Here come the lilies!

The official start of summer means my garden is filled with lilies. That includes the much despised orange daylilies which grow by roadsides. I have more than I can use, but I can’t give them away. Most people view them as little better than weeds. But there’s nothing more beautiful than a huge mass of orange daylilies. I’m sure if they were rare and hard to grow they would be considered beautiful and be highly prized.


Next come the regal lilies. The most beautiful of all is lilium regal album which has the most astonishing fragrance. I realize this sounds strange, but the best way I can describe it is a sweet lily fragrance mixed with a peppery scent.


Then the Asiatic lilies. They have large, showy flowers but unfortunately no fragrance. I've found that the yellow Asiatics are most likely to return year after year.



The hyper-hybridized Asiatic lilies which come in spectacular colors like Landini, a deep burgundy, bloom for one year and disappear. It's so beautiful,I succumb to the temptation to buy new bulbs every year.

Then the hybridized daylilies with gorgeous flowers in a wide range of colors and sometimes with a little bit of fragrance. One of my favorites, a re-bloomer Rosy Returns:

Then the first of the Orientals-a miniature oriental, Mona Lisa. Its musky oriental lily fragrance is far from miniature and it has the advantage of not needing to be staked.

I can never keep up with staking lilies in July when the tall orientals rule!

More lily photos to come.

Good-by to the glorious spring of 2013!

Good-by to the glorious spring of 2013

Today is the first day of summer, but for me summer begins with Memorial day week-end. There have been years when we’ve had weeks of blistering heat before the summer solstice, but this year, for the most part, we have had had relatively cool sunny weather interspersed with seriously abundant rainfall. I haven’t had to drag out the hose once and my garden looks like a jungle.

This is a good time to pay my respects to the glorious flowers of Spring. The show starts in the winter with the snow drops and crocus and then in March the daffodils and hyacinths which are tough enough to handle a March snowfall:

Then in April the tulips! I plant hundreds each year, and most are eaten by voles and groundhogs, but they usually leave me few:

Then the flowering trees and shrubs of late April and early May. Some of my favorites:

cercis canadensis,otherwise know as redbud

,

purple sandcherry

In May the wondrous combination of allium and iris:

In June the peonies, clematis and roses:

clematis henryi

peony

With the summer solstice we have the lilies and right now I have one of the most fragrant of them all blooming in my garden:

Good news/ bad news from the June 15 PA Democratic State Committee meeting

First the good news: resolutions sponsored by progressive caucus members calling for online voter registration and early voting passed unanimously and a moratorium on fracking passed by a clear majority. A resolution in support of social security passed unanimously.

The early voting and online voter registration resolutions called for state committee to support efforts currently in the PA legislature to allow for early voting and online registration. And online voter registration bill (Senate Bill 37) passed the Senate unanimously and is currently before the House. Two early voting bills (HB 361 and HB 548) have been proposed in the House. The Republicans have been ruthless in their attempts to suppress voting rights; the Democrats must fight back with a proactive agenda that ensures that voting is as easy and accessible as possible.

While the voter access resolutions were non-controversial, the resolution on fracking was contentious. Areas in the western part of the state which have experienced job growth as a result of the fracking industry were for the most part opposed to the resolution. Given the powerful interests involved in the fracking industry, it’s not clear what impact this resolution will have, but having PA state committee on record in favor of a moratorium has got to strengthen the position of anti-fracking activists.

With regard to the social security resolution, as one member of the progressive caucus said, “it’s incredible that the state Democratic Party has to pass a resolution in support of social security. Isn’t that a given?” Not so long ago such a resolution would have been totally unnecessary. But since we now have “centrist” Democrats who argue that we must cut “entitlements" to reduce the budget deficit, we are forced to defend social security and Medicare within the Democratic Party. This is surely the world turned upside down!

Now for the bad news: the bylaws change calling for due process for aggrieved committeepeople failed. A bylaws change requires a 2/3 majority and it’s not easy to reach that threshold. Since the Chair thought it was clear we didn’t have 2/3’s, he didn’t call for a head count. I really would have liked to have had those numbers. It looked to me like we had at least 50% of the members present and progressive caucus chair Bruce Slater thought we had a majority, but the bottom line was we didn’t have 2/3’s.

