Raisins and Almonds

On Sunday, a blogger started a series of posts about songs of her childhood.   

It inspired me.

I remember a lullaby my father used to sing to me.  I can still hear his voice singing the refrain from the lullaby, in the language of his parents (a language I, in turn, never learned).  I said to myself, "After all these years, I wonder if I can use You Tube and a search engine to find the song?"

And, since today would have been his birthday, what a wonderful way to celebrate a man who meant so much to me.

I have many childhood memories of my Dad.  I remember, especially, walks he would take me on some Sunday afternoons (no doubt, to give my stay at home Mom a break).  He would love to watch houses under construction, and we would walk to the construction sites. He would look at the houses-to-be.  I would listen to baseball games on a tinny sounding transistor radio.

Then, after my mother died, Dad raised me as a single father.  Things got rather stormy as I traveled through my teenage years, but he hung in there.

Anyway, about that lullaby.  It took about 20 minutes, but I found it. 

The English name is Raisins and Almonds, and this is the English version.

And this is the original Yiddish version, as sung by actress Jane Seymour.

Jane Seymour, (not her birth name) by the way, had a Jewish father.  Who knows, maybe her father sung this song to her.

Thank heavens for the Internet.  And, happy birthday in heaven, Dad.

This is Day Five of Write Tribe's Festival of Word #5. Why don't you visit some of the bloggers participating in this from all over the world?

Summer Ramblings - Lillies

It's lily season in upstate New York.

In two days, on July 15, it will be Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and I will feature lilies from my yard near Binghamton, New York.  In the meantime, from my yard and from some walks in June and July, here are some of the loveliest flowers you will ever see.  All but the first are day lilies.

These, which are no longer blooming are from our yard.

Our yard, just before nightfall, July 4.  Doesn't it look like it's glowing?

More of my lilies, July 7.

West side of Binghamton, June 29.

Display with lilies (the pink flowers) in background, Binghamton (July 7)

Lily at Your Home Library, Johnson City, July 8.

This is Day Four  of Write Tribe's Festival of Word #5. Why don't you visit some of the bloggers participating in this from all over the world?  

And, please come back Friday, when I link with bloggers from all over the world for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, and you will get to see some more lilies from my garden.

Torn on the 12th of July

There's something in all of us, I think, that enjoys watching a building being demolished.

A landmark building is being demolished not far from where I live.    People visiting me always remark about the demolition in progress.  It's going to be in progress, perhaps, for perhaps three months more (including cleanup of all the debris and the land replanted in grass.)

It seems I've blogged so many times about Air Force Plant 59, built during World War II, whose last tenant, BAE Systems, left in advance of raising flood waters on September 8, 2011.  The building had stood, vacant, ever since.

The  BAE building (some locals still call it the "GE Building", a tenant for many years), on September 10 2011, as the flood waters were already receding, is shown in this video.

As my neighborhood walked the trail of recovery, this building stood patiently, as a disaster recovery tried to salvage it.  After almost two months of effort, it was decided (in November of 2011) that it was not salvageable.

It took so long for this distinguished building, once the largest wood framed building in the United States (some 600,000 square feet), to meet its fate.

Finally, demolition began 1625 days after the flood. 

On May 7, Bradford Pears bloomed in front of the building for perhaps the last time (as of today, they are still there). 

May 12.

On June 6, everything looked so green from this angle. But, in back, the building was being torn up from the direction not facing the public.

The skies were so beautiful on June 21, as summer began (the smokestack to the left is not part of the building).

Goodbye to what was once executive parking, I believe

Then, on June 23, we saw part of the building collapsing into itself in controlled demolition.  I haven't witnessed this demolition personally, since I work during the hours when this demolition takes place.  But, perhaps it surprises me that so many people love to watch a building being demolished.  Almost everyone you see walking along Main Street, where this building is, stops to stare.

There are some videos on You Tube.  One (not this one) even has such dramatic music it's - well, it's an experience.

Taken on July 4 - no demolition due to the holiday

As of this morning, piles of rubble replace more and more of the building.

