Houseplant Shadows and Superbowl Tears #ShadowshotSunday

For Superbowl Sunday, I don't have shadow pictures of football games, but I do have shadow pictures taken at home.

Here's a shadow of one of my windows on a closet door.

More houseplant shadows, this time on a curtain.

And speaking of the Superbowl, at least one commercial has already gone viral.  It's a commercial for a face moisterizer - and a lot more.  You don't have to be an American and you certainly don't have to be an American football fan. But this is a special game for us today thanks to...well, you'll see. Get out the tissues, and enjoy.
 

Joining up this Superbowl Sunday with Lisa's Garden Adventures for #ShadowshotSunday.

Earl Grey Chocolate Mousse?

I love Earl Grey tea.

I love dark chocolate.  I somehow almost never manage to blog about chocolate, although, in the description of my blog, I mention "the importance of chocolate in a well-lived life".

Just in time for chocolate prices to soar. 

I am fortunate that my life situation right now allows me to indulge in chocolate.  And, I have someone to celebrate Valentine's Day with.

For years, my spouse has made chocolate mousse for me for Valentine's Day.  True, he has, the past few years, switched to chocolate covered strawberries, but this year, the strawberries he found in the supermarket that were affordable also didn't look that great.  So I was intrigued when I opened up a supermarket magazine and found a recipe for Earl Grey Tea Chocolate Mousse.

Apparently the combination isn't a new thing.

I never would have thought of combining the two.  It turns out the combination of Earl Grey tea (which is flavored with oil of bergamot.  Bergamot (Citrus bergamia), I am told, is a type of citrus fruit grown in Southern Italy. The fruit itself is said not to be edible, but the oil extracted from the rind is prized.

And, it (and Earl Grey tea) pairs well with chocolate.

So my mental wheels started to spin.  As a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, I do eat dessert but in small quantities.  What if....???

I found a recipe online for a two ingredient earl grey chocolate mousse.  

I can't vouch for it and I don't know if my spouse will like it but I am going to mention it to him.

We'll see.  Of course, there is always the chocolate covered strawberries.

Enjoy it while we can?

February 7 Sunset #SkywatchFriday

February 7.  Normally it's cold (sometimes bitterly cold) and certainly not sunny at this time of year.  But this year's weather has been full of surprises.

One of the surprises was the sunset February 7.  We had had several mild-ish sunny days without clouds (another rarity) but when I saw clouds building the afternoon of February 7, I hoped a nice sunset will follow.

We arrived right after the sun set.
 

The color tints the river.

And the clouds.  I zoomed in a little where the second picture was taken.

There's still more to come.  Maybe I'll show those next week.  At this time of year, one has to hoard sunsets.

I hope the weather has been kind to you.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers once again for #SkywatchFriday.

Blue Skies Starlings and Trees #ThursdayTreeLove

"I heard a winter tree in song.  Its leaves were birds, a hundred strong. When all at once it ceased to sing. For every leaf had taken wing." Mervyn Peake.

February has given us in the Southern Tier of New York a gift.  We've had four days in a row with blue skies (a break from our normally whitish and dreary winter skies) and mildish temperatures.

Well, mildish for us, anyway.  Yesterday it got up to 43 degrees F (6.1 C).

Our local trees celebrated, along with a flock of European starlings (the tiny black dots at the tops of the trees), who were settling down for the night.

 I tried to zoom in a little, but didn't want to cut off the parts of the trees full of birds.

This tree even has visible buds on it - it's one of the earliest trees in our neighborhood to bud out, although that is still months away. 

And this?  It's just hanging out, waiting for the signal to wake up from its long winter sleep.  In the meantime, the European starlings may seek it out, too.

I hope this weather doesn't fool the trees.  Actually, it won't - we are supposed to be back in the freezer by Sunday, and may get some snow next week.

Joining Parul at Happiness and Food for her twice a month #ThursdayTreeLove.

The 2024 Seed Library #WordlessWednesday

It's time to think of planting seeds.  Fortunately, there are seed options in this area for those of limited income.  One of them is our local library, called (yes) Your Home Library.

The Your Home Library seed catalog is located in an old card catalog.  The seeds?  About 60 varieties total were donated by a combination of Seed Savers Exchange and also the Hudson Valley Seed Co. Thanks go to both of these companies.

How it works:  "Please take only what you will use". I'm a little surprised they didn't limit the number of seed packets one patron could take, as they've done in previous years.

