Brother Sun, Sister Moon

 The misty mornings we've been having have made it difficult to catch a real sunrise -- the above was the best I could manage yesterday and it was well above the mountains before it peeked out from the clouds for a brief moment.

And last night was a Blue Moon -- the second Full Moon in the month and not blue at all -- rather pink, in fact, reflecting her brother's glory.

OOPS! Kath is right. It's tonight's moon that is the Blue Moon -- I got ahead of myself! 

Morning Glories Everywhere

 I still have issues -- don't we all? But this posting problem seems to be between me and Blogger and my laptop -- which may have to go in for re-grooving (does anyone remember The Firesign Theater?).

 I am posting this from a desktop computer that I haven't used in years. And I couldn't upload from Picasa as I usually do -- instead I used the little picture icon to upload from a web album.

 I've uninstalled and installed various things. (I don't have Chrome, Alan, so that wasn't the problem. And I'm only using a fraction of my purchased Google storage so it shouldn't be the pictures -- I don't think.

 On my laptop, I can't see the main pictures on this blog -- but I can see the little LINK WITHIN thumbnails. I can't even leave comments on this blog.

 And to compound the weirdness (not to mention annoyance), on the laptop I also can't access the Politics page of Huffington Post.   I can read the Entertainment or World or Media  or any of the other pages on Huff Po but not the Politics page. 

What's a Liberal political junkie to do!?!

Oops-- my laptop or Picasa or Blogger is mad at me and won't let me post pictures. I'll be back as soon as I can figure out the problem... 

Long Ago in a Galaxy Far Away...

 
An old classmate sent these pictures around yesterday and I fell at once into memories . . . class rooms with high ceilings and open windows, radiators and wooden floors . . .

Girls in starched dresses -- in the above picture, crinolines had become popular and  we rustled as we walked. How I envied one class mate who wore five full skirts, all heavily starched, every day, rotating them so a new one was on top each day...

Saddle shoes and bobby sox rolled down were in -- some wore foam rubber inside that sock roll to ensure a stylishly fat wad of sock around the ankle.

How young and (mostly) innocent we were . . . 

 

Garden Miscellany

 

Sweet potato blossom

Garlic chives in bloom

Chard, eggplant, and one of the many, many morning glories infesting  adorning the garden

 

Sunday Reveries

 

 

 

 

Getting Up the 'Baccer Again

Another sign that summer's winding down  -- the tobacco's turning yellow and workers are cutting the plants and stringing them on to 'baccer sticks.

 

 This is burley tobacco and the entire stalk will be air-dried hanging in a tobacco barn. (Unlike flue-cured in which only the leaves are harvested to be cured in gas-heated barns.)

There isn't much tobacco being grown around here, now that government doesn't support the prices. The small family patches, such as we used to grow, are pretty much gone.  This patch was being harvested by Latino workers.

As I've said before, it's hard work and I'm glad I'm not doing it any more.  But I'm glad to have participated in the culture and sights like this make me just a little nostalgic...

 

Orchid Dances with the Light

 

 

 

 

Diminshing Returns

It's always with mixed feelings that I see the end in sight for the garden. I picked the last of the corn several weeks ago and now the tomatoes are calling it a day. The blight hit them hard and I'd planted all heirloom varieties -- none of which were blight resistant. 

I picked the last of the tomatoes yesterday and what is probably the last of the green beans. The beans have done very well -- but now the deer have discovered them and are grazing heavily. The cucumbers also have done well but I think the vines are nearing their end.

Eggplant and peppers are going strong -- the deer don't seem interested in their foliage. And I still have sweet potatoes and winter squash to harvest.

As I said -- mixed feelings. It'll be good to take down the stakes and sea grass string and get rid of the sad remains of the tomato plants, to tidy away this year's garden in sure and certain hope of a better crop next year. It's okay if I don't put up any more tomatoes -- I have a gracious plenty, what with last year's leftovers.

 But oh! I'll miss those tomato sandwiches!
  

Ten Thousand Words

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Relativity of Goodness and Being