Fields of Debris

Any historic building meeting its end saddens me.  So much was built in this factory.  Airplane engines during World War II, hybrid buses and other projects more recently.

Over 1,300 people worked here (they've moved a few miles down the road, but BAE only committed to five years - and, later this year, that time will expire.)

And,  no one knows for sure what will replace the old Air Force Plant 59.  The future of this plot of land may well be the future of any neighborhood that floods.  There is technology out there - green roofs, parking lot materials that allow water to penetrate and not collect.  This land can be used.  We can co exist with flooding.

One plan is for a solar power plant.  Another plan is for multi use, and that is what I am hoping for.  Imagine if they even included plans for senior living.  Buildings can be built to co exist with flooding. People are already trying to figure out how to co exist with hurricanes, and that is not a problem where I live.

We MUST learn to live with floods.  With climate change, we have no choice.  But it's almost like we've lost our will to try anything new.

As with everything else in New York State, it seems, nothing moves fast.  The town still hasn't made a decision.

Five years of no decision.

In the meantime, the demolition continues.  It should be all completed by-fall.

Have you ever watched a building be destroyed?

This is Day Three of Write Tribe's Festival of Word #5.  Why don't you visit some of the bloggers participating in this from all over the world?

Raspberry Recipes

Are you ready to make a delicious raspberry applesauce and some raspberry vinegar?

I am not noted for my cooking skills, but yesterday, I blogged about picking raspberries at a local U-Pick operation near Binghamton, in upstate New York.  This left me with about four pounds (1.8 kg) of delicious, fresh raspberries for recipes.  But, frozen berries will also work in what I am about to tell you about.

For my raspberry applesauce, this was a spur of the moment thing.  I had had breakfast at the orchard cafe, and was able to get raspberry applesauce as a side.  I told the server the applesauce was heavenly and he told me I could buy it by the pint or quart.  When I saw the price, I decided to try to duplicate it myself, given that I was about to go out and pick raspberries.  I already had apples in the house.

I looked online, and chose this recipe.  The only problem was, the resulting applesauce had a lot - and I do mean a lot - of seeds in it. (and nowhere did the recipe say anything about cooking and straining the berries separately).  So, if you have digestive problems with seeds, this is not the recipe for you.

I am sure one of my blog readers will tell me what I should have done.

Anyway, this is what I did do.

Raspberry Applesauce

Ingredients

3 lb apples  (sorry, metric folks, you are on your own once again)
1/4 cup sugar (you may want to adjust for taste and add towards the end of cooking)
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
Small amount of lemon zest

Method 

1.  Core and peel apples.  This is not done in my home anywhere near perfectly, so don't worry if you have leftover skin.

2.  Add other ingredients, except the zest.  Again, you may want to leave out the sugar until after step 2, so you can adjust to taste.  If you do, keep in mind the sauce will taste sweeter as it cools.  It's easier to add than to take away.

3.  Cook about 1/2 hour or until apples are tender.  At this point, add the lemon zest.  Then, take a potato masher and mash the apples.   I wanted this to be somewhat lumpy, to duplicate what I had been served at the cafe.

4.  Let cool.  This can be refrigerated or frozen.

It's too thick now to strain out all those seeds, but if I ever make this again, I am going to have to figure out a better way.

And, since one of my readers wanted my spouse's recipe for raspberry vinegar, I looked and looked on my blog, because I thought I had published it a while back. But apparently not, so here it is.

Raspberry Vinegar

Ingredients

Clean mason (canning) or other jar (we use a canning jar)
Enough raspberries to fill jar
champagne vinegar or a good white wine vinegar
cheesecloth or straining bag (some call them jelly bags)
Another clean jar (for when the vinegar is ready to strain)

Method

Fill jar with raspberries.
Fill jar with vinegar, enough to cover.  For a pint jar, this would be approximately one cup.
Let sit for 2-4 weeks.
Then pour through the cheesecloth or straining cloth into a second clean jar. Discard the berries.

If you use raspberries, what is your favorite recipe?

 I am participating in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #5, a seven day blogging challenge.

