Fallen Leaves - Who Can Say Where They're Blowing?

Please fall, I beg. Don't leave us.

We had our first snow and sleet today, in the Binghamton area of upstate New York.

Fall, I will cling to your leg and scream if you leave me, just like I did with summer.  How can I be jilted twice in two months by two seasons?


How can I not, with the beauty you have showered me with?  The honeynut squashes?  The apples? The laughing pears?  The beautiful sunsets?

It's coming soon. The polar vortex that made last February an absolute misery is on its way.

Have you not forgotten what you showed me earlier this week?

Japanese maple, Front Street, Binghamton, NY

Or this? Fall, don't you remember?

You are breaking my heart.

On the banks of the Chenango River, trees are finally turning.

Taken early morning 11-7-14

At the abandoned BAE building in Westover, the Bradford Pears have barely started to turn.

You can't do this.  You can't snow on my parade. Just a week ago, things looked like this, in downtown Binghamton.

And even tonight, in the dark 5:30 front yard, I found a nasturtium, covered by leaves, and spared by frost.  I know you will get this plant tonight, and I accept it.

I have no choice.  I must accept the howling winds to come. I must accept the freezing temperatures that will envelop my area as the sun turns its back on us.  That is the way of upstate New York.

I will need to accept the change of seasons, and the long winter to follow. More than this, I can't expect.  And so, I will rerun a fall song I put on my blog last year.

"I could feel at the time/there was no way of knowing/Fallen leaves in the night/Who can say where they're blowing?"

I will try to expect the best.

The Pears are Again Laughing at Me

Today is the sixth day of November, and the sixth day of a writing self-competition called NaNoWriMo. 50,000 words in 30 days is the goal, and we are getting to the long haul part.  The part of frozen creativity, writers block, panic and worse.

I am going to devote today to NaNoWriMo and a research project I hope to blog about later this month.

I have a feeling that, today, pears - and everything else - are laughing at me, as I drip sweat and blood, and wonder what I have gotten myself into - for the third year in a row.

And maybe, if I have time, I'll even publish another Apple Crisp recipe next week - one with Asian pears and an unusual apple called the Thornberry.  Here's a sneak preview:

Yes, that's a real mixture of raw apples and pears (the pears are the white slices).  I left some of the apple skin on so you can see the true beauty of the Thornberry (and because I had cut my finger and wasn't that inclined to do a complete peeling job).


Doing NaNoWriMo? I would love to be your writing buddy - My "pen" name is ramblinwritr.

And here's a post on pears - and writing, from November of 2012, for your enjoyment.

Sustainable Saturday - The Pears are Laughing at You

 I hope an author I admire greatly, Scott Westerfeld, won't mind me using a point he made in a "pep talk" to NaNoWriMo participants, as the topic of today's post.

Years ago, when my spouse and I moved to rural Arkansas to pursue the "simple life", we found out that the "simple life" did not exist.  Life is a lot more complex than any of us can dream of.

We found out that (back in the 1980's anyway), the city life was the simple life.  You didn't have to make a whole lot of decisions.  In the rural "simple life", on the other hand, there was a decision wherever you turned.

We were trying to be what was called "ecological" in those days (I think the closest term today would be "green")  and that made decisions even more difficult.

One example:  how to heat? In the city life your landlord provided the heat.  In the countryside you had to choose rhe fuel of choice:  Wood? Propane? Electric?  Wood was renewable but if you burned wood in a homemade wood stove made from a 55 gallon drum, it was very polluting.  Hmmm, hadn't thought of that....Solar panels? Nice thought, but they were terribly expensive, way beyond our budget.

 City life - you bought a refrigerator and plugged it in.  Country life - was a refrigerator "ecological?" Should we own one, and if so: would we use electric or propane? What were the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Food:  local but not organic?  Shipped in but organic?

(I've blogged about a similar choice many of us make today when we shop: local small merchant but merchandise made in China? Or big box store selling goods made in the U.S.A.?)

Each element of our lives needed a decision, and we quickly learned that what we thought was the most polluting choice was sometimes, overall, the best choice.  In other words, there were no simple choices, and we had to make the best choice for us, even if it wasn't "politically correct".

