The Lady of Shalott, Part 1 - Alfred Lord Tennyson

On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro’ the field the road runs by
To many-tower’d Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro’ the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow-veil’d,
Slide the heavy barges trail’d
By slow horses; and unhail’d
The shallop flitteth silken-sail’d
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers, reaping early
In among the bearded barley,
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly,
Down to tower’d Camelot:
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers ‘’Tis the fairy
Lady of Shalott.’

Another Septemeber 11 Anniversary

Disclaimer: I know that I am a bit cranky and overly sensitive due to a week of little sleep whilst on deadlines. Due to this over-tired over-emotionalism, I have avoided commuting via the World Trade Center PATH station, instead taking the ferry from Hoboken (which was always my preferred ride when I actually worked at WTC) and walking around the crowds of tourists on Vesey, Greenwich and Church streets.

I work in New York city - downtown to be exact, about a block away from the place most of you know as "Ground Zero". About a week ago, I noticed a new sign on a Vesey Street building I pass en route to my office. It said "Coming soon, 9/11 Memorial Preview Site". So I sighed, rolled my eyes and walked on by.

A few hours ago, upon leaving my office, I decided "what the heck" and walked down Vesey for the PATH for the first time in a week. I was surprised to come across a small mob of tourists midway down the block. They were all gaping and pointing at the new 9/11 "shop", as some were calling it. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.

Is this storefront "Preview Site" this really necessary? Is this city so bereft of reason that someone must scurry to open up what surely seems to be a top-class tourist site right now, a few short weeks before September? I guess they want to have it ready for the anniversary rush?

For the past several years, I have read angry and obnoxious comments from "New Yorkers" in teh NY Times City Room blog. New Yorkers who say they are sick and tired of 9/11 family members making such a big deal of the anniversary. I wish I could tell each and every one of them how I truly wish that my family and I could quietly and privately visit the place my brother died, especially upon the anniversary of his death. But that is not possible, because thousands of other people's brothers also died in the same place that same day.

And so we bow to the inevitable and mourn as a larger family.

I think I speak for most family members when I say that we do not ask for every New Yorker to stop in their tracks and mourn with us. But we do need people but respect that each of us grieves in our own way. God willing, these snarky people will never have to watch their loved ones slowly die on television.

Fall garden planning

I know its a bit early, but since I will have some heavy work ahead it seems a good time to start planning my fall garden. The dreams can start today - and the hard work can wait til mid-September :)

I never had the chance to prepare raised beds for my spring planting, so I will get at least one bed done and transplant the strawberries in late September. (Emergency back-up plan is to overwinter the huge pot in the garage)

If I can get two beds done, I will do beets, kale, spinach, cabbage and maybe one or two other hardy fall crop plants in there. Otherwise I will do spinach and kale in containers, and hold off on beets and cabbage til spring.

The long container is currently holding carrots and green beans. Once these are done I plan to re-sow the same. They did well :)

I am already rooting lots of basil and mint cuttings, in hopes of 1)extending the outdoor crop til frost 2) expanding the plantings to beds and 3) potting up some plants for indoors over the winter. I managed to successfully overwinter rosemary last year, and will do so again.

I may also experiment with potting up some tomato shoots for wintering indoors. I don't expect fruits, but I want to learn if they will survive til spring and can be transplanted back outside successfully to bear fruit.

What are your fall garden plans?

Rivers run...

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full;
unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

Ecclesiastes 1:7