Almost There

Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-11-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

Tracy of Hey Harriet brings us Shadow Shots each week from her home in Australia, where the U.S. Sunday falls on Saturday.

I haven't been outside this week to look for shadows. Here are a few I shot a while ago.

Shadows in the water.

A couple of gallon water jugs.

And the shadow of a vase, seen through the kitchen curtain.

Cape May Lighthouse

2009-11-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

With all that has been going on in the past few days, I neglected to wish THE CAPE MAY LIGHTHOUSE a very HAPPY 150th BIRTHDAY.

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Dona Nobis Pacem

2009-11-05T00:01:00.016-05:00

For the Future of Our World

The future is, of course, our children, our grandchildren, and all of the children yet to come.

I often wonder about the warmongers - and the tyrants, those who head companies which pollute our land and sea and air for the sake of wealth -
all of those who, in any way, perpetrate the evils of our world. I understand that they are totally self-centered. But does that extend to their progeny? Can they really be completely uncaring about what will be faced by their own children and grandchildren? Or have they convinced themselves that somehow their own will be shielded from the results of what they have created?

Look into the faces of your innocent children. Listen to their sweet voices asking you "Why, Daddy?" "Why, Mommy?" Picture them now, if you dare, transported to the ugly scenes of war. Surely this is not a picture you can bear to entertain for long. Then think seriously of the many wars that continue to tear apart lives in so many parts of our world today. OUR world. Not just "the" world. It is our world. And think, sadly, of other people's children, going through that daily hell.

This is why we pray - Please God - Let there be Peace.

There will be no Peace in Our World until and unless we work to make it so.

My thanks to Karin, who found a beautiful video of the cast of M*A*S*H singing Dona Nobis Pacem, and brought it to our attention. I have just learned that this version of the hymn is no longer available due to a copyright claim . There are many other versions on YouTube. You can find one on my second blog, Video Venue, if you care to hear it.

Just a Couple of Things

2009-11-04T15:18:00.002-05:00

First - Congratulations to Lisa! It's her second Blogiversary!

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Next - Note to Paz (because I don't have an email for her.)

Thanks for all your comments on my posts.
For some weird reason, your entire post is off-center on my screen. It shifts all the way to the left, and I am unable to leave comments for you. But I read your posts and love them and your photos. Just so you know.

Ancestors

2009-11-04T06:00:00.002-05:00

I was contacted the other day by a cousin - maybe a second or third cousin - I really don't know yet. He is very much into research of his family tree, and had come across my name and email address somehow. I am very interested in this subject myself, but it has been some time since I made much effort in that direction. I had first started it when my husband died, thirty-four years ago, and I was concerned that my youngest child, only six at the time, should not be allowed to grow up without knowing her family history even though most of the older generation had passed on.

I started at that time with my husband's family, collecting as many photographs as I could. We couldn't get very far with his family. He was first generation American, and the aunts and uncles who were left seemed to have no interest in and not much knowledge of past history. We tried contacting sources in Italy, to no avail. Many records had been destroyed by fire or flood.

Then I turned to my own family history. There was quite a bit of information available on my father's side. Many members had attempted to keep records over the years. My only problem was that my memories of stories told when I was a child were often flawed and somewhat confusing. My father was deceased long since, and my mother had become a victim of Alzheimer's. But we did have many photographs.

Two photos that I no longer had were supplied by this cousin's pages. I was delighted to find this one of my grandfather with his nine children. It had been used as a Christmas card at some point. I had seen it before, but no longer had access to it. My father is on the far right, back row. My grandmother was deceased, and my Aunt Frances (standing next to my father) raised the younger ones.

Another that I remembered was this one - badly deteriorated of course, but dear to me. The older boy is my father. The younger, one of my uncles. They are seen during a summer vacation in Cape May Point, NJ, where the family had a summer home. This spot is near my present home. The Cape May Lighthouse can barely be seen way back on the horizon.

