are buried in the past).  I never knew this day lily was a rebloomer but this giant yellow lily, with a lovely fragrance, saved the last bloom for today in my front garden.

And, in the back, my first Japanese anemone started to open.

I had everything from A (for asters, in my back yard), given to me as a free gift by a plant nursery several years ago.

...to Z, for zinnias (at our community garden plot).

And everything in between - so much that I had to make not one, but two, collages.  The first one has everything from cleome, to my petunias, to tall phlox and geraniums.

Collage 2 includes impatiens, garlic chives, a sedum and more geraniums.

I could bore you with zinnias (more from my community garden). I love them as they open.

I love them when they are more open.

I love them when they are fully open.

One of my white marigolds, with various other plants.

Turtleheads

But, there is sadness in this garden, too, because in another month (or possibly less) most of these will probably be gone, with the frost.

And, I also think of those being impacted today by the storm that is now Tropical Storm Florence.  We may get it Tuesday, but most of its fury will be gone.

And a blogging acquaintance of mine, who lives in Alberta, Canada, received her first snow on Thursday.  Say it ain't so, Joe.

Seize the day.

Join the host of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Carol over at May Dreams Gardens, and other bloggers who post the flowers in their lives every 15th day of the month.

Thank you, Carol!

Late August Sunset #SkywatchFriday

Portions of our country are being lashed by a hurricane.  Meanwhile, here, in upstate New York, it s calm.

Today, I bring you a late August sunset in a residential neighborhood of upstate New York.

Framed by trees, and a streetlight.

A slightly different angle.

I wish I could get rid of the overhead lines, but I don't have much in the way of editing software.

I didn't have bug spray on, and had to go inside just as it was getting good.

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

Willows of Geneva #ThursdayTreeLove

At the top of Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, lies the small city of Geneva.

On the lakefront, willows were planted years back to honor those lost during World War I. (The plaque, by the way, talks about how you can travel from Seneca Lake by boat to anywhere in the United States.)

The line of willows.

Several years ago, a number of these willows were uprooted or damaged by a storm, but, back in July, I was able to view some of those that remain.

Pause, and reflect, and then enjoy this beautiful lake, is what these old trees tell us.


Join Parul and other bloggers who love trees every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at #ThursdayTreeLove.