What Scott Westerfeld told us in yesterday's pep talk is a lesson we all should learn, not just people aspiring to be authors of a novel.  "Here's a funny thing about human beings: we always think too simply. The universe is always bigger, messier, and more complicated than we expect it to be."

As for the title of today's post, it is a paraphrase of something else Scott Westerfeld said, pointing out that even something as simple as a pear isn't simple at all - there are over 3,000. varieties of pears.

Broaden your horizons.  Learn as much as you can about this world.  Wisdom isn't always in the places you expect it to be.  I'm guilty of being close-minded sometimes, and I can probably say, truthfully, that even the most broad minded of us are.

The "sustainable" life involves thoughtfully considering the options and making a good decision that is right for you at that one point of time.

List all your options.  Think of all the possibilities.  When you exhaust your list, try to think of a few more.  If you can't come up with too many, then you may find that

"THE PEARS ARE LAUGHING AT YOU, MY FRIEND."

Thank you, Scott.  As far as my writing I will try to remember that  "Sometimes getting to the end of a novel simply takes remembering that the world is more complicated than we know, and then sticking some of those complications into the story."

I sure don't want those pears laughing at me.

Fall Fancies - 50 Shades of Color

There have been years when there was snow on the ground on November 5 in upstate New York.

November 3, 2014

And then, there are years when flowers are still in bloom.

Yesterday, in Binghamton, New York, it got up to 66 degrees (almost 19 Celsius) - speaking of crisp fall days, this wasn't one of them.

The trees are giving us their final show of color, before weather later this week sweeps the last of the leaves off the trees.

There are bright red trees.

Maroon trees.

Yellow trees.

And even trees in bloom. (OK, a shrub - a fall blooming forsythia that blooms every fall.)

November 13, 2013

Alas, all too soon, the green will be replaced by what some of us call the "S" word.  And, at this time of year, we actually risk a lot of trouble if leaves stay on the trees too long.  The early snow will stick to any leaves still on the trees and down come branches - and, sometimes, even trees.

The snow will be here any day.

In the meantime, I'm grateful for the last days of fall weather.  Maybe I didn't show you 50 shades today, but I hope I showed you a good sample.

Did you have a day filled with color?

Did You Vote Today?

For those of my readers who are in the United States, I have a question for you.

Did you vote today?

If not, and if your polls are still open, I implore you to run out there and get on line.

I don't care what your politics are.  I don't care if you think "they are all corrupt and it doesn't make a difference who gets in."

Well, it does make a difference, and not just for your particular races, but for the country as a whole.

Think about turnout in other countries, such as countries where people risk their lives, literally, in order to vote.  And, yet, they turn out.  To them, the vote is that important.

All many of us have to do is endure some discomfort.

If you don't vote, you don't get to complain afterwards.  How's that?

So go out and fill out that ballot before it is too late.

Speaking of discomfort, I was reminded of an election day in 2010 when I voted....

On Crutches and on Facebook 

Here's my post from Election Day, 2010.

 

I had a chance today to test out handicapped voting.  Unintentionally.

On the way to work this morning, I managed to sprain my ankle.  At this hour of blogging my ankle is taped up and I am icing it.  I'm using a clamshell support and walking with crutches. The last time I had to walk with crutches, I was 10 years old.  Lucky me.  At least I can put some weight on the foot.  Thank heavens, I can't complain.

So getting to the polling place, usually a pleasant walk from my house, suddenly turned into a logistical planning session.

Now, in saying this, I am well aware there are people who do this kind of thing each and every day, some of them doing it every day of my lives.  So I don't want to make a big deal out of this (as in "pity me!"-DON'T) but I wanted to tell you about my experience.   It's sobering in a way, because the tiny bit of trouble I went to due to my sprain is nothing compared to what people in some countries have to go through, including putting their lives at risk.


Spouse drove me, crutches in the back seat.