The big surprise (for me) was that the intense opposition that scuttled the bylaws amendment came from Montgomery County. I had heard that there was opposition from Philadlphia County, but at the Philadelphia County regional meeting there was a civil discussion rather than the hard sell I expected. Lou Farinella who chaired the meeting was opposed to the bylaws change, but he acknowledged that there were legitimate concerns about due process. He complimented Irv Ackelsberg’s defense of Tracey Gordon, whose expulsion from her ward committee set in motion the progressive caucus attempt to get the state Democratic Party to guarantee due process. Farinella even told an anecdote about how he was once kicked out of his ward in the late 1970’s for support of then Mayor Bill Green—as if to say I myself have had experience with arbitrary and capricious behavior and understand your concerns even though I disagree with your proposed solution.

When I left the Philadelphia caucus meeting, I felt optimistic about the possibility of passage of the bylaws amendment. Irv Acklesberg and Walter Sullivan made effective arguments in favor of the bylaws change and it appeared that some of the opposition within the Philadelphia delegation might have softened a bit. (It may have been, as some of my fellow progressive caucus members stated, that Farinella did not engage in a hard sell because he knew that had the votes to defeat the amendment.)

The most intense opposition to the bylaws change came from Montgomery County spearheaded by Montgomery County Chair, Marcel Groen. Delegates are seated by county, so when people stand up to cast their vote, you can see what parts of the state support or oppose a resolution. When the entire Montgomery County delegation stood up in opposition, it was clear we had a problem.

Marcel Groen’s speech against the motion was shockingly self-centered. He stated that Montgomery County had instituted fair procedures and that due process for committeepeople existed in Montgomery County. He was opposed to any appeal beyond the county level as there was no need for anyone in Montgomery County to appeal any of his actions to state committee. He is alleged to have told a progressive caucus member that “he didn’t want anyone telling him what to do.”

Assuming it is true that there are no problems and never will be problems in Montgomery County, there clearly have been problems in other parts of the state. Groen was voting to prevent extension of due process in other parts of the state because he saw it as an encroachment on his power in Montgomery County. No county should be a law unto itself. Philadelphia County has a reputation for such arrogance, but Montgomery County appears to be just as bad, if not worse.

Apparently at least some of the Montgomery County delegates voted against the amendment based on a misunderstanding of what it involved. One delegate said he had been told the bylaws amendment would require changing the process that Montgomery County currently has in place. Not true. The amendment would require only that the county rules be consistent with the state party rules and that a committee person who believed that the county process has been applied unfairly in her case would have the opportunity to appeal to Democratic State Committee. In short, the amendment simply provides for due process. When Irv Ackelsberg asked the Montgomery County delegate if he had read the amendment, he said he had not. Apparently there were quite few delegates who voted against the bylaws change because they were told to do so and never bothered to read the amendment.

Bruce Slater said he was not discouraged that we failed at this point to reach the 2/3 threshold for a bylaws change. He said at least 50% of the delegates voted for the amendment and many state committee delegates, including some of those in leadership, now acknowledge that there is a problem and are talking about ways to address it.

Fortunately, not all county chairs insist upon having the final word with regard to what happens in their counties and recognize that there might be times when a committeeperson has been treated unjustly and should have the right to appeal. The bottom line: A Democratic Party should have democratic procedures.

The Magic of Toledo:The Spain and Portugal Diaries, Part VIII

In the mid 1980's when Rick and I were in Spain, we took a day trip from Madrid to Toledo. It was frustrating to be in that beautiful town for only a short time and I longed to get back there. I especially wanted to see Toledo at night. That amazing painting by El Greco "The View from Toledo" had a hold on my imagination.

Toledo was not on the direct route back to Madrid and involved more driving than we liked to do on one day, but we decided to do it anyway as we might not have the opportunity to see Toledo again. I still very much liked Toledo but it was not as magical as I remembered. It seems whenever I fall in love with a place, it’s never as wonderful the second time around. Sometimes it’s a real disappointment as in my return trip to Santiago . (Tuscany is an exception to this. )

Anyway, we did get to see Toledo at night and we also visited the major synagogue, El Transito.

Toledo at night

There are two synagogues in the Old Town of Toledo and in 1986 we saw the 12c synagogue which had been converted into the Christian church, Santa Maria la Blanca. This time we visited El Transito and the adjoining Museo Sefardi with a collection illustrating the history and culture of the Sephardic Jews in Spain. If you have time for only one synagogue, El Transito is the one.