Both are communities for bloggers from all over the world to gather, and to share.  After reading my post, why not visit other fellow bloggers and see what they have to offer?

Raspberry Fields Forever

Yesterday was just another day.  Or was it?

It was the birthday of two people I know.

It was my cousin's birthday.  I haven't seen her in nearly 13 years, and her career choice keeps her overseas a lot of the time.  I hope she had a happy day yesterday.   And for another person, who has spent a lot of her life helping others, I hope it was a good celebration.

But, for still another person, a member of a Facebook group I've belonged to for several years, yesterday was the end of her time here.  She left our world yesterday, all too soon, another life taken by cancer.

All the more, I am reminded that every day of our lives is a gift.  Whatever each day brings in opportunity, it is our responsibility to take advantage of those gifts. Learn. Observe.  Do something to help a fellow traveler on this planet. Or take advantage of the bounty of nature.

Yesterday, there were so many gifts in my life.  My spouse and I ate out at a local orchard (more on that later in the week), and then went raspberry picking.

In the stores, raspberries are so expensive.  They are fragile, and they don't last long.  But if you are able to pick them yourself, they are a treat.  Some years, the crop doesn't last long.  This year, however, it's a bumper crop.

So red and ripe (the white blobs are the cores left from raspberries already picked - the raspberry is hollow in the middle).  If you have never picked, here is a crash course:

The berry should come right off of the white core without a wrestling match.  If the raspberry is reluctant to fall into your hand, move onto the next one.  If it is too ripe (it would have turned purple), do not take it, either.  Raspberries will not last long, especially if they are overripe.

Examine the berry for mold.  Unfortunately, if it rains, ripe raspberries will mold right on the plant.

And use bug spray, because you will need it.

And most importantly, take someone you love to pick with you.  Some things are better not done alone.

Raspberry fields forever.

After you've picked, you've returned home with your raspberries, now what?

You can eat them fresh, over vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

You can make a raspberry vinegar, which my spouse does, but I need to get a recipe from him.

You can make raspberry quick jam (noting this is a refrigerator jam, and won't keep long).  But my jam making days are over (at least for now).

You can put them on a cookie sheet, one raspberry thick (don't pile them), and put them in the freezer.  As soon as they freeze, put into freezer bags and store in the freezer.  You can use them like fresh in many recipes.

Or you can make raspberry applesauce, which I ate with my breakfast yesterday morning at the orchard restaurant.  I decided to try to duplicate it at home.   I hope to blog more about in the next few days.  I will have my homemade version today with breakfast.

Starting today, in addition to the Ultimate Blog Challenge, I am participating in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #5, a seven day blogging challenge.

Both are communities for bloggers from all over the world to gather, and to share.  After reading my post, why not visit other fellow bloggers and see what they have to offer?

Do you like raspberries?  How do you like to eat them?

Local Saturday - July Fest

Yesterday, at lunchtime, I left my office in downtown Binghamton, New York and ventured forth for a half hour of just mindless wandering.

Listening to a high school steel band perform.

Walking down the middle of the street.

A couple of years ago, this historic building connected to the late Rod Serling was vacant

Grateful that Binghamton is starting to recover from years of doldrums.

Marveling at the trees you can still find downtown. This street has seen years of neglect, and still can be a bit on the gritty side, but it also is set up this weekend with the wares of artists.

Galaxy Brewery

And, finally, we have restaurants with outdoor seating.

It's hard to believe that we almost lost July Fest back when Binghamton had almost lost hope. 

But today, while we in the United States sorrow, we also know that life must go on.  And this weekend, we celebrate in Binghamton.

July Fest is alive and well.

Falling Friday - Our World is Falling and It Can't Get Up

Too many times we in the United States have woken up to tragic news from somewhere in the world.  Paris. Baghdad.  Istanbul.  Wardak.  

And, from our own country. San Bernardino.  Orlando.  Then, yesterday morning, two more black men shot dead, by police.  Videos indicated the shootings were not justified, and protestors took to the streets. Last night, a protest of those shootings in Dallas turned into an attack on police.  Just before 9pm local time, snipers opened fire on the march.  Five police officers are dead, with more wounded, some seriously.