First obstacle:  the curb.  I haven't quite gotten the hang of going up stairs with my crutches, so I had to remember the mantra:  Good leg up, bad leg down.  In other words you lead with the good leg going up, and  the bad leg going down.  I got up the curb and slowly made my way to the front door.  So far, so good, except that my formerly fast walk has turned into a slow, deliberate crawl.

Spouse was good enough to hold the door.  At least in this point of my life I'm not as self conscious so I didn't expect, or care, if people stared at me.

I was fortunate that I only had to wait a couple of minutes.  I balanced on the crutches to sign the book you have to sign in New York State before you are allowed to vote.

Until last year, we had lever voting machines.  Now, we've joined the electronic age, but with paper ballots.  So I somehow, while grasping my crutches, transported a long paper ballot, the special marking pen, and the privacy screen, to the corral where you do your marking.

The poll worker asked "would it be easier for you to sit?"  I told him, yes.

So I got to see how the "handicapped" corral function worked.  A part of the corral swings up and locks, and you can push a wheelchair under the table part.  The worker then got a chair for me.  I sat, marked my ballot, inserted it into the privacy sleeve, then got up, then carried (grasping my crutches at the same time) the ballot and the pen to the scanning machine.  Thankfully, the scanning worked the first time. Then, reversing the process, spouse held the door, I went out to the parking lot, hurt my foot stepping off the curb because I haven't mastered "down" yet, hobbled into the car, and from there, home.

The neat part was yet to come.

When I signed onto Facebook there was a large "I voted" button Facebook asked members to click if they had voted.  I did so and I got to see which of my Facebook friends had already voted.  Some of them live in early voting states and at least one had voted early.   If I could have seen into the future, and if NY permitted, I would have voted early too.  But it was a good effort.  And I am glad to report that I had a good number of voting friends.

And, I hope you voted too.

Easy Peasey Honeynut Squash Soup

Last year, I blogged about a new butternut squash variety developed by Cornell called the honeynut.

This year, we grew them for the first time.  The results were a bit small, but the squash are as sweet as sugar.  They are the sweetest winter squash I've ever tasted.

They never got big, and we didn't get too many, but the experiment was successful enough that we will try it again next year.  And, we were able to find some more in a farmers market about an hour from where we live in upstate New York.

Today, I want to give you a quick and easy recipe for low calorie (but high taste) winter squash soup.  Made with the honeynut squash, this doesn't need any sweetening.  You can also use regular butternut squash.  You can thank my dear spouse for this recipe because my cooking skills don't extend too far.

1. Don't split squash.  Just poke some holes in it with a knife.  The squash will be hard, and you don't want to injure yourself.

2.  Cook whole squash in microwave until soft.  For a squash the size of the above, about five minutes.  Length of time will vary according to size.  Two squash, to make soup for 2-3 people, will take 10 or so minutes.  Then, split and remove seeds, let rest.  (If you don't have a microwave, you can do this in a conventional oven, and you can still roast it whole.  It will take a lot longer.)

3.  Then, scoop out the flesh and put into blender with some chicken stock or veggie stock. Puree. 

4.  You can season with nutmeg, ground ginger, or sage - if you do, it is recommended that you cook it for a few minutes to allow seasonings to blend.  If desired, cool to room temperature, or eat hot.

This wasn't one of my better photos and you can blame NaNoWriMo for that. 

This makes a wonderful late fall soup, and it is so versatile.


You can add some caramelized onion in the last stage of cooking (after you puree).  Or, you can add chopped up cooked carrots, or, really, whatever you want.  I would think some applesauce would work for a sweeter soup.  Or, you can make it thin and use as a sauce for ravioli or other pasta.

Would you like to see more recipes like this?  Would you like me to devote a particular day, perhaps Mondays, for a recipe? (It wouldn't be every Monday).  Let me know, dear readers, what you think.

Civil War Sunday- Moments That Changed History

Consider this statue in front of the Broome County Courthouse in Binghamton, New York.  I pass it several times a week.

Statue of Daniel Dickinson, Binghamton, NY

You are looking at someone who could have been President of the United States if only he had been chosen to run with Abraham Lincoln in 1864.  Yet, chances are, you've never heard of him.  His name was Daniel Dickinson, and he was a minor player in this incredible story.

