Smoke on the Waterer

It's almost the end of the first week of July in the Binghamton area of upstate New York.

We haven't hit 90 officially yet.

But, due to the harsh winter (in my opinion, anyway) plants are thriving.

Yesterday, my spouse and I visited Cutler Botanic Gardens in Binghamton.  This little gem, just off of Interstate 81, is small.  It is also free of charge.  It is kept up by dedicated volunteers.  If you are traveling through New York on I-81, please pay it a visit.  It is well worth your time.

We missed the roses, for the most part, with our long distance caregiving schedule. They bloomed earlier, in June.  But some late roses greeted us.

Mrs. Anthony Waterer, a rugosa cross, dating from around 1898.

Elmshorn, not an antique, but a rose that is supposed to bloom into fall.

Ballerina, a late hybrid musk rose, dates from 1937.  The bush looked like it was just finishing up.

But what about the smoke I promised you?

That isn't at Cutler, but in a residential neighborhood in Binghamton-a smoke tree. It is glistening with water drops.

Too bad it wasn't growing next to the Mrs. Anthony Waterer rose.

Sorry,  I just couldn't resist.

Do you like to pun?

Civil War Sunday - Confederate Heritage of Upstate New York

One of my recurring themes in blogging about the United States Civil War as someone interested in the subject (not a "buff", not a trained historian, just someone who enjoys learning about history) is the complicated nature of the war that almost tore us apart.

One thing I like to blog about is how complex the Civil War was. It truly was a war of brother against brother, and, in some ways, still is.  We are all touched by its complexity.  Periodically the war comes to the surface of our consciousness.

Now, in the aftermath of the tragic Charleston, South Carolina church massacre (and subsequent burning of black churches), I wonder if we as a country are ever going to face the our legacy and end the Civil War once in for all.

I doubt it.  Because it is so much easier to talk about taking down confederate flags than face pondering, and changing, changing our attitudes.

Don't just blame the South.  I am recalled of the old saying that when you point your finger at someone, three fingers are pointing back at you.  At us in the North.

This weekend I visited with someone who talked about the upstate New York trailer park he lives in.  One of his neighbors proudly flies the Confederate battle flag, and has for years.

It is no wonder that some call the war "The Brothers War".  Now, we must face our Confederate heritage - all of us, North and South.

In fact, you may be surprised to find out that it is possible that the final outpost of the Confederacy may have been in upstate New York.  Hence, this post from 2011. 

New York was a proud state that never seceded from the Union.

Or, did it?

The NY Hamlet that Joined the Confederacy

(Thank you, Forgotten Bookmarks, for tweeting about this.)

A few days ago I received a tweet stating that there was a hamlet in upstate NY that had seceded from the Union, joining the Confederate States of America, in 1861.  Further, they didn't rescind their secession and rejoin the United States until 1946.  

In other words, the final outpost of the Confederate States of America was located in upstate New York.

Sounded like a hoax.  Being bitten once by an apparent research error when I did a blog post on a Lee's Surrender quilting pattern and mentioned a secret quilting pattern language used by escaping slaves and the Underground Railroad, I wasn't going to fall for this one.

Except, I've done quite a bit of Internet browsing- including hanging out in a couple of Civil War discussion forums.  And, this "fact" appears to be true - if it isn't even the Voice of America has been fooled.  Fooled, along with the good people of Town Line, NY, in Erie County (pop. about 2500), which commemorated the 150th anniversary of their secession from the United States earlier this month.

Strangely, no one seems to know why they seceded. But join the C.S.A. they did.

Internet sources also report that Town Line didn't join the Confederacy just in name.  They may have sent five citizens down south to join the Confederate Army.

After the war, it is said they would fly the Confederate flag from time to time.

It would appear that, in 1945, then President Truman became involved.  The President of the United States asked Town Line to rejoin the Union.  They did.

But even today, according to various Internet sources and forums, the fire department wears a patch declaring Town Line "The Last of the Rebels", with both a United States flag and a Confederate flag.

(A grateful thank you to the sources I linked to, including a couple of blogs.  You gave me some very pleasurable reading experiences!  I invite you to read the various links if you are interested in this topic.)

The City That Refused To Celebrate Independence Day

In 2011, I posted this on July 3.  I repeat it today, with some edits.

Today, July 4 is Independence Day in the United States, what we call "the 4th of July" (as if the whole world didn't have a 4th of July on their calenders.  In fact, there's a joke...but I digress.)

But, at one time, not all the United States celebrated their Independence Day.  There was a city that refused to celebrate for many, many years.  Why why they held out makes for a story more relevant today, in the wake of the Charleston, South Carolina church shooting and subsequent events, than ever.  Hence:

The City that Refused to Celebrate the 4th of July

The obvious thing to do would be to blog today about the Battle of Gettysburg, which ended 148 years ago today.   It was the day the South lost, although the war lasted for almost two more years.  But, the the purpose of this blog is to write (mainly) about lesser known events and people of the Civil War.  So, I'd like to write about a little nugget of information I picked up while listening recently to a rerun of Ken Burn's classic TV mini series on the United States Civil War.  (As I write, keep in mind that I am a native of New York State.)