My youngest daughter, Kathryn, is also very interested in family history, and was pleased to receive this new information. She also sent me this poem which she found on Writers' Almanac.

ancestors

my ancestors surround me
like walls of a canyon
quiet
stone hard
their ideas drift over me
like breezes at sunset

we gather sticks
and make settlements
what we do is only partly
our own
and partly continuation
down through the chromosomes

my son
my baby sleeps behind me
stirring in the night
for the touch
that lets him continue

he is arranging
in his small form the furniture
and windows of his home

it will be a lot like mine
it will be a lot like theirs

"ancestors" by Harvey Ellis from Sleep Not Sleep.

Blogblast for Peace

2009-11-03T06:51:00.001-05:00

On Thursday of this week we will find posts from bloggers in dozens of countries worldwide, all titled Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace). They will be accompanied by Peace Globes, designed by each blogger.

Please join us if you have not done so already. Encourage Peace in your world, in your country, in your town, in your home, in your heart.

It isn't too late. It's never too late. You will find a peace globe waiting for you HERE.

And please make time to vote today, if you haven't already.

Another Flower Question

2009-11-02T17:00:00.002-05:00

I will go looking myself, I promise. But it just occurred to me that I do not know the name of the small, lavender flowers in this photo from my garden. Anyone?

Wax flower has been suggested. Sage, and even larkspur. But the stems are not square. And the stems are purple. Everything I've found have green stems
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Nov. 4th - Thanks to DeVona - I believe this is correct. It is oregano!
There are many types of oregano, and I found photos of the plant with purple stems and flowers that look like mine. I am going to gather some and dry it. Thanks very much!
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Music Underfoot

2009-11-02T13:00:00.001-05:00

A friend sent this to me, and I think it's fun. Stairs or escalator? Click on the link and see for yourself.

http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=16297

It's from thefuntheory.com

Mellow Yellow Monday

2009-11-01T18:00:00.002-05:00

Hi. Hope you all enjoyed Halloween!

Drowsy Monkey is again hosting Mellow Yellow Monday for us.

I just have a few autumn yellows to offer today.Some old, some new.

T-Rex

2009-11-01T09:42:00.007-05:00

Before we let go of Halloween and put it away until next year, I must show you my grandson's costume. He is crazy for dinosaurs, and was determined to be T-Rex for Halloween. They bought the head, but made the rest themselves. He didn't go trick or treating, but went to two parties - one on Friday, and one on Saturday. His mom posted pictures on Flickr last night.

Here he is, roaring loudly and ferociously.

The clown made him a balloon snake.

I think one of the best features of the costume was the feet.

Meanwhile, back on the east coast, we don't get too many trick or treaters on our street. I had six tiny ones who arrived before dark. They were absolutely adorable. A bit later, I had two more, but they were big, high school agers, who neither spoke nor smiled - just held out their bags for candy. That's no fun at all. But the cute little ones made up for it.

Shadow Shot Halloween

2009-10-31T08:00:00.001-04:00

Shadow Shot Halloween is sponsored by Tracy of Hey Harriet. Thanks for giving us this opportunity each week, Tracy.

Yes, children, it is Halloween, and who knows what is lurking in the shadows?

What's out here? Let me in !!!

What is it? It's inside!

What creature is this?!!

Aaaggghhhhhhhhhh...!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2009-10-31T00:01:00.004-04:00

Hallo Cat

2009-10-30T16:00:00.001-04:00

There's a new cat puzzle on my sidebar for Halloween.
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Think(ing) Green Thursday

2009-10-29T15:00:00.003-04:00

Be sure to check out our host, Michelle's Think Green today. It's a real winner for Halloween!

I apologize for posting rather late today. The rain this week prevented me from making the visit to the place I wanted to post about. It is the "Green Cemetery" at Steelmantown that I posted about last week. I really wanted to see it for myself and take some pictures. This morning my friend, Lisa, and I drove out there, and this is the result.

As always, click to enlarge photos,

I believe we both enjoyed the visit very much. It is a lovely place, and very interesting. There is history to be discovered there, since it was established in the 1700's. As Edward Bixby, the owner, has stated, "The ways of the past are the way of the future."

There are nature trails to be explored as well. I did take my "Hugo" walker, but did not venture far on the trails, except for 100 feet or so, but Lisa did enjoy them.

As I told you last week, Green Burial means that embalmed bodies are not permitted in the cemetery, so as not to pollute the earth. Many markers are only wooden crosses. Most are natural stone, many of which have the names of those buried there crudely carved by untrained hands.