To tell this story, I must tell a story about the United States Presidency.

In the United States, our Constitution (through the 22nd Amendment) currently limits a President to two full elected four year terms. That amendment did not exist in 1864, but tradition worked to similarly limit Presidential terms. 


War between our States threatened as soon as Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860.  Barely was Lincoln inaugurated with his Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin (March 4, 1861) than war broke out in Charleston, South Carolina (a state that had seceded the previous December 20th).  Lincoln was a peacetime President for just a tiny bit more than a month, as the Civil War formally began on April 12, 1861.  The saying "brother against brother" was no cliche.  Families were torn apart.

Now, in the summer of 1864, it was time for a Presidential election.  And the beauty of our system is, such an election has never, before or since been delayed or called off for any reason.

Would Lincoln run for reelection in 1864?  And, would he have a different running mate for Vice-President? (In our system, the President and Vice-President run on one ticket).  And would Lincoln even be able to run as the candidate of his own party, the Republican Party?

There were so many reasons for Lincoln not to run.  Many people were not happy with his handling of the war, including some in his own political party.  In fact, his political party, the Republicans, were a third party in 1860 (the main two parties being the Whigs, and the Democrats).  Yes, Lincoln was the last third party candidate ever to win our Presidency, thanks in part to a splintering of the Democratic Party.
(The 1860 election was actually quite complex, and its complexity is beyond the scope of this blog.)

But now it was 1864.

The Union and the seceded Confederate States of America had been at war for three weary years. A Union victory seemed so far away in the fall of 1864. 

The last President prior to 1864 to be reelected was Andrew Jackson - in 1832.  No President had been reelected to a second term since then.

But run Lincoln did.  His party split.  One wing called the Radical Republicans nominated not Lincoln, but explorer of the West John C. Fremont, a man who grew up in what had become the Confederacy. Other Republicans who supported Lincoln united with "War Democrats" and Lincoln ran under a combined "National Union" banner.  Meanwhile, the "Peace" Democrats ran a man by the name of [General] George McClellan - a man who once commanded the Union's Army of the Potomac.  Yes, McClellan ran against his Commander in Chief.

 I am far from a political junkie, but I know a good story when I read one.  (And if I got any of my facts wrong, I'm sure I will hear from my politically inclined readers.)

But now, back to the Vice-President.  It was decided not to have Hannibal Hamlin as his Vice-President again if he won a second term.  Various candidates were considered, including the former U.S. Senator from New York, and War Democrat, the very Daniel Dickinson whose statue stands in front of the Broome County Courthouse.  But he wasn't chosen.

Instead, Lincoln's running mate became someone born in one Confederate State (North Carolina) who was currently the Union military governor of a Confederate state under Union control (Tennessee) - Andrew Johnson.

The Confederacy itself did not participate in the election.

The election was close.


But Lincoln won, taking all but three participating states..  To this day, there is speculation that, if the Confederate states had been allowed to vote, if McClellan would have won. As the peace candidate,what would have McClellan done as President? We'll never know for sure.

When Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865, mere days after the Civil War ended, Johnson became President.

But it just as easily could have been Daniel Dickinson, and if it had, history, again, may have been quite different.

We'll never know how different, though.

Politics are not my main interest but there are many resources online if you want to learn more about this election.

Sustainable Saturday - November Browns

It is November 1.

Yesterday, downtown Binghamton, New York was filled with office workers.  But change was in the air.

The last farmers market for downtown Binghamton was yesterday.  Few people showed up at noon, as the vendors bundled up against the cold.

Our community garden is closed until next year (and, happily, it looks like there will be one next year.)

The growing season is over.  Brown is the color of the day.  Brown leaves fall from trees.  Brown foliage lies where green was just a few days ago.

The farm stands are closed, their once overflowing wooden bins empty.  Just last week, they overflowed with apples, cabbages, and cauliflower.

The pumpkins and gourds are gone, all hopefully going to good homes.

This morning, the realities of winter bear down on us as our farmers markets move indoors.  This is the last day of daylight savings time. Why do we do this, anyway?