We don't have all the facts yet.  We don't know if it is domestic terrorism, or what we will find.  We do know there are at least three shooters in custody, with others possibly on the loose, and that the attacks appear to have been coordinated.

At times of great crisis, we can only see death and destruction, and we wonder and fear for what is to come.   One thing can come out of this now, if you, my reader, lives in the United States.

Ponder those who are running for leadership positions in our country this fall.  I don't just mean President, but members of Congress.  Maybe even your own governor or mayor.

Think about the facts carefully.  Be informed.  Think about the events of the past few months, and which candidates you would have wanted in positions of power at the time.   Don't vote just from emotion.

And, get out and vote.  Make the choices that are right for you. 

We can only hope that good will come out of what is happening, but right now, it is hard to imagine.

What Is Real and What is an Illusion?

How many of my readers have read the classic dystopian novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four"?

This novel was published in 1949 and enough of it has chillingly come true.  The real "chillingly" part has come true though advances in technology the author, George Orwell, could only begin to imagine.

In this dystopian future, there is a government agency called the Ministry of Truth. 

The Ministry of Truth (or "Minitrue"), among other responsibilities, must constantly revise history to agree with the Party line.  In the book, editors would work to revise history and delete "unpersons", those who had been eliminated by the State.  The obsolete documents are then destroyed.  The Ministry is in charge of the truth - their truth, that is.  A truth that is a lie.

Now, we can edit reality with a flick of our computer mice or finger swiping a tablet.

We can edit photos with ease.

And, we can even change live broadcasts.

On the night of July 4, my spouse and I, as the nightcap to our celebration of Independence Day, watched a PBS (public television) broadcast of festivities in our capital, Washington, DC. I've been there at the DC fireworks twice in person and I do know what the fireworks are like.

The night was overcast and foggy.  When the fireworks began, they disappeared right into a layer of fog.

But, strangely, the broadcast kept switching to one camera that, miraculously, was broadcasting amazingly clear fireworks.  How beautiful!  And how puzzling. But a lot of people figured out, quickly, what was going on, and took to Twitter to express their displeasure.

Tuesday, we discovered the truth, as PBS admitted they had edited the live broadcast to edit in fireworks from previous years.  And they didn't label the show as "prerecorded", either. 

So now the debate rages:  should PBS have inserted "rerun" fireworks into a live broadcast without full disclosure of same?  (My personal opinion is: they should have said something like "gee, folks, the visibility is terrible, so we are going to play some firework reruns for your entertainment while you listen to the wonderful, live, music.")

But to me, the question is even more simple:

Where does reality begin?  Can you even trust live event transmissions anymore?

Has the Ministry of Truth infiltrated every aspect of our lives?

Summer Ramblings - Multi Colors

Most flowers have multiple colors in them.  Nature knows just how to design a flower.

A new one for me -  Alcea Rosea "Halo Blush" - a single hollyhock.  (Grateful they left the label in the ground).

Yarrow. It comes in several colors - this one is pink and white.

Our pansies are rapidly disappearing in the heat, but this is what one of my baskets looked like, back in June.

And a begonia plant in the last of the sunshine of the setting sun.

Look quickly, for nothing lasts forever.

The Intrepid Reporter

Imagine a little girl in the Bronx, circa 1957.  Who does she look up to?  Who is her first role model?

For me, it was a fictional character by the name of Lois Lane.  In the TV series Superman, and the comics I loved to read once I could read, Lois was a young female reporter who worked alongside her male counterparts and did the same job.  Dressed in a skirt and heels, she would end up in some dangerous situation, and would have to be rescued by Superman. Mild-mannered Clark Kent, who worked alongside of Lois and would disappear just as Lois needed saving, had nothing to do with Superman, of course. 

Somehow, Lois never figured out the connection.

But I didn't see the "Lois needing saving" part.  I saw the strong career woman instead, the one who faced down her enemies and got the story.  The one who did her job.

