822 and Counting!

Their wedding was the day after Thanksgiving. So they have always considered that day their anniversary even though it is not the same date every year. That day was chosen because it was the day after football season was over. The actual day was 41 years ago this past Monday or tomorrow if you are into traditions. They take advantage of both days.
For their wedding flowers they had one yellow rose on the altar. Except for one year (that's another story) Clay has presented Carol with a rose for every year that they have been married. According to Carol that is 822 yellow roses. Do you know how many dried rose petals that is? In one of her down sizing modes Carol finally threw all but the original ones away. "They took up too much space."
Monday morning, the 24th, before sunrise Clay headed downtown to his favorite wholesaler. When he returned with 41 long stem yellow roses Carol acted surprised. That's one of the tricks to making a marriage last. Treat the traditions as if it were the first time each time.
Tomorrow, the day after Thanksgiving, the couple will head downtown and stay at a hotel to celebrate their marriage and watch the lighting of the Riverwalk for their 41st Christmas season together.

Morning View

Hello, neighbor! A quiet morning in the backyard shared with a friend. I was able to get my camera and snap two shots sans tripod before it flew off in silence. CJJ

Miriam Makeba Remembered

In 1962 I was a freshman at Ottawa University, a small liberal arts college in eastern Kansas. I had gone there from my New England home with my collection of folk music albums - Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary. That year OU had a cultural concert series and brought to campus a folk singer I had not heard of, Miriam Makeba. The university was quite proud of bringing this international star to our campus in our small Kansas town. There was quite a crowd who flowed in to hear this woman who would later sing at JFK's birthday, star with Harry Belafonte, protest apartheid, travel with Paul Simon's Graceland tour, marry Stokely Carmichael and be banned from her homeland for three decades.

I didn't know much about her music before the concert, but the events that night have stayed with me a long time. You see, in Ottawa, Kansas in 1962 black women were not welcome at motels. Miriam Makeba, international music star and activist, was not allowed to spend the night and had to travel back to Kansas City with her crew after the concert. As a New England Yankee I had heard of such segregationist attitudes, but my first college semester was the first time I had personally witnessed such. My first week in Ottawa a small group of dorm mates went shopping "uptown". It was a hot afternoon and we charged into a soda shoppe for some cold drinks. Once inside we realized that one girl had stayed outside. We went out to see why and she pointed to a sign in the window "whites only". Many of the black students at Ottawa that year were from back east and for them, too, these were new, if not unexpected, occurrences. The black students were denied other types of services too - a haircut required traveling over an hour to Kansas City. There must have been so many other instances that as a nonblack I would have been oblivious to, so many prejudices without foundation, so many injustices that should forever be relegated to the past. CJJ


BBC bio of Makeba.

Volunteer For Trails

Through our membership with the Appalachian Mountain Club we volunteered to participate in a "seniors" week in early September working on trails. Our week was in Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island. For a small fee we were provided room and board for 6 days and our promise to work four days. We stayed at Echo Lake Camp which is a seasonal family camp with lots of recreational equipment available for our use. Breakfast and dinner were served in a large dining room and we prepared lunch to eat at the work site. Every meal was a feast. After dinner we either sat around a fire in the dining room or in the library. We went to sleep in our platform tents listening the the loons out on Echo Lake.
The work was more challenging than I had expected for a "seniors" week. But, I now know, that just describes the workers not the work. There were 11 of us in this together. We were greeted by a very qualified 28 year old leader who was planner, supervisor, cook and van driver. She was quite expert at all tasks and especially talented in the kitchen.
Our major task was to build about 300 feet of new trail. This trail will be part of several miles of ADA (America Disabilities Act) approved trails in and around Acadia National Park. The area was staked out but we had to grub it out and put in gravel to make it ready for wheel chairs.
A secondary job was to high line boulders down a mountain so step builders could make steps on a mountain trail. (see video)
Friday we were on our own until dinner time to do what ever we wanted. Some went hiking, kayaking, biking, shopping in Bar Harbor, or other coastal towns.
It was a good week of hard rewarding work, making new friends and enjoying one of the wonders of our great country, Acadia National Park.