It's time to hunker down and make some late fall dishes.  This week, I might just share one of those recipes with you.

What are you doing today?

Facing our Fears Through Holidays

When I was young, I trick or treated in my apartment building in the Bronx.  The apartment house I called home for almost all of my childhood was 14 stories tall and we went from floor to floor collecting candy almost as soon as we got home from school.   Some of us even trick or treated for UNICEF.

Many of our costumes were home made - ghost costumes made from sheets, firemen costumes made from rubberized raincoats, clowns in makeup, pirates in black with an eye patch, Little Red Riding Hoods dressed in - what else, red.

For decorations we had carved pumpkins, we had bowls of candy corn (which, to this day, I detest) and other simple decorations.

Now, Halloween has started to rival Christmas as a decoration opportunity.

Here are some house decorations I have found on my travels, and here in Binghamton, New York.

Today, taken in Binghamton.

I visited Yonkers, NY (a city bordering New York City on the north) in 2012, and saw this in a neighborhood near the iconic Cross County Shopping Center.

Here is another view.  Strange that this tableau includes a clown, but I know they are objects of fear for a lot of people.

And what is Halloween, in a way, but a way of facing our fears?

One more from Yonkers

Instead of Ebola, we think of the living dead.

Binghamton, New York, 2014

Instead of terrorists, we think of witches and flowers.

But this innocent yard might be the scariest yard of all.  Green plants and blooming dahlias, all on October 28.  In years past, this Binghamton area yard might have been covered in light snow by now.  It certainly wouldn't have had thriving dahilas.  And this isn't a fluke. Our weather gets scarier and scarier. (Full disclosure, my neighborhood was nipped by frost this morning).

Sometimes, beauty can be the scariest thing of all.

Do you celebrate Halloween?  If so, what do you do?

The Hydrangea and the Bee

It's the waning days of fall here in upstate New York.  But don't tell this bee.  She (see right side of photo) was buzzing around this hydrangea Tuesday as I tried to take its picture.  It's almost doomsday for Ms. Bee, but she keeps on buzzing and was enjoying what might be the warmest day of the rest of the year. (Just don't tell her the killing frost is just around the corner.)

Another hydrangea nearby, in the garden of the Broome County Library in downtown Binghamton, New York, was showing the colors of fall.  Don't you love those stripes?

As unbelievable as it is for plants to be blooming on October 27, even more unbelievable is the fact that November begins on Saturday.

And, with November begins NaNoWriMo, a 30 day non stop writing journey. It's 30 days of uninhibited writing, no editing.

No plot? No problem.  No idea where your story is going? No problem. No muse? No problem.

NaNoWriMo is a lot of sweat, coffee, and more sweat and coffee.  The forums are full of discussion and strange people. I'll be in good company, as I am strange, too. There will be pep talks by famous writers.  And at the end, I'll have a manuscript I didn't have on November 1, to do whatever I want with.

During NaNoWriMo, there's a lot of wondering about personal sanity.  There's my long suffering spouse, sadly shaking his head as his spouse disappears into writing land.

This is my third NaNoWriMo, and until last night, I didn't think I was going to do it.  I have other manuscripts on my computer-never revisited, never edited, never again seeing the light of my laptop screen.

My muse? Never had one.  She's probably lying unconscious somewhere, OD'd on chocolate.

So this year, I am going to be like the Binghamton bee.  I am not going to question why there is a flower to feed off of on October 27.  I will take what I am given.  If I have time to write, I will.  If I don't, I won't.  If something happens in my life, it will become part of my book.

I can always edit the rants out later.

And, with the sweet pollen of what is left, I will make honey.

That's the plan, anyway.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo?  I'd love some company.  My "pen" name is RamblinWritr.  If you ask to be my buddy, I'll be yours.

A Small Town Tragedy

(My Wednesday Fall Fancies feature returns next Wednesday).


I grew up in the most populous city in the United States, New York City.  And, over 25 years ago, I moved to the Binghamton area of upstate New York.

So many people think "New York City" when they think New York State, but so much of New York State consists of these small rural towns, where everyone knows everyone else.