Brassicas.

 

Lettuce

The packets are small, and I thank the librarians for their efforts packaging and arranging these packets.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday

Eulogy for a Polymath

I found out about his death nearly two weeks ago. A few times, I had started to blog about him and could not find the words to put down on the blank computer screen.  Finally, it's time.

I had read his blog for years.  I think I had been introduced to it, 10 or more years ago, through a blogging challenge.  We had also become Facebook friends.

He had gone into the hospital yet again and wrote about it on his blog.  He had been battling serious health issues for several years and blogged about them, one of many, many topics he blogged about.

His inventions and interests spanned (per his biography) the fields of kidney dialysis, colon electrolyte lavages, water reuse systems, and more.  He was an enrolled agent and blogged about tax matters, and also was a chemical engineer, among several career changes.  Self described as a polymath, I will call him one, too.

He blogged about civil rights 

He wrote about anti-Semitism.

He also loved music.  Here is one of his music posts.  I was honored to have him read, in turn, my Monday music posts.  

He loved wine.  He loved art, and collected art. 

He blogged about our duty to repair our world.  For him, it was a religious obligation.

He never hesitated to DM me on Facebook if I made a mistake in my blog.

Through his blog, I felt like I had come to know something about him.  I know few bloggers who shared as much about himself as he did.  Some of his blog posts, in all honesty (the scientific ones and the tax ones) were way above my head, but I looked at them, anyway.  He would have expected no less from me.  His was not a light and fluffy blog.  I learned from it.

Along all this, he loved his family and his children.  He was so proud of them.  One of the last interactions I had with Roy, in fact, was him sending me a copy of a book "One Bold Move a Day" written by one of his children.  I didn't ask for it.  He just did it.

Several days after he blogged about going into the hospital (for the last time, it turned out) I had a sinking feeling.  I've learned never to ignore that feeling.  I went online and, in mere seconds, found his obituary.  It wasn't hard.  Sadly, he had passed away a couple of days before I had that sinking feeling.

His earthly battles are over.

I miss his blog posts already.  

Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.  May your memory be for a blessing.

Music for the Birds #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and it's time for music with the Music Moves Me Bloggers.

 

Let's introduce the Music Moves me bloggers:  We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be removed, or may  be labeled "No Music".)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, ME.

We have a guest host this month-Mary Burris from "Jingle Jangle Jungle".

Today, our theme is "You Pick Your Own Theme."  So let's rock! I'm choosing songs with birds in the title.

Free Bird - Leonard Skynyrd, released in 1974.

El Condor Pasa (If I Could) - Simon and Garfunkel's 1970 cover of a Peruvian song.

Mockingbird - Carly Simon and James Taylor.  This live performance is from 1979.

The Beatles - Blue Jay Way, from 1967.  It's amazing how George Harrison can play the floor so well.

Bonus song if you have time:  1975's Fly Robin Fly from the West German group Silver Convention.

And that's a wrap!

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

Library Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

From the Four County Library Road Trip, July 2023.

Shadows at the Moore Memorial Library in Greene, New York.

Shadows (a little hard to see) on a birding poster at the Vestal Public Library, Vestal, New York.

Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventure for #ShadowshotSunday.

A Gardening Milestone

We reached a gardening decision today which is a kind of milestone, but maybe not a totally happy one.

My spouse has gardened in a community garden for many years.  For most of this time, he has rented two in ground beds. Perhaps three years ago, I was able to get a raised bed for myself, because of my back issues.  

Raised Bed 6-17-21

At about the same time, spouse downsized to one inground bed.

Inground plot

Spouse took over my raised bed two years ago.  Last year, he was able to get two raised beds.  He has garlic in one of them, busy slumbering under a mulch.

But now, we are both in our 70's and have to face the fact that our bodies aren't what they used to be.

Due to a fall several years ago, spouse has damage (not fixable by surgery) in both shoulders, and this year he came to the reluctant conclusion that he can no longer manage the one remaining inground bed.

So spouse has made a reluctant decision.

No more inground beds.

Sunflower, 2018

I'm going to miss our sunflowers.  (we did grow dwarf sunflowers last year, but the varieties are limited).  We also grew potatoes.

Zucchini flower

 

I'll miss our zucchini.  It isn't that we can't grow it, it's that our space is going to be way reduced.  We are limited to two raised beds so everyone who needs one can get one.  That's understandable.

What we won't miss are the rocks, which we always have a bumper crop of.