I am sorry the chapel was locked at the time of our visit. I would have liked to see what it is like inside. But it did look lovely. You can see a bit of the inside if you go to the website at: http://www.steelmantowncemetery.com/. There is a video on the site, showing the cemetery in all seasons.

The grave markers are fascinating. Some are now unreadable and moss covered. 800 years is a very long time.

We saw many birds while we were there, including a hawk soaring over us. Wildlife abounds in the surrounding woods. There are nine acres of pineland forest.

I'm sure that other Green Cemeteries must be as beautiful. Perhaps worth your while to explore.

Sky Watch Friday

2009-10-29T14:30:00.000-04:00

On Sky Watch Fridays we all thank the team: Klaus, Sandy, Fishing Guy, Wren, Louise, and Sylvia.

Autumn skies can be unpredictable. One day last week the sky was full of clouds - first fluffy, then thicker, then a very heavy cover. But guess what - it never did rain that day.

Where Did the Little Boy Go?

2009-10-28T13:26:00.013-04:00

Kitty just posted more pictures on Flickr. I could not believe what I was seeing. I had commented to my family last time she posted pictures of Isaac, how. up until that point every picture of him looked so exactly like his mother at the same age, it was hard to tell who was which. A week or so later, every picture of him looked exactly like his father instead.

And now she has posted pictures after he had another haircut. I'm sure you remember, because so many of you commented on it, his very long, wavy, blond hair. The haircut he got a little while ago made him look very different, but still just like Kitty.

This time I think he looks like a completely different boy. And so much more grown up! No more grandbaby. I guess I have to get used to this.

Short hair or long, I don't think he will ever comb it. He's much too busy to bother with such things as that.
Maybe that's why he almost always wears a baseball cap.

Wow! He's almost five years old. Just four more months until his birthday.

Hmmmmm. Now that I look at it more closely, I guess he does still look like his mother. But his expressions are more and more like his father's. I guess that's pretty natural, isn't it?

Jigsaw Puzzle

2009-10-27T16:35:00.008-04:00

Just for fun. - Daryl was kind enough to send me to another jigsaw puzzle site: www.jigzone.com. It's as much fun as the yahoo games one, and has more puzzles to play with. You can also decide how many pieces you want to make of each puzzle, and even what shape you want them to be. (I made mine into bird shaped pieces.) You can also give them one of your own photos and have them make a puzzle of that.

Here's another of their butterfly puzzles. They have all kinds of course.

I put one on my sidebar. Just click on the one on the sidebar, and it will take you to that puzzle site with not too many pieces, if you want to try it.

My daughter and I love these things. I do them every day.

Very, Very Tall

2009-10-27T11:02:00.004-04:00

Another rainy morning. But I went outside to take a picture of my extremely tall flowers. I used to know all the flowers in my garden, but this year some really surprised me.

What kind of flower is this? Can someone please tell me. I have never had such tall flowers in my garden before. First it was the cosmos, growing five and six feet tall. That never happened to me before.

Now this one. It is at least eight feet tall! Maybe taller. That's what has me puzzled. I have never seen any so very tall. Would appreciate a certain ID. Here's the flower, and a close up of the leaves.

Mellow Yellow Monday

2009-10-25T17:15:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Drowsy Monkey for hosting Mellow Yellow for us each Monday.

Every day I start off by doing the Daily Jigsaw puzzle on Yahoo. This is the finished product of one I did a while ago.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-10-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

It's Shadow Shot Sunday, and thanks to Tracy of Hey Harriet for hosting.

Today I found a shadow behind a cute little scarecrow.

And outside - there's that neighbor's cat again.

Appalachia

2009-10-24T06:00:00.002-04:00

You may have noticed on my sidebar that I am concerned with ending the big coal companies' practice of mountaintop removal. This practice is a very serious danger to the environment and to all human beings and other life forms that happen to live in coal mining regions.

Coal company executives have long been bullying their way through life without regard for their own workers health and safety, nor for the families of those workers. The danger extends far beyond the mining areas, since it also pollutes land and water supplies.

Their battle to continue and extend mountaintop removal, has become very ugly. Those protesting are being not only verbally, but physically threatened.