Vicksburg, Mississippi has an online listing of community events.  Listed in here, along with the Farmers Market, Faith Fest and the Old Court House Flea Market, is the "Red, White and Blue" Fourth of July weekend, and the 4th of July fireworks.  Nothing special, here.  Nothing different than what thousands of other cities and towns in the United States offer in celebrating our nation's Independence Day.

Or is it?

Several generations of citizens of Vicksburg, Mississippi didn't know what a hometown 4th of July celebration was like-because they didn't have one. Stores remained open.  People went about their business.  And stories were told, dark stories, about the Siege of Vicksburg and its surrender to the Union Army on July 4, 1863.  It is said that General Pemberton, the commanding general of the Confederate States of America forces at Vicksburg,chose to surrender Vicksburg to the Federals on Independence Day as he thought they would get more favorable terms of surrender.

After that surrender, Vicksburg did not celebrate Independence Day until 1945.

We must try to understand why Vicksburg  felt that way.   Vicksburg is located on the Mississippi River, one of the most important waterways in our nation.  It was just as important, if not more so, in the 1860's.  It was vital for the Federals to take control of the Mississippi in order to win the war.

Vicksburg stood in the way.  So, basically, it was put under siege by Union forces commanded by General Grant and starved into submission.  As a young girl growing up in the Bronx, I remember drawings in a textbook showing how the residents ended up taking refuge in caves dug into hillsides, and what they used for food as the siege progressed.

For Vicksburg, July 4th didn't stand for our country's birthday but rather for what its fellow citizens did to it back in 1863.  I can only think that its citizens going overseas and fighting World War II side by side with the descendents of its former enemies of 80 years before, to fight a strong evil threatening to overtake the world, is what finally started to heal those wounds. 

As William Tecumseh Sherman said, "War is Hell".  The wounds of that war are still there, right underneath our collective skin, not fully healed.  They may not fully heal even in my lifetime.

Falling Friday - The Russian Trip

Wednesday, I graduated from my falls prevention class, part of the nationwide (yes, even worldwide), Stepping On program. 

But not quite with flying colors (no pun intended) as, early in the week, I tripped, catching the toe of my sandal on the rug in my place of employment. My manager wanted to talk to me, and I rushed over. Obviously, I wasn't practicing heel to toe walking, as I had been taught in my class.

And, I was rushing, another no-no I was taught about in my class.

"Don't rush and trip!", a co worker admonished me as I (almost) went flying by.  By the magic of my co-workers' sense of humor, that quickly was turned into the Russian Trip -something that I, obviously, have not yet mastered.

So, although I can not teach you the finer points of the Russian Trip, I can tell you that I plan to continue my Falling Friday feature for the next few weeks.

So today, instead of demonstrating the Russian Trip, I want to blog about something that will help prevent tripping - heel toe walking.  It's a great ankle exercise.

But, just walking from heel to toe, and making sure you don't shuffle your feet, is what we in our falls prevention class were encouraged to do.

Seniors tend to get into shuffling their feet, we were taught, for a number of reasons.  But it isn't just a matter of picking up your feet to prevent shuffling. Rather, shuffling happens BECAUSE of other factors.  Fear of falling.  Weak muscles.  Decreased balance.  Inability to feel in the soles of the feet.

Many of these factors can be addressed by a program such as Stepping On. And, once we exercise to strengthen our muscles (and continue to do so, after the class is over), we become more conscious of how we walk. 

Walk.  Keep on walking.  Keep on stepping.  And be sure to walk heel, toe, heel.

Throwback Thursday - The Seed Lending Library

Alas, since I wrote this post in 2012, our local Broome County Public Library has discontinued their seed lending library.  However, the movement itself has grown.

Some public libraries lend seeds, which the public can take, grow an harvest from.  Some of these libraries also lend tools, or give gardening classes.

I wonder why our local library stopped the lending, but I believe their program ended in 2013.

Does your local library lend seeds or tools?

Libraries do so much more than lending books - they are an integral part of their communities.  What things other than lending books, DVDs or CD's does your library offer?

The Seed Lending Library

The Broome County public library, in Binghamton, new York, has started a Seed Lending Library.

"You can check out seeds at the Information Desk starting April 7th.  You will need a valid library card..."  The seeds are donated, and are organic.

There is no cost, and the seeds offered include tomato, radish, cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, melon (noting melon can be a bit of a gamble crop here in upstate NY-I hope what they are offering is a short season variety) cilantro, parsley and broccoli.

Apparently some public libraries out in California have had similar programs.  I have a feeling BC Library is on the cutting edge.

The expectation is that people will save seeds from the best plants and give back to the library.  "however, you will not be penalized...."  I would hope not.  The reason given is that this is a new program. 

In a way, I have to be a little leery over the expectation that people will be expected to return seeds at the end of the year.

1.  Are people going to be educated as to exactly how to save seed and return at the end of the year?    It may be easy to save cucumber seed.  Parsley, not so much.  It is, after all, a biennial and the person has to be able to overwinter it.  There may be a similar problem with late cabbage in that the gardening season may be over by the time the cabbage bolts.  If they are community gardening, it may be impossible to keep the plants that long.

2.  Some items offered, such as eggplant, plus the aforementioned melon, are not easy to grow here.  Eggplant, especially.  I've tried to grow eggplant several times (from purchased plants!) with wildly varying success and I have about 35 years of gardening experience.  A couple of the offerings, I think, are just not good choices for beginners.