Adventures with Evan & Chase

"Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well? They have the same enemy-the mother" Chloette Colbert

We are so lucky to be able to spend some wonderful times with our grandsons. This past summer we shared the following adventures and many more.
Hiking in New Hampshire and Maine
Kayaking
Play Dough
Bed Time Reading
Learning to Swim
Cooking with Grandma
Learning to Throw a Spiral
Just Hanging Out with PaPa & Grandma

We give a special thank you to their parents for sharing them with us.
We hope you all enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed the real adventures.

Chase, Age 3 , Son of Nolan & Katie
Evan , Age 9 , Son of Doug and Erica

Fall Migrants in New York State

In early October C and C reviewed our history lessons with a visit to Fort Ticonderoga. Our sojourn in New England would soon end for this year and we wanted to fit in one more experience before returning south. A bonus was finding the King's Garden behind the fort in its final blooming stages before the cold winds blow in. It was bustling with insect activity gearing up for a winter sleep or a long migration - hundreds of pristine newly hatched monarchs littered the Dahlias and asters and zinnias while bees hummed in any blooming bush or shrub. A feast for human eyes as well.

Sailing Off Cape Cod

Erica and Doug gave us a combination Mother's /Father's day gift of a day sailing a 35 foot sloop off the coast of Cape Cod. The trip was for five people. Now start counting. (We raised no dummies and neither did Doug's folks.) Yes, the trip was a shared adventure with Carol, Clay, Evan, Doug, and Erica. Our hosts were Mike and Debbie Kaufman. We had a great day for sailing from Falmouth, Ma. to Martha's Vineyard. We anchored off the island near enough for Doug & Evan to swim to shore while the rest of us ate lunch. In the video Evan's face will tell you how cold the water was. We shared the harbor with a couple of other boats who had the same idea. Everyone had a turn at the wheel but we failed to capture Carol on film.
Click on the video and enjoy the day with us.

Yankee Stadium

If you grew up in the 50's and early 60's there were only half as many major league teams to root for as there are today. The only TV games were on Saturdays billed as "the game of the week". I don't remember who the play-by play man was but I do know Dizzy Dean was the color commentator and he really added color to the game. There is no one like him today. It seemed to me the game of the week meant the Yankees were playing.
If you were a young kid back then playing in the back yard or the playground as the game was starting, you yelled out which major leaguer you wanted to be. In my neighborhood the first name usually called was "Mickey Mantle". If you weren't first then you had to be someone else. And then some other Yankee, "Yogi" or maybe "Roger" would probably be called out. Regardless if you picked someone on the Yankees you had chosen a real good player. Probably a Hall-of-Famer. Most guys I knew dreamed of playing for the Yankees or at least seeing Mickey hit one out of the park to win another World Series.
In the early 60's I had the pleasure of seeing the Yankees play a double header in Kansas City and number 7 hit three home runs. This summer I finally got around to going to a game in Yankee Stadium. We got there via the subway about 3 hours early. After walking around the outside and seeing several players arriving at the park, we sought out a place to eat before entering the stadium ourselves. We were guided by a security person to the Yankee Tavern about a block away. Like most everything in that part of the Bronx it was old and a little rank, but the food and drink were good and plenty. One of the above pictures is a mural from inside the tavern. Our seats were high down the third base line near the foul pole. You can see the pole in one of the pics. It was cap night for the first 1800 through the gates and I think we were in the first 18. Up to 45 minutes before game time you can parade through Monument Park where many of the former Yankee greats are immortalized. We took our turn along with several thousand other folks. This is the last year they will play in this old Stadium that Ruth built so that makes the trip even that much more special.(Click on collageto enlarge)