There are two types of raised beds.  Our original bed was a "tall" bed, four feet by twelve feet, 30 inches high.  We also have one "short" bed, four feet by 10 feet, 16 inches high; the one we obtained last summer.

But with change comes new opportunities.  We do limited gardening at our home, where the only sunny area is in the front yard (and where all my flowers reside).  Last year we grew some potatoes in a bag and some kale (we still have some, in fact-it's survived the winter!) in a large barrel type planter.  The year before, we tried peppers (not too successful, for some reason) and chard (sucessful).

I know we'll make it work.

It is a kind of milestone, though, and a little sad.

Another Rare Winter Sunset #SkywatchFriday

On this Groundhog Day, I'm not featuring today's sky.  The skies have been so grim and white recently and the sunsets haven't been visible.  Rather, I want to think back to January 5, when we had one of our winter sunsets we could actually see.

Let's go down to the park where we view most all our sunsets.

There's that rare winter ball of sun, getting ready to set.

The clouds are just as impressive as the sunset colors.

In fact, how about concentrating on the clouds in this picture?

The sun has set, and it feels so serene.

Joining Yogi and other sky watching bloggers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

Groundhog Day Minus One

Are we already at the first day of February?  We are, and you know what that means.  Groundhog day is just around the corner. 

A happy summer groundhog near a local walking trail

February 2 is Skywatch Friday, so let me talk about February 2 today.

Tomorrow will be Groundhog Day in the United States, where we pull a groundhog out of the ground to predict the weather.   It's purely scientific, of course, and this is how it works: If the groundhog sees its shadow, we have six more weeks of winter.  If the groundhog doesn't see its shadow, we get an early spring.  

Of course, statistics tell us the groundhog is right less than 40% of the time. But tell that to the good people of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who host the most famous groundhog of all.

The prediction for this year:  right now, tough to call.

I've been doing these posts for years because they are fun.

Last year a high of 36F (2.2C) and a low of 13F (-10.5 C).

2019 was the year of the polar vortex.  We in upstate New York didn't get the brunt of it, but still.  The morning before we set a new record of -10 (-23 C) with gusting winds.

2020, as we prepared to enter a pandemic period, the groundhog did not see its shadow.  But the weather did not listen, and we had a miserable spring, in the midst of our lockdown.  We even got snow in May, where I live in New York State.

2017?  It got up to 42F (5.5 Celsius) at our house.

In 2016, it was unseasonably warm for us. 

In 2015, one of our harshest Northeast winters in many years, the ground hog saw its shadow, despite the fact that it was overcast, and a rain/snow mix was moving in.  

In 2013, it didn't see its shadow and we still got six more weeks of winter.

The groundhog almost got the death penalty for that one.  Poor groundhog. (On the other hand, considering how many of my plants groundhogs have destroyed over the years, good thing I wasn't on that jury.) 

There are multiple predicting groundhogs in the United States, and they even compete with each other.  

And tomorrow, we do it again.

The Obit of Oz #WordlessWednesday

A friend sent me an obituary yesterday.  It was for a local woman, and I just had to share it.  Here's the link.

Many topics are discussed in Wordless Wednesday, but I somehow doubt that there have been too many posts with obituaries in them.  Certainly few written for a Wizard of Oz fan.

That may be because the rules of Wordless Wednesday call for a photo.  I was hoping I could take a picture of the obit in the newspaper but apparently our paper doesn't put obituaries in the Monday or Tuesday papers.

So instead, I want to share a photo with you of the historic old Erie Canal near Fayetteville, New York.

In nearby (to Fayetteville) Chittenango, New York, L. Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz books, was born. Chittenango celebrates all things Oz each year with an Oz-Stravaganza (formerly known as Oz-Fest).  I've never gone.  I should. 

Oz-Stravagana, this coming year, will feature the great granddaughter of L. Frank Baum, the daughter of Bert Lahr (who played the Cowardly Lion in the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz) and several other people.  Why not check it out?

The first (and most famous) of the Oz books was not written in New York State.  It was written in Chicago, Illinois.  But no matter. 

As for my photo, it has nothing to do with the obituary.  Just enjoy the scenery near to where L. Frank Baum was born.

But back to the obit.  I really hope that obit goes viral.

 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

January Temperature Afghan Progress Report

I promised you periodic updates on my temperature afghan for 2023 (yes, 2023) to keep me working on it.  As promised, here is my end of January update.   Well, it's my almost end of January update.

