Sunday Skyping with Rosie

I'm loving her rainbow shirt.

Yup, here I am Skyping with Gromma.

BYE ROSIE!

Sky-blue-pink, Rare Moments of Sun & Fairy Ghost Updates

The day started with a beautiful sky-blue-pink sunrise.

From this beginning it rained during most of my first walk with Blackie.  Just as we were heading back over the hill to start back to the house, the sun came out blindingly through the clouds ahead of us - I looked back and it literally looked like the trees had burst into flame.

In the time it took to focus the camera slightly to the left the sun was mostly clear of the clouds.

And maybe 30 seconds later the sun was gone & you see the unadorned version of this same part of the field.

This was how it stayed the rest of the day - mostly dark grey clouds and occasional rain.  Much later in the day we had a burst of heavy rain followed almost immediately by an equally impressive burst of sun - it lit up the raindrops on the apple tree branches.

In addition to the odd on and off sun-rain-sun-rain, it got pretty windy while I walked with Lucy.  Apparently conditions were right for the Fairy Ghosts to fly off.   (http://ddramblings.blogspot.com/2011/10/fairy-ghosts.html)

God bless the child who ... doesn't blame Wall Street?

The dogs and I wake up at 4 most mornings.  I love the quiet and enjoy having that time to myself.  We start our walks as soon as the sun rises.  The early start helps us avoid the heat during the summer months but now it is just a habit and Blackie starts whining to go as soon as he sees daylight.  These days we don't see daylight until 7 so we have lots of time to catch the early news and to read.  That early in the morning most news is a repeat of the night before & I like to watch Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show - she's admittedly liberal but she is logical and fun and not at all preachy ... or ranting.  She had a segment on the Republican presidential candidates debate that took place in Nevada earlier this week.  Herman Cain, current Tea Party favorite,  gave this gem of a quote in response to a question about the Occupy Wall Street protesters : “Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself!”   Thank you, Herman - no doubt that the thousands of people who would love to have a job, any job, are comforted by your wisdom.  Rachel went on to point out that we can indeed blame Wall Street for our current woes.  She said "It used to be that the plan for getting old comfortably in America had three pillars -- your pension, your savings and Social Security."   She then went on to demonstrate, very simply, how these three pillars are now linked to Wall Street.  Here is a link to her blog where there is an additional link to the video of that portion of her show   http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/20/8412389-charts-just-dont-get-older-ok     I really don't know what the Tea Party stands for but I do think whatever their original goals were, they have now morphed into anything that can be construed to be anti-Obama and anti-Democrat.  And apparently that translates into being anti-Occupy Wall Street.  Understandably there are probably few Tea Party members among the protesters but it is just bizarre that they are now cheering someone saying you should blame yourself if you don't have a job.  Are all Tea Party-ers gainfully employed?  Really?  None of them are searching for a job?

It was finally time for our walk and coincidentally Ipod shuffle chose the Blood, Sweat & Tears version of 'God Bless the Child'.  Lyrics as follows :

Them that's got, shall get 
Them that's not, shall lose
So the Bible said, and it still is news
Mama may have, and papa may have
God bless' the child,
That's got his own
That's got his own

Yes the strong seem to get more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don't
Ever make the grade
As mama may have
And papa may have
God bless' the child
That's got his own
That's got his own.

And when you got money,
You got a lots of friends
Crowdin' 'round your door
When the money's gone
And all you're spendin' ends
They won't be 'round any more
No, no, no more

And rich relations
May give you
A crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don't take too much
Mama may have
And your papa may have
But God bless' the child
That's got his own
That's got his own
God bless' the child who can stand up and say

I've got my own
Ev'ry child's, got to have his own!

There are lots of interpretations you could take from this song.  Certainly everyone one of us wants to have our own, and all parents hope for their children to have their own.  In 1938 when this song was written, 'having your own' was at least a possibility.  Now that possibility is fading with each passing day.  Thanx, at least in part, to Wall Street (with no apologies to Herman Cain).