El Transiito courtyard of El Transito

As far as I’m concerned, there are three “must see’s” in Toledo, the synagogue, the gargantuan cathedral which has an astonishing collection of paintings and a small chapel, Iglesia de Santo Tome containing the Burial of Count Orgaz which we missed in 1986.

There are some paintings that a photograph can’t begin to capture and this is one of them. Although I’m not as in love with El Greco as I used to be decades go, there are still some of his paintings I could look at for hours. This is one of them.

I’m very happy we managed to visit Toledo once again and it was much more enjoyable in March without the crowds and intense heat of mid-summer.

Back to Spain—Zamora, Salamanca again: The Spain and Portugal Diaries, Part VII

Main Square in Zamora

The scenery changed very dramatically when we left Northern Portugal for Spain. Bright green hills morphed into the flat arid plains of central Spain. When we drove through this region in the mid-1980’s we saw some of the most depressing little towns in Western Europe. These impoverished dusty towns appear to be a thing of the past.

Our first stop was Zamora. We chose it because it was a convenient stopping point and known for a 12thc. cathedral. We hadn't expected it to have such an incredibly beautiful old town. Like Salamanca, the buildings were all golden sandstone; unlike Salamanca, we saw the historic center shimmering in sunlight.

The Michelin guides can usually be counted on to identify major cultural treasures but they fell down on the job in their description of the cathedral at Zamora simply stating: “The principal exhibit in the cathedral museum is a series of 15thc century Flemish tapestries.” What an understatement! With perfectly preserved jewel like colors, these were among the most beautiful tapestries I’ve ever seen; the museum guard called them the most beautiful in the world and he may have been right. It is worth the trip to Zamora for the tapestries alone.

Cathedral in Zamora

And if we ever make it back to Zamora, I would definitely stay at the Paredor, a very beautiful old manor house right near the main square.

The drive from Zamora to Toledo was our longest driving day so we broke it up with a stop at Salamanca, hoping to catch Salamanca on a sunny day. Unfortunately it was another rainy day in Salamanca, but the town is so beautiful it didn’t really matter. And we did get a ray of sunshine for about two minutes. Salamanca on a brilliant sunny day may be one of those travel experiences which will forever elude us.

Main Square in Salamanca

This time we managed to see the University of Salamanca. During our previous stop at Salamanca, we had the misfortune to arrive at the University at 1:30 just as it was closing for the day. It would have been a real loss to have visited Salamanca and not seen the university found in 1215. Apparently medieval Salamanca had its problems with campus violence and according to the guide provided by the University, Alfonso X, El Sabio (King of Castille, 1252-84) "banned students from buying weapons and advised the university proctor to imprison or expel quarrelsome students!”

We would have liked to linger in Salamanca but we had a two and a half hour drive to Toledo ahead of us.

Casa Mateus and Braganza:The Spain and Portugal Diaries, Part VI

I had never heard of the small Portuguese town of Mateus, but when we realized we needed to break up our trip from Guimaraes to Braganza, we looked at the map and saw that Mateus was conveniently located around the mid-point.

The Casa Mateus, an early 18th century baroque manor house built by the Mateus family (makers of Mateus rose wine) is now open to the public and run as a private foundation by the Mateus family. The manor house was filled with the art work/memorabilia of the Mateus family and definitely worth a visit.

But for me the great attraction was the garden—I cannot resist a garden tour.

The garden was awash in camellias, magnolias, and apple trees in bloom.

In fact camellias were everywhere in northern Portugal.

Camellias in the cathedral in Porto

The Casa Mateus garden was not as well kept up as it might be—we were told there was only one full-time gardener with 2 part-time helpers—but was still very beautiful and must be spectacular in summer. Although we greatly enjoy the absence of crowds and the low prices of off-season travel, the reality is that gardens are generally at their best during high season. Again, trade-offs, trade-offs.

Braganza turned out to be something of a disappointment. It does have a well-preserved 12thc. castle on a steep hill with spectacular views of the countryside, but outside the castle walls the town is mostly modern construction, without the architectural riches of most of Portugal’s historic towns.

Apparently the Braganca dynasty which built the castle decided to leave the cool rainy North and decamp for the warmth and sunshine of Southern Portugal and took their enormous wealth with them.