First, a refresher on what a temperature afghan is.  You don't have to crochet it, and you don't even have to make a blanket.

A temperature blanket uses colors to record highs and low temperatures (more on that later) over a certain period of time.  They can be used to record temperatures for a year, perhaps a calendar year, or the first year of a baby's life (to be presented as a birthday gift).   Some knit these, some quilt these.  Some make scarfs or sweaters.  The variations are endless.

So, in other words, Nature determines the colors and patterns of your work.

As a reminder, here are the colors I am using to represent the high for each day.

0 F (-17.8 C) and lower:  Pale Plum.  It would be most unusual where I live to have a high less than zero F, and, in fact, 2023 did not offer such a high.  But we did have a low of -5F (-20.5 C) one night so I decided to include a strip of low temperature color and high temperature color for that day.

In addition:

1-21F   Dark orchid

21-32F  Royal blue

33-43F  Turquoise

44-53F  Spring Green

54-66F  Kelly Green (think of St. Patrick's Day)

67-77F  Bright Yellow

78-88F Carrot orange

89-99F  Pretty in Pink

100F (38C) and above - Fruity Stripe (shades of pink - a variegated yarn) I didn't have to use it.  Thankfully.

As of of December 31, 2023, I had gotten up to April 6, 2023.

Here is my afghan, as of yesterday afternoon (complete with shadows).

I am working on May 3 now, and you can see that big stretch of Kelly Green (54-66 F) at the top.  I have several more rows of that green. 

The cold weather certainly helps-I rarely crochet in the hot weather.

I'll be back towards the end of February (hopefully) to report on my (hopefully) continued progress. 

Songs of Events and People #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday, and it's time for Music Moves Me.

First, let's introduce the Music Moves me bloggers:  We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be removed, or may  be labeled "No Music".)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, ME.

Today, our theme is "Songs based on fictional/non fictional people, or historic events".  Turns out, there are hundreds of these songs to choose from.

My first pick is a tribute to singer Melanie Safka, better known as Melanie, who was inducted into Rock and Roll Heaven on January 23, 2024 at the age of 76. She was one of only three solo singers to perform at the famed 1969 music festival Woodstock.

This hit, Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) was based on the events of the Woodstock Festival. It was her breakthrough hit in the United States, reaching #6 on the Billboard charts in 1970.

Next is a song co-written by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy, and sung by Bob Dylan.  It's a long one but I think you'll like it.  This is based on a real life boxer, Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, imprisoned for a murder he did not commit.

The song itself was controversial and had to be re-recorded twice because some lyrics had to be changed.

"Hurricane" Carter was released from prison in 1985, after almost 20 years in prison and ten years after the song was originally recorded.  Carter died in 2014.

There are many songs written about the Vietnam War.  I'm choosing only one, by one of my favorite duos, Simon and Garfunkel.  "7 o'clock News/Silent Night", from 1966, is (I think) so simple, and yet so wrenching.

This is one of many songs connected with World War II - The Andrews Sisters and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy may be one of the best known.  This song, from 1941, comes from the Abbott and Costello movie Buck Privates.

Finally, a song about a dethroned king - we don't know who he was, but historical or fictional, he once ruled the world.  Many believe the song's king is based on King Louis XVI, deposed by the French Revolution and executed on January 21, 1793.  Here is Coldplay with Viva la Vida from 2008.

And that's a historical wrap!

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

Snow Shadows and Puddles #ShadowshotSunday

 Shadows seen earlier this week.

Two moods of our unusual weather.  First, a puddle and clouds, with tree shadows.

Shadows on snow.

What a strange winter it has been.

Joining Lisa from Lisa's Garden Adventures for #ShadowshotSunday.

Especially Now We Must Not Forget

 245,000.  Remember that number.

This is one of the days I pause my normally happy programming.  It will be back tomorrow.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps in modern day Poland.

Yes, what we call The Holocaust happened.  We still have living survivors - some 245,000.  95% of them were children.  It will not be that long, sadly, before most all of them are gone.

We are already forgetting.   What happens when they are all gone and we have no living witnesses?

We must not hide history, even if it's painful.  We deny it at our peril.  The type of hate that led to the Holocaust is on the rise.  People are angry and frustrated. They are frightened for the future  They want someone in power that can fix it.  Someone with a lot of power.

That usually doesn't end well.

