And the Start of a New Reign

 

It has been nearly eight months since I've posted here. I will simply say that life has gone on and taken me into other directions that have taken too much of my time to allow for posting here. Blogs, which I enjoy reading from others, has not been my priority in the past few years versus when I first began here. I wish it was not so, but we do what we need, and often want, to do. 

That said, my last post was about the passing of the longest reigning monarch in Britain, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, so it is only fitting that the coronation of her son and successor, Charles, at age 74 (he will be 75 in November), is an important event to recognize and celebrate. 

I am a bit younger than Charles, so, like many of us "of a certain age",  I've known of him most of my life. I was never eager for him to become king, primarily because I appreciated his mother as queen, and particularly her lifelong passion for horses, riding and particularly her long involvement in horse racing. She made racing in the UK fun to watch, particularly the Royal Ascot race meeting held for nearly a week in mid-June. She was a keen owner and breeder of race horses and had long relationships with top horsemen and women in that industry in the UK and in the US in Kentucky.

I also appreciated the fact that Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, was a passionate polo player who later took up carriage driving and competing in combined driving events for many years after stepping down from the saddle. He also served in an administrative capacity as the head of the Federation Equestre Internationale (International Equestrian Federation, or FEI), the governing body for all of international equestrian sport. He also was the brains behind the creation of popular international competitions, including the World Cup in show jumping, among other forward-thinking initiatives. 

Certainly, Charles is no stranger to the saddle, having foxhunted and played polo in his younger years, nor is his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort, who loved riding to hounds and attending the races. (It is said that she is now overseeing the new king's and her ownership of the late queen's race horses and breeding stock, continuing that tradition that has been maintained by the royal family for more than a century.) Even more so, Charles's sister, Anne, and her daughter Zara Phillips, his niece, are the most accomplished equestrians in the family, having both ridden for the British equestrian team in the Olympics in the sport of eventing. Anne rode one of her mother's home-bred Thoroughbreds, Doublet, in the Montreal Games in 1976, while Zara is a former European champion and team silver medalist in the 2012 London Games, on the Irish Sport Horse, Toytown, where her grandmother presented the medals. Zara continues to compete and recently rode in the Land Rover Kentucky 5-Star Three-Day Event (top international level) at the Kentucky Horse Park on another Irish-bred horse, Class Affair,   finishing 15th of 24 to complete the event of 38 to participate.

Needless to say, my interest in watching the coverage of the coronation was mainly to see the pomp of the parades - the procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and the recession back again - with the complement of horses both being ridden by cavalry members and drawing the gorgeous gilded carriages used to transport the king and queen consort. I also enjoy the lovely music and choral singing that were selected to celebrate the occasion. No one does these kinds of royal occasions as elegantly and beautifully like the British. Indeed, the Canadians have been long suppliers of some of the horses used by the British army for parades, etc., including horses the late queen rode in the ceremonial "Trooping of the Color". Even Charles and Anne both rode in the event last year when the Queen was no longer able to participate due to the stability issues that plagued her in her final year. 

While it's a given that Charles will not have as long of a reign as his mother, here's hoping that it is as long and healthy a one as possible and he discharges his duties and role with great success. 

God save the King! Long may he reign - and may the royal horses continue to remain in evidence in parades and ceremonies, and in competitions, on race courses and in hunting fields throughout the land!

 

End of a Glorious Reign

 

After my previous post honoring Her Majesty, Queen Elisabeth II, Great Britain and the commonwealth's longest reigning monarch, we saw several of her horses' riders sporting the queen's royal purple and scarlet racing silks with lovely gold braid closures on the jacket and atop the black cap in a few races held during that iconic Royal Ascot race meeting in mid-June. Sadly, she wasn't able to attend the annual 5-day meeting during the week at age 96 (!) during the celebration of her Platinum Jubilee celebrating 70 years on the British throne due to persistent "mobility issues" that been limiting her ability to move about comfortably in public which she had done for so many decades.

Fortunately, for those of us who love horses and have followed her involvement with them as a serious student of the animal and the sport of racing as a breeder and owner of Thoroughbred race horses, her interest in them remained keen and served at one of the few amusements to which she was dedicated privately for much of her life. More details of that can be found online, so it's worth exploring online her interest in horses, racing and a country lifestyle more broadly.

As the end of summer season drew closer, one couldn't avoid the news report on September 8 of the serious concerns for her health was announced Buckingham Palace, followed several hours later by the posting of the official notice of her death at her beloved, private country home, Balmoral, in Scotland. 

She had lived a very long and full life dedicated, as she had promised, to serve the people of her beloved country and commonwealth. She was all about duty and embodied an impressively unwavering commitment to that noble task. No one before her did it as well or for as long. 

Very few alive today knew a time when Queen Elizabeth II wasn't on the throne and it will be a very different world without her going forward. I will miss seeing her from afar and knowing that she was always there, whether performing her royal duties or enjoying a day at the races or at Windsor Castle where she spent weekends as often as she could, riding the countryside on her favorite Fell pony, Emma, well into her 90s, or Sandringham, northeast of London, where the royal stud is located, or not far at Newmarket, where some of her horses trained for racing. She even sent one over to run in the US on occasion, including her home-bred young horse, Call To Mind, won the Belmont Invitational Derby, a stakes race at Belmont Park on Long Island, in 2018.

