Verna and Bob's Weblog

Labor Day 2026

Happy grilling day! We’re having Filet Mignon Steaks for our Labor Day Dinner. Click on the image to enlarge.

Labor Day originated during the peak of the 19th-century Industrial Revolution, transforming from an activist demonstration into a federal holiday that now marks the unofficial end of summer.

History & Origins

  • The First Parade (1882): On September 5, 1882, the Central Labor Union organized the nation’s first Labor Day event in New York City. Roughly 10,000 workers took an unpaid day off to march from City Hall to Union Square, demanding eight-hour workdays, safer conditions, and fair wages.
  • The Founders: Debate remains over who proposed the holiday. Some credit Peter J. McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, while others credit machinist Matthew Maguire, secretary of the Central Labor Union.
  • Federal Recognition (1894): Following the violent Pullman Railway Strike in 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed legislation making the first Monday in September a federal holiday—a political effort to reconcile relations with organized labor.

Cultural Traditions

  • The Unofficial End of Summer: Labor Day weekend serves as a seasonal boundary marking the return to school, the close of community pools, and the final stretch for summer vacations.
  • Barbecues & Gatherings: The early tradition of union picnics evolved into family cookouts, camping trips, and outdoor gatherings.
  • Parades & Political Speeches: While early Labor Day events featured massive union marches to demonstrate collective strength, modern parades are generally smaller community events or labor-focused political rallies.
  • “No White After Labor Day”: A 19th-century fashion rule dictated that lightweight white linen clothing belonged strictly to summer. Packing away white attire after Labor Day signaled a return to urban work routines and autumn dress.
  • Sports & Retail: The weekend marks the launch of college and high school football seasons, as well as major retail sales.

We wish everyone a happy Labor Day and Happy Autumn!

September 7, 2026 by Food and Dining Holidays Military 0

Pride of Barbados Flower

Over the past few months, we noticed that our Red Bird shrubs in the courtyard were looking a little saggy and withered. This month, however, we started getting our seasonal monsoon rains — lo and behold — the shrubs have perked up and flowering like crazy.

The perking up clue led Bob to investigate the irrigation system. For some unknown reason, the station that led to the courtyard was set to “off” rather than a start time for the station to run. Hopefully, that has been corrected now.

Here is some interesting information about our red birds from Gemini:

Caesalpinia pulcherrima—most commonly known as Pride of Barbados, Red Bird of Paradise, Peacock Flower, or Dwarf Poinciana—is one of the most widely cultivated and visually striking flowering shrubs in warm-climate landscapes.

Geographic Origin & Etymology

  • Origin: The exact origin of C. pulcherrima is obscured by centuries of human cultivation and trade, but it is broadly native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Most botanical evidence points to Central America, Mexico, or the West Indies as its native home.
  • Cultural Significance: It is the national flower of Barbados (where it is featured on the Queen’s Personal Barbadian Flag and the national coat of arms).
  • Etymology:
    • The genus name Caesalpinia honors Andrea Cesalpino (1524–1603), an Italian botanist, physician to Pope Clement VIII, and early plant taxonomist.
    • The species epithet pulcherrima is Latin for “most beautiful” (the superlative form of pulcher).

We certainly can agree with the “most beautiful” attribute. Click on the image to enlarge.

August 31, 2026 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography 0

Feeding the Birds

I fill up the bird feeders once a week, usually on Fridays. I did so yesterday and, today the “rotunda” medium feeder (pictured above) is about half empty. This is typical of the day after. Later in the week, the two smaller feeders will be empty and the large feeder seems to hang on for a few more days.

In addition to the feeder shown above, there is a smaller feeder and the “bird church” large feeder.

You can see our feeder setup in this post from February of 2025.

August 22, 2026 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden 0

Tom Thumb Cactus Flowers

This is my “Tom Thumb” Cactus (parodia microsperma) which is currently sporting these four lovely flowers. We just learned the name for this cactus today from Grok. The cactus variety is a native to Argentina like some of our other non-domestic cacti. Click on the image to enlarge.

08/21/2026: A new flower opened today:

August 18, 2026 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography 0

An Alert Squirrel

While out on my morning walk, I snapped a photo of this little White Tailed Antelope Ground Squirrel in an alert stance in the little wash behind our house. She was looking for the peanuts that I throw out there for them. Hint to the squirrel. There is a peanut in the lower left corner of the (click to enlarge) photo.

She, shortly after I took this photo, found the peanut and bounded off into the underbrush before I could snap any more photos. We love our little desert wildlife and seeing them daily. I saw some juvenile Gambel’s Quail and their parents just a couple of moments before this photo. They, as is usually the case, were too quickly dispersed for me to get their images captured in the camera.

UPDATE: September 4. 2026 – I managed to get this photo of one of the squirrels with the peanut just before it scampered off.

August 10, 2026 by Critters Home & Garden Photography 0

Lughnasadh —
 Celtic Cross-Quarter Holiday

As we tend to do in early August, we celebrated an Irish tradition of feasting on the Cross-Quarter Holiday of Lughnasadh. For today’s feast, we enjoyed Irish Turkey Stew, a blend of turkey meat, broth, Keto-friendly veggies and a Guinness Beer.

About the feast:

Background

Lughnasadh (also spelled Lughnasa, Lugnasad, or in modern Irish Lúnasa) is a traditional Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. It is one of the four major seasonal festivals of the Gaelic year, along with Samhain, Imbolc, and Beltane, falling around 1 August—roughly midway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox.

Origins and Name

The name comes from Old Irish Lugnasad, combining Lug (the god Lugh) with násad (“assembly”). An alternative theory links it to nás (“death”). In modern Irish it is Lúnasa (also the name of the month of August); Scottish Gaelic uses Lùnastal and Manx Luanistyn. It corresponds to the Welsh Calan Awst / Gwyl Awst and the English Lammas (“loaf-mass”).

The dinner was very good. And, No, we’re not fans of their pagan religion, but only of the traditions that were celebrated by our ancestors. We thank our Heavenly Father for the bounty of His hand in providing us with feasts most every weekend.

August 2, 2026 by Culture Holidays

Avalon 1998

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