Close Encounter

Like everything else, all of the rain seems to have made the birds and other critters adjust their habits to the environment.  Most of the apples seem to have fallen early but the higher grasses & wildflowers in the fields haven't been touched by frost yet so everything went to seed and the seeds are still abundant.  The birds are flitting around like they do in the early spring.  Some days I have seen up to 4 different deer and then a week or more goes by without seeing one.  This past Saturday was the start of bow season in this part of NY and the neighbors have been hunting.  Deer are remarkably smart and they become really skiddish so now when I see one it is usually on the move - most sightings are just of a white tail disappearing into the woods.  Today on my first walk with Blackie I was walking on the trail along the woods.  As usual Blackie had his nose down and was just following the scents - I saw him quite a distance ahead on the trail.  I was watching my feet because the mud makes walking slippery.  Suddenly - really suddenly - a small doe crashed thru the brush right in front of me.  I was startled and put my hand out in defense of whatever it might be.  She was so close my hand brushed her fur as she went by.  She stopped maybe 20 feet away - we looked at each other and off she went.  So cool.  Definitely my closest encounter with a critter in the field.

Sunday Skyping with Rosie

Gromma learned how to take video snapshots!  Now I can take pictures when we Skype.

Right now technology is pretty great.

Peace Baby

It's time to introduce my amazing granddaughter.  And her equally awesome parents - my son, Gus, and his beautiful Meara.  This was taken at Thanksgiving last year before we knew if our gran'baby would be a girl or a boy.

The summer before, when having a baby was only a thought, we asked the usual 'do you want a boy or a girl' question.  Meara, her Mom, and I all voted for a boy.  Gus alone hoped for a girl.  It wouldn't be until months later, during the 20 week sonogram, when we knew that Gus would get his little girl.

But the most incredible thing we discovered during that sonogram was that she was going to be our Peace Baby.  This was the first picture taken by the technician.

She let us know that she was already embracing her hippie genes.  

From then on, let the preparations begin.  Gus painted :

And Meara made curtains :

And when the room was ready, Meara took care of my gran'baby.

Waiting to meet her wasn't easy.  And then she decided to be a week late.  And then she put her Mom and Dad through a very long day & night before making her appearance.  It was hard being on the other side of the country but Meara's Mom, Mary Ann, very generously kept in touch with me - grandmother to grandmother.  She sent this photo which she labeled 'dancing through the contractions'.  

Finally she arrived.  Mary Ann sent me these beautiful pictures of my very tired baby boy holding his new baby girl.

Here she is with her Mom

Meara's Dad, Mike, sent out the first announcement :

"Meara & Gus delivered Rosemary Jane at 3:06 am Tuesday July 12, 2011. She weighed 8 lbs 5 oz, was 20.25”   long, she had a 14.5” head and a 14.0” chest. She is beautiful with chocolate brown hair. She nurses like a champ. Her parents are worn out… it only gets better."

Here is the first photo Gus sent me of his baby on her fist day.

And here is Rosemary Jane day 2 while still in her hospital room with Mom and Dad.  

             Sleepy Rosie                                       Sleeping Rosie                                   Funny Face Rosie

Welcome Rosemary Jane - our little Peace Baby.

Indian Summer

After a couple of months of earthquakes, rain, hurricanes, rain, tornadoes, rain, floods, rain .... we have just had 5 days of Indian Summer.  Perfect days : dry (no rain!), warm but not hot, sunny but not blinding, breezy but no gusting winds, cool almost cold nights - a perfect Northeast Indian Summer.

After all of the wet weather it seemed like the trees were just drowning.  Weeks ago leaves started to turn brown & fall to the ground.  It didn't look like we would have our quintessential Fall colors this year. But this stretch of amazing weather has salvaged Fall for us.  Because so many trees have already lost their leaves it won't be ideal but but you'd be hard-pressed not to appreciate this.

This is why Fall is my favorite time of year in New York. 

