Welcome! I hope I bring a spot of calm and happiness into these uncertain times. I blog about my photography adventures, flowers, gardening, the importance of chocolate in a well lived life, or anything else on my mind.
Today, I am borrowing from my guest photographer's portfolio. Because my friend has a DSLR and lives in a rural area, she can capture a lot of bird pictures that I can't with my iPhone 13 mini.
While visiting Owego in mid-March, someone pointed out a tree to us that had a bald eagle nest. With a little patience my friend got these pictures of one of these majestic eagles.
After some eight years of doing the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I've had to skip doing it this year, due to circumstances beyond my control. But I can bring back a previous tradition on