Monday, after work, I was browsing Facebook. A business near Bainbridge, New York (another small town, near Afton, and about 35 miles from Binghamton) that I follow called Frog Pond posted about the "tragedy in our town today" and asked for privacy for the affected family, who they (of course) knew personally.

I immediately went to local media websites.  At the time, there weren't many details. There are more details now, but enough still remains a mystery - including the main question - why?

It was apparently an incident of road rage, which ended in a parking lot in Bainbridge, with a father and son shot and the son dead. The family suffering the loss lives in Afton.  The father, who is in a hospital a mile or so from where I live, ignored his serious wounds and tried to perform CPR on his dying son.

The shooter? A retired New York City policeman.

Afton mourns.  Bainbridge mourns.  They are in shock. A woman is widowed, a daughter is without a brother.  Things like that don't happen in an instant in small towns some 35 miles from Binghamton. 

Meanwhile, people in Binghamton, which suffered one of the largest mass shootings in American history back in 2009 (14 dead), feel a small part of the pain we felt that day.

This has happened too many times in our country.

Another day in the life of an American town.

Tomorrow, back to happier posts.

The Bearer of Hope The Stinker of Stink

Nature is always beautiful, but sometimes, it plain stinks.

Today, I took a walk in a part of downtown I rarely walk in. It's not the most scenic area, but I got the surprise of the week.

Gingko trees, glowing in the midday sun.  I only wish my iPhone 4S camera could have done them proper justice.

I entertained my friend with a dissertation on ginkgo fruits, and how cities would try to plant male trees (ginkgo trees are either male or female) since they would not fruit.  Trust me, you do not want to smell a crushed ginkgo fruit. 

And then, I stepped on one.

Had I found a male, turned female?  And, better yet, how can such a beautiful tree have such a...well, smell?

Many cities wonder if the stink is worth the beauty.

So, I wanted to repeat a post from last November on

The Dilemma of the Ginkgo

Last year, some streets in downtown Binghamton, New York were rebuilt and re landscaped. This spring, I noticed that some of the young trees planted were ginkgos.

Ginkgoes are not extremely popular here in Binghamton.  I see more of the trees up in Ithaca, and I saw a good number in Iowa City when I used to visit my late aunt.  This was back in the 1980's and 1990's and I can remember them on the University of Iowa campus.  I've also seen them in New York City.

The ginkgo tree is also called the Maidenhair tree.  It is an almost indestructible tree.  In Japan they are known as the "bearer of hope" as a number of them survived the 1945 atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. One of the surviving trees is some 200 years old.

The leaves turn a lovely yellow in the fall, too.  But before you rush out to buy this wonderful tree, there is something you should know.

The females produce a seed, surrounded by a pulp.  Fortunately, there is no such thing as "smell o blog" because you would be gagging just about now.  Some people say the smell resembles the smell of vomit.  Others say dog poo.  I tend towards the dog poo camp.

That patch of fallen leaves on the West Side of Binghamton, to be accurate, reeks.

This is what the offending (bare) tree looked like in early November, the offending fruits barely visible.

Yes, dear readers, this is the same Gingko Biloba that some claim enhances your memory, and may have other medicinal qualities.

Many cities were playing it safe by permitting only male trees.  But nature has a way, folks (as anyone who has seen the movie Jurassic Park knows), and it would seem that some of those male trees are now - well, they aren't males any more.

And these cities who planted these wonder trees now wonder what to do.

I wonder if the tree I photographed on the West Side of Binghamton started its life as a male.

Will the City of Binghamton have to face that dilemma in a few year when those small downtown trees mature and perhaps....well, stink?

Fans of Global Warming

I overheard a conversation between two women in downtown Binghamton, New York today.

Woman #1: do you remember when snow fell on Halloween and was still there on Easter?  I do.  And I don't miss it at all!

Woman #2: I love global warming!

Well....

I've seen snow flurries plenty of times in October. But, so far, not this year.

And, I remember taking my son trick or treating one year in the early 1990's with the hills above us receiving some 13 inches of sloppy snow. For us in the valley, we got less, but it was one miserable night.  I led my little superhero, bundled up underneath his costume (his choice!), from house to house, where he was showered with enough candy to open a store. (Mom ate well that night).