Whether or not you favor the monarchy, hers was a constitutional reign, not a political or executive one, but it was a long and glorious one whose longevity won't soon be repeated.

Rest easy now, ma'am, and thank you for your long service and all you did.

 

 

   

 

Long May She Wave...

 

 Souvenir Staffordshire pottery cup commemorating the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953.

Whether or not one is British, it's hard not to admire the long life and dedication of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, who ascended the throne of the British Empire upon the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952. 

This is a role that neither she, nor he, expected to assume, but the abdication of his elder brother, King Edward VIII, in 1936 prompted the coronation of George, who was next in the line of succession. Edward abdicated rather than formally be crowned because, at the time, he was not permitted to marry a twice-divorced American woman and also serve as the sovereign.

George and his wife, Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), had two daughters, Elizabeth and her younger sister, Margaret, so it fell to their elder daughter, who was 11 when her father became king, to prepare to become queen upon his demise. 

Sadly, it was only 15 years later that Elizabeth had to step irrevocably into that supreme role at the young age of 25. Even earlier, on her 21st birthday, she resolutely declared "before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong." 

Seventy years later, on June 2, 2022, the anniversary of her formal coronation on June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II, at 96, has proven to be as enduring and dedicated as she vowed she would be when she was 21. 

How many of us can attest to such commitment to a job, to a task or to a mere notion that the pursuit of an effort for the benefit of the "greater good" is a challenge worth undertaking for a lifetime? Precious few, I'd say.

Congratulations, Your Majesty.

____________________________________________

(The souvenir coronation cup from my personal collection was purchased at a thrift store in upstate New York in 2018 for $2.)

Each New Day...

 It has been a long time - long winter, finally Spring, and soon - hard to believe - summer. I've been disinclined to post here since December. There have been many reasons for that, but it was time to resume and move forward. 

The world has been a perilous place with many troubling events in lands far and all too near. We can't necessarily solve all of the world's problems, but we can focus our attention on them, do what one can in a small way and perhaps, collectively, move ourselves and others toward a better place.

A new day, a new week and a new month begin again. One foot in front of the other, one day at at time. I'll be focusing on doing what I can to make this world a better place for myself, those around me and those far beyond. 

Another Holiday Season...

 Winter Farm Scene, original painting by D. Knapp, American, 1961

 

It seems like we were just celebrating the arrival of autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving, and, indeed, we were, but the first snows have flown (and melted, fortunately) more than once. They'll return in due course, but in the meantime, the frantic pace of the winter season is firmly upon us.As I've lamented here in the past, I staunchly resist the premature promotion of the December holiday season. To see autumn arrive in the stores in late July and Christmas nipping firmly at the former's heels by mid-September, if not August, is just more than I can bear. I love autumn and want to enjoy every single moment of it until it leaves us in another few days in late December. 

Still, there's no escaping the holiday season kicking in in earnest by Thanksgiving, when the "Christmas shopping season" goes into full swing. I'm fine with that, but I refuse to decorate for the holidays until December 1, that way I can enjoy the last vestiges of Thanksgiving before turning my attention to the inevitably overwhelming holiday decorating impulse.

I've become a proponent of enjoying all of the senses during the holiday season, particularly the visual, aural, smell and taste elements of holiday celebrations. I also prefer more "natural" decor - simple evergreens and berries, a few keepsake ornaments in a bowl if not on a tree (my larger faux tree will remain in storage this year, but my hearth is flanked with my two smaller pencil trees that are nicely lit with classic white mini-lights). It's enough.     

I actually have moderated my hoIiday decor in recent years. More is not more, it's usually way too much. I've seen some holiday decorating videos from some very creative folks who I otherwise enjoy seeing on YouTube, but I saw one home tour the other day that was beyond over-the-top. It was just way, way too much. Every surface or wall space and thing does not need to be embellished with some bit of holly, glitter or snowy fluff. Please, give it a rest. Take a step back, look at the volume and then just stop and take a break. Some are into minimal, and that's fine, and others can't have enough cluttering up their domestic worlds. There is a happy medium in there somewhere. Mine leans toward the former. I would rather have a few really lovely things to enjoy in my home than so much that I can't really "see" any of what I have. It's just gets to be too much. Eye candy it is not.

I'm nearly done with my holiday decorating, as it's fairly modest again this year. I have plenty of stuff I could trot out, but I opted for just my two slim, illuminated faux pencil trees (sans ornaments) to flank my hearth and give enough of a celebratory glow to the season, along with some whole cloves and cinnamon sticks bubbling in a copper pot on the stove. I'll put a few keepsake ornaments in a simple clear glass bowl rather than put up and hang them on my nice, 4-foot faux tree. I like it, but it's just more than I want to deal with this year. Perhaps it's the lingering effects of COVID pervading our lives. (A mask mandate has just been implemented in NYS for any space that does not already have a vaccination policy in effect, in an effort to try to keep the virus and its variants in check. I'm fine with that, but I won't be entertaining in my home again this year, so I'm just decorating for myself.) It's not about lots of stuff again this year (or any year, really) as much as it's about being safe and just having a few very simple enjoyments for the senses this holiday season. 

It's a good reminder that the holiday season should never be about "things," or who has the most or the latest hot items, but rather the intangibles that really matter. We should celebrate every day and not take for granted family and friends, counting our blessings and staying as healthy as we can for ourselves and those around us. 

Just keep it that simple and this holiday season should provide everything you really need in your life and around you.

