Red

Donna's favorite tree, my backyard, Sunday afternoon. (And she took this photo, too.)

Hint: if your really want to see the tree, enlarge the image by clicking on it, and check out the reflection in the window.

Purple

Purple berries, a neighbor's yard, Sunday afternoon.

I have no idea what these fellas are, but they sure are pretty. If you do, please let us know.

Happy Birthday Abe!

Korean mums off the front porch.

I don't usually post on weekends, but then I found out that it's Abe Lincoln's birthday.

Happy Birthday Abe!

Biff's new friend

Biff and cat (name unknown), Sunday afternoon.

Hawthorn

Hawthorn berries, Johnson Street.

Autumn flowers

Blue Bell Hill, Saturday evening.

The neighbors

Saturday evening, Johnson Street.

Hannah baby was a honey of a girl

From my bedroom, Sunday afternoon, after the nap.

Hurricane Hannah, or what little of her we got, gave us a windy and raining Saturday without too much fuss, and departed by Sunday leaving us with a splendid early autumn day.

By the way, this is Monday's post going up Sunday night. I'm tired of looking at the yellow caution tape.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle, front porch, Sunday evening.

Hard to get mad at honeysuckle. Its kind of of like the stray cat that'll do anything to win your affections. The flowers are not only pretty to look at, but what a sweet aroma it puts into the breeze on a late summer night.

Morning personality

These weeds (well, I didn't plant them) close their flowers at night. But in the morning they're up early to catch the first sunlight.

Front porch geraniums

Geraniums, front porch, Tuesday evening.

In memory of my grandmother, I keep geraniums. They were her favorite (although she preferred the red ones), and I grow mine in one of her old planters

Backyard berries

Late summer berries in the backyard.

The hummingbird was incensed that I would invade her domain and kept buzzing the back of my neck as I took this photo.

Yellow

Marigold, Blue Bell Hill Traffic circle.

Red on red

Salvia, Blue Bell Hill traffic circle.

'Tis the season

Off the front porch, Saturday afternoon.

Lovin' the lavender

Blue Bell Hill traffic circle, Monday evening.

Lavender is the popular flavor these days among bees in this neck of the woods. Of all the other flowers they had to choose from, they decided to crowd these blooms.

She of the black eyes

Black-eyed Susan, off the front porch, Thursday evening.

Happy Anniversary, Abe, to you and Patty! I'll be thinking about you Saturday.

And to all, have a great weekend!

Not the inner chamber of the ear

Rather a hornet or bees nest (abandoned, thankfully!), in the rafters above one of my neighbor's kitchen, discovered during renovations...

...the size of a 30 gallon trashcan.

Thank you, Linda Jaymes, for those great photographs!

Celebrating the Fourth

American flag, front porch, Blue Bell Hill

It seems to me that Americans, in principle a free people, have the right to celebrate or not celebrate the Fourth of July, and if they choose to do so, to celebrate in their own way and for their own reasons.

In a recent editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chris Satullo argues that America does not “deserve to celebrate its birthday” this year, citing violations of human rights, including torture and imprisonment without charges, which he correctly sees as a sad deviation from the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, namely “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

But surely if we are to decide each year whether or not to celebrate the writing of these words based on how well we and our government have followed the principles they invoke, we would never have been able to hold a Fourth of July. For nearly a century after the Declaration of Independence was signed, people kept slaves. Women were denied many of the rights that men routinely held, and were not allowed to vote until 1920. And what of the horrendous treatment of Native Americans? And the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II? The list goes on.

Our government, like all governments, is not perfect. And I would agree that at present we are way off course. Yet I also believe that the values set forth in the Declaration of Independence are still there to correct that course. As values -- as ideals -- they will always remain a force that drives us forward; but as values and ideals, they can never be fully attained.

Abraham Lincoln, perhaps this country’s greatest defender of the Declaration of Independence, understood its tremendous importance in steering the destiny of the nation. That is why he invoked it in the Gettysburg Address as he struggled to help the American people make sense of the horrific loss of life during the Civil War. Adherence to the principle that “all men are created equal” brought us to that war, and the guiding principle of “government of the people, by the people, for the people” helped to bring us back together afterward.

In his article, Satullo chides not just the government for violations of human rights, but you and me as well. That is fair. In a democracy we are all responsible for our country’s actions. But I am not sure that we are as indifferent to the problems and issues as he suggests. The greatest weapon in our arsenal against bad government is our right to vote. Seems we’ve been doing a lot of that lately. I, for one, take much pride in the active involvement of the students at the University where I work during the Pennsylvania primary. I also take much pride in the fact that we have an African American candidate for president this year, and that his main opponent during the primary season was a woman.

So I am going to celebrate the Fourth of July this year. I am going hang the American flag on my front porch. I am going to think about the values set forth in the Declaration of Independence, and of all of those who struggled and died to advance those values. I think it is proper and fitting to do so.

And now I’ll shut up, except to say to those of you who intend to celebrate the Fourth, happy holiday, and to everyone, have a great weekend.

Red gorget

Male hummingbird, front porch, June 2008. Photo courtesy of Donna.