West side Binghamton, NY Smoke Tree

We have plenty of trees just starting to change color here in the Triple Cities.  In the past, I was raking leaves earlier than I do now.

Now, we still have leaves on some of our trees past November.  Other trees are peaking out now.

Global warming (or climate change, as I would rather call it) has been a mixed blessing for the Binghamton area.

I am loving the 70 degree weather (21 C) forecast for tomorrow.

But, wait.  In the forecast for Saturday...

...yes, you guessed it.

What's in your weather forecast?

Civil War Sunday - The Invasion of Bayshore Boulevard

If my spouse and I visit a city, we always like to take one (or more) walks through neighborhoods,  just to get a feel of the city.

It's a little different when we visit a place we used to live in.  Forty years ago, we lived in Tampa, Florida (on Florida's west coast) and rarely took advantage of what is one of longest (if not the longest) continuous sidewalk in the United States.

Last year, we decided to change that.  So in March of 2013, we found ourselves visitors in a city where we used to live.  It was time to be tourists and not residents.

Walking along Bayshore Boulevard, at Hawthorne Road on that bright March day, we saw this historical marker.

There had actually been a small battle in Tampa, back in 1862, but this marker was not for that.  Rather, it was for something I had never heard of, a skirmish on October 17, 1863 - a small Federal invasion of the city that failed. 

But, this isn't the only trace of the Civil War in the waters near Tampa. Indeed, Civil War era wrecks are being located, including one called the Scottish Chief and a "blockade runner" called the Kate Dale.

Indeed, Tampa, and Florida (a Confederate state), played a role in the Civil War, one that was vital, but isn't that well known.

I found more historical info on Tampa which I might save for a snowy winter day.

You can see a list of historical markers across Florida online.

Near Downtown Tampa

History.  You can find it wherever you walk.

Sustainable Saturday - It's the Turn of the Season

To everything, there is a season.

Sunset over the Susquehanna River 10-24-14

Today is the last outdoor farmers markets here in the Binghamton area of upstate New York.  After today, the cold  drives the one market that stays open year round indoors.

Binghamton Downtown Farmers Market, 10-17-14

In some ways, it is so hard to believe that the growing season is over.  In some years, we would already have seen snow flurries and, in fact, snow has been seen less than an hour away from us. Yesterday was mild but windy, with a chill. But this year, it is possible we may have highs in the 70's (21 C) next week.

Farmers have picked whatever is left in frost-killed fields and are selling it.

Our community garden closes Sunday. Our chard is picked.

The peppers (pictured above, "Fooled You" jalapeno peppers) are done.  Tomato plants are a frost-bit memory, lying in brown tatters.

We've said goodbye to our basil.

The last of the trees are now turning color.

The season continues to turn.  The sun turns its face from us, as the days grow shorter.

Soon it will be time for snow, wind and below zero temperatures (sometimes) as the now dormant trees sleep. Some people enjoy winter sports and can't wait.  Others call snow the "s" word as they dread the slipping, the sliding and the shoveling.  That is the order of things in upstate New York.

What is the order of things where you live?

Can Men Get Breast Cancer?

I walked up to the pink booth at the health fair.  You know, the one decorated with pink booklets about breast cancer, pink cancer ribbons and non stop pink, pink, pink.  After all, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States.  And its color is pink - pink for women.

My spouse's mother is a breast cancer survivor - times two.  A couple of her sisters had breast cancer. One of his cousins (other side of the family) is also a two time survivor. That's one heck of a lot of breast cancer.

I walked up to the woman manning (sorry) the booth, and asked:

Is my spouse at risk for breast cancer?

YES, was her response.

And not only that, this breast cancer support program, Encore, had several clients who were men.

I am passing along what this woman  told me.

Listen up, men in this situation, and the women in their lives. (I am not a health care professional, and this isn't health advice - just passing along what this breast cancer advocate told me.)

