Food for thought ... and comments?

I just read an article in the NY Times, "One First Is Celebrated. What About the Second?" It addresses the fact that the Democrats seem determined to downplay Barack Obama's race in the campaigning that leads to the election. I found myself pretty divided (which is a very bad way to find oneself, BTW, because you're not sure you're finding all the pieces) about this issue/idea. I can see why race shouldn't be a factor: it shouldn't define who one is, nor one's capablities, etc. But I can see also why it should play a part: Obama IS the first non-white candidate e.v.e.r (!) and as such is a huge symbol of the (slow but steady?) work of many, many Americans to eliminate race as a factor. 

So there's a pretty interesting dilemma, I think. Play up race too much and you risk the loss of disaffected white voters who see affirmative action as always bad--and many other negatives about non-whites of any color. Downplay race too much and you might not get as many non-white votes as you would otherwise. (Not that I think many would vote for McCain because of that.)

I'm no political pundit, obviously. But I think this is an interesting question and worth discussing. Want to make a comment? 

Grammy Again!

I can finally say in public that I'm going to be a grammy for a second time. Elise is due with Baby2 in March! I'm very excited. And I deserve a gold star because I didn't say anything to my siblings, etc., at the wedding; Elise was so thoughtful: "Mom, it's Alex & Jessie's day, not mine. I won't say anything till after."

So Stan & I will go down in a couple of weeks to visit & babysit while Elise & Pedro go to other weddings. I'm really looking forward to that. Then I come back to teach two sections of my old course. Ugh. BUT ... the course will be over mid-October. I can make it through.

I'm off to a Trout Unlimited summer picnic. We finally have a day (so far) without rain--I think it's the first in August!

Of Birds and Bees

My sister Amber sent some photos of her fabulous fuschia plant. Wow. I haven't had a fuschia since I left the "city" (that would be Plattsburgh) and came to live in the boonies (that would be Cadyville--well, actually we have a Saranac phone exchange, we pay property taxes to the Town of Schuyler Falls [pronounced skyler in this neck of the woods], a Cadyville zip code but we live in the neighborhood [?--not sure what its official designation is but we have a road sign that tells you you're in it!] of Woods Mills).

ANYway, Stan & I buy a new hanging plant each year for the front corner of the porch and this year we chose one that we both thought was a bit unusual.
What do you think?

It's a begonia. At least that's what the tag stuck into it said. Who knew there were begonias like this??


There's a hummingbird feeder just behind it (talking about second photo here) and the birds like to hang out in the plant and ambush any bird that's not supposed to be at __(any given bird's name here)__'s feeder. They also sit on the cable TV cable just above and to the left of the feeder and dive bomb interlopers from there. The dogfights are amazing to watch. Stan & I are convinced that one day one of us will innocently step out the porch door and get nailed in the forehead by a mach-speeding hummingbird--looking much like we just got hit with a dart since they fly FASTFAST beak-first!

This last hummingbird one is dreadfully out of focus and I apologize for that but the little bugger was just about to leave and I hit the zoom on my camera and snapped a nanosecond before it took off, so focusing just wasn't possible. You can see the beak that will someday wind up in my forehead if you look at about 2:30 from where it joins the bird's head. It whited-out near its head but the last part of it is visible as a diagonal line.

We really do love these birds, and Stan is filling the 2 feeders we have about every 2-3 days now. We figure all the clutches of eggs have hatched!

As long as I have your attention I'll throw in a couple more pictures--to make up for last night's post. These are Blackberry Lilies, so called I think because of their seeds, which for such small flowers--only about 1 1/2" - 2" across--are pretty big. Think of the seed balls that form on many Asiatic lilies or common tigerlilies. Impressive seeds. These are my only checkered flowers. (I'd love to get fritillaries, another checkered flower, just so I could say "I have fritillaries in my garden," love that word, but we're too cold for them. Check 'em out in a bulb catalog.)

August

I'm not a very good blogger. I just don't have the push to do this every day. I admire those who do but it'll be awhile before this becomes a daily task for me. Mainly because I'm just not that interesting. And this isn't meant as a whine, just an observation.

I did have fun at my nephew's wedding in Milwaukee last weekend. Jane & Dan came from NE and Elise & Kyrin from FL, so I got to spend a lot of time with them and it was a blast. Kyrin got to know me enough to come running down the hall in the hotel saying, "Mimi!" Or "Grammy" sort of. (I think Mimi is pretty neat.) She's at the age where she's growing so fast that a break of a few months in seeing her (like 6!) means she's a whole 'nother person. And a total cutie. And dancing with Jane & Dan was so much fun. First I love to dance, and second, I'm always in awe of my daughter's gracefulness. Elise was a gymnast--perfect petite bouncer--and Jane a dancer--totally focused ballerina, and I got to see that in them again for awhile. What fun.

It is rainininininininig here, what feels like constantly. Actually real raindrops have not fallen from the sky for a few hours now and it feels 1) like a miracle, and 2) like they don't have to fall because the air is already so wet. It's been raining for what feels like forever. In June it rained 27 out of 30 days; July it was 21 out of 31. So far August is 3 for 3. We're all beginning to check for mold or algae in armpits, elbow and knee bends. The house smells a bit musty--no sun to dry ANY air will do that here. My garden's flowers are working hard at being pretty but ... ah, it is NOW falling out of the sky, and we so needed the rain ... they could use sun, really! Snails will be taking over everything soon. GACK. Stan picked about a dozen snails off the hosta just outside our back door last week--I mean picked up with his fingers! Talk about GACK. But I saw my snake in my garden today so some bugs will meet their demise; I wonder if snakes eat snails.....

Okay, no photos this time so I'll go away. Maybe I'll get back more frequently; I'm trying to turn over yet another new leaf (do I look like a shrub to anyone out there?).