Our trip was winding down and I was starting to get tired. Two weeks is about my limit at this stage of life and this trip was over the limit. Much as I enjoyed our road trip in Northern Portugal, I was starting to think longingly of home. When we were younger we took this kind of European road trip for 3-4 weeks and if money had not been an issue would gladly have kept going for another 4 weeks. But, sad to say, this is no longer the case.

Viana do Castelo, Guimaraes, Braga—Magical Small Towns of Northern Portugal; The Spain and Portugal Diaries, Part V

View from Staircase at Bom Jesus

If we ever travel to northern Portugal again, we will definitely plan an overnight stay in the magical town of Viana do Castelo which has a glorious old town and one of the most beautiful town squares in Northern Portugal.

When Rick and I first started traveling together we never made advance reservations. We waited until we got to a town before deciding whether or not we wanted to stay there, but as we got older we increasingly disliked the hassle of searching for a hotel. So we now we choose the security of advance booking over the freedom to follow our inclinations. We’re just too old to arrive in a town dead tired without a hotel booking. We also have less tolerance for changing hotels every night.

So although we would have liked to stay in Viana do Castelo, we had already booked two nights in a fantastic pousada in Guimaraes, a converted 12th century monastery perched on a steep hillside with magnificent views and a glorious garden. It even had a beautiful cloister where guests could hang out. I had always wanted to sit round drinking wine in a medieval cloister—yes this really has been one of my travel fantasies—and in the Pousada de Santa Marinha da Costa I got my wish.

The next day we went to the Bom de Jesus do Monte described by our guidebook as “Portugal’s most spectacular religious sanctuary." Bom Jesus with its spectacular baroque staircase leading up to the church is itself worth a trip to northern Portugal. Rick and I surprised ourselves by managing to climb up and down the astonishing staircase. It was gratifying to know we could still do something like that.

The only disappointment was that the white washed stone of the staircase was beginning to show some wear and tear and looked very different from the photo in the guidebook. Portugal is clearly having difficulty keeping maintaining its rich cultural heritage.

Staircase at Bom Jesus

Unfortunately, we short-changed Guimares with its attractive old town and impressive Main Square, but we did manage to explore the historic center of nearby Braga. Rick and I have accepted that we can't see everything and would rather see a few things well than run frantically from place to place.

Most of Braga is a little shabby, but once you enter the old town, it’s a magical place. Unfortunately, getting to that historic center is a herculean challenge. These ancient European cities were not meant for automobiles. Once inside the old town, we were really happy we didn’t give into our frustration with the crazy traffic and near impossibility of finding a parking space and abandon Braga.

Cathedral in Braga

But even in the generally well-kept old town, there were signs of disrepair and historic buildings which sadly no longer looked at all like their photos in the guidebook. Let’s hope when this miserable recession ends, that the Portuguese government will be able to invest in its treasures like historic Braga and the magnificent Bom Jesus.

Porto, a must visit for port wine lovers:The Spain and Portugal Diaries, Part IV

Like Lisbon, Porto is a river city on steep hills; unlike Lisbon, Porto is not covered with glistening tiles. Although I did not fall in love with Porto the way I did with Lisbon, Rick and I enjoyed it very much.

Porto has a rich architectural heritage but unfortunately much of it is in disrepair. The signs of economic distress were much more visible in Porto than in Madrid. But Porto retains its charm nonetheless—especially on a sunny day.

We arrived in Porto on a gray, gloomy day and the shabbiness of some parts of the town was a little depressing. A few days later, on a dazzling sunny day, sections which had looked down-at-heels now looked delightfully picturesque. Porto is a city of towers and a gray granite tower gains against a gray sky just can’t compare to that same gray tower against a dazzling blue sky.

We managed to see almost the entire metropolitan area by hopping on and off the city bus tour. One of the highlights was the Ribeira district with tiny houses perched on vertiginous hills. It reminded me little of Italy’s Amalfi coast, especially as many of the houses were festooned with laundry hanging out to dry. And there were tiles if not so spectacular as those in Lisbon

Another highlight was Porto’s Atlantic coast. Parts of Porto and the neighboring town of Matosinhos opened onto the Atlantic. We jumped off our tour bus, headed straight for the beach and spent a few hours sipping red wine and staring at the ocean--just as we had in Barcelona last year. Of course since this was March, we were bundled up with scarves and sweaters, but I actually prefer this to a broiling summer beach.