3.  Some veggies offered, such as cabbage and lettuce, don't bolt until the useful life of the plant are finished.  Again, people will have to be educated to this.  And, they will have to sacrifice the very best plants, to fulfill what is expected of them in the seed saving arena.

These, however, are quibbles and I hope this is a successful program.  With a little education, I think it can be.

Thank you, High Mowing organic seeds, for donating seeds to this program.

Do you have a seed lending program at your local public library?  Has it worked for your area?

Summer Ramblings - More Lilies

Early summer is lily time.

Last week, I shared some lilies with you.

Today, I have more lilies for you. Although I will have a lot of "throwback" posts this month, I also hope to bring you a gift of fresh flowers each Wednesday.

These are lilies of upstate New York.

This is planted in a container, at the Broome County courthouse in Binghamton, New York.  In other words, a nice downtown lily.  Why not?  Lilies are hardy, and can grow in many conditions.

More lilies in another container at the same courthouse.

These beautiful lilies are now in full bloom in my front yard.

And finally, some yellow daylilies in my front yard.  Right now, I have three varieties of daylilies in my garden with another variety about to join them.


What are your favorite flowers?

To Everything There is a Season

The only thing certain about life, besides death, is change.

Today, the year is half over (approximately).  It seems like only yesterday that it was New Years Eve.  Things seemed a lot more certain than they do now in my life.

Only yesterday, the freezing winds were blowing and snow covered everything here in upstate New York.  Now, roses bloom.  It is raining - again.  Things are so out of balance, with rain desperately needed on the other end of our North American continent.

To everything there is a season.  And to several people in my life, great changes are coming in this season of their lives.  Change is coming to my life, and the life of my spouse, too.  I will blog more about this as time permits..

Today, I end two blog challenges.  Next month I will not participate in any blog challenge.  I will participate in Camp NaNoWriMo, but I've set a low goal and it will basically be a diary of my July.

For my readers, there will also be some changes.  I still intend to post daily but July's blog posts will consist of a mix of "throwbacks", new posts, and whatever I have time for.

One reader suggested I tell stories about my childhood growing up in the Bronx, and perhaps I will pull some stories out from a rough first draft of a memoir I worked on a couple of years ago.

To everything there is a season.  I am a writer and this will not stop me from writer (she said, bravely).

What will the second half of the year bring?

Have you had any surprises in your life (good or bad) this year?

The Sound of Rainfall

Yesterday, I woke up a little before 5am.  The sound of heavy rain does that to me.

I lay in the bed.  At one time, I loved the sound of rain.  But, as someone who has had experience with her neighborhood flooding, the sound is stressful now.

It has been since September of 2011.

I couldn't sleep.  Then, a bird started to sing.  I knew it was near dawn, because that is what birds do.  Sing. Even if flooding is just around the corner.

It was too dark to go down to the park near the river, several blocks from me (complete with flood falls that were breached "last time").  And, I really didn't want to know if there was any water in the basement.

So I lay there, listening to the other birds who were joining the first bird in the daily pre-dawn chorus.  I listened to the rain, bathed in anxiety.

Finally, I went downstairs to my laptop, and started to write today's post.  I looked at my smartphone.  No weather alerts. Relief.  For now.

The rain stopped and I went back to sleep.

It rained on and off yesterday, as it did in much of the Northeast.  I will just have to wait patiently and see what happens.

That's all any of us can do.

Civil War Sunday - History Before Our Eyes

Although the United States Civil War officially ended (for the most part) 150 years ago this past April, I've always maintained that the war never truly ended.  Now, in the almost two weeks after a tragic mass murder during a Bible Study class at a Charleston, South Carolina church, we are seeing still another battle in this seemingly never ending war.

Whether our country will have a true dialog about race, and the legacy of the Civil War as a result of this horrific act, or if it will just be a lot of empty talk and then business as usual, remains to be seen.  But the war that has been simmering under our surface is now more public than ever.  At least surface changes are made.  Perhaps the changes are symbolic, or won't hit upon the tough issues, but the fact is - people are thinking.

I am not blogging today to express my opinions.  Rather, I want to show you pictures of some of the sites that have been in the news.  It's hard to explain this to my readers in Great Britain and India, but I will try.  Even a month ago, in my wildest dreams, I would never have imagined the events of the past almost two weeks.


Where do I even begin?

With the College of Charleston, where one of the funerals took place on Friday?  Their President is a former state senator (noting one of the dead in the shooting was a state senator) and a former lieutenant governor, and was a controversial choice when hired last year.

March, 2015, taken by AM

This is the South Carolina State Senate Chamber, where the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the murdered nine, served. The American flag is on the left and the South Carolina state flag on the right.  Outside this chamber, a Confederate flag flew near a monument on the grounds of the State Capitol. Now, debate rages on whether that flag should be taken down.  

The above President of the College of Charleston?  His views on that question.

Many Southerners will have to ponder how best to celebrate their heritage.