(For those wondering, my current header image, which I do change periodically so I've also added it to the message here, is an original oil painting of a farm scene that I purchased many years ago at an antiques auction in New York's Hudson Valley. It is signed D. Knapp '61, but I have no idea where the scene was painted or anything more about the artist, but I have always liked it and particularly enjoy seeing it hanging in my home during the holiday and winter season.)

 

Mid-Autumn Reflection

 As if my last post already wasn't long-delayed, unfortunately, this one is even longer delayed. Life has been busy - that's really it. It's worth noting that autumn's arrival, or at least the changing leaves, have been long-delayed here in eastern New York, as well. We normally would see the hints of changing colors of the maples and oaks start to appear by mid-September, but there literally was no sign of that at all this year. If one can believe the local meteorologists, the heavy rainfall in summer (much more than average in July) and the warmer than usual temperatures (global warming, one would guess) tricked the trees into thinking summer was going strong in September and into early October. We would have had frost in October for sure, but we barely had any whisper of that all month. It was just this week - November! - before we had evidence of actual frost on the ground, but we hit 60F yesterday and we'll be up there, and maybe even a bit warmer, again today. I'll take it.

Don't get me wrong. I love autumn. It is my favorite season. It's not hot, it's not freezing (until later in November), and the snow, if we're lucky will remain at bay until December. That isn't always the case, but more often than not it is. The changing, now mostly changed, colors are simply spectacular here even when they're not as brilliant as other years. Some have characterized this year's colors as "meh"...and maybe that's so, but I simply look for the screaming, flaming brilliant reds and oranges that make their host trees to be all aflame. That's what I crave most from the fall colors and I found enough evidence of those burning bright colors to declare this autumn's colors as more than respectable. To be honest, we're lucky to have them. So many other areas of the country don't have our glorious hardwoods that put on such a colorful show every year. I could never live anywhere else in autumn. Not ever. 

The image above is a watercolorized version of the view outside my front window. No complaints for me about autumn this year. No, indeed.

 

 

          

March: In Like a Lion...

Yet another new header image with the impending change of season, based on a spring landscape that I came across that makes me happy with its pinks, greens and flowering trees.

With the usual apologies for no posts in February, it was a short but busy month, so it was better if I focused on the immediate priorities and came back when things calmed down a bit. The turn of the new month is a good time to catch up here after a somewhat wild couple of months. 

One of the unusual events in February was the jam-packed stacking of Valentine's Day, followed by President's Day, followed by Mardi Gras - all within a three-day span. I don't recall ever seeing that happen since Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays were combined into an official President's Day. I grew up with those two birthdays being separate holidays, but this year (2021) is the 50th anniversary of that change, which occurred in 1971 via the federal Uniform Monday Holiday Act. As a result, Memorial Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day all were changed to specific Mondays on the calendar. Memorial Day was fixed on the last Monday of May and Columbus Day, traditionally October 12, was fixed on the second Monday in October. Veterans Day however, which was celebrated for nine years as the second Monday in October, later was restored to its original November 11 date in 1980, regardless of when the holiday fell (though governmental offices observed the holiday on a Friday if the holiday fell on Saturday, or on a Monday if the 11th fell on Sunday). That celebration remains on November 11.

Although it's still a few weeks away, I'm starting to get ready for the arrival of Spring. I've had enough of winter, bitter cold and snow, so, while we'll likely see a bit more snow, the winds of March are literally blowing in full force to herald the arrival of this new, long-awaited season. It's trite, I know, but it truly is a time of re-awakening that always makes me very happy. We've survived the bitter frosts and snows of winter and things are gradually beginning to show the tell-take signs of rebirth. Not before time, for sure. 

I've been feeding the birds and squirrels all winter. The ones that have been stopping by each morning to get their provisions for another day probably are living nearby in the wooded area behind my house. I'm happy to see them, though I don't spend hours watching them. I'll be winding the feeding down soon, as the temperatures are starting slowly to creep higher. The snows are melting gradually, so I'm hoping they all will be gone by the time the first day of spring arrives. I've noticed that the critters are not consuming quite as much of the seeds and nuts I've been providing as they did in the past few months. While we will are still well snow-covered, things are beginning to re-emerge, so I expect they're likely starting to find enough to meet their needs and won't be needing my contributions to augment their larders. Fine with me. I've done my duty for the neighborhood wildlife once again. They'll be on their own again soon and I'll be off the hook.

As for my health and well being, I'll be glad to see warmer temperatures and milder weather. We have been experiencing weather in Spring in recent years that has leaned toward short on the mild and long on the intensely cold, snowy, and rainy, then suddenly, warmer-than-usual weather arrives in May and feels like July rather than mid-Spring. I'm hoping we have a long, mild season this Spring so we can defrost gradually and enjoy the arrival of crocus and forsythia, apple blossoms and gentle breezes. I'm not a fan of the "light switch" change in the season's weather. Slow and steady is my preference. I'm eager to get outside and moving without the challenges of ice and snow impeding my progress. The end of cabin fever is in sight! Here's hoping that's what we'll enjoy... 

 

   

 

 

Winter Thoughts...

 

New seasonal image is "A Quiet Stream", an oil painting by Walter Launt Palmer, circa 1890* 

 I skipped posting in December, not by design, but purely because I had other things keeping me busier than I expected, then, suddenly, it was January. It happens sometimes. In some ways, I certainly concurred with sentiments of those eager to exit 2020 as quickly as possible in December, but it's not something I wanted to dwell on at the time. 

