Thursday afternoon I accompanied my friend Eileen and her daughter Lizzie to Sunnydaydahlias Farm in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. The Dahlia gardens attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.
We were cutting many different beautiful and colorful dahlias to grace the tables for Lizzie’s wedding this Saturday.
Rebecca showed us how and where to cut the stems, remove some leaves and provided buckets with water so we could transport them back to the venue.
Rebecca told us how once the first frost comes they will turn brown and after the third frost they’ll cut down the stems and dig up the tubers to store in double paper grocery bags to replant next Spring A Monarch drinking lunch A bee enjoying Some dahlias I cut
“On August 7, 2026, the historic Third Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood was struck by lightning during a severe morning storm.”
“…the blast sheared off roughly the top 5 feet of the spire’s decorative stone tip, which rained down as debris onto the steps below.”
CBSNews report about lightning strike (click link) Historic Landmark Third Presbyterian Church on corner of Fifth Avenue and Negley Avenue. Fortunately no one was injured from the falling stone pieces. The famous Tiffany windows were not damaged and services are still able to be held.
“The Building: The current striking Gothic Revival stone building was constructed between 1897 and 1903. The architect was T.P. Chandler. It features famous, highly valuable Tiffany stained-glass windows in the sanctuary. “
Twenty five years ago I’d driven 548 miles from Pittsburgh to Rockford, Illinois on September 10th. My sister flew home to New York City from Chicago that same day. We couldn’t plan an overlap although I’d asked if she could wait and fly back the 11th. So I was asleep in my father’s room at the Wesley Willows Assisted Living as he was in the hospital with surgery from a broken foot. My cousin Christopher called on my dad’s phone. The old desk phone kind. Time is Central, an hour earlier than NY. He informed me that the World Trade Center had been attacked. It was only when I got to the hospital in my father’s room and the televisions were on everywhere. It took time to comprehend the magnitude of destruction and loss of human life.
It’s “located near St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church near the 9/11 memorial. This statute represents the wreckage of the twin towers forming a cross from the aftermath of 9/11. The original cross was moved in the 9/11 Museum. This cross was sculpted by Jon Krawczyk. Cardinal Egan picked him to sculpt the new cross.”
There’s a 35 page metal. book at the base with all the victims’ names inscribed