Mt. Pleasant Fishing Pier at Ravenel Bridge at Sunset, March 2015

The Arthur Ravenel, Jr.  Bridge, which connects Charleston, South Carolina with Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, is a favorite destination for walkers and bikers.  I've walked on it a number of times (and completed the entire walk in both directions once). A week ago today, thousands of people (perhaps 40,000)  marched on this bridge. Some joined hands in a "unity chain" to show support for the people of the City of Charleston.  But the elderly man the bridge is named after - now 88 years old- is, himself, controversial.  There was an effort to rename the bridge earlier this year, which failed. 

Taken March, 2015, by AM, before the defacement

This Civil War Confederate Monument in Charleston was defaced several days ago. (I totally reject this kind of activity, be it a Union or Confederate monument.) Debate now is taking place about whether these monuments should be taken down.

This is a Virginia Sons of Confederate Veterans license place (picture taken by me at a Civil War reenactment I attended). A Confederate battle flag design is on the left side.    This specialty plate, it appears, will no longer be permitted.

Some former Confederate states had incorporated Confederate flag designs in their state flags. They are now rethinking it.  Could this be because the shooter was photographed burning an American flag, and holding Confederate flags?  But, although the Confederate flag is publically debated, it must also be noted that there are thousands of streets, parks, and other public places named after Confederate figures - one, in particular, stirring controversy, due to what he did after the war.

The families of those murdered, the people of Charleston, and people of the South, have some hard days coming as they must work out the direction their future will take. 

Some Local Thoughts on A Charleston Farmers Market

I had the below post set up in advance, thinking I would be out of town at my mother in law's house today.  But, we had to cancel due to weather.  Now, besides having to worry about heavy rains and possible flooding, I actually have FREE TIME.  Well, some free time.  I'm already sending texts and emails related to caregiving - ah, well. 

I hate to say it, but I have so much from my life put to one side, and now I have some time to concentrate on it.  The lawn needs mowing.  Our garden, which we are on the verge of abandoning, is crying for us (and will have to continue to cry, given the rain.)  Even, yes, blogging, needs to be caught up on.

But, because of the events Wednesday before last in Charleston, South Carolina,  I still want to run this "throwback" post.

I am going to blog about one the most beautiful locations for a farmers market that I have ever seen.  This was, with some edits,  a post from April of 2014.

This market is blocks from where the tragic Charleston church shooting took place earlier in June, killing nine people of color engaged in Bible Study.

For all I know, one or more of the murdered shopped at this market. Perhaps they walked through its location in Marion Square.  Just ordinary people like all of us, until a horrific moment thrust them into the history books.

South Carolina State Arsenal Building, Charleston, SC

Of such is history made, and we continue to mourn nine lives cut short prematurely. Perhaps it is a little bit disrespectful to run this.  I hope not.

Today, let's travel back in time 14 months....

Part of the pleasure of travel for me is finding and eating local food, especially food that is fresh and minimally processed.  The day I visited was opening day of the Charleston farmer's market, held in historic Marion Square in Charleston. (At a later date, I will blog about the history I found inside this square. In fact, the building above has an interesting history as the former location of the famed military college, The Citadel.)

Even as far south as Charleston is, not everything they are offering is in season yet.

The vendors marked produce that was local, though, and one vendor (price list above) was quite upfront about exactly where each of his items originated from.  (ONPF means his own. Lady Moon is in Florida. Mayflower was elsewhere in South Carolina).  We bought garlic (below) from him.

This vendor advertised local only, with a big offering of radishes, and early greens.

We were so thrilled to buy fresh garlic (not last year's storage crop) from this market.

Strawberries are also at the beginning of their season.  We bought the strawberries and reluctantly left the dewberries behind.

There was a lot of photography going on, and none of the vendors seemed to mind. 

Mushrooms were a welcome surprise, although we didn't buy any.

The Charleston market did not disappoint - with one exception - not all of the food is local.  But there was a local food information booth, and I talked to two energetic young women attempting to get the word out.  In a city where world famed restaurants are on almost every streetcorner downtown, I hope the word does continue to get out.


I still think of Charleston daily.  I think it will be a long time before I stop.

Falling Friday - The Other Part of Mid Life

I've been invited to participate in a meme called "What She Said" created by Kimberly Montgomery at Fifty Jewels. I'm told not to be politically correct, to tell it like it is, and so forth.

She says "This is not your grandmother's midlife."  Well, that's true.  One of my grandmothers never made it to age 50.

So, Kimberly, thank you for the invite, and I am going to tell you about my life right now.  Yes, I have an empty nest.  Yes, life is good.  But, in this season, much of my life is not my own.

You asked me for a quote.  So here goes.

"I am a long distance caregiver to a mother in law in her upper 80's.  If there is a "Mid Life Boulevard", caregivers live on the side streets, mainly forgotten by all those liberated from their nests, and enjoying substances and acts I can not mention in a family type blog (although those acts create families).  Yet, we are essential.  Like our grandmothers, we care for those of the generation above ours.  And, when it is our turn, we hope our children (or friends, if we are childless) take care of us."

Sometimes it can be a real drag.

It's 9:30 pm, and the load of laundry I started earlier is still drying. I worked at a full time job today (my spouse worked, too),  exercised, participated in some phone calls with in -law family members (and a visit from another inlaw) and packed so I could travel with my spouse to my mother in law, some three hours away.  She had a procedure today and the person who cared for her has to leave tomorrow afternoon.  We're down there to help out, and, at the same time, to help my mother in law downsize and eventually move to be near us.

