Irish High Holy Day

The history of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, born in the second half of the 4th century, is quite sketchy to say the least.

His birth year is questionable, with some scholars claiming 373 while others claim 390.

Even his birth place can't be confirmed. It is said that he was raised near a village called Banna Vemta Burniae but its location has never been pinpointed. It may have been lowland Scotland but is equally likely to have been Wales, then under Roman control. This leaves so many possibilities.

Patrick's real name was probably Maewyn Succat (pronounced: May Win Su Cat). This also is suspect since Maewyn is traditionally a female name. His father, Calpornius, was a Roman-British army officer and a deacon in the church. Remember, the Catholic Church would be 400 years old by now. Even though his family was involved in the church, the young Maewyn was not a believer. His life was ordinary, and completely unexceptional until the age of 16.

He was kidnapped, along with many others, by Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. According to his autobiographical Confessio, which survives, the next six years were spent imprisoned in the north of the island and he worked as a herdsmen of sheep and pigs on Mount Slemish in co Antrim.

Isolated and alone, he became increasingly religious. He considered his kidnapping and imprisonment as a punishment for his lack of faith and spent a lot of time in prayer. He was able to escape and stow away on a boat bound for Britain and eventually return to his family.

There he had a dream that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about God. He didn't feel adequately prepared for a life as a missionary. His studies took him to France where he was trained in a monastery, possibly under St Germain, the bishop of Auxerre and it was some 12 years before he returned to Ireland.

The rest of the story is better known than his earlier life. He landed at Strangford Loch, co Down, as a bishop sent with the Pope's blessing. He was not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland. An earlier mission had seen Palladius preach to the Irish.

Patrick's success lay in the scale of his conversion of the native Irish, most of whom were pagans. After living with the Irish for six years during his captivity, he most likely learned to speak Irish (yes there is a distinct Irish language) and was now able to communicate with them so convincingly.

Many myths abound about St. Patrick such as driving the snakes from Ireland, and adding the pagan symbol for the sun to the Christian cross to create the Celtic Cross.

For the next twenty years he travelled the length and breadth of the island, baptizing people and establishing monasteries, schools and churches as he went. But every path has some bumps and turns, and St Patrick’s is littered with arrests and brief periods of imprisonment when his teachings had upset local chieftains or Celtic Druids, but he was able to escape or gain his freedom by presenting his captors with gifts. Of course there is the myth that he may have created the sport of "throwin' the blarney".

St. Patrick died, on March 17th 461 (or 493, depending on which date you started your calculation), he left behind an organized church, and an island of Catholic Christians. He was buried either in Downpatrick, co Down, or in Armagh.

 It's no myth that March 17th has traditionally been commemorated in modern times as Saint Patrick's Day and is widely celebrated in the United States and of late in Ireland. 

A final myth to bust, Corned Beef is NOT a traditional Irish meal. Potatoes and cabbage are.

Whether you believe the myths or not, we hope you all have a very Happy Saint Patrick's Day, and beware of leprechauns bearing gifts.

"Erin Go Bragh"

Grenville

How the 3-Way Light Bulb Saved Civilization

Remember the good old  days of warm incandescent light flooding our lives? The cozy feeling it gave to every room in the house. And the special lamps that offered three different brightnesses??? Remember those???? Ah yes, 100 watts for serious work, 70 watts for relaxed reading, and those very special 30 watts for intimate moments (those with small children, i will explain this intimate thing in a later post). Yes, it was the light of civility, gentility, and romance....

Then came the "Compact Florescent Lamp Conspiracy". The light bulb industry conned the government (not difficult these days) into believing that CFL's would save energy, save money, save the economy, get them all re-elected, and thus save the world. The politicians swallowed it fuse, wire and electron. Visions of World Domination dancing in their heads (unless they were sitting of course).

And lurking in the background, the Alien Light Mizer (who is rumored to be an Alien life form from the planet Alkeida) was tallying up the fortune that he would amass as Patriotic Americans ditched their warm fuzzy incandescent's for the harsh florescent light of the coming New Age.