This is the time to push Congress to send the Clean Water Protection Act to Mr. Obama. Please, would you take a minute to go here: http://www.ilovemountains.org/pass-the-cwpa/ and do that. It won't take long, and it could do so much to help the people of Appalachia. Thank you.

Halloween Preview

2009-10-23T11:00:00.002-04:00

The California contingent visited Earthbound Farm about a month ago. Isaac had insisted on decorating for Halloween very, very early, and decided he wanted to dress as T-Rex when the big day arrives. Kitty sent me pictures of the pumpkin choosing of course. I thought she might post some herself, but so far she hasn't, so I'm going to share.

It's become their tradition to choose pumpkins at Earthbound every year, and I have a whole series of pictures of Isaac among the squash there. They also enjoy the corn maze. Previous years they have sent videos of Isaac wandering through it. This year he and a friend went running through so fast, there wasn't time for a video.

Bert and Ernie are the result of Mike and Isaac's carving this year. I showed them on my Mellow Yellow earlier.

Pretty cute, huh?

Here at home I haven't done a whole lot of decorating, but I do have this.

Heading Up the Road

2009-10-23T08:16:00.006-04:00

Now isn't that a pretty sight? I was driving up Route 9 yesterday, and saw this. There was no parking along this stretch, so I just put my arm out of the car window and clicked. Considering those conditions, I think it came out very well.

Farther along, I saw an entrance to some sort of complex, and I like that too, even though it was man-made rather than natural. Sometimes man does some pretty good work.

Then I got onto the Parkway, and found more autumn beauty.

If I hadn't had an appointment to keep, I would have stopped for more pictures. Maybe I will take a ride up that way when I have more time.

Sky Watch Friday

2009-10-22T14:30:00.003-04:00

Every week, on Sky Watch Friday, the team goes to work and plays host for us all. Thank you so much, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and Sylvia.

Please use the link to visit us and view beautiful photos of the sky from all parts of the world.

The last of this year's garden are the cosmos. I hope that my readers aren't tired of seeing my cosmos. I have shown them frequently this month. Here they are again, reaching for the sky, one photo on a lovely, clear day and the other with storm clouds gathering.

Do check out my Think Green Thursday post. It's a bit different this week.

Think Green Thursday

2009-10-21T15:00:00.005-04:00

Michelle hosts Think Green Thursday for us each week. Thank you, Michelle. It is a really worthwhile project.

My post today is a little unusual. It deals with a subject that many may not care to deal with, and may not appeal to many readers. I never realized it was even a possibility, until I read an article in one of our local papers over the weekend. I like the idea very much myself.

In Steelmantown, NJ, two miles past Woodbine off of Route 557, is located an historic old cemetery, first established in the 1700's. This lovely, rustic old place is what is known as a green cemetery. No embalmed bodies are permitted to be buried there. Contrary to popular belief, there is no law requiring the embalming of bodies, so long as burial takes place in a timely manner. That means that there are no poisonous chemicals to pollute the earth. Burial may take place with the body wrapped in a blanket or other wrapping so long as it is of a natural material, or in a wicker coffin. There are no vaults. Headstones are usually large natural stones. In the oldest part of the cemetery, markers are cedar planks, and over the years the carving has worn away.

Embalming of bodies became popular after the Civil War, when bodies of soldiers killed in the conflict were returned to their families, and it was necessary that they be preserved for the trip. Until that time, it was not considered necessary.

There is a small non-denominational chapel on the property, built in 1910 of all recycled materials.

The newspaper photographs show a lovely, peaceful wooded place. I wish that they were suitable for reproduction here, but they are not, and I do not live close enough to have made the trip to take pictures of my own in the past few days. I have attempted the clearest one from the paper, of the chapel, here. The photo of the trail in the cemetery is from their website. Steelmantown Cemetery may be contacted at 609-628-2297. Edward Bixby II, Prop.

Other green cemeteries do exist, but the closest to our region would be in Ithaca, New York, and in Ramsey Creek, South Carolina. There are some others scatttered over the United States. You can find their locations here. There is a movement at present to establish natural burial cemeteries in Canada as well. At the same link you can look into such places in the UK and Europe.