There is so much to do, so many moving pieces, I have a spreadsheet (started by a co worker, thank you!) devoted to keeping it all together.  

Tomorrow, my spouse and I both work, and then, we are on the road.  While we are, I hope the swelling in my spouse's knee (injured during other helping out) stays down.

Now (bear with me) I am going to change the subject slightly.

In the past three weeks, three people in my life fell.

One fall came from a by product of radiation treatment.  My good friend of 52 years, in her third year of battling cancer. 
One was a friend, also in her 60s.  In a rush, she tripped over an obstacle in a parking lot. She is a caregiver for her sick sister.

But the third fall happened to my mother in law.  It is fortunate my spouse and I were in the house when she became disoriented in a dark living room and fell.

I've been taking a fall prevention class the past six weeks.  I've learned about falling, how to help after a fall, factors that influence falls, and so much more.  So I'm an expert, right?

Nope.

Some help I was at first.  For the first few seconds after hearing her calls for help, I went totally blank, before some of my teachings started coming back to me.  But I did recover enough to remember some of what I needed to know.

And you know what?  It didn't work the way I thought it would. 

Not because the teaching was flawed.  It wasn't. But the person who fell, due to physical limitations, couldn't do what the teachings asked for.

That's OK.  I am in the process of learning more in case this ever happens again.  Besides what I've learned, there is an online resource called Caregiver College I am finding of help.

I was so grateful to the two lovely ladies who run my falls prevention class, and the two physical therapists who have attended several sessions.

Also, there is a free download online of a brochure from Australia. (see page 24-26 if you download it.)  I don't know if this brochure is related to the falling program I am taking, but I do know this falling program originated in Australia.

Again, I am not a health care professional but a layperson trying to prevent myself from falling again, and learning what I can since I am a caregiver for an elderly person.

So that is my current journey through midlife.  You're welcome.  I hope I'm coherent, because it's been a long day, and tomorrow I won't have time to write this post.

If you came here to find out how much fun it is to be a liberated 62 year old, you are in the wrong place.  But if you came here for a slice of my life with its joys and flaws- welcome.

A Somber Thursday

One week ago today, I woke up, did exercises, made my lunch, got dressed, and turned on my computer.  Seeing that "Charleston shooting" was trending, I clicked on the link and was plunged into a moment which has lasted all of this week.

But I am so far removed from the reality that has touched the lives of an entire community in Charleston, South Carolina, a city that I dearly love yet have never lived in.

I don't know anyone directly affected.

I have no family in Charleston.

Yet, day after day, I have seen events and have wondered:  will our country finally have the courage to face truths that haven't truly been faced in 150 years?  Even people who have little understanding of our Civil War are taking sides in this seeking and reacting that is taking place before our eyes.  Events and opinions change by the hour.  It would be something difficult to describe to my foreign readers.  I hope they will bear with me in the coming days.

All I can do right now is watch the news as so many of us struggle to understand. (I hope to blog more about this on Sunday.) 

I don't often publish my personal opinions on my blog.  I am a teller of history stories. I don't want to have opinion distract from the history stories I am trying to tell.

I don't have a direct link to the U.S. Civil War.  Both sides of my family emigrated to the United States in the early 20th century, years after the Civil War was over.  No one in my family ever owned slaves or fought in that war on either side.

Yet I, a Northerner (native of New York City), lived parts of my life in three former (or maybe not so former?) Confederate states:  Florida, Arkansas, and Texas.  I've visited both South Carolina and Georgia several times in recent years (along with North Carolina, still another former Confederate state).

In fact, I visited both Columbia, South Carolina (the city so in the news for the Confederate flag still flying on the capital grounds while a murdered state legislator of color lies in state in the building where he served - a building my spouse and I toured in March) and Charleston.  In March, my spouse and  I walked on the college campus where one of the murdered women worked.  For all I know, I passed her on the street.

While in South Carolina this past March (Columbia, Camden and Charleston), my spouse and I discussed the Civil War with several residents.  I was shaped by my upbringing and these South Carolinians by theirs.  Listening is not the same as agreeing.

Sadly, events have proved me right.  The Civil War is still being fought.  But for now, it is time to remember the dead and honor them.

Let us pause and remember the murdered, as the funerals begin. 

On Sunday, I will blog more about this in my Civil War Sunday post.  Maybe it will be just a photo collage of the city I have grown to love over four visits in five years, including some places recently in the news. 

As the saying goes, we live in interesting times.

Summer Ramblings - Lilies

In upstate New York, the lilies are in bloom.  Summer is officially here.

Today I bring you a little selection of these most versatile flowers.  Growing them, day lilies especially, is easy in our zone 5b climate - here's how.

Not all of these lilies are day lilies.  I must admit, I am far from an expert on lilies - day lilies, the various Asiatic lilies, stargazer lilies. hybrids, oriental hybrids, and more.  Let's just call them lilies.

Lilies come in so many colors, so many patterns.  Some have scent.  Another admission I must make is that the smell of some lilies, especially stargazers, is unpleasant to me. (You don't want to get their pollen on you or your clothes, either.)

Let's enjoy some Binghamton, New York area lilies, shall we?

This is part of the Broome County library garden, in downtown Binghamton, New York.  Imagine - a library with its own garden.