Noel Neill, the actress who played Lois Lane in that TV series, was my first role model.   And, although her Lois Lane didn't cause me to go into journalism as a career, she influenced many other young women who grew up in the same era I did.

Ms. Lane taught me that I was an equal to any man, in an era that had "help wanted male" and "help wanted female" ads in the paper, and encouraged women to engage in one career and one career only.

Lois Lane, in a number of movie serials and later, in that TV series that was first broadcast in the late 1950's and later rerun many times thereafter, was played by an actress Noel Neill.

She even briefly appeared in a 2006 Superman movie.

Ms. Neill died yesterday at the age of 95.

Lois, and Ms. Neill, please know that the young girl in the Bronx school playground grew up and became a blogger who loves to write.  You helped that happen.

Thank you.

Independence Day

Today is Independence Day in the United States.

 We say "three cheers for the red, white and blue" in our country.  So today, in honor of our "4th of July" I present the colors of the United States:

Sumac, Vestal Rail Trail

Red.

Yucca, Ithaca, New York

White

Cayuga Lake, near Ithaca, New York

And blue.



We tend to like quiet Fourth's, and will wish our country happy birthday tonight, when we watch fireworks on television.

Sunset, July 3

But last night, we watched a minor league baseball game, and enjoyed fireworks after.

If you live in the United States, may you have a safe and happy Independence Day.  In honor of the holiday, I will treat you to my very first July 4 post - July 4, 2009.

Baseball, Golden Knights and 4th of July Raspberry Smoothies

An interesting, mostly peaceful 3rd and 4th of July.

The weather has finally decided to cooperate - sun finally coming out, cool for July, breezy, almost perfect.

Last night we went to the B-Mets (Binghamton Mets, AA Mets affiliate) game. The B-Mets are not playing well right now but the draws were the Golden Knights (U.S. Army) parachute team (who are also performing at the Binghamton airshow this week), a flyover and fireworks after the game. The stadium must have been half empty but those who were there had a treat as first one, and then five more, parachuters, aimed themselves at the stadium. At one point, two parachuters joined up, with one standing on the other's shoulders. What a wonderful view we had and I could kick myself for not bringing my camera.

The game itself was anticlimactic, with the B-Mets held scoreless through 8 innings. In the 9th inning they rallied and scored 3 runs-way too late. The fireworks were nice though, and will be serving as our fourth of July fireworks. A bit different than last year where we had our Fourth of July fireworks (not really, but they were on July 4th) in Saint John, New Brunswick...but that's a different story for a different posting.

This morning we decided to pick raspberries at a U-Pick farm. The route to the farm intersected with the traffic going to the air show. Luckily we had decided to go early because an hour later, it would have been impossible to get there. The berries were in good condition, considering all the rain we've gotten recently. We got our picking done before the air show started, and left as the Golden Knights did their opening parachute drop.

So we have a lot of raspberries now, which we need to process soon - they spoil very quickly. We'll make raspberry vinegar and probably raspberry liquor...and raspberry smoothies.

Here's a nice Raspberry Smoothie Recipe, courtesy of ingredients I had on hand.

3/4 c fresh raspberries
3/4 c SO Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk
1/4 c non fat milk
(bananas would have gone good in this, except I can't eat them.)

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend. Drink.

That's it!

May you all have a wonderful 4th.

One Hundred Fifty Five Years Later

Tomorrow, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the bicentennial of my country, the United States.

Back in 2014, when I first posted this, we were commemorating the 153rd anniversary of our Civil War, which was fought April 1861-April, 1865 (officially, anyway).  Before that war, our citizens tended to think of themselves as citizens of their town, their state - and, perhaps almost as an afterthought, the United States. 

During the war, we did unspeakable things to each other.

But four years, and over 620,000 casualties, later, we ended up thinking of ourselves in a whole different way.

Now, our country has entered another rough patch with our people torn apart, frustrated at our elected officials and our economy, and wondering who will lead us out of our current difficulties in this Presidential election year.

It would be a good thing to step back for a moment and think of the following I first posted in 2014.