I've blogged about this before, and part of this post is taken from a post I wrote in January, 2023.

I read about the Holocaust as a young girl.  I knew Holocaust survivors - they were the parents of some of my friends.  It wasn't spoken about, but I breathed it in with each breath.  And those books, geared to young children? Some were published by Scholastic.  They included pictures, too.  Yes, perhaps not the worst pictures, but these children's books were never hidden from me.

It didn't wreck me.  Rather, my parents hoped that I would be in an adult where hatred of Jews and other minorities in this country would disappear.

That world has never existed, and it's getting worse.  It's acceptable once again to show hate.  Incidents of hate continue to rise both here and in other countries.  It isn't just the Holocaust.

 

I am horrified at the efforts to silence the teaching of certain parts of our history here in the United States, because, if anything needs to be taught in our schools (besides reading, writing, arithmetic and life skills one will need as an adult) to every child, it is history - including the history of how and when evil seemed to triumph for a time, and why.  It happened in Europe in the 1930's and 40's.  It happened here in the United States from time to time.  

 

These are universal themes, this hating of "the other".

 

Just to be clear, "that other" may be your co workers, your friends, members of where you worship, your family (and maybe you don't even know all about your family), the people who grow and harvest your food, your medical professionals, your childrens' friends, the military people and first responders who protect you.

We must teach our children well, even as we adults confront this rise in hate.

"Never Again"begins with "Never Forget".  I think those 245,000 survivors of an actual event would agree with this.

 

"Never Forget" begins with good education.

 

Mid January Blue Skies #SkywatchFriday

 On January 12, it was so nice to see the blue of the sky, at least for a while.

So, so nice.

I believe these are called mackerel skies.

Interesting ring around the sky.

Oh well.  Goodbye blue.  Back to winter.   I should thank Nature, however, for the sneak peak at better skies ahead one day.  Winter here in the Southern Tier of New York is normally so grey, you'd think my photos were taken in black and white.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

The Bones of Winter #ThursdayTreeLove

“I prefer winter and fall when you feel the bone structure of the landscape – the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show.”- Andrew Wyeth.

We've had all kinds of weather this past week - snow, ice, rain.  It's been a good week to stay inside - fortunately, I haven't had to go out much.

Snowy backyard. 

Dark eyed juncos, a bird that lives further north but winters here, flocked to our snow laden feeders.  The males are black on top and white on the bottom while the females are more grey on top and white on the bottom. They seem to be more common when there is snow on the ground.  

We did see sun at the beginning of the week.  I admired another Norwegian maple.  Doesn't this tree look battle scarred, with all its missing limbs?  Yet, it perseveres. 

The bones of winter.

Now, it's staying above freezing, and that means more rain but I am not complaining.

A day without ice or snow coming down is a good day.

Joining Parul at Happiness and Food for her twice a month #ThursdayTreeLove.

Rabbit Caught on Camera #WordlessWednesday

January 9,  I was looking out the window and saw this rabbit.

Rabbit in lower right

Harder to see in this second picture, perhaps.

These were taken in color, but the color isn't showing up well.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Another Induction into Rock and Roll Heaven

For her, fame was not a paradise.  But I didn't know that as a child.

Mary Weiss, the lead singer of the girl group the Shangri-La's, died January 19 at the age of 75. The announced cause of death was COPD.  At the time of her death, she was working on a stage musical based on the Shangri-Las.

Growing up in the 50's and 60's in New York City, I fell in love with the Shangri-Las as soon as I heard their first hit song.  Their music spoke to the pre-teen me.

Remember (Walking in the Sand), from 1964.

Mary Weiss was only 15, just a handful of years older than me.  And she was born in Queens, the same as me.

The Shangri-Las were a group of four:  Mary and her sister Betty Weiss, and Marge and Mary Ann Ganser, who were identical twins.  They had met in elementary school and had already entered various talent contests.  They weren't ready for the fame that song earned them.

I loved Mary's street tough voice.  I loved the sound of the group's records, and the way they grabbed your emotions.  Take, for example, I Can Never Go Home Anymore. 

Mary Weiss said she was born into music, but music was not to be her life.

The group disbanded in 1968.  By then, the group was facing some kind of litigation, I read.  Mary Weiss left music, disillusioned.  She went to work in the accounting department of an architectural firm.

In 2007, she returned to music.  Here's one of her songs from that era, "Stop and Think It Over".

RIP, Mary Weiss.  Your music will not be forgotten.