The garden contains shrubs, bulbs, roses, some works of art, and a picnic gazebo.  This is what it will look like in July.

On Monday, I found my first day lily of the year, in its final moments, in my front yard.  This is my earliest daylily, with more to come.

On the West Side of Binghamton, orange lilies.

Another orange lily.

I hope to feature more lilies in the next few days.

What is blooming in your area today?

The Sounds of Memory

A British blogger inspired today's post.

She blogged about the "Sounds of Our Shore" project - an attempt by the National Trust (of Britain) to preserve today's sound of the British seashore for future generations.

Another "we were just talking about that yesterday" coincidences.

We were at my mother in law's house this past weekend helping her downsize (she has sold her house and is moving closer to us.) We talked about what is in the attic.

In the attic is a box of old reel to reel tapes recorded by me, and by my husband, while we were dating and even before (meaning, the late 60's and early 70's).   We discovered the box when my son investigated the attic in a visit a couple of Christmases ago.

The songs aren't of interest to us - the quality would be terrible. And, we don't have a reel to reel player to play these tapes on.  Ours is long gone, left behind in one of our many moves when we were newly married.

But what is of interest are the commercials, jingles and airchecks. People collect those airchecks!  (Here is a collection from a station hundreds of miles from where I lived as a child, but I could pick up the radio station at night).

If, by some chance, we have an entire radio program on one of these tapes, there is interest in those, too.  Here is a website that collects programming from a station where I grew up, WABC in New York City.

These sounds of the past bring back so many memories of my childhood.  A literal "blast from the past."

Of course, the tapes could be too fragile to play. But it sure would be nice to listen to those tapes one last time.

What memories do sounds bring back to you?

Still Playing Baseball at 90

In 2009, I published a Fathers Day post about the time I watched a 90 year old former major league baseball player, one of the greatest of all time, play.  I was so privileged to be able to spend some of Father's Day, 2009, with (sort of) Bob Feller, a great who has since passed away.

I know many of my readers do not come from the United States and do not know our "national pastime".  Yet, I think the theme of this post is universal.  At his peak, Bob Feller could throw a baseball at over 100 miles per hour, something few people have ever been able to do.  Yet, when he came out on that ball field in his 90th year of life, everyone cheered because he was still able to play the game.  His skills were diminished but his spirit was intact.

I am having to spend an increasing amount of time in long distance care giving duties concerning my elderly mother in law.  I haven't been responding to commenters, but I wanted you all to know I still read, and treasure your comments.

And now, my post from 2009, almost unedited.  This "raw" early days blog post will have to do for today.

A Father's Day with Bob Feller

There are going to be two types of reactions from people reading this title:
a. "Who?"
b. "Wow! He's still alive?"

Bob Feller is a pitcher: he's the second oldest Baseball Hall of Famer and trust me, at age 90, not only was he able to trot out onto the field (and I do mean trot), pitch (AND reach the plate-sort of) but he got a standing ovation and by far the loudest cheers of the game.

I have some pictures of him, but from so far away (we were sitting about as far out as you could get) that it may not be worth trying to put them on the blog.

I was honored to see this game in Cooperstown, NY, at Doubleday Field, on Sunday, along with about 7,000 other people (not quite a sell out, but this is a small, historic, ballpark)

The link above does have a good photo of Bob Feller at the game.

I'd like to talk a little bit more about the game and the parade.

The pre-game parade was small town America at its best - the local merchants, the trolley cars full of local scholars, the Mayor of Cooperstown, some politician running for election, a young man standing on top of two horses (one per leg). There was an older man, maybe in his early 50's, who looked so much like Mickey Mantle, who wore the Yankee #7 (I saw him signing autographs later...who was he?? I can't seem to find out from Internet research.)

Last in the parade came two trolleys, with the old-timers in them. In the first picture, the left most person is Bob Feller, but you can only see that if you enlarge the photo way beyond what I can post here. Guess it would help me to have some photo editing software.

I do have some other photos, including a good one of Brooks Robinson, which I may upload in another post.



I haven't followed baseball in many years. I got fed up back in the 1970's with the greed, and then later the performance-enhancing drug use. I enjoy minor league baseball but I haven't seen a major league game since 1973. This game was a step back to another time (although many of the players didn't retire or didn't play until after I lost interest).

The most notable thing was-they wanted to be there. It was so obvious. They clowned with each other. Steve Lyons took a boy out of the stands and let him field alongside of him. That boy had a good arm too, he fielded a ball and started a double play! Some of the players signed autographs as mobs of children followed them along the fences. FOR FREE. (I didn't try to get autographs-I let the children get theirs.)

Postscript:  Bob Feller passed away on December 15, 2010. The month before, he had turned 92.  He was a "Hall of Famer" (a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame) longer than anyone in baseball history.

Father's Day-The Descendents

Today, it is Father's Day in the United States.

In the wake of the Charleston shootings of this past Wednesday, I want so much to step out of my "teacher of history" role and talk more about my belief that the United States Civil War has never ended.  Perhaps, by next Sunday, I will be more capable of writing that post than I am now.  So instead, I will turn to one of my past posts.