Like so many people, my holiday season spirit was kept contained and relatively low-key. I didn't search for new decorative items and relied on things I already had. I only pulled out a few things, preferring to keep things minimal and simple - a small dish, a single bunch of faux greens on the mantel with a pair of simple candles, a wreath on the door and my faux trees flanking the hearth and one just outside the front door. To be honest, I didn't take photos of any of it. I just didn't want to bother. Sure, I made a few special dishes to enjoy for each holiday, but I didn't go crazy as the celebrations just didn't seem to be the thing to do during in this COVID era. 

I haven't been depressed about the low-key holidays, but after a mid-December storm that hit the week before winter officially started, dumping three feet of powdery snow on the ground outside my doors just as my trusty snowblower decided it didn't want to start, I knew that Christmas and New Year's were not holidays that I wanted to make a big fuss about. (The snowblower has since been repaired and stands ready for any further challenges Mother Nature might have in store for the rest of this winter.)     

I was dealing primarily with shipping parcels to their recipients during December, and tracking them like a hawk to follow their progress to their ultimate destinations. While I knew the delivery systems across the country were bogged down with extraordinarily heavy volume during a typically very busy period for shipping annually, I had little choice but to ship my parcels when I did. A few of them took an inordinate amount of time to get where they were going during the holiday rush and its massive delays, but all of them eventually made it. Some didn't make it in time for the holiday, but all of the recipients were understanding and, for some, it didn't matter. December provided the final and frustrating major logistical challenge for what was an already very challenging year on so many levels. 

In the grand scheme of things, my worries about a few packages being delivered in a timely manner was an insignificant concern compared to the difficult, and sometimes tragic, situations so many people faced in the course of this overwhelmingly aberrational year. 

I'm so sad for those who lost their battles with COVID-19 and for the families and friends they have left behind. I'm sad for the health care workers and first responders and all who surround them for the unspeakably difficult challenges they have faced and are still facing as the virus cases spike around the country. I wish we had been able to make more progress in keeping this rabid disease in check and get the vaccines out to everyone more swiftly once approved. I know these things take time, but we're the greatest country in the world - or we were - and we should be able to get this done faster. We'll get there eventually, but until we do, we'll all be trying to dodge that bullet until it's no longer a threat to our very lives.

No sooner did we tick over into 2021 and the events of January 6 were a startling reminder that the calendar might have changed but all still is not well for everyone in the USA. I won't get into a political discussion here, but it certainly was a troubling turn of events on top of a very troubling and disruptive prior year. It certainly makes one appreciate when things were more "normal."

I continue to spend this time lying low and, except for those close to me, avoiding other people as much as possible. Fortunately, I have a very high tolerance for spending time relying on my own devices, doing the things I enjoy within the confines of the four walls in which I live or just outside them. I don't need to go very far and, fortunately, don't have to as the essential amenities I need are nearby. I consider myself very fortunate in that regard. 

I have always been a creative type and I now have the time to indulge my creative passions. Fortunately, it's the way I can make the best of a situation that is, for the most part, out of any of our individual hands. 

Let's hope that we can all move forward in this new year of 2021 deliberately and with greater freedom, health, and success than we have experienced in 2020.

 

* American painter Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932) was a native of my hometown of Albany, NY, and was known particularly his portrayals of the eastern New York region's landscape, particularly in winter. He was tutored early in his life by renowned Hudson River School artist Frederic Church and traveled to Europe to study the great masters before returning to settle at his Albany home.  

 

November Belongs to Autumn

 

I've been on this rant in the past, but in this exceptional COVID-19 pandemic year, I'm reiterating it even more vociferously - it's November and the entire month is blanketed by the autumn season. It is NOT winter, it is NOT the Christmas season. I firmly resist any attempt by the retail industrial complex to convince us that it's time to leap squarely into Christmas decor and celebration (and, of course, product acquisition) before giving the appropriate time and attention to which the harvest season and Thanksgiving are entitled. 

Here in the United States of America, we cannot and should not leap directly from Halloween to Christmas and give short shrift to the season and singular holiday that prompts us to reflect on our blessings, the gifts of Mother Nature, and give thanks for them. I LOVE autumn in the Northeast, where I was born, raised and still live. (I also happen to have been born smack in the middle of the autumn season, so that might be part of my personal affection for this time of year...who knows.) There simply is nothing like the stunning colors of autumn and you won't find them in many parts of the country that don't have the array of trees that change from greens to stunning reds, oranges and yellows at this extraordinary time of year. And while, yes, it signals the end of the growing season, what a way to go with a spectacular display of colors!

While I'm not so enthusiastic about the leaf-raking that follows this astounding display, it's a small price to pay (and good exercise). 

In this year, in particular, it seems that the retail industrial complex did not gear up for autumn as much as it was in a mad rush to push Christmas upon us in September. Granted, they were pushing autumn in August (when many of us were enjoying sand, sea and warm temperatures). I remember being dismayed back when I was in high school that retailers were foisting woolens, plaids and tweeds in clothing fashions upon us while we were in sleeveless cottons and shorts. I understood the season was coming, but it was at least a month or more away and I didn't need to prepare for it that far in advance. Maybe it was needed by the students who were heading off to college, so they'd have the items they'd need to be warm, but the rest of us could easily have waited. I just never liked being rushed and I still don't, but I like even less having the season that I love the most practically ignored and rushed on and off the store shelves in a blink of an eye. Why? 

