Lessons from the Lamp Post

Friday, September 12, 2025

Lesson 916: The Good Neighbor

Good evening, Readers.

I'm having a quiet

evening tonight

sensing the somber mood of the nation.

We need to do better.

This was the sky at dawn's first light.

What will the day bring today?

I'm just not sure anymore.

Maybe the moon knows?

Can we ever

love thy neighbor?

As the morning light broke through

I checked on my good little plant neighbors

living in my 'hood.

Firman Road is starting to show

the first signs of the coming fall.

I took the two good neighborhood

pittie mixes

for a walk.

We discovered some plants

I have not found all season long!

The cardinal flower

Strawcolored flatsedge

and Lady's thumb.

Imagine my surprise

to find this flower

growing in my very yard.

I did not plant this flower at all

in such an unlikely place,

under ornamental grass

that hides the garbage cans.

I won't forget you, Uncle Bill!

Some are comforted by signs

and others by words of faith.

Even before the recent events

I grabbed this copy off my shelf.

I often turn to it

to enjoy the words of one who thought

about faith and how it intertwined

with governance

so deeply.

Eloise highly recommends.

My annotated copy will be available for loan

after I get the Lamp Post Library up and running.

We can do better.

One way to do that is to be a Good Neighbor.

I went to the cabin last week,

and on the way down and back

Natalie and I listened to this audio book.

Eloise and Natalie highly, highly recommend.

The Good Neighbor always looks out for others

and finds ways to help.

This blog has readership far outside of Erie,

so I am attaching this with permission from the family

in hope of it finding the just right person.

Our neighbor is in need of a liver donor.

Please like and share on facebook.

Be like my neighbors

who love to leave surprises on my garage table!

They are the Best Neighbors.

Believe it or not,

out of all the surprise treats,

the tomatoes were the best.

Eloise loves cherry tomatoes

and tomato sandwiches on sourdough bread!

I have favorite foods from every season,

and that's my pick from late summer.

That and peach pie.

I'd post a picture,

but peach pie doesn't last long around here.

Now for some fun.
It's time for the return of the long awaited book club,

that is NOT a book club.

I hate clubs.

Too many rules,

too many cliques,

and the word gives me the mental image of this:

I finally thought of what I'm going to call the gathering.

Everyone is invited to my

Book Party!

All Good Neighbors are invited,

so won't you be?

won't you please?

Please won't you be my neighbor?

The format is changing a bit for the first series.
Typically we have a great big book share,

bringing with you a list of books you read and loved

in hope of sharing that love of story with others.

Because that is what Good Neighbors do.
They share love of stories.

They share sweet treats,

like tomatoes.

Just as I like to eat seasonally,

I so like to read.

We are entering spooky season.

I prefer mystery or suspense over horror.

I chose this one immediately

at the recommendation of a former Questie.

Miss Keeley sent word from Kent State

that I needed to read this book

and with her.

What is the most exciting part?
It's a choose your own adventure novel for adults!

Oh my!

Because I fully support buying a copy from a local bookstore,

I LOVE writing in my books.

Penning them up allows you to truly interact with the text

and make the experience of book reading

even more memorable.

It has a notebook in the back,

and a key on the front cover.

Eloise loves keys.

Now, here is your homework:

1. Locals, see if Werner Books, Pressed, or Tia Book Store

will order you a copy by October.

2. You can find it on Amazon if they cannot.

3. DO NOT READ IT! Wait for the Book Party. It's worth the wait.

4. We will have something similar to First Chapter Friday--Teacher Readers know what I'm talking about. It is a teaching practice where we read the first chapter of a story to students on a Friday, and nothing more. This entices some students to read the book, and others not. That is fine, because the goal is to expose lots of students to 36 different types of books throughout the school year.

5. Eloise will have a dramatic reading of the first chapter, then we will break into sleuthing groups.

6. Watch facebook and this blog for a Book Party Date. I know it will be one of the Sunday afternoons in October, but I'm not sure which one. I would very much like Miss Keeley to attend if her college schedule allows.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Book Party.

If you live outside of Erie, join us anyway.

I'll add you to the new Book Party Page, coming soon.

I'll leave you with this artist's image of Mother Owl.

She is sheltering her three babies.

Mine are getting too big to shelter,

and they are all out into the big wide valley tomorrow

without me.

Be safe.

Be well.

And of all things

Be a Good Neighbor.

Eloise

Friday, September 5, 2025

Lesson 915: Listen

Hello, Readers!

It's Friday night in the Great Lakes Region

and the September skies have not disappointed us.

If you listen while you gaze upward in wonder

you will hear the wind.

The sound of the invisible power

that blows one season into the next.

If you listen you will also hear

the soft drone of the bumble bee

as it moves sunflower to sunflower.

Mother nature gives us autumn golds and purples

side by side.

If my ears do not pick up the flutter of a butterfly,

my heart does.

Sometimes out in nature

one must listen with her heart.

Our hearts were broken

and restored again

after spending time with family

at my Uncle's funeral last weekend.

Here is my dad remembering

his brother-in-law and friend

along Neshannock Creek

at The Griper's Club in New Castle,

which was my uncle's favorite spot to hang out.

Spending time in a spot so beloved by my uncle

helped to understand his life.

We shared stories

and admired his artwork,

and made pre-season projections about his beloved

Pittsburgh Steelers.

My cousins and mom shared stories strange happenings

shortly after his passing--

wind chimes chiming,

gusts of wind snatching a written remembrance,

radios that came on suddenly with no one in the room.

I was almost jealous that I never got a sign.

Nothing of the sort happened to me.

However, if you know old Eloise,

I tend to miss a thing or two.

Admittedly, I never noticed

the big, yellow, Walmart pole

that I drove directly into.

I listened for chimes,

or cheers,

or even a fish jumping--

nothing.

As I do in most new places I visit,

I decided to listen with my lens.

I poked along the edge of Neshannock Creek

with my camera,

where Uncle Bill liked to fish.

I found it peaceful and calm.

From a distance I spotted some pretty flowers.

I had to climb down the bank a bit to get them

into focus.

Forget Me Nots!

Picture This! Plant App confirmed!

Symbolism Across Cultures

Forget-me-nots have been treasured for their symbolism of remembrance and undying love. In medieval times, knights would wear these flowers as a symbol of devotion to their ladies. In German folklore, a tale exists where a knight, picking these flowers for his beloved, fell into a river and, before drowning, threw them to her and exclaimed 'vergiss mein nicht!' ('forget me not!'). Over time, this story turned the flower into a global symbol of love and remembrance.

Memorial Services

One of the most prominent occasions for using forget-me-nots is during memorial services. These flowers are an emblem of remembrance, making them a fitting tribute to loved ones who have passed away. Their delicate appearance juxtaposed with their heavy symbolic weight provides a comforting presence in moments of mourning.

I listened with my lens again

and caught this--

actually I listened to Mr. Lamp Post

yelling from the yard,

Come with your camera, NOW!