The high point of our visit to Porto was our trip to the Port wine houses in Gaia, a small neighboring town across the Douro River, devoted to the making of port wine. For port-lovers like us, this was equivalent to a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was fascinating to learn how our beloved wine is made and yes they really do dance on the grapes.

We usually look for small hotels, but we found a really good deal at the Hotel Intercontinental and decided to try it. For what we paid, it was a fantastic deal with all sorts of amenities and amazing breakfasts. It’s a relatively new hotel in an old palace and trying to build its reputation, so I don’t know how long the good deals will last. The staff were extraordinarily helpful --all in all, a great experience. The hotel staff recommended a seriously good restaurant Paparico – wonderful food , charming setting , great service and surprisingly affordable.

Spain's Paradores and Portugal's Pousadas-- Government run hotels which work: The Spain and Portugal Diaries, Part III

Cathedral in Viseu

One of the pleasures of going to Spain and Portugal in early Spring is the bright green landscape. When we drove through central Spain in 1986, we found a depressingly barren, brown, rock-strewn landscape. In mid-March it’s still austere, but the green got brighter and lusher as we approached Portugal.

Our first stop in Portugal was Viseu which our guidebook described quite accurately as having “an enthralling old town.”

Old town square in Viseu

We stayed in one of Portugal’s pousadas—a government run hotel housed in a converted early 19th century hospital. Rick and I are drawn to historic buildings converted into modern hotels and we’ve stayed in more converted convents and monasteries than I can remember.

This however was our first converted hospital and a very enjoyable stay at an affordable 81 euros a night. Another advantage of off-season travel in Portugal and Spain is that off-season rates for the government run pousadas and paradores are significantly lower than high season rates.

From what we’ve read recently the pousadas (of Portugal) and paradores (of Spain) are going through something of a crisis. They were established in the early 1970’s as a way of luring tourists out of Madrid and Lisbon into the provinces, thus spreading the tourist dollar around. When they first opened they were often the only game in town. Now they have competition form new boutique hotels with a more “flexible” labor force.

The staff of the pousadas and paradores are government employee with benefits that most workers in the hospitality industry can only dream of. A recent New York Times article acknowledged that the paradores “For the most part...get high marks for service and food.” But according to Ramón Estalella, the secretary general of the Confederation of Spanish Hotels and Tourist Accommodations, “As a government enterprise, the paradores also have a bulky and inflexible staff...As government workers, they expect to be employed for life.”

According to the New York Times reporter, one criticism of the paradores is that “the staff, which averages more than 18 years on the job, is set in the old ways of hotel manners. Staff members speak few languages and tend to get about the business of checking you in without the friendly banter people are used to these days. “

This was not our experience. We found the staff to be friendly and competent and if you like the idea if a hotel run by well-compensated employees with benefits maybe then maybe the pousadas (of Portugal) and paradores ( of Spain) are the place for you.

Salamanca--Gorgeous Even on a Gray, Rainy Day: The Spain and Portugal Diaries, Part II

The Cathedral in Salamanca

We picked up a rental car in Madrid and headed west to Salamanca. We weren’t sure Salamanca was worth an overnight stop. Were we ever wrong! It’s worth a minimum of two nights and I could happily have spent a week there.

We had the misfortune to have gray, drizzly weather in Salamanca but the old town with its perfectly preserved Medieval and Renaissance architecture was spectacularly beautiful despite the gloom. We decided that if the weather was good on our way back, we would stop again to see that golden stone in bright sunlight.

The rain did have one upside. The cathedral, the University buildings, and the Plaza Mayor were all brilliantly lit at night and the rain on the cobblestone streets reflected all that light, making Salamanca at night one of the the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen.

The Hotel we stayed in, Hotel Rector, could not have been more charming—all Rick’s internet research really paid off.

Unfortunately when we drove by Salamanca on our return to Madrid, it was another gray day, but the town is so beautiful it didn’t really matter. This time we managed to see the University of Salamanca, founded in 1215. When we were there a week earlier we arrived at 1:30 just as the doors were closing. It would have been a real loss not to have seen the interior of the university.

The entrance to the University Of Salamanca

Apparently, medieval Salamanca had its problems with campus violence and according to the guide provided by the university, Alfonso X El Sabio, King of Castille 1252-84, “banned students from buying weapons and advised the university proctor to “imprison or expel quarrelsome students.” It was difficult to imagine warring students disrupting the tranquility of that serenely beautiful place.