Why can't we enjoy autumn for as long as it's with us? I love autumn, and my favorite holiday of the year, let alone the autumn season, is Thanksgiving. It's not about religion, it's simply about being thankful and enjoying the season's bounty - cooking, food, and dining with family and friends, or just being on one's own and celebrating quietly. Any way one does it is fine, but because we're not being pushed to exchange gifts by buying stuff, the retailers don't shove it in our faces with the zeal that they dedicate to Christmas. It annoys me no end, and even more when the autumn harvest season is almost ignored. 

So I'm just here to remind all that autumn matters, Thanksgiving matters, and to stop and think about what it means to you and what you have to be thankful for. It's not about buying stuff. It doesn't cost anything. Celebrate that.

    

New Month, New Snow?

It was early in the morning of October 30, and, just as predicted by the local meteorologists, we awoke to a one-inch dusting of the season's first snow and the freezing temperatures that invited it. That was the bad news if you're, like me, not a snow person. It's pretty for a minute, but after those 60 seconds, I want it gone. The good news, it was gone by the end of the day as the sun's warmth was just a bit too much for it to last. Pretty at first, but I was glad to see it go as I still have leaves to rake up before the real winter weather sets in.  

It's rare, but not unheard of, for snow to hit here in my area of eastern upstate New York. Back on October 4, 1987, we had a freak October snow storm that took trees and limbs down with abandon as they had just started to turn and still had most of their leaves, knocking out power and blocking roads and causing widespread damage that permanently altered the landscape. This year, the rains had already taken some of the leaves down, so, fortunately, there weren't many left on the trees to wreak such havoc.

Given the adjustment of the Daylight Saving Time window, we changed back to standard time early this morning. I'm not a fan of the return to standard time but at least it's a bit later on the calendar than it had been, but November 1 is now the soonest that it returns to our lives. Next year, in 2021, it won't occur until November 7. That's just fine with me as I'm not a fan of darkness at 5pm. I like my afternoons lighter later and my mornings light by 7am. Actually, I like the long daylight of June and July, when it's light early in the morning and later in the evening, too. Alas, Mother Nature and her growing season can't accommodate that, so I, like everyone, will have to deal with the seasonal daylight adjustment. So be it.

Before the contrasting colors of autumn are gone for good, here is one more October image to try to hang onto the last of the autumn season's annual display. Enjoy, because the early darkness of the evening has arrived...

 

 

Finally Fully Prime Foliage

 For the past two weeks or so, a friend and I have been taking short scenic drives for leaf peeping as the colors finally had begun to reach their peak stage of brilliance. One morning, we drove to a state park in the region with a scenic overlook near the area's highest elevation toward the northernmost tip of the Catskill mountain range. Not as dramatic as the high peaks of the Adirondacks, across the Mohawk River valley below and to the north.

 

 

 View north to the Adirondack Mountains on the horizon, far in the distance, across the Mohawk River basin.

There are lots of opportunities to see the array of colors that Mother Nature provides during October in my region of eastern upstate New York, but, after some study, it became apparent that not only were the colors this year particularly loaded with brilliance, the best times to see them at their most intense and striking were early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Those were the day parts when the sun's rays illuminated the leaves at a more acute angle than during the midday hours when the sun was at its highest in the sky. The leaves simply were far more dull in the middle of the day. So not all jaunts were as satisfying as others - time of day and the availability of sunshine were key factors for the most satisfying views of autumnal leaf splendor.

This is a fleeting time in autumn, when the leaves are changing so dramatically, before they fall to the ground and leave us with the stark landscape of winter for the next several months thereafter. If you're able, and you have access to such a stunning display where you are, go out, see the beauty that surrounds you before it's gone for another year. So few sights are so dramatic and so gratifying...and don't cost anything to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

Okay, Autumn, come ahead

With the official arrival of autumn on September 22, the leaves on the trees in my area of the Northeast suddenly responded as if a switch had been flipped and the change from varied greens to blazing oranges and brilliant reds began to evolve right on cue. I was lamenting the sudden rush into autumn on September 1, the start of meteorological autumn, but we had a bit of a roller-coaster of a weather month along with this wacky pandemic year. It was warm, then it was cool and slipped quickly into downright frosty at night during one weekend mid-month. Then, as if to say, "Sorry, we didn't really mean for that to happen just yet", the cold snap faded and the perfect mild late summer/early autumn air that makes for glorious balmy days and nights just cool enough to afford the most comfortable sleeping slid into the mix.

We've been half-way out and half-way into autumn for most of late September, but we're nearly all in now. Mild days, cool nights and leaves changing all around. In another week, things will be more reds, oranges and yellows than greens and with a good rain and a bit of wind, those leaves will be hitting the ground and going all golden yellows and, before we blink, it'll be November. Until then, I'm savoring all we get in this most fickle but beautiful of seasons of the year...welcome, autumn. So glad to finally see you.

  

 

 

 

Not so fast, Fall!

 

What's the rush to get to autumn? It'll be here in just three weeks, but I'm in no hurry to break out the fall decor and change over from summer. I'm just not, because here in eastern upstate New York, this is the best time of the year for perfect weather - mild, not horribly hot or outrageously humid. It's simply  lovely, so I revel in this time of year and am planning to make the most of it, even though travel and access to some of my favorite activities are more limited than ever, thanks to that dreaded virus.