Grammie & Friendly's

Last night on the local news there was a story about Friendly's going bankrupt & as a consequence would be closing 63 of 550 stores.  Friendly's started in Massachusetts as an ice cream store and eventually there were stores along the east coast that served basic burgers and sandwiches along with the ice cream.

Among the stores being closed is the one in Delmar N.Y. where I grew up, and where I lived with my first husband.  Our son was born there, and his Grammie (my Mom) loved taking her 'Jussy' (her name for Justin tho now he is Gus ...) to Friendly's.  What kid doesn't love a place that has grilled cheese sandwiches and special kid sundaes like the Cone Head :                                                                        

And the yummiest shake - the Friendly's Fribble :

                                                                                           

So we went to Friendly's a lot.  Mom died years ago and Gus is now in Oregon where there are no Friendly's .  When I saw the news report I was sad to see 'our' store go.  Then I remembered all of the good times we had, and it is just so nice to remember my Mom when she was so happy with her Jussy. 

Fairy Ghosts

One of the things I love about walking every morning is watching the seasonal changes in the fields and woods.  Lately there haven't been many changes to note. With all of the rain and cloudy weather the only change each day is in degrees of dreariness.  So I've started noticing what changes are rain-related.

Normally the milkweed pods would open and the wind would take the fluff & seeds away.  With all of the rain the fluff just droops and hangs onto the pod.

When you are some distance from a group of milkweeds, especially in foggy and dismal conditions (pretty much all of the time) they look like fairy ghosts.

Not the seasonal changes I hope for in the fall but I guess if it stays this way until Halloween it can still be considered seasonal.

For an update on the Fairy Ghosts go to :

http://ddramblings.blogspot.com/2011/10/sky-blue-pink-rare-moments-of-sun-fairy.html

Abbey Road

One thing I love about the Internet is access to trivial information. This can cause your mind to go completely numb but I think we eventually learn to tune out the unwanted factoids just like pop-up ads and marching bands parading across our screens.  But certain words or photos flash at me to take notice.  So when I saw Abbey Road listed on 'Today in History' I took notice.  'Abbey Road' was released in the US on October 1, 1969 (released on September 26, 1969 in the UK).  Forty-two years ago when I was 16.


I started dating Dan (1st 'real' boyfriend & current husband - a long story I will tell eventually) in early 1969.  We often double-dated with my best friend & his cousin (all part of the long story).  So when one of us got 'Abbey Road' we arranged a date to listen. Buying albums was not a casual thing in those days - you thought long and hard before making a selection.  Buying and listening to a new Beatle's album was a real occasion.  This date would have been later that Fall, on a Friday or Saturday night.  Dan's Dad and step-mother (another long, not so wonderful story) lived across the road from his grandparents who frequently went to their camp on weekends so many dates took place at their house.  There were rules to avoid being seen that involved parking down the road and walking through some fields to get to the house (often very cold and sometimes snowy - while wearing unlined suede moccasins).  Once in the house we couldn't turn on any lights.  We usually avoided the front of the house as it faced his Dad's but that's where the stereo was so to play 'Abbey Road' we had no choice.  There was also an aquarium which gave us a little light.  This was the dining room which had long windows almost to the floor - no standing allowed - sit down and stay down.  I remember listening, I remember each and every song, and that the 1st side was so different from the second.  We listened the first time for the music.  Then we listened again for any clues that supported the great 'Paul is Dead' legend.  It had been in existence for a while & there were clues on other albums but it became more than legend with Abbey Road - the cover photo told us all we needed to know.  We listened to a few songs backwards - I do not remember if this applied to any Abbey Road song but it was worth a try, and it was just silly to do.  Could a legend like that take root now that we have CDs?  And 24/7 entertainment news?  