Blueberry Pickin' in Maine

Don't forget to click on poster for an enlarged view.
It can get pretty hot in Maine in the summer and the last few days were just that. Muggy, high 80's, no AC except a dip in the lake. Fortunately, a fast moving front blew through last evening and today was a bright shiny day, cool and breezy. Where to go, what to do? The suggestion of a hike had us packing the knapsack and off to Streaked Mountain near Paris. This peak isn't that high, but it pays off big time with great westerly views of the White Mountains after a short hike through the woods to granite outcrops. The problem today was that the magnificent view had to compete with a mountain covered with blueberries at every step. We were prepared and had our berry picking pails on neck strings. The heavy winter snows and a wet spring produced a bumper crop. Now our problem is should we make a pie, a cobbler, muffins, pancakes, a buckle or just keep eating them by the handful's? There's still plenty out there, so we'll just have to get more.
Then there is an exciting follow up activity; CEOFT - Checking each other for ticks.

Evan's Hike on Mt. Washington

On July 2, 2008 Grandma, Papa, and Evan hiked the Alpine Trail to Tuckerman's Ravine Trail and on to the summit, then along the Nelson's Crag Trail back to our car. Mt. Washington is the highest peak in New England and is known for the worst weather in the world. We lucked out and had a wonderful day for hiking. This video was created and narrated by Evan and edited by Carol June. Senior director was Papa.

Fiesta's Battle Of Flowers Parade

The Battle of Flowers Parade is the oldest event of Fiesta. We took the Park and Ride down town at 10:30AM . We secured some of the last remaining reserved seats (3rd row) then proceeded to Old Market Square to get some lunch. The Market was alive with music (five bands stands) and lots of good food and drink. We still had two hours before the parade got to this part of town so Carol shopped and Clay listened to music and participated in some interesting people watching.
This video will give you a 2 minute view of the 3 hour Parade. Click it on and enjoy.

2008 King William Parade and Fair

King William is one of the oldest neighborhoods in San Antonio and is located just south of downtown. Like a lot of inner city sections it is in a state of recovery. It has some beautiful homes, then some not so. They have their own Fiesta Fair and Parade that is parody of the "more elegant" parades that make up Fiesta. Like all Fiesta events there is plenty of food, drink, music, and good family fun. For you who need the bigger print, just click anywhere on the collage.

2008 Fiesta River Parade

Fiesta is here !
For you away people that is 10 days of fun, intense partying, entertainment, standing or sitting at parades, tasting foods from several cultures, all the margaritas and beer you can drink. One of our favorite events is the night time River Parade. We reserve riverside seating at a good restaurant and enjoy the festivities along with 200,000 other folks. Click on the start button below and you too can share some of the highlights of this year's River Parade. Viva Fiesta!!

Fun Times with Fabulous Friends

This year Texas is enjoying a wonderful spring - sunny skies, cool breezes and even lower humidity. This week we were invited to spend some time with great friends near Houston where we took advantage of the great weather to see some nearby sites. We hadn't been to Galveston for over 10 years, so we were surprised to see how much it had changed. Our first trip to Moody Gardens, we were impressed with the wonderful collection of marine life in the Aquarium section and found many things to photograph and admire. It was fun to see how flamingos use their unusual beaks to filter feed.

There are several things to see at MG, but we opted for the Aquarium and the limited exhibit about the Titanic which were both great choices. BTW, Tuesdays are Senior days at MG and you can enter the regular exhibits for $5 each. After a walk along the Strand shopping area we enjoyed a great meal dockside near the Elissa.
We thought we had seen most of the Texas history spots, but the San Jacinto Battleground was new to us. This was the place where Texas completed its quest for independence by surprising Santa Ana in a trap. Today you can ride the elevator up 570 feet above the battleground to view the reflecting pool, Battleship Texas moored to the west in Buffalo Bayou, and the battlefield area below. Clear skies gave us a great view in all directions. You can't escape the changes that have occurred in the landscape as this historic site lies among the oil industry spread out in all directions.
Thanks to great friends, PJ and Harry, we enjoyed a wonderful view of southeast Texas made even better by their wonderful hospitality.