We really would have liked to linger in Salamanca but we had a 2 ½ hour drive to Toledo ahead of us. It looks like a sunny day in Salamanca is one of those travel experiences that will forever elude us

Madrid is better than ever: The Spain and Portugal Diaries, Part I

The Plaza Mayor

Last year Rick and I returned to Barcelona. Rick had been there fifty years ago; for me it was 43 years. The changes were astonishing--we were returning to a different city.

This year we returned to Madrid. We had been there together in 1986 when Spain was just emerging form the dark night of the Franco regime. The changes may not have been as dramatic as what we experienced in Barcelona, but they were striking nonetheless. The somewhat shabby down-at-heels historic center of the Madrid of 1986 was transformed into sparkling vibrant city with its architectural treasures beautifully restored. Although Spain is mired in recession, you would ever know from a visit to the historic part of Madrid.

Typical street scene in Madrid's historic center

When we visited in 1986, I was overwhelmed by the Prado and the beauty of the Plaza Mayor but for the most part wasn’t particularly impressed by Madrid. That has changed. Madrid is definitely on my list of places I would like to see again. Unfortunately, since we don’t have an endless expanse of travel time ahead of us, tough choices will have to be made.

We flew in and out of Madrid and had a few days in Madrid at either end of the trip. We had a great hotel, the Hotel Unico—one of those small boutique hotels we scour the internet for.

And Madrid has become a food-lovers mecca. We found a branch of Astrid y Gaston, a restaurant serving Nueva Cocina Peruvian specialties that we went to when we were in Lima. Rick thought it was even better than its Peruvian cousin and very good value. We also went to a very traditional Basque inflected restaurant Zalacain. It’s been superseded by the Nueva Cocina restaurants currently garnering all the Michelin stars in Madrid these days, but in some ways I prefer it to the razzle dazzle of the hot new chefs. Zalacain was a trip back in time to the days when good restaurants were well-staffed.(Some would say over-staffed.) Instead of exhausted wait staff dashing about from table to table, the waiters were not in a pressure cooker and seemed as relaxed as the customers. It sure takes away some of the enjoyment when you are being served by overworked waiters.

We had glorious weather those first few days in Madrid and we spent our first day just hanging out in the Plaza Mayor, certainly one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. We have become slow travelers, doing maybe one or two things per day.

Our second day was devoted to the Prado. Of course you need a week for the Prado, but we tried to make the most of our one day. For me, one of the surprises of revisiting much loved museums is discovering how much my tastes have changed. When we were in Madrid almost three decades ago, for me, the highlight was Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights.’ I remember standing there for a really long time trying to take it all in. This time, I felt no such desire—a few minutes and I was ready to move on. I’m also starting to lose my taste for El Greco, but at his stage in my life I can’t get enough Titian.

Magnolia Stellata: More on forcing branches of flowering shrubs

My repertory of forced branches is usually limited to forsythia, witch hazel and quince. But this year I got a pleasant surprise. Rick and I were trying to wrestle a gargantuan bittersweet vine to the ground. It was strangling our Magnolia Stellata-- an early blooming magnolia.

In the process of pulling down the bittersweet we broke off a few branches of the Magnolia Stellata. I decided why not bring them in and try to force them. To my surprise, in a few days we had gorgeous magnolia flowers on our window sill. Looks like I’ve made and addition to my yearly ritual of forcing branches of flowering shrubs.

Getting a head start on Spring with forced bulbs and branches of flowering shrubs

In late February and early March, my house is filled with flowers--and yes, real fragrant flowers, not the denatured kind you get in flower shops.

The secret is forcing bulbs and branches of flowering shrubs. In January and February I force forsythia and witch hazel. In early March, it's time for one of the easiest and most beautiful of the flowering shrubs--quince,especially quince contorta with convoluted branches almost as striking as the flowers. And the tremendous advantage of forcing branches of flowering shrubs is there is no advance preparation—just go out in the garden and break off a branch.

Forced bulbs require a bit of forethought. In November I put hyacinths and daffodils in pots in an old refrigerator in my basement. Hyacinths are the easiest--they need only about an 8 week chill. Tulips are the hardest usually requiring 12 weeks.