This morning when I walked with Blackie & then with Lucy, I listened to Abbey Road - love my Ipod which is a minefield of memories.  [Odd coincidence tho it took place a few weeks ago.  I have 454 songs on my Ipod.  Without realizing it at first, the last song shuffle played for me was 'The End' - really? out of 454 songs?]  And now, in real time, when Dan & I sit on the back porch and we listen to the radio and a song from 'Abbey Road' plays, I stop and remember that the first time I heard it - first time we both heard it - we were less than a half mile from where we are now sitting.  How many people can say that?  Forty-two years later.  

Violets

I'm often amazed to read that African Violets are considered easy houseplants.  I started with one plant over 10 years ago and it took a lot of trial and error before I found success.  I now have 9 and I manage to keep them all flowering most of the year.  Each one will be flowerless 1 or 2 times a year for a month or so but fortunately it is rare for all to be flowerless at the same time.  Even with only 9 plants I spend at least a half hour each Sunday nurturing them.  Different varieties have their own little quirks but I have found a routine that works for all of them under most conditions.  Mine thrive in a window facing East & they like being on this lovely shelf that my husband created - keeps them far enough away from the window to avoid touching the glass when it is too hot or too cold.  I also have grow lights for the winter months because they like light 10 or 11 hours each day.

You want to keep water off of the leaves or they will develop brown spots.  I never had much success watering from the top so I put the plastic pot into a small bowl - the pot should be even or a bit above the bowl.  I put some stones in the bottom of the bowl which keeps them from sitting in water but still provides a little humidity, especially in the summer heat.  As an added bonus the bowls are a pretty display on their own.  I check each plant each week - if the bowl still has water or the soil is still damp, I do some pruning but add no more water.  When they do need water I put it directly in the bowl & put the plant pot back in - the amount I add is based on how dry the plant is - if the plant doesn't need water but the stones are dry, I add water just to cover the stones.  Regardless of how much water, never use cold water.  Tepid water is best.

Other than providing light and water, I also check the flowers and the leaves.  I remove all brown flowers and all leaves that are spotted or soft.  Even if all the leaves are perfect I gently cut some out when the pot seems crowded.  I have no facts to back it up but it seems that pruning the leaves helps the plant to produce more flowers.

These steps may not spell success for everyone.  And not everyone wants to put the time into a simple houseplant.  But they have become a hobby for me and I enjoy taking care of them.  I have them in the kitchen where I spend a lot of time and the violets make me happy.

Storytime

Dreary, Buggy and Wet

Every morning I walk the trails - one loop with Blackie and a 2nd loop with Lucy.  The dogs and I love our walks - almost always a high point of our day. But today's walk was just a chore.  And this is too bad because as the first full day of fall we should be enjoying the best walks of the year.  I love fall but this one is not off to a good start.  Hurricane Irene tore a lot of leaves off the trees, and all of the rain since seems to be drowning the trees as well as everything else that should be peak right now.  

 These trees make it look like November.  I found a Weather Channel video that reported a fungus on Sugar Maples caused by the heavy Northeast rains.  The report said this is mostly restricted to Sugar Maples but I see the same symptoms on many more trees.  There is no color in the field - the last of the bright yellow goldenrod is now bedraggled & sad - the whole field is dismal.  Everything is soggy and because of that we have a major mosquito infestation - even covered with bug spray I'm attacked. Lucky dogs - Frontline seems to spare them from the bugs.  Blackie is always happy to be out; he loves running thru the field & he seems immune to crappy conditions.  Lucy who loves to swim but otherwise hates being wet, is less than thrilled.

 Lucy is ready to be back in the house so she can just nap on the couch.  Can'y say I blame her.

We walk every day - regardless of weather.  We go out when it's below zero, when it sleets, when there's 2 feet or more of new snow ...  We certainly walk many days when it would be much cozier to stay in the house.  Today definitely makes the top 10 list of nasty, miserable walks.  To top it off my Ipod battery died overnight - I guess I forgot to turn it off yesterday.  So all I heard was the buzzing of the mosquitoes.  We had one interesting encounter.  A Great Blue Heron flew over when I was with Blackie - it was not too far above him & he looked completely amazed - like a pterodactyl flying over him.  Of course I didn't have the camera for that shot - no surprise all things considered.  

