From my photo archives - September of 2017, Owego, New York. I figured you were tired of my flower posts and decided to randomly select pictures on my phone.
I've (mostly) been staying home the last couple of days.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
And yet again...
Today I am joining up with other Music Moves Me bloggers (and you can join us at the linky above). We are a group of music loving bloggers who blog about music each Sunday or Monday (or even later in the week). If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post link may be labeled "No Music" or even removed.)
Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.
Every other week we have a theme, and this is one of those weeks. Today, our theme is "You Pick", and it is my sad duty to blog about another induction into Rock and Roll Heaven. It's also a sad duty to pay tribute to one of our own towards the end of today's post.
First, I cover the induction of Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (stage name Lou Christie) into Rock and Roll Heaven.
The singer better known as Lou Christie died June 18 at the age of 82. He was one of my favorite artists back in the 1960's and here are several selections from his hits.
His greatest hit - Lightnin' Strikes, complete with go-go girls. This song made it to #1 on Billboard's charts. Love that 60's vibe!
From 1969, I'm Gonna Make You Mine, which I never realized until researching this post that it was a cover.
Rhapsody in the Rain
Finally, Lou Christie's 1973 venture into country music with his cover of Beyond the Blue Horizon, a song from 1930.
And now, it is my sad duty to say goodbye to one of #MusicMovesMe, Patrick Weseman, whose blog Adventures in Weseland was a regular participant in our weekly music meme. Patrick was a former sports reporter for his local paper and was currently a special education teacher in San Francisco. He was also a Gulf War veteran. He was only 56 years old at the time of his passing on June 16.
At one time, he worked as a counselor at the California School for the Blind. I read he took his students on field trips to allow them to experience things others may not have thought those without vision or with only limited vision could enjoy.
Almost every week, without fail, he posted about music, or what he found in his latest travels. He also participated in other blog hops.
Patrick loved to attend local outdoor concerts and sporting events. I was honored to have been his friend on Facebook.
Not only had he posted his music post on the day of his death, but he visited my blog (and other participants' blogs) and commented. This is his last music post from the day of his death.
May he forever rest in peace. Judging from the tributes on his Facebook wall, Patrick made a difference in many lives. His will be a great loss to his California community.
Perhaps he is being named an honorary member of Rock and Roll heaven for his devotion to learning, and to music. In the meantime, he has taught his final lesson to us all: things change in a moment. Let's all live the best lives we can, and, when we finally leave this world, leave it a better place.
And that's another sad wrap.
Join me again next week with anther episode of #MusicMovesMe.
The roses are in full bloom where I live in the Northeast United States.
On a neighborhood walk June 8, I spotted these roses.
So nice and red.
June 17, not much in the way of shadows but it was so pretty I had to post it.
Wish us luck as we enter into a period of extreme (for us) heat, with record breaking high temperatures.
Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for her #ShadowshotSunday. Why not come out of the shadows and join us? All you need is a picture with a shadow in it.
In the blink of an eye we have gone from spring to summer.
Yesterday, it was going to be warmer (85 degrees vs the 60's a couple of days ago) than we were used to where I live in the Southern Tier of New York. Obviously, the weather had an eye on the calendar.
So I took a short walk mid morning. The sun was out and the sky was blue. The catalpa trees (a native tree) were blooming. If you enlarge the photo you can see their white blooms.
But this is Skywatch, not Tree Watch, so here's a better view of the sky.
By afternoon, the clouds were gathering.
This is the sky about 1:30 pm.
We got rain later in the day. And, next week, the heat arrives.
Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.
On June 12, I was walking in my neighborhood, and came across this.
Ah, the scent of privet. Years ago, I would blog about privet hedges at the end of each June. They bloom earlier and earlier, and aren't covered by bees the way they used to be.
But still, they bring back a memory of over 60 years ago.
I grew up in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in a city housing
project. All the green spaces in the project were carefully fenced away
behind chain link fences. We children would get into trouble with the
maintenance men who cared for the project if we climbed the fences and
dared to play in the greenery. So, of course, we did it as often as
possible.
In June, the privet would bloom.
It's a scent I love to this day.
The boys would catch the bees the bushes attracted in glass jars. That's not something we
girls got into. Instead, we would look for ladybugs to catch.
The heady scent from a week ago brought me back over 60 years in a matter of seconds. I
was a little girl once again, climbing chain link fences while we
looked out for the project maintenance men, so my playmates and I could
have a few minutes of interaction with nature.
Scent and memory. A living time machine.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
It's Monday and it's time for music.
Today I am joining up with other Music Moves Me bloggers (and you can join us at the linky above). We are a group of music loving bloggers who blog about music each Sunday or Monday (or even later in the week). If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post link may be labeled "No Music" or even removed.)
Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.
Every other week we have a theme, and this is one of those weeks. Today, our theme is "Sunny days".
Hmmm. This could be songs mentioning the sun, or sunshine, or songs you like to hear on sunny days. Or maybe something else.
But this has been a sad last few days in the music world. I need to report on another two inductions into Rock and Roll Heaven. Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart, died June 9 at the age of 82 from complications from COPD and other health issues. He was a funk rock musician, songwriter, and producer, and founded the group Sly and the Family Stone.
And, Brian Wilson, a founding member of the Beach Boys died June 11 at the age of 82.
So I am going to pick some songs from their songbooks and try to stay within the theme. Sly Stone fans, please forgive me for weighing this towards the Beach Boys.
From 1969, Sly and the Family Stone with Hot Fun in the Summertime. I'll have to include more Sly and the Family Stone in a future post.
Possibly my favorite Beach Boys song, next to God Only Knows. Here's Help Me Rhonda, co written by Brian Wilson. OK, it doesn't mention the sun, but so many of their songs sound upbeat and, well, sunny.
Two more Beach Boys songs.
The Warmth of the Sun, from 1964.
Good Vibrations, from 1966-1967 because, well, it does mention sunlight. And because I love the song.
Here are three more songs I intended to include as my contribution to today's theme.
A song from my childhood: You Are My Sunshine - Ray Charles, from 1962.
Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks, from 1966.
And that's a sunny (but also sad) wrap.
Join me again next week, same time, same place, for another episode of Music Moves Me.
Today is another "two memes for the price is one" day. It's the 15th of the month and time for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
On the 15th of each month, gardeners show what is blooming in or around their houses.
It is also Shadowshot Sunday (see below), hosted by Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventure (also a Garden Bloggers Bloom Day participant,. But the current photos don't have shadows because we are into week #30 of our precipitation-every-weekend event. The last time it didn't rain or snow on a weekend was back in mid-November. I was so hoping that this weekend would be the weekend it stopped, but no such luck.
So I found a photo from earlier this month - see the last photo below.
In my zone 6a garden, we are in a bit of a lull. But we still have some pretty flowers. I also had some failures. Only one of my columbine plants came up and it's decided not to bloom this year. But I have other flowers to show you today.
Yellow corydalis, Pseudofumaria lutea, which seems to grow wild in my shady back yard.
Formerly Allium bulgaricum, now (I think) Nectaroscordum siculum, or Sicilian Honey Garlic.
Meanwhile, indoors, two of my three African violets are blooming. This one hasn't bloomed in a while.
Sadly, my two rhododendrons have finished blooming, but for Shadowshot Sunday, here is one of them from around a week ago.
And that's about it for today. Why not go visit other participants in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and Shadowshot Sunday or, better yet, show us some of your shadows or flowers? Or both?
Finally, if it is Father's Day where you live, today is the day to honor your father, or a father figure in your life.