I've been fortunate to be able to enjoy good health after an issue earlier this year. I'm so glad that's behind me and I can do all of the things now that I was able to do before that annoying health hiccup. Phew! So, I'm taking advantage of this prime time to get outside, deal with some maintenance issues around the house and just be glad that we've got a few more weeks of great weather before things start to get a bit nippy. Mind you, I do love autumn here, as seasons go, but I'm in no hurry for its arrival. I'm still in a bit of disbelief that it's already September. How did that happen? The summer - that glorious season that couldn't get here soon enough back in mid-February - literally flew by this year! It's beyond crazy.

So, even though travel has been severely constrained this year, I have stayed busy with tasks at home, fun things (and a few not so fun things) all has kept me busy. I guess that's how the summer season flew by so quickly when I was busy doing other things. So, for the moment, I'm taking a few days while it's beautiful outside and am just enjoying these golden days of the late summer season before the colors start to change and remind us all that the frosty, snowy winter is not all that far off... 

 

Hello, August!

View to east of Atlantic Ocean from north side of Rockport, Massachusetts (c)

Given that 2020 has been an unusual year, to say the least, it's no real surprise that it's already August - the "dog days of summer", as the saying goes. After nearly two months of warmer than usual temperatures, including several heat waves where temperatures hit the 90s routinely, it's finally more typically summer, with warm days (not so scorchingly hot) and less humidity that could be cut with a knife. I'm hoping that we've seen the worst of summer and we can relax and savor these perfect summer days. Even if it's raining, I don't mind. We do need the rain and, for the mos part, my lawn looks reasonably healthy thanks to the rain we seem to get weekly. It's a good thing.

I confess, having endured an unexpected health issue (not COVID, fortunately) that emerged unexpectedly in late May, I am finally feeling like myself again, with the issue now resolved - hopefully never to return. It does take a sudden reminder that one shouldn't take good health for granted. I have to admit that I haven't assumed my health would remain as reliable as always - I do remind myself that I've been very lucky to have avoided major issues over the years and have enjoyed fairly good health, but the moment one's health is compromised, everything seems wildly out of whack. I am glad my issue ultimately was resolved, but it took some doing to get there, so I'll be keeping an eye on my general state of well being to help ensure I remain well, as I really dislike having my good health compromised.

So, now, the first half of summer has passed, so I'm taking full advantage of August, glorious August, to enjoy the summer season to its fullest. I'm attending to my much smaller garden (a casualty of my earlier ill health), and reveling in the warm sunny days and gradually cooler nights to celebrate the best part of summer for the next six weeks before the winds of autumn push us toward the year's next season. Admittedly, early fall is my favorite time of year - the coolere weather and beautiful changing colors, but late summer is second best. Before the stores start loading up on Christmas items. (I heard one local crafts emporium already was breaking out the holiday decor - noooo!) As a teen, I remember being so annoyed that the stores started breaking out the autumn fashions - the woolens and plaids that were unthinkable in early August...Christmas in August is downright heresy!

Enjoy these wonderful weeks of August, as they, too, will be gone before we know it and we'll be wishing it was still June and we could have a do-over!  

An Atypical Fourth of July Holiday in the Pandemic Era

As the coronavirus pandemic marches on, there has been much progress and effective "flattening of the curve" here in New York State. Other parts of the country, where residents have been far less vigilant in adhering to the recommended safety protocals, are now experiencing a resurgence in the virus. Why is anyone surprised by this?

At the risk of sounding heartless, what did folks in the south and southwest expect? Honestly. This isn't brain surgery. It's NOT a hoax. The virus is real and it can be deadly. Many thousands of people already have died. How hard is it to wear a mask or appropriate face covering to help ensure that you don't infect others? It's a no-brainer, but so many people are simply in utter denial about the seriousness of this pandemic, and it's simply beyond comprehension.

Understandably, many annual fireworks displays have been cancelled and other seasonal July 4th events also will be deferred until 2021 as mass gatherings are still too risky. As an alternative, I've posted my watercolorized photo of a display of small flags in a planter sitting on top of a bridge barrier in a small community in my area as my summer season header. I've also pulled out a few of my own small flags and have put them in my own planters for a little traditional all-American holiday color.

Enjoy the holiday and, if you can, stay home and be safe until it's no longer necessary! 

The Uncommon Triple Crown

A contemporary watercolor interpretation of William C. Robertson's 1868 historic print "The False Start" features the grandstand of Jerome Park in New York in the background. Jerome Park, no longer in existence, was the first site of the Belmont Stakes in 1868.


As everyone knows by now, thanks to the global pandemic that has plagued much of the world, this is a year like no other when it comes to traditional sports. That includes the oldest organized sport conducted in the US: Thoroughbred horse racing, which dates back more than 300 years in the Colonies.

Racing's renowned Triple Crown, a concept focusing on 3-year-olds running "classic" distances between 1 3/16 miles to 1 1/2 miles, was established relatively recently (in the early 20th century vs. the 18th century).

In the modern era, the Triple Crown consists of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, in early May; the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland two weeks later in mid-May, and the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island, three weeks after the Preakness. Held over a span of five weeks, the Triple Crown culminates with the Belmont Stakes. At 1 1/2 miles, it is the longest of the three races and is often referred to as the "true test of the champion." While there are longer races on the annual racing calendar in the US, the Belmont typically is the only one 3-year-old horses of either gender is likely to run and few of them ever race that far again in their careers.