What the Light Mizer  (who is considering a run for President with all the profits) didn't reveal was that these new CFL bulbs would cost 3 times what the old ones cost (bulb guys were liking this), would last longer (so whole factories could be shut down), would give off no heat to help warm a room in the winter causing your heating bill to increase (oil guys loved that), and could not be dimmed thus eliminating all romantic intimate moments.

BUT the most nefarious element of this whole conspiracy is its direct connection to the Environmental Cleanup Industry. Break one of these cold hearted lamps and you release highly toxic Mercury gas and dust all over the place (the mercury industry was glad to finally have somewhere to dump their poison), contaminating large areas, possibly causing neurological damage, and possibly costing you thousands (yes i said $$$$THOUSANDS$$$$) of dollars in cleanup since specialized equipment is needed.

So why all of a sudden am i on this rant?????? Well like a lot of folks, i didn't do much research when these supposed dollar saving beauties came on the market. I admit, dollar signs flashed in my eyes. Maybe that "Round the Country Train Ride" was within reach. An "All American Triple Play"...Save money, Save the economy, Ride a train!!!!!!

Then a friend (who must remain nameless for her own protection) told me to check out the CFL dangers.... I did, and so can you at Snopes.com or American Scientific.com.

Being the usual calm, rational, and level headed person that i am (HEY!!!!! I heard that snickering in the background!!!!!), this morning after breakfast i found the box of old incandescent's we had in the attic and started ripping out those evil CFL's as quick as i could.

Gone the harsh light of CFL's,,,, back the warm, fuzzy, intimate glow of the old      3-ways of my youth. Civilization is saved (at least here at the Frog & PenguINN).

I cant wait for night fall..... 30 watts of intimate romance glowing throughout the house......Beatrice has no idea what she is in for, heh, heh, heh.....

Friday Funnies

A tree grows WHERE ?

Anywhere, even inside another tree

Once Elegant

As in many rural areas, countless homes have fallen into decline here on the VA eastern shore through neglect or years of abandonment.

As we’ve travelled many back roads in and around these parts, it has always surprised me how once large family homesteads were left to fall apart through the ravages of time and nature.That decline also extended to a once elegant landmark motel located on US Rte. 13 in Accomac, VA — The Whispering Pines which had centrally-heated rooms and featured an in-ground swimming pool, dining room and soda shoppe, and tourist cabins. It was usually referred to simply as The Pines. Originally built in 1932 by the late Charles F. Russell, The Pines operated as a family business for 50 years; most of the seven Russell children and 12 grandchildren worked there as their first job. It also provided jobs for hundreds of local workers over the years. So well-regarded was The Pines that many regular travellers were known to schedule their southern route trips from NY to Florida around a stop at The Pines. It was known for gracious hospitality and good food. Local folks too often visited The Pines to dine or visit the soda shoppe. Celebrities stayed there, including the cast of the 1961 film, Misty of Chincoteague. Newsman Walter Cronkite and singer Diana Ross of The Supremes fame dined there. Years past, the Glenn Miller Band entertained at The Pines. After Russell’s death in 1963, the family continued running the business, selling it in 1972. In the early 1980s, owner Ralph Powers, was fatally injured on the grounds. Afterwards, The Pines was operated by several owners, and fell into extensive disrepair. In 2012, the property was sold at a tax sale for $27,000 in back taxes. But, on the day of the sale, the owner filed for bankruptcy; the property was encumbered in the bankruptcy process.THIS week, a fire of suspicious nature added to the deterioration and destroyed The Pines main building that formerly housed the dining room and soda shoppe. The block construction is all that was left standing. Several other buildings on the property remain standing in various stages of deterioration.As relative newcomers to the Eastern Shore, we were not familiar with The Pines grandeur as it was already well in decline in 2005. This week, blogger friend, Possum, featured a memory post based on personal experiences as a long-time resident.

Photos showing the decline and fire aftermath were taken by me. Background information and early photos of The Whispering Pines were obtained from sources that included the Eastern Shore Public Library. Also, Grenville, a former NJ firefighter, was at the fire scene as was local radio station owner, Charles F. Russell II, whose great-grandfather built The Pines.