Hurricane Irene

The local weatherman just said that it is going to rain today.  It rained yesterday.  If there is one thing we do not need, it's more rain.  


We have a well - an old dug well & our water source is the small stream that surrounds our property on 3 sides.  When there is no rain the stream dries up and in really bad years our well dries up too.  Fortunately it rarely gets that bad but I have always vowed not to complain about rain when it comes. But this year that vow is being seriously tested.  Upstate NY was really hit hard by Hurricane Irene  on August 28th.  It's rare for the East Coast to get hit by a hurricane.  For days before Irene reached the U.S. there were constant warnings for coastal areas and NYC - upstate NY was supposed to get heavy rain & some local flooding but there was no call for extraordinary preparation.  As it turned out the hurricane had other plans.  The rain came early that Sunday morning & it was relentless throughout the day.  We had already had a very wet summer so the ground was saturated - rivers and creeks started flooding early in the day.  As I say, we are surrounded by a stream but we never gave it a thought because it has never flooded the land near the house - the house sits on the high point of the property and my husband (Dan) who has lived here all of his 60 years has never seen the stream come close to the house.  Late in the day we looked out and saw that the stream was indeed flooding into the backyard.

The bridge in the center of this photo is usually down a small decline (and is usually 8 feet above the water) but here it is floating on the water as it spreads into the yard.  We were incredibly lucky because not long after we saw the water rising, the rain stopped.  After taking this picture I went back in the house.  Just as Dan & I were doing a little happy dance to celebrate our good luck, the power went out.  The wind and rain had finally taken its toll on a local power station and thousands lost power.  We didn't get power back for almost 3 days.  The morning after the storm we went out to assess our damage.

The bridge had fallen back down but it was no longer attached to anything. Here is Blackie confused to find that his path to the back trails is broken. There is another bridge at the back of the property - that too is gone so we have no access to the back trails.  Sad, but we still have access to the field trails & our daily rambling continues.

All in all we were incredibly lucky - just some inconvenience.  So many people in our area have lost their homes completely.  Many have not even found their homes let alone any of their belongings.  Some still have buildings but what wasn't swept away is beyond salvaging due to water and mud damage. It's been almost a month and clean-up continues and families are homeless. No, we definitely don't need more rain - but according to the weatherman we will be getting more - maybe every day for another week.

Meet the Dogs

The dogs will be a big part of this blog, so here are my best friends & rambling partners.


First is the beautiful, obstinate, always-under-foot, so sweet & easy going, Lucy.

And here is the handsome, sensitive, attached-to-my-side, careful & loving, Blackie (the Brown Dog).

At some point there will be an explanation for why a brown dog is named Blackie.  It's not for the obvious irony of it.  Though I do appreciate irony in any form, I wouldn't name my dog for that reason.  

Why Blog?

To blog or not to blog?  This has been my question for all too long now.  And today I have finally decided - why not? 

When I first retired, a year and a half ago, I started writing Retirement Ramblings.  It was a way for me to chronicle a huge, new phase of my life.  I continued writing for 6 months and then life got busy so I stopped.  Now when I read those ramblings I’m glad that I captured the early days of retirement - even happier to recall my feelings at the time.  I have kept some sort of diary 3 or 4 times in my life and I’ve only been successful when I understood that a diary doesn’t have to be maintained every single calendar day (or even every calendar month) - just write when there’s something to say or events to record.  Years and years later I have no regrets that I didn’t write something every day in those few journals I did keep, but I do regret the many journals I never even started.

So now I’ll try blogging - maybe it will become the ultimate journal.  I just want to write about my life, my dogs, my beautiful gran’baby.  I want to write what I remember of those years when I didn’t keep a journal.  Memories or moments, monumental or mundane.  Life will sometimes get too busy and I won’t be able to write.  But this time I hope I won’t stop.  Diary, journal, blog … I’m writing this for me.  

Rosie is 2 Months Old

Jedi Daddy

Best Nap Ever