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, racing was interrupted in most areas of the country for several months this spring, functionally eliminating many of the usual prep races that owners and trainers use to prepare and qualify their promising young horses for the Triple Crown races. As a result, racing was postponed at all three of the race courses that host each of the respective Triple Crown races.

The first to reschedule was Churchill Downs, which postponed the 1 1/4-miles Kentucky Derby from the first Saturday in May until September 5. Pimlico indicated they, too, would be postponing the 1 3/16 miles of the Preakness Stakes from mid-May to October 3. The Belmont Stakes subsequently was rescheduled for Saturday, June 20, instead of a week earlier, and it will be run at a reduced distance of 1 1/8 miles instead of its traditional 1 1/2 miles. So the Triple Crown race that usually occurs last and the longest in the sequence shall be first this year and will be the shortest this year only.  

In the meantime, a number of promising candidates for one or more of these races have fallen by the wayside due to minor injury or more serious ones that have ended their racing careers. One gets the sense that this year's Triple Crown will be like no other and it's anyone's guess which horses will emerge as the top three-year-olds in this very odd year of 2020.

Tune in and watch on June 20 to see how things will shake out at the Belmont Stakes and which other contenders might also move forward to the other two legs of the Triple Crown when they do occur in late summer and early fall.

Lilac Time Again

 

It's just past the middle of May and the lilac bush in my front yard is full of fragrant blooms. Oh, how I so love the scent of lilacs! These are the traditional, glorious lavender-colored ones - simply gorgeous and they smell divine! (The bees are enjoying them, too.) I've managed to maintain this long-established bush - in the years that I've been here, clipping the nearest branches loaded with blooms to ensure that more appear next year and beyond. They don't last all that long on the bush or in a vase full of water, but they are wonderful for the fleeting days they are here. They're just heavenly!

 

The coronavirus response marches on and I'm happy to report we're making a major dent in its progress in New York State. Some areas of life are being "re-opened" gradually and very carefully. We have only ourselves to blame if the virus cases increase as we slowly revert to a semblance of life as we knew it. Some industries and businesses have had their restrictions eased and are returning to operation, while others are taking incremental steps to get there - slowly, but surely.

Other areas of life as we knew it will not be returning this year - it's too soon and larger crowds cannot be accommodated safely, so no larger concert venues with extensive seating, and no audiences or fans at larger sporting events, though I'm happy to report that horse racing will be returning to New York on June 3 at Belmont Park after a six-week delay. Efforts also are underway to allow training in Saratoga, hopefully by mid-June, and eventually racing there, as well, starting as originally planned in mid-July through Labor Day if all goes well. Only essential personnel will be permitted on site - not even horse owners - but there is discussion on ways that owners might be allowed to attend when they have horses running. It would seem to be only fair as there is no racing if owners don't supply the horses to trainers to race them. Who ever would have imagined this would be an issue and needed to be carefully planned for it to occur? Wild, but very glad to see horses be able to race again.

Saratoga is known as a racing town and over the past 20 years or so the city and surrounding towns have enjoy a real estate boom, with properties values well outpacing the greater region. The good news this year is that with no fans allowed, the cost of hotel rooms and rental properties is expected to be a bit less costly because of the lack of demand compared to a typical summer racing season. That should bode well for those who must travel here for the racing each summer as it shouldn't be quite as costly for them. Either way, I'm glad the horses will be returning even if we can only see them from afar and on TV or online. 

Hi ho!

View east from the Whitney Viewing Stand, built in 2013 at the homestretch of  Saratoga's "Oklahoma" training track

 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of horse racing in Saratoga Springs

The training track  and barn complex is located directly across Union Avenue from the renowed race course.

 

May Flowers

And here we are, a month since my last post imploring folks to stay safe and stay home. Since then, we've advanced to wearing face masks in public whenever we can't effectively be "social distanced" (6 feet away) from other people. Since most of us have to at least venture out occasionally for necessities, whether groceries or other items/tasks, the face mask is an important piece of attire.

People get so testy about their "personal" freedom being invaded, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Unnecessary exposure to a potentially deadly virus, and an early, unanticipated death is not on my agenda. I'll wear my mask. When I get inspired, I'll do some creative versions, but, for now, a simple white one will do the job.

Fortunately, a few essential businesses are open that provide groceries and other household supplies, so a picked up a few pots of pretty pansies, because they are always so cheerful after a long, cold winter. The first two pots I picked up were more pastel in tone, with pale yellow and lavender rather than the usual bold, dark purple and bright sunny yellow, but I found those at another location a week or so later, so now I have more of them to cheer me each day. They're currently still in their pots and in the photo below they were just sitting in my big green planter next to my garage door, waiting to be planted. 

Before I could plant them, the weather went wacky, so I haven't planted them in larger pots yet. It's still unusually cold here. It has been a bit erratic for spring weather, so I've brought all of the pots of pansies inside for a bit until the temps stop dipping into freezing. And yes, a few days ago, on May 9, we did get the dusting of snow that was predicted. We rarely get snow after March, but when we do  it doesn't last long. Still, we've only had a few really lovely warmer days in the high 60s to low 70s. Oh, how I miss those wonderful warm spring days! They're finally due to return later this week and, hopefully, that means they'll be lingering for the next month until summer appears.