Irene's Story Told in Stitches

Clay's aunt, Irene Minor, kept the squares of this quilt from before her marriage until just a few years before her death when she had it put together as a "tied" quilt in the late 1990's. Each of the squares bears the name of a family member or friend who embroidered her signature and pieced the frame around the center piece with chosen fabric. Just seeing the names of Nellie, Myrna, Irene, and Florence is a reminder of a gentler time and how these women we love and remember shared their lives as well as their stitches.

I would like to collect some stories about the ladies I don't know much about. If you recognize a name, won't you post a brief comment sharing something you know or love about the life of that person? We all would be better for remembering what they left for us from the way they lived their lives.

If you know the name of this block pattern or the making of this quilt please post a comment.

At Last, Japanese Tea Garden Open Again

The famous cement work entry to the gardens proclaims this beautiful place as "The Chinese Tea Garden", the remnant of a sad time in United States history. Click on the post title above to link to a detailed description of the story behind the beautiful landscape shown in the following video. There are many stories here - the few remaining Rodriguez cement sculptures, the kiln of the former cement works, the small houses where a Mexican market once sold crafts, the Japanese families who lived here and tended the gardens and the beauty evolved from the gardeners and other craftsmen who turned an empty quarry into such a beautiful place. When you visit, bring your camera. This place will make you a master photographer. There is plenty of free parking, free admission - and look for the signs that give information about supporting the project with your donations.

Rock Chalk Flag Flies Proud in Texas

Our KU flag has had a banner year starting with football and on through basketball season. With the Final Four in San Antonio again March Madness was even more fun. We love to follow the college hoops season - both men and women. The Alamo City has hosted several NCAA events that we have enjoyed since living here and the Big Dance is the most recent.
Friday we went to the Alamodome to watch the 4 teams practice. We arrived to see UCLA and then North Carolina before the Jayhawks took the floor. It was fun to see NC's Love shoot his trademark long distance shots across the floor.In the picture(left) you can see the ball after it drops through the basket to the floor. He had lobbed it from the far baseline corner.
Monday downtown was rockin' with blue shirts - mostly Jayhawkers. We heard the river pep rally sitting on a bridge through several stoplights before we secured a parking spot nearby.The weather was typical for San Antonio this time of year - perfect! - and along the river all were enjoying the wait for the big game. Several venues around town were set up for fans to enjoy. We spent the time at the Band Stage at the entrance to Hemisfair Park. Although there were vendors hawking all kinds of yummy things we ate an early supper at a nearby Mexican restaurant before listening to the entertainment. We didn't find any tickets for sale - prices were so high. The best seat for us was back home in our jammies. A tight game was made even more fun by sharing the excitement with our daughter on the phone during halftime.

A Day Trip in the Spring

The day started off muggy, cloudy and gloomy although the TV weather forecast showed clear skies very near to the west of us. No fun sitting around here in the humidity so we opted for a drive in the Hill Country. Highway 281 took us north and then 290 west toward Fredericksburg brought us to our first destination Wildseed Farms. We had seen their fall and winter states, but wondered what spring was like there. We found fields of red poppies, tour buses and a Mexican ceramic lizard for our cactus garden.

A resident tabby cat couldn't be bothered with us when we checked out. After a nice lunch in Fredericksburg, we journeyed back and stopped at LBJ national park for a tour of the ranch. Ladybird's spot in the family cemetery was marked with wildflowers in a pot. No stone yet. Behind the ranch house several of LBJ's cars are on display including the blue amphibian he used to startle guests on drives into the Pedernales.
On the tour we discovered that from 290 just east of the ranch you can take a scenic route 1 into Fredericksburg along the river. Check that out next time you head that way - much nicer that all the new commercial construction, but you may miss the wineries.

