March 10, 1968 Cesar Chavez ended a 23-day fast for U.S. farm workers in a Delano, California, public park with 4000 supporters at his side, including Senator Robert Kennedy (D-New York). Cesar Chavez led the effort to organize farm workers into a union for better pay, working and living conditions.
March 10, 1969 James Earl Ray was sentenced to prison for 99 years by a court in Memphis, Tennessee, after admitting he murdered American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King, who preached and practiced nonviolence, was shot dead by a sniper in Memphis as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. The building now houses the National Civil Rights Museum. Witnesses pointing toward the source of the shot that killed King. National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel
March 10, 2006 Turkish conscientious objector (CO) Mehmet Tarhan was released unexpectedly from a military prison after being held for having refused service in the army. A court decided that he had already been held longer (23 months) than any possible sentence for the crime. Mehmet TarhanMehmet Tarhan’s supporters He was ordered, however, to present himself again for military service and thus be subject to re-arrest for the same offense.
Readers may or may not recall I’ve been undergoing some major work around our house. Back in December was the first of the foundation work, in which piers were placed at strategic points around the house to raise it after drought and earthquakes caused major dirt shifting on our block (and others surrounding.) Anyway, some or maybe all of you may be aware of the amount and depth of digging required for the work. There were great trenches around the house, including the front flower bed (mostly dedicated to wildflowers for birds and bees; nothing at all formal, just nice in a simple way.) But there were a few daffodil plants, to which DH was quite partial. I figured the entire bed’s plants were gone after the work, but this past Tuesday I pulled into the driveway after an errand, and there are the daffodil plants (not yet blooming) out drinking in sunlight, in pretty close to the same spots they used to be! I’ve just been amazed by that, and it’s a really nice thing to see out front. Thanks for reading! ⚘
March 9, 1839 The U.S. Supreme Court, with only one dissent, freed the slaves who had seized the Spanish slave ship Amistad, ruling that they had been illegally forced into slavery, and thus were free under American law. Slave ship They had mutinied and taken control of the ship off the shore of Cuba (then a colony of Spain) and demanded to be taken back to Africa but wound up in U.S. waters off the coast of Long Island, New York. More on the Amistad mutiny
March 9, 1945 Phyllis Daley became the first African-American commissioned nurse in the U.S. Navy. Though more than 500 black nurses served in the Army during World War II, the Navy had only dropped its color ban a few weeks before.
March 9, 1964 Five Sioux Indians, led by Richard McKenzie, claimed the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay as Indian land. The island had recently been abandoned, and the action was based on an 1868 treaty which entitled Indians to take possession of surplus federal land. The native Americans advocated turning it into a cultural center and Indian university, but their occupation lasted only four hours.
March 9, 1965 Two days after Bloody Sunday [see March 7, 1965] Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. led 1500 outraged people gathered from around the country back to the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the outskirts of Selma, Alabama. They were attempting for a second time to march to the state capital of Montgomery in support of voting rights for black Americans. Confronted once again by state troopers blocking passage to the bridge, King knelt in prayer, then led his followers back, avoiding further violence. Later that evening three white ministers were attacked by local whites as they left a soul food restaurant in Selma. Reverend James Reeb was struck on the head with a club and died two days later.
Please enjoy International Women’s Day, and give respect and your compliments to all the women with whom you interact (I know that you do!) A history bit for the day is below. -A
March 8, 1965 About 3,500 U. S. Marines became the first American combat troops in Vietnam, landing near the coastal city of Da Nang. The ships USS Henrico, Union, and Vancouver, carrying the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade under Brigadier General Frederick J. Karch, took up stations 4,000 yards off Red Beach Two, north of Da Nang.
March 8, 1983 40,000 in Tel Aviv, Israel, organized by Peace Now, rallied against the war in Lebanon.
