September 11-remembering

In the 20th century, we remembered where we were when Pearl Harbor was bombed, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, or the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered.

For the 21st century, we remember where we were when the new millennium began and when hijacked jets brought the World Trade Center towers down and killed hundreds at the Pentagon. I was in Tacoma for my first New Year's Day in 2000 and I was on my way to work when my feet froze in place, keys in hand, as I watching television news - live - in horror. On my way to work, cars of service men and women were lined up for miles at the entry gates for McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis.

I was numb and sad all day. At lunchtime, I visited the Sesame Street website for a break away from the news that inevitably surrounds those of us who work in communications for a state health department. Because our state is a border state and has at least one highly visible landmark - the Seattle Space Needle - we were on high alert.

This morning I remembered and cried like I have every September 11th. At sunset, I lit two candles in memory of the two towers and the two cities - New York City and Washington DC - that are forever changed.

I will never forget.

Dona nobis pacem.

September 9-nature transforms

It really is magical how a couple of days of rain transform a lifeless tree into a canvas for new life forms. Here are my favorites.

September 8-baby barn swallows

Fledgling barn swallows - Barn & Tree Swallows Gallery

Historically, mosquitoes have been plentiful in the Nisqually Delta. Swallows return to our area in April, dive-bombing, swooping, sometimes flying inches above the ground. Most of my neighbors hope the barn swallows will avoid nesting on their homes. Their mud nests do not damage walls but people don't like the inevitable droppings. I'm fascinated by these birds. So, of course, I photograph them. I have created a gallery with the images I photographed today, along with favorites of barn and tree swallows from the past four years.

Purple finches

The images I photographed today are recently fledged barn swallows who are growing up in a rock wall above a retention pond a couple of blocks from my house. A couple of young purple finches (distinguished from house finches by the red at the base of their tails) also joined the crowd.

Most of these were photographed with a 300mm lens so I could stay a good distance away. The parents were not thrilled that I was paying so much attention to their offspring, especially since I had a dog (Padme the wonderdog) with me.

September 6-Labor Day photos of the day

Padme the wonderdog and I spent a few hours this afternoon in Sequalitchew Creek Canyon. I posted several photos from our outing on Facebook. My favorite is this one of a plant called entire-leaved gumweed (Grindelia integrifolia). I photographed this salt marsh native in what is called the brackish marsh where tidal waters from Puget Sound meet Sequalitchew Creek. We walked down the bank to the marsh for a closer look just as it started to drizzle, making the marsh come alive.

I just started scanning slides from another long-ago adventure on a Labor Day weekend to another incredible canyon: Havasu Canyon in Arizona. Havasu is an offshoot of the Grand Canyon, formed by Havasu Creek. It is also home to the Havasupai Indians - Havasu ’Baaja (the-people-of-the-blue-green-waters) who live in the canyon. The Hualapai Indians live at the top of the canyon. And, yes, the water really is that incredible turquoise.

Mooney Falls

One set of falls is Mooney Falls and the other - with all the people - is Havasu Falls. All of those wonderful turquoise pools were washed away in a flood in 2008 and there are new falls in the canyon as a result.

Havasu Falls

September 5-Irish-American contrasts

Abandoned cottage on the Ring of Kerry, Ireland - See Celtic photo gallery

I grew up in a small town in New Jersey. Bordentown was founded in 1682 by Quakers, noted for tolerance and commitment to social justice.

This little town drew many Irish immigrants escaping the potato famine in their native land in the mid-1840s. I remember my Dad talking about the social divisions in Irish society that followed my ancestors to their new home.

"Shanty Irish" or "mud Irish" were the most impoverished. Most had no skills and worked at anything that would put bread on the table. "Lace curtain Irish" were fairly well off, often wealthy.

Malahide Castle - Dublin, Ireland - Celtic Gallery

Catholic Mass was held at the home of my great-great-grandfather Cornelius Joseph Lynch and other Irish, now Americans. At least, according to a Bordentown history book written in 1932 by James Magee, publisher of the Bordentown Register News. According to information on St. Mary's website, there was already a small church that was built in the area where my family lived, a full decade before they arrived. Regardless, my great-great-grandfather was a founding member of the first church.

St. Mary's Catholic Church, Bordentown, NJ

The current St. Mary's Catholic Church was dedicated in the 1872. My great-great-grandfather was a cobbler by trade and was probably somewhere between "shanty Irish" and "lace curtain Irish." In my hometown, many of the Irish lived in the "2nd ward" of the town close to the railroad and "hilltop."

Camden & Amboy rail line circa 1980

My great grandfather, also Cornelius Joseph Lynch, was an engineer on the Camden & Amboy Railway before his untimely death at age 27. Family legend is that he had a heart attack after hitting a woman crossing the tracks when he was driving the train. The August 1879 Bordentown Register simply says that he died.

September 4-Berry good

"Berry good" is a companion image to "Life is." See my July 31 blog entry.

Sean and I took the dog for a walk and picked blackberries along the way. We saw a few other families out doing the same thing, carrying bags and buckets.

There are a lot of blackberries in DuPont. The invasive (but very tasty) Himalayan blackberries have huge berries and huge thorny vines. The native blackberry is smaller but equally tasty.

I found a recipe for lavender berry crisp from a 2004 issue of Sunset magazine that I have to share. It is really good. This is a modified version and is now lavender berry cobbler. I bought some Louisiana cobbler mix on sale a few weeks ago and used that on top instead of the streusel in the recipe. Yum!

Lavender Berry Cobbler

2-3 T culinary lavender buds.
2 T quick-cooking tapioca.
1/4 cup + 2 T Splenda blend (or 3/4 cup sugar).
2 tsp. cinnamon.
4 cups blackberries or raspberries, rinsed.
4 cups blueberries, rinsed.

Layer berries in shallow baking dish. Whir lavender and tapioca in a blender or coffee grinder (found this to be a critical step, otherwise the tapioca doesn't soften). Mix dry ingredients and sprinkle evenly over berries.

Follow directions for Louisiana cobbler mix and pour evenly over berries. Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes.

For crisp topping instead of cobbler mix: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup butter cut into 1/2-inch chunks, 1/2 cup chopped almonds, 1/2 cup sugar. Combine all but almonds in food processor or blender. Stir in almonds. Squeeze handfuls of mixture together, then crumble over fruit mixture. Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes.

Serve warm topped with ice cream. Double yum!

September 2-view from the front door

Often the most spectacular sky colors happen right after the sun slips below the horizon.

We walked across Chief Leschi Park in DuPont in a beautiful evening. Red sky at night...sailor's delight.