Back in 2014, I wrote this blog post about the descendents of various United States Civil War figures.  I intend to (as time permits - my time may be limited in the coming months) investigate what became of certain of the famous people of the Civil War - people we may never have heard of if the war hadn't occurred.

But then I got to wondering - do these people have descendents living today?  The answer may delight you.

Civil War Sunday - The Descendents

On major holidays, a major genealogy website, ancestry.com, offers free searches of various databases for its non-paying members.

I decided to take the opportunity to do a little research on my mother's side of the family, one that I don't have that much knowledge of.  I am more fortunate with my father's side, as an uncle did extensive research years ago.  I quickly found I needed skills I did not have enough time to learn, but spent an interesting hour or more stumbling around the site.

So, I decided to satisfy some of my curiosity today.  Do major figures of the Civil War have living direct descendents?

Years ago, I had met a man who had claimed George Armstrong Custer (although best known for his death in the famous Battle of Little Big Horn,  he was also a Civil War general) as one of his ancestors. What other people related to the Civil War had descendents, and what had those descendents accomplished?

What I found would take me many days to read about.

Many people who know they are descended from historical figures in the Civil War are proud of that fact, but many also have the philosophy of "don't depend on your ancestry".

It turns out there are a number of famous Civil War related figures who have living descendents- Confederates and Federal figures, abolitionists, and slaves.

Reading through their stories is fascinating, and there are thousand of more stories waiting for the reading - civilians, soldiers and others who lived through the war.  It is estimated that one in 17 people in the United States have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.

The story of Kenneth Morris, Jr, in particular, inspires me.  A descendent of both Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, he fights to abolish modern day slavery- just as his great-great-great grandfather, Frederick Douglass, fought to abolish slavery in our country.

Then there is Ulysses S. Grant's great-great grandson, a native of Syracuse (a city about an hour from where I live) who is a museum curator and art expert.

There is Bertram Hayes-Davis, who preserves the memory of his ancestor Jefferson Davis, best known as the President of the Confederate States of America. 

Confederate General Stonewall Jackson (who has a number of ties with New York State) has living descendents although he did not survive the war- his granddaughter, who passed away in 1991, was 104.

Meanwhile, Dennis Chamberlain, a direct descendent of Union General and Battle of Gettysburg hero Joshua Chamberlain, is the latest of a long line of Chamberlains to service in the military.

The Lee family of Virginia also has had a distinguished history, although many of them were not direct ancestors or descendents of the famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

There is one missing name, though, from people alive today.  Abraham Lincoln.  The man who was President of the United States during the Civil War, has no direct descendents alive today.  This is his genealogy.

Do you have a famous person or historical figure in your family tree?

Local Saturday - The Last Full Day of Spring

Last weekend, we visited my mother in law's house.  The privet hedges were blooming, and the heady fragrance lay heavy in the warm, humid air.

Saturday night, my mother in law's next door neighbor came over to visit.  She let me look at her Facebook page and I saw something amazing - she went to my local high school, back in the Bronx.

We exchanged notes and I remembered we grew up less than 1/2 mile, and 20 years, apart.  But I never knew she had gone to my junior high school, or my local high school.  (I didn't go to my local high school, but I learned to swim in its pool, the pool she remembered so well.)

Ah, childhood memories.

Today is the last day of spring, and I want to bring you back perhaps 55 years (OK, a teeny bit more than 55 years) for a special memory brought back by the scent of the old fashioned privet hedges in front of my mother in law's house.  This is a post I wrote last June after a different visit to her house.

Privet and Bees, Scent and Memory

A memory of over 50 years ago.

I grew up in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in a city housing project.  All green spaces in the project were carefully fenced away behind chain link fences.  We children would get into trouble with the maintenance men who cared for the project if we climbed the fences and dared to play in the greenery.  So, of course, we did it as often as possible.

In June, the privet would bloom.  

The blend of humidity and sweet privet scent would attract bees to the hedges.

It's a scent I love to this day.

The boys would catch the bees in glass jars.  That's not something we girls really got into.  Instead, we would look for ladybugs to catch.

Yesterday, I visited my mother in law, who lives in a suburb of New York City. We needed to attend a court hearing with her. My spouse's petition for the guardianship of my developmentally disabled brother in law, "B", was finally being heard in court.

It was warm, and humid, and privet hedges were blooming in front of her house.

They were swarming with bees.

The heady scent brought me back over 50 years in a matter of seconds.  I was a little girl once again, climbing chain link fences while we looked out for the project maintenance men, so my playmates and I could have a few minutes of interaction with nature.

Scent and memory. A living time machine.

Has scent ever brought you back to a favorite childhood memory?

Falling Friday - A National Test

I've been reporting this month, in a "Falling Friday" feature, my experiences in a fall prevention course I am taking.  I've learned about vision and its effect on falling.

I've been taught exercises to build strength and balance, which is why I now walk an imaginary tightrope daily.

I've blogged about my falling journey, if you can call it that.  

And, I've blogged about why, regardless of age we must all be concerned about falling.

We were taught how to help someone who has fallen, or what to do if we, ourselves, fall.

But, due to something tragic in the United States that happened Wednesday night, I must talk today about a different kind of falling.  A National fall.