March 8, 1995 Women in Black demonstrated in the center of Belgrade, Serbia, on International Women’s Day, expressing solidarity with Kosovar women: “The Albanian women from Kosovo are our sisters.”The women were both spit at and kicked, but didn’t give up, and stood there to the end of the usual hour. Though Kosovo is overwhelmingly (90%) ethnically Albanian, it is considered the national and religious birthplace of Serbians. Both Kosovo and Serbia had been part of the former Yugoslavia, which had granted partial autonomy to Kosovo in 1974. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic (later tried for war crimes) in 1989 withdrew that autonomy and revoked the official status of the Albanian language in Kosovo.
March 7, 1932 The Ford Hunger March began on Detroit’s east side and proceeded 10 miles seeking relief during the Great Depression. Facing hunger and evictions, workers had formed neighborhood Unemployed Councils. Along the route, the marchers were given good wishes from Detroit Mayor Frank Murphy as well as two motorcycle escorts, and thousands joined the marchers along the route. At the Detroit city limit, the marchers were met by Dearborn police and doused by fire hoses. Despite the cold weather, they continued to the Employment Office of the Ford River Rouge plant, from which there had been massive layoffs. Five workers were killed and nineteen wounded by police and company “security” armed with pistols, rifles and a machine gun. Dave Moore According to Dave Moore, one of the marchers, “That blood was black blood and white blood. One of the photos that was published in the Detroit Times, but never seen since, shows a black woman, Mattie Woodson, wiping the blood off the head of Joe DiBlasio, a white man who lay there dying . . .
It’s been 75 years, but when you drive down Miller Road today, your car tires will be moistened with the blood that those five shed.” Grave markers with the words “His Life for the Union” pay tribute to the fallen hunger marchers in Woodmere Cemetery on Detroit’s west side.
March 7, 1965 525 civil rights advocates began a 54-mile march on a Sunday morning from Selma, Alabama, to the capital of Montgomery, to promote voting rights for blacks. Just after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the outskirts of Selma, the marchers were attacked in what became known as Bloody Sunday. Enforcing an order by Governor George Wallace, the group was broken up by state troopers and volunteer officers of the Dallas County sheriff who used tear gas, nightsticks, bullwhips and rubber tubing wrapped in barbed wire. John Lewis, then head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and a leader of the march, suffered a fractured skull.John Lewis was elected a member of Congress from Georgia in 1986 and served till his death in 2020.ABC television interrupted a Nazi war crimes documentary, “Judgment at Nuremberg,” to show footage of the violence in Selma, confusing some viewers about who was beating whom. Injured in Selma Selma 1965 – Edmund Pettus Bridge, video excerpt from a PBS documentary with Rep. John Lewis and others who were there Read more
March 7, 1988 A Federal Court ruled in Atlanta, Georgia, that a peace group must have the same access to students at high school career days as military recruiters. the anti-recruitment movement today: LEAVE MY CHILD ALONE!
A couple of “new to me” favorites! Moon Carrots and Blood Lilies –
We have some lovely islands in our parking lot at work. Over the years they’ve been lushly and beautifully planted with all manner of wonderful things. Year before last, during a stretch of drought, the irrigation quit working and everything died. Our director of research is a gifted landscaper. He’s taking the islands on as a personal project. I’m continually delighted all season long with the things he’s done.
About midsummer last year these started turning up.
I sent the r&d director a picture captioned “ What the hell!?” He texted back “ Moon Carrot”
I texted back“ Dumb ass – just tell me what kind of plant this is!”
“ It’s a Moon Carrot plant . “Seseli” something or a rather. (Seseli gummiferum) It’s an Apiaceae( carrot family) .
Details – a member of the carrot family (Apiaceae or Umbellifers – the flowers form a pleasing umbrella shape) the plant is originally from the dry mountainous regions of Turkey and Ukraine.
Light : Full sun, tolerates some shade
Height: 2 to 4 ft
Spread: 1 to 1 1/2 ft.
Flower Form : flowers grow off a central stem forming an umbrella shape
Culture: Originally from dry, mountainous regions , Moon Carrot thrives in near drought conditions and poor soil. Make sure the soil is well drained -No wet feet! pH and general soil quality are unimportant. This plant thrives in tough conditions. My kind of plant!