Civil War Sunday - 153 Years Later

Yesterday, April 12, 2014, marked the 153rd anniversary of the start of the United States Civil War, as Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter on an island in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

I was in Charleston this past week, and the car trip down from my home in upstate New York was a fascinating experience.  It gave me a lot of time to think.

Gettysburg, PA - the site of perhaps the most famous Civil War battle

On the way, we passed exits for a number of Civil War battlefields and related sites, starting in Pennsylvania.

Spring still hadn't reached Gettysburg as my spouse and I passed near to a site where 51,000 people had been either killed, wounded, or captured in the battle that represented the Confederacy's greatest northward penetration into the Union.

Moving into Maryland, we passed near Andrews Air Force Base.  When we passed from Pennsylvania (a free state) into Maryland (a slave state that stayed with the Union), we had also crossed the historic Mason-Dixon line.

Then we crossed from Maryland into Virginia over the Potomac River on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.  Such a simple act, but in 1861, if the bridge had been there, Virginia certainly wouldn't have been welcoming a couple of Yankees.  This was the border between the Union and the Confederacy.  In fact, a small portion of the bridge is technically in our capital, Washington, DC.

I didn't take any pictures of road signs at that point, but there were several road signs which had both Washington, DC and Richmond, Virginia listed on the same sign.  So simple - two cities, some 106 miles apart. But, during the Civil War, they were the capitals of two countries at war with each other.

Fredericksburg - near to four major Civil War battles, two of which will be commemorating 150th anniversaries next month.  Now, a city connected to other cities, north and south, via Interstate 95.

How many people give thought to history when they travel this road daily?  Things could have been so different if history had worked differently.  We can play the "what if" game - some people who enjoy something called "alternate history" do that and write some pretty interesting books based on "what if".

This photo was taken from the Ravenel Bridge that connects Charleston, South Carolina with another South Carolina City, Mt. Pleasant.  Permanently docked in Mt. Pleasant, and now a museum, is the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown, in a living museum called Patriot's Point.




If you look behind the green area to the left of this aircraft carrier which proudly flies the flag of the United States, you will see a distant, small island.  On this island sits Fort Sumter.

This is what the view of Charleston Harbor looked like after sunset on April 12, yesterday evening the 153rd anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

Today, so peaceful.

We must not let ourselves be torn apart.

We survived the Civil War.  We can survive this, too.

Local Saturday - Are You Local?

I am disappointed at my local farmers market here in the Binghamton area. But, it took me traveling an hour away today to make me realize what we in Binghamton may have just lost.

A beautiful summer day led us to travel an hour to shop at the Ithaca, New York, farmers market (and do other things around the Ithaca area). 

"Locally produced within 30 miles", the entrance sign announces.  And, as far as I can tell (with my knowledge of what would be ripe and what would not be ripe now), their vendors are living up to their sign.

Swiss chard and fennel (in fact, we are eating our own swiss chard right now).

Garlic scapes, young onions, peas.

Herb plants.

Not pictured - senposai collards, which we will have tonight.  Kohlrabi. Currents.  Raspberries.  Lettuce.  Such bounty, for which I am grateful.

So, what does this all have to do with disappointment?

One of our local farmers markets, near where I live in Binghamton, New York used to be all local.   

But, last week, it transitioned into a new regional market located indoors.  It will be year round (hurray!). It's been a long time coming.

But, when I saw some of what was for sale, my heart sank.

Full sized tomatoes, for one thing, which would not be something you'd expect here at the end of June.  Well, I said to myself, maybe they were grown in a greenhouse.

But, today, after I returned from Ithaca, I went to the new website for the market.  In the FAQ, lots of questions.  But, interestingly, one important question was missing:  "Is everything local?"

Why is the question missing?  Because, perhaps, not everything is local?  And sure enough, not in the FAQs, but in the vendor application, it said: 

"80 percent of all products sold by a vendor at the Market must be grown, produced, raised and/or made by the vendor. The remaining 20 percent of products sold at the Market may be products purchased by resale. All resale items must be labeled with the original source."  It goes on to say that the Manager may ask for verification of this 20% maximum.

I, for one, am disappointed.  If I wanted items not produced locally, I would go to a supermarket.