Another advantage of hyacinths is that after blooming inside, in mid-March they can be tucked in somewhere outside. And they can be counted on to bloom the following year. Daffodils and Tulips unfortunately are not so reliable, but hyacinths are forever. And hyacinth fragrance is something I cannot get enough of.

hyacinths blooming in my kitchen

An old fashioned political ritual: circulating petitions

In the age of the internet there is something beautifully anachronistic about this petition ritual, but it has its advantages—forcing candidates and their supporters to get out and talk to voters.

I’ve been doing petitions for decades –only missed when on sabbatical in 1999. The petition period always forces me to make choices about priorities. Whose petitions do I carry? Whose petitions do I care about enough to circulate in really cold weather? Or even in the rain? (I remember doing some for Cindy Bass on a rainy day just before the deadline.)Unfortunately the petition period occurs during the usually miserable weather of February and early March

This year I’ll be circulatingpetitions for candidate for controller Brett Mandel who probably doesn’t need my help as he appears to have assembled a really strong team.

Also, I will be circulating petitions for a progressive slate for traffic court—community activists Inja Coates and Marwan Kriedie. Yes, traffic court! It will probably be (and should be) eliminated but probably won’t happen overnight and we need thoughtful, honest people in these positions to help restore our city’s faith in our courts.

There are several other excellent candidates I would be happy to circulate petitions for but I’ve found that 3 is the maximum number you can ask people to sign without annoying them—and even that is pushing it.

The weather may be miserable, but I enjoy getting out and chatting with my neighbors and it’s a great way to find out what has been going on in the neighborhood. Sometimes it’s good news—e.g., a good friend’s delight in her new grandchild. Too often it’s news of a death. Since there are a lot of seniors in our neighborhood, there is always some sad news.

But petitions are part of the rhythm of life for political activists and for me February means petitions and early species crocuses!

How Republican efforts to suppress the vote have backfired and helped to create a growing citizen movement to safeguard voters’ rights

For someone like me who toils away in grassroots politics, the past few months have been very gratifying. The Philadelphia Chapters of the National Organization for Women and the Coalition of Labor Union Women, supported by a grant from the Bread and Roses Community Fund, on January 14 held a non-partisan workshop on Running for Election Board/Committeeperson. We focused on running for Electing Board offices which are on the 2013 primary ballot. The workshop much to our surprise drew a crowd of about 100 interested citizens. The audience was much larger than CLUW and NOW could have organized on our own and was mostly due to the stellar organizing skills of deputy City commissioner Tracey Gordon.

More surprising than the number of attendees was the intensity of their interest. They were seriously engaged by principal speaker Commissioner Stephanie Singer’s lively, informative, and inspirational presentation. Nobody dozed off, despite the amount of technical detail. People seemed really hungry to learn how the election system works. Commissioner Singer‘s office then organized three additional workshops in various locations round the city—all very well-attended.

Why the sudden interest in what had been very low profile positions—Judge of Elections and Inspector of Elections? From comments made at the workshops as well as from conversations I had with some of the attendees, it’s clear that Republican attempts at vote suppression have backfired and there is growing grassroots interest in safeguarding the right to vote. Thanks to Pennsylvania’s Voter ID law more and more citizens realize the critical importance of a well-run Election Board.

Pennsylvania citizens also are becoming increasingly aware of how hard it is to vote in Pennsylvania and and how poorly we compare to other states which have some form of early voting. There is a growing consensus that we have to make it easier to vote. The Brennan Center justice report How to Fix Long Lines recommends three specific reforms :

There are three reforms that would dramatically reduce the excessive lines that plague voting, and have the added benefit of creating a more efficient and secure electoral system: Modernizing voter registration Providing early voting during a fixed national time period Setting minimum standards for polling place access

The Brennan Center posts a detailed blueprint to make this happen.

Low voter turn-out in mid-term elections has had serious consequences . If the people who came out in November 2012 had come out in 2010, we’d have a different congress and a different state legislature, with major consequences for redistricting. I think the only way to get more people to vote in mid-term elections is to make it easier to vote. People may be willing to wait in line for hours to vote for the President, but this generally doesn’t carry over to state legislators. And as president Obama has said, no citizen should have to stand in line for hours to vote!!!

My passion at this stage in my life is civic participation. For me and for many other progressive activists, Republican attempts to suppress the vote have been the galvanizing force. The President’s’ Commission has added to the momentum. This is the time to tackle voting rights issues!!