Men, I have a feeling you aren't told this by your doctors, but I am here to tell you this today.  If you have female relatives who have had breast cancer (especially more than one) you may be at risk.  (And, even if you don't).

-There aren't male mammograms, but males can and should do the same self examination as women, paying special attention to the nipples and under the arms. You must learn what your "normal" breast feels like.

-Breast cancer in men tends to be more aggressive than in women, so if you find something suspicious, get to a doctor right away.

Tell your doctor if you have a family history. He should include this in your exam, along with the "male" areas.

-And don't be put off by that pink.  Although Encore may be run by the YWCA, it accepts men, too.

Sometimes, pink is good.

And education is even better.

Breast cancer isn't just for women.

In Those Very Halls

I've visited Ottawa, the capital of Canada, twice.  The first time was not long before I became pregnant with my son.  It was May, and the tulips were blooming.  The second time, we had our son with us, and he was in elementary school.  I can't remember where we stayed,  but I remember it had a waterslide.  And they had day care.

We were able to leave our son in the hotel, and take a tour of the Canadian Parliament building. I loved the history and the differences between our politics, there in Canada, and here in the United States.

I loved the Peace Tower, in particular, which is the building you see on Parliament Hill with the clock.  But it's so much more than a clock, or a bell tower, or an observation deck with a wonderful view, although it does have all of those.

An elevator takes you to the top.  A guard stays with you at all times.  Only seven people can be up there at a time.

There was a memorial chamber paying tribute to the Canadians who gave their lives in time of war.  Many (not all) people from the United States tend to be self centered, barely aware of that large country to the north of us. (As I am an American, I can say that.)  I've found that Canadians, on the other hand, are quite aware of the United States.

I lingered in the tower.  My father was a disabled veteran of World War II. One of my uncles was a civilian casualty of World War I (yes, I'm that old). 

There was several Books of Remembrance in the Memorial Chamber., with names of war dead.  The walls tell a story, a story that humbled my spouse (a veteran, although not a war veteran) and me.

Canada has paid a heavy price in various wars.  World War I. World War II.  They have fought at our side in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Just the other day, they were offering air combat jets for the fight against a terrorist group in Iraq.  That offer may be the reason for what happened yesterday.

Yesterday, the tours of the peace tower were cancelled, as shots rang out in Parliament after a man shot and killed a soldier at the Canada War Memorial, and then opened fire in Parliament.  The shooter was shot and killed. 

Finally, the American media is paying attention.  As I write this post (the night of October 22), some networks are providing extensive coverage - and discussion.  We hear a recording of the shots, over and over.

In the Peace Tower, there are various poems on plaques in the walls.  One of them is "In Flanders Field".

But, sadly, this is not a time for poetry.  It may well become a time of war for us, as it for so many people in the world already.

Tomorrow, a (hopefully) happier topic.

Fall Fancies - Over the Rainbow

This past weekend, we made a trip from our home in upstate New York to a New York City suburb.

We pass through mountains called the Catskills. Many of the trees in the mountains were already bare.

We were greeted by this sight soon after getting to our destination.  You can't see it too well, but starting about at the center tall tree and then going upward and to the left, there is a rainbow.

I wanted to treat you to some other photos from that day.

This is the Hudson River, the mighty river that runs some 315 miles long, mostly through eastern New York State, before it ends in New York Harbor. 

On a nice day the river would have been lined with sailboats enjoying the fall foliage.

In grade school, we who grow up in New York City learn about the Hudson, and how, for part of its length, it is actually a salt water estuary.  And, it is a lot cleaner than it was when I was growing up in the 50's and early 60's.

Along the Hudson are many historic river towns, some of which I have visited, and others which I need to.

This was taken on the historic Taconic Parkway.  This portion was built in the 1930s.

Another view, the fall colors muted due to the clouds. On the left side, in the distance, you can see some of the historic stone walls that line portions of the parkway.

So many people think that New York State is New York City, a city noted more for its tall buildings and cultural heritage than its natural beauty.

There is so much more to New York State than New York City, although New York City is well worth the visit.

And, although I don't always like making this trip due to my back problems, I must admit that the scenery can be inspiring.

How did you spend this past weekend?