And, why was the information buried in the vendors application, and not declared in the FAQs?

Well, we'll see what happens as the summer progresses. 

If you go to farmers markets (in some areas, called tailgate markets), do you have an expectation that the items sold be produced or grown locally?

Canada Day from the American Side

Today is Canada Day in Canada.  It is a national holiday commemorating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the Constitution Act, which united Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and what is now Quebec and Ontario into a single country.

Although I only live about 200 miles (322 km) from the Canadian border, I haven't been to Canada since 2008.   At one time, I had a dream of celebrating Canada Day in Canada and then going back over the border and celebrating the Independence Day of the United States back in my country.  I would have had the perfect opportunity to do that this year, with July 1 on Friday and July 4 (a Federal holiday) on Monday.

But, instead, I found myself taking pictures of a pair of socks.  They just wouldn't come out right so I had to do it over and over.  I'm still not satisfied, and I hope I am not offending my Canadian readers.

Leave it to me, who enjoys owning unusual (for Americans, anyway) socks, to own a pair of socks with maple leafs on them.

Instead,  I should be making a Canada Day dessert.

Back in 2008, I entered Canada on the 4th of July.  Do you (if you grew up in the United States of the 1950's) remember the old joke "is there a 4th of July in Canada?"  Well, there is.  And once we got to our destination, we found that the Canada Day fireworks had been postponed three times due to rain.  So, we watched them on a warm July 4 evening, in Saint John, New Brunswick.

On that trip, I found out about another custom of Canadians in celebrating Canada Day - municipal birthday cakes.

I honestly think that is one of the coolest thing I've ever heard of.  In the United States, we celebrate in many ways, but I don't think my town has ever served birthday cake.  We should serve cake on July 4.  Isn't July 4 the birthdate of our country?

I do plan, later today, if the weather permits (storms are forecast) to pick raspberries and the last of the strawberries at a local U-Pick.   Ah, the red fruits of early summer.

Perhaps, I'll make this delicious sounding parfait tonight.

Or, I'll just have some vanilla frozen yogurt with strawberries, and raise a toast (I have strawberry flavored vodka in the house) to our wonderful neighbors to the north.

Long may they, and us, be friends.

Rewind Flower Journal

On this last day of June, I'd like to take you on a little tour of June as seen through the world of flowers and plants, as seen in the area of upstate New York where I live.

Spring is a time of rapid change, and I enjoy looking through my pictures each month to remind me of times just recently past. It's a good way to keep a flower journal for future years, too.

Some of my readers seem to think that all the flowers I post pictures of are mine.  Ah, if only!  But I have a small yard, and a full time job.  But, my spouse and I like to take exercise walks around some neighborhoods in Binghamton.  That's actually where a lot of my flower pictures come from.

I admit, I don't always label my photos.  So, if I've led you to believe I have a huge flower garden, I don't.

But, later this week, I will give you a peek into the flowers I do own.

For example, this is a rhodedendron in my front yard, a little past peak on June 1.  This plant hasn't been doing well, and I hope we can get it to survive.  It's over 30 years old.

A bearded iris, June 2, West side of Binghamton.

Korean Dogwood, June 7, West Side of Binghamton.

Alliums, June 10, Cutler Botanic Gardens, Binghamton.

Korean lilac, June 18, one of many planted on the West Side of Binghamton.

A cherry tree reblooms on June 18, also on the West Side.  This is something amazing I have never seen before.  The local ornamental cherries started to come out at the beginning of April, way too early.  Then, an unseasonable freeze hit April 4 and all the blooms died (it even snowed a little).  They didn't bloom again.  But then, in mid June, small blooms started to come out.

Moving on.

Some of the last peonies in bloom, June 18, Binghamton.  What a spectacular year for them it was.

Marigold Rose, June 23, Cutler Gardens.

And finally, a red lily on the West Side of Binghamton, June 29.

Tomorrow, instead of a Falling Friday, I may just feature some flowers from my yard for the first day of July.

June has flown.  This year is half over.   If only we could get time to slow down.