In a way, it's like our United States has fallen and can not get up.  There have been so many tragic events in the past few years that I can't even name them all, but the names resonate with all Americans. Not necessarily in order, since President Obama took office in January of 2009:  

Fort Hood.   The American Civic Association ( the tragic mass murder in the city of Binghamton, New York not far from where I work-14 dead in an adult education classroom).   Tucson, AZ at a meeting of some citizens with their United States Congressperson. Aurora, at a movie theater.  A Wisconsin Sikh temple.  Newtown, CT at an elementary school, which included a casualty (the school psychology) from our area.  Washington Navy Yard.  Ft. Hood (again).  Isla Vista, CA. And Wednesday night:  Charleston, South Carolina.

Nine dead, one a state senator, after a racially motivated shooting at a Bible Study class at a historic black church not far from two places I have stayed in.

Unitarian Church, Charleston (the Holy City) one of many, many churches

My beloved Charleston, the Charleston I blogged so much about in April for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, the Charleston that calls itself the Holy City because of all the churches that line its skyline, the Charleston now known for our latest mass shooting.  Think of Charleston today, I ask, and the sorrow of the families affected and all those who live in that area.

Charleston doesn't have skyscrapers.  It has church steeples.  Hard to see in this picture, but this is the Charleston skyline.  Charleston is a fascinating city, and I wish, in a way, that I was there right now.  Even in the midst of what the locals call "dog breath summer".

Yesterday, when I woke up to the news, I cried.  At lunch, I cried some more.  But tears won't help.

Time after time after time, and we can't break the cycle.  We lie there, and we cry, and we just don't know how to get up.

Where is the falling class for us?  How can we break the cycle of hate and violence?

Throwback Thursday - Binghamton Rising

This is a post from June of 2009, the first year of my blog.  So much as happened since I wrote this post.

This is a post about the return of downtown Binghamton, New York - a small city of about 47,000.  At its peak, its population was over 80,000.

The 1990's and early 2000's were rough times for Binghamton - high unemployment and many vacant buildings.  But things are turning around - faster and faster, now.  Much of the growth is due to developers taking vacant buildings and converting them into student housing for the increasing population of Binghamton University, a highly regarded public university.

The building I wrote about below, the Press Building, suffered a fire in December of 2010 and lay vacant for several years.  Fires are far from unknown in downtown Binghamton.

The planters pictured here were abandoned.  But now, finally, the building (it is said) will be renovated for student housing, and will reopen sometime next year.

Binghamton Rising

Yesterday was the 2nd Friday of the Binghamton Farmers Market. As I was browsing for snap peas, the heavens opened. I spent the next 35 minutes listening to a jazz band, sheltered in the tent of the farmer I had bought the peas from. I waited out the rain, joined by two co-workers. Finally it stopped not long before the end of my lunch hour.

Not too many years ago downtown Binghamton was...on the skids, let's face it-full of abandoned buildings. Since then, for many reasons, things have turned around-although it has a long way to go. The Farmers Market is one success story (such as it is-it's on a narrow street, and small, but it is very appreciated.)

Here is one of the success stories: The Press Building, not too long ago musty and mostly vacant-today, renovated.

The first picture is at an angle but it shows a portion of the renovated lobby.

Here is a picture of the building itself, and details of the renovation.





The other pictures are of planters in front of the building-each done in mosaic by a local nationally famous mosaic artist - each with a local theme.


This planter shows a carousel horse. Binghamton is named the "Carousel Capital" of the country for good reason - my son grew up taking the six free antique carousels for granted. I sometimes wish he was young again so I could ride with him.


The second picture, I'm actually not absolutely sure what it is. It could be one of the buildings that hold the carousels. Or it could be an impression of the band shell at Rec Park, another restored Binghamton landmark. (if you are a Twilight Zone fan, Rec Park is a must-see).

This final mosaic is a flower display.
I believe there are seven in all. Hopefully the elements and the street people are kind to them. The law firm responsible for much of this has done a good service for downtown Binghamton.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the hanging baskets decorating downtown and donated by a life insurance company headquartered in downtown Binghamton.

Thank you,all, and may the rise of downtown Binghamton continue.

Spring Things - Last Spring Fling

The end of spring is approaching at incredible speed, or so it seems to my middle aged senses.

Last night, I sat out in my backyard, looking at the plants and so grateful I can still enjoy my backyard.  Birds sing, a siren in the distance wails, and squirrels chatter.

June 17 is a day of some sadness for me, because it was my parent's wedding anniversary.  Their marriage lasted a little more than 14 years, as my mother died too young.  Later this year will be the 50th anniversary of her death.

But then, I think of all the beauty around me.  Unlike my mother, I am privileged to enjoy it and bring it to you, my readers.

So many plants are finishing their bloom times right now.  Here are some pictures taken in the last two weeks.  As it happens, all the flowers I chose today are white.  And, none of them belong to me.

It was a spectacular bloom year for catalpa, a native tree.  This specimen grows just a few feet from my property.

A Korean Lilac.  This was taken last week where I exercise walk in Binghamton, in upstate New York, but the blooms are still going strong today.

White peony.

Korean dogwoods, another plant still going strong today.

Finally, privets, which bring back memories of my childhood.  These are finally starting to fade, along with their heavenly scent.

Next week I start my Wednesday summer feature, which I am thinking of naming "Summer Ramblings".

Flowers are special to so many people.  What flower means something to you, and why?