More of the Same

Right about the time things start drying out from the previous week’s downpours, comes another full day of rain . . .

Thanks to Mona for letting me know that my ID of this bathing bird was incorrect — it’s a Carolina Wren (not a nuthatch).

Check out her Montanagirl blog for some beautiful images of birds and more.

Hope the weather is improving in your part of the world.

Pulled Pork 1-2-3

1 = WOW, 2 = So good, 3 = Very Very Easy

These are some of the leftovers as I forgot to take before and after of prep and then cooked. Grenville and I are trying to figure out why we never tried preparing this before this past Saturday.

OK, our excuse could be that we are not really southerners. Not that being from the South is necessary, but this dish is sure popular here.

Pulled pork is a form of BBQ in which pork, usually shoulder cut (also called Boston butt) is cooked low and slow using grills, smokers, ovens and our choice, a crockpot slow cooker.This process is the quintessence of Southern smoke roasting — lazy, slow, easy, and fragrant. The cooked pork is SO tender that it’s pulled apart using fingers or forks to shred the meat. It’s usually served on a bun with BBQ sauce with cole slaw either piled on top or as a side dish.

In some places, pulled pork is made from a mixture of the blade shoulder and arm shoulder meat and served with a tomato-based barbecue sauce. In others, either a whole hog, mixed cuts of the hog, or the shoulder cut alone are used; the pork is served with or without a vinegar-based sauce.

A whole pork shoulder (15-20 lbs.) consists of the upper part (Boston Butt) and the lower part (the Picnic). The difference between these is the bone structure. The butt has a small shoulder blade bone and the picnic has the front leg bone and joint. Also, the picnic is normally sold with “skin on” and the butt only has a small fat cap.

We invited friends over, even though this was a first time recipe for us at home.  Haven’t you ever done this?

Only a few things were needed, the pork, some spices and a large crockpot. Lots of variations for a rub and my choices were: cumin, garlic power, smoked paprika, chili powder, sea salt and ground black pepper, also added a roughly chopped onion at the bottom of the crockpot and 1/4 C of apple cider vinegar. Meat was placed in fat side up. The fat easily pulls off after 6-7 hours of slow cooking.

We’d offer y’all some, BUT there weren’t many leftovers, thanks to 6 hungry diners — maybe next time. We’re doing this one AGAIN.

Bird Bath

One of the best things about looking out the F&P kitchen window is seeing entertainment provided by birds that regularly visit.

Today was NO exception.

This nuthatch always hangs around the back patio and, after the recent rains, was determined to go for a dunking. His chosen spot was the top of a container on the back patio.A depression in the top always catches some rainwater — there’s been a lot of that lately. Then, it was drying off time on the nearby woodpile.

Time for a final pose, before flying off

Maybe, he will return next weekend — the bath will still be here.

Friday Funnies

Just wondering IF . . .

Man driving was the chauffeur OR the dog barked directions.

Drying Out

Yesterday, parts of the US, including northern VA, got hit with another winter storm dumping inches of wet snow. But, the Frog & PenguINN’s snow shovel sat idle as the VA eastern shore was pounded with winds up to 35 mph and downpours — 2.04 inches of rain within a 24-hour period.

Here’s some shots from the morning after when I took a walk around the neighborhood.

This is not waterfront property, well maybe now it is, and looks like it’s a good thing there’s a boat nearby.

Nope, these are not peaceful streams — looks can deceive.

These are where vegetable gardens will be planted if Spring AND dryer weather come here (soon), preferably together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope that blogger friends and all others in the path of the latest winter storms were safe.

So when did that groundhog say Spring was coming?

Seeing Double

NOPE, it’s not a re-touched, manipulated or cropped image, folks — it’s SOOC or straight out of the camera — and it really happened as these 2 female cardinals patiently waited their turn at the feeder last week.  It was shot indoors from the kitchen window.
While it’s not unusual to see up to 6 to 8 male and female cardinals gathered on this tree, this nearly duplicated pose seemed amazing.

OFTEN, the best shots happen when least expected.