While it's unlikely we will see a return to "normal" life or activities in my region this summer, with many events and activities cancelled, postponed or shifted to virtual, there is a gradual loosening of business restrictions in some areas of my state where the virus impact wasn't as significant and its spread was more easily contained. That's not the case in my region, though I expect we'll get there eventually. It's still a trying time, and I continue to keep myself busy as usual at home and donating to causes that are important to me that help others who are more severely than I am. It's the right thing to do and I'm glad to be able to do that. I will look forward to doing more of the things I enjoy when the situation allows.

As the pansies remind us each spring, life will go on...be well, be safe and stay home if you can.   

 

Easter in a Time of "Social Distancing" for Safety and Health

My carved wood bunnies with "scarves" anchored with little red wooden hearts clearly are not adhering to the recommendation that we keep a safe distance of 6 feet apart from other people, and wash our hands regularly, wear protective masks and even gloves, to try to stave off contamination from the rampant conoravirus that has now spanned the globe. If the lack of a cure or vaccination from this virus isn't incentive enough to embrace the dictates of practicing good hygiene through these vital safety precautions, I certainly don't know what is.

It's medical science people, not a hoax, and certainly not a joke. Thousands of people have died in the state of New York alone, and more than 100,000 around the globe. As I noted in my last post, I already spend a good chunk of time here in the "Great Northeast" indoors during the winter, so accommodating a directive to stay home except for absolute necessities (food and medicines) wasn't, and hasn't been, that hard for me to do. But, in certain parts of the country, I'm mind-boggled by the lack of belief, and, as a result, the lack of practice of these basic health and safety directives by so many of the population -- and, equally scary, their elected officials from the local to the state level - who are in utter denial about the risk of this insidious virus and are unwilling to curtail certain civil liberties in the interest of public health and safety. It's a pandemic - no one, but no one, is immune here or anywhere.

Honestly, this virus doesn't care about your political beliefs and to ignore the recommendations of people who spend their lives establishing expertise in the nature of this infectious disease because "it's only in certain areas" is to live, effectively, under a rock that won't protect you or anyone you love. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for those you care about and particularly those who are most vulnerable in our society - the elderly, who generally have weakened immune systems, and those with pre-existing conditions that make them more suseptible to infection.

Seriously, people, too many already have died because we didn't get out ahead of this disease here in the US, and many more will die if we don't do everything we can to protect against it individually AND collectively until the risk clearly has diminished. Don't be in a hurry to get back to "normal" life until the experts tell us it is safe to do so. This virus is NOT adhering to your personal agenda.

Don't think for a minute that because it's "not in your back yard," you're not at risk. It is inevitable that it will be where you live in due course if it isn't obviously there yet, and when it does emerge, it will do so with a vengeance. Do what you can now to help prevent that from happening to you and those you love, or at least from affecting more rather than fewer people. No one should have to die because they didn't take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and those they love. Ignore those safety recommendations at your own, and their, peril.

And, oh, be thankful that on this Easter Sunday, if you're able to spend the holiday enjoying it and not being among those directly affected by a deadly virus that is very clearly in our midst, or worse yet, that someone you know is one of those who we lost to it.

Be safe, be careful and stay home.          

Staying Parked as Spring Arrives

My apologies for not posting in March, but, as you all know (unless you were living out of the range of modern communications technology for an extended period) things got very crazy shortly after the month began with the eruption of coronavirus pandemic hitting our shores, and my state, in a very big way. We have been advised or directed or ordered to stay home, avoid people and practice "social distancing" to help stave off further spread of this dreaded virus for which there is no current cure at present. Its symptoms can range from mild and to fatal and it is not to be treated lightly. Protective actions must be taken to avoid contact that could result in contracting the disease and/or contaminating others, particularly those most vulnerable. It's simple good hygiene behaviors and solid public health safety measures and they are essential to practice.


I am thankful to report that I have been careful and, so far, I am fine, as are those I care about deeply, but none of us can be too careful. Masks and eye protection are the order of the day when going out periodically for essentials, as are.staying home except to pick up necessary groceries. I have spoken with friends routinely and, to be honest, staying home is my typical modus operandi for most of the winter season anyway, so it's not that difficult for me to abide by the latest recommendations and dictates involving leaving home. I don't go out unnecessarily in winter - I don't want to - but now, staying put at home is a bit more challenging when the early earmarks of spring have brought the much needed warmer temperatures that beckon one outdoors. I simply go outside onto my patio and into the yard and do some of the tasks of post-winter clean up and bring the garden supplies out - pots and planters placed in the sun for another season of planting and growing the herbs and flowers that are my favorite way to enjoy the spring and summer seasons at home.

So, I'm gearing up for the emergence of spring. The bird (mostly squirrel) feeders have been put away, and the hanging planters have been brought out and will be re-filled with fresh potting soil. The wooden chairs will come back from storage and the hose has been put outside. I even power-sprayed the winter's grime and grunge off the patio, ready for another season of warmth.

Virus self-isolation or not, I'm ready for life to re-emerge in plant form, at least. We'll get there eventually, but, for now, patience and a bit of industriousness to endure the constraints of this most unusual start to spring...

Be safe, stay home, and, if you can, focus on the things you've always wanted to have the time to do at home because that time is now. This, too, shall pass.