Paddle for Pine Tree Camp!

Click on pictures to enlarge.





Paddle for Pine Tree Camp is an adventure that we have participated in the last two years. It is an effort to raise funds for an extraordinary summer camp for children and adults with disabilities. This 280-acre facility in Rome, Maine is fully adapted so that all campers regardless of their ability level, can fully participate in traditional summer camp activities like fishing, archery, hiking, drama, swimming, and of course paddling.

Pine Tree Camp began in 1945 with the philosophy that all who could benefit from the programming would attend, regardless of their family's ability to pay tuition. Over the years that policy has remained firmly in place because of generous support of people like you and me. All of the proceeds from the paddle will go to the Pine Tree Campership fund which will benefit those attending this summer. Click to see a video http://www.pinetreesociety.org/camp.asp.

Last year there were 75 paddlers on the Friday evening paddle and over 250 on Saturday. It is one of the best organized events of this kind that I have ever participated in. Safety is a priority, then good clean fun and good food. This year's paddle is June 6 and 7. Carol and I already have our reservation to camp at Evergreens Campground in Solon, ME. That is the put in for the second day and they prepare a great breakfast buffet. http://evergreenscampground.com/

We are extending an invitation to you to get in on the fun. But if you cannot be there we will accept your donations. Make the Check to Pine Tree Camp and send it along to Carol or Clay.This is only and excuse for us to go paddling but your support means a life changing experience for some special kid.
Please email us for a mailing address.

Winter's Over

Signs of the season were apparent today. Temperatures climbed to 97, but with a dry balmy breeze, it felt pretty good in the shade. Cloudy skies earlier this week kind of camouflaged the emerging pear blossoms. Against the azure blue skies today, their beautiful white blossoms swayed majestically in the breeze.

A black swallowtail (look at the lower left corner to find it)
paused to sip the nectar from the fragrant blossoms.


Other blooms of note in the garden this week were the papyrus
and a cactus.







Nearby the neat geometry of another cactus caught the camera's eye.

Nocturnal? Not!

This afternoon as we were working in the back yard, Virginia decided to come out for a stroll. I think we probably disturbed her daily nap somewhere under the brush pile and she had to find a different place to rest. I didn't see her climb the wall - that is still a mystery - but, there she was atop it waddling along toward our house. If you look closely you can see her marsupial bulge between the hind legs. Down the fence line she came and sniffed the red berries at the corner as she turned.

Did you know that opossums have an opposable thumb like us on their rear feet? You can see how she uses it to climb along the wall. I was only about 4 feet away when she worked herself down the wooden fence to the deck holding herself securely with her prehensile tail as she finds a rail to shimmy down. I read that babies can hang by their tails, but the adults just use them for balance and support. Once down on the deck she finally sensed my presence and made for the safety of the under deck. I am not surprised that she didn't see me - nocturnal animals rely much more on their other senses. Wonder how long it will be till we see those "rag curls" again.

Virginia Returns

Haven’t seen Virginia since the end of March a year ago when late one night she peered through the lower panes of the family room French door. I was surprised to see her done up in white rag curls all along her back. Took me a few seconds to realize that opossums don’t do rag curls and that those tidy little white projections along her back were her brood hanging on during her nocturnal meanderings.

Thanks to her lack of speed I was able to snap a few photos of her as she made her escape. A later photo analysis of the “rag curls” suggested at least 10 little Didelphis virginianans accompanied their mother that evening. Virginia appeared once or twice more in the next week and then no more. About a month later two rather adorable smaller versions claimed our woodpile as home.

Here is one we spied in early May. We were happy to have them as we saw the evidence of their food gathering in our flowerbeds taking care of all sorts of small insects and cleaning up the fallen fruit from the loquat trees.

Now I don’t know if this mother with swollen marsupium traversing our deck and yard this spring is Virginia or one of her babes, but I wonder how soon she will be sporting those rag curls.

Click here for more information about the stylish opossums.