The pictures all seem to look like this – one central stalk – very upright
Ours all look like this – Lucy goosey laying over with several blooms coming up from off of the stem
Moon carrots are biennial. This means that the moon carrot’s life cycle takes two seasons to complete. The first season the plant grows from seed into a small mound of lovely blue green foliage. With cold weather this foliage dies back to the ground, just like a herbaceous perennial. After a winter’s rest, in the spring, the plant returns, this time growing the long stalk accumulates in an umbral of flowers. These eventually form seed. With the second season of cold weather, it dies back to the ground never to return. The seeds, sown by gravity in the immediate area, will germinate and form new plants with the warm weather The following season. Biennial = 2-year life cycle with flowers and seeds forming in the second season. I have read that if the flowers are removed before forming seed, the plant will come up every season and form flowers until those flowers are permitted to set seed at which time the plant will die. By removing the blooms, we can turn the plants into what is essentially a perennial. Does this work? I don’t know. I may try that this year !
Moon carrot seems like the perfect specimen plant to me. An attention grabbing, hard to miss beauty that would be overpowering in a group.
Propagation is from seed.
One day, during my first season in my current position, my boss stuck his head my office, threw me a bag and said “Here, you’ll thank me later”
It was a Blood Lily – Scadoxus multiflorus . From Africa, we get ours from Swaziland and the Congo.
Usually planted in pots , these spectacular flowers make a great specimen plant. Get them up on a table where you can look closely at the marvelous geometric precision.
Light: Bright , indirect sun, or partial sun during the day. Avoid hot direct sunlight such as unfiltered afternoon sun.
Height: 18 – 24 “
Spread: 15 – 18”
Flower Form: Amazing !
Foliage: Bright green, succulent leaves may appear while blooming, they’ll usually they show up after blooming is done.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 9 – 11
Culture: Best in a container. Sandy soil with good drainage. Some compost is nice to help the soil hold moisture. They only need moderate water – don’t overdo it! Use a high phosphorus fertilizer a couple of times a month during growing season -one formulated for blooms is perfect. After the plant blooms and begins to go dormant gradually reduce the water and stop fertilizing. The upper greenery will all die back. Move indoors for the winter. Water only enough to keep the soil moist. I kept mine in the closet. In the Spring, once the danger for frost is past, pull the plant out into the light, give it a good drink of water and some food.
Propagation is easy . After the flower blooms, little red berries appear. The seeds are in there. When the seeds fall off – rinse off what’s left of the berry and let them dry. Sow them right on top of some moist potting mix. A bulb will form on top of the soil. In a few months, new growth will appear.
On plants that are several years old, offsets will appear on the main stem. Allow them to grow for a couple of seasons. Once the time is passed, use sharp scissors to remove the offset, roots and all. Plant in a new pot.
There are more poisonous plants than blood lilies, they can, however, make you or your pets pretty sick. Be careful!
That is your two cool plants for today. Everyone will envy you and they will make you happy.
Updating German pastor Martin Niemöller’s 1946 poem for 2025 Read on Substack
My Fellow Democracy Defenders,
Martin Niemöller was a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany. After Hitler seized power in 1933, the pastor became an outspoken critic. For defying a dictator, he spent the last eight years of Nazi rule (1937 to 1945) in prisons and concentration camps. Pastor Niemöller is best remembered for his 1946 poem, which I have updated for our current situation below.
First they came for the refugees, and I did not speak out—because I was not a refugee.
Then they came for the trans children, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trans child.
Then they came for the people of color, and I did not speak out—because I was not a person of color.
Then they came for the abortionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not an abortionist.
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the journalists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a journalist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the civil servants, and I am speaking out—my partner has lost her job, and I am fighting for mine.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Will you speak up for all those who are oppressed by fascists? (snip)
Mehmet Tarhan
Mehmet Tarhan’s supporters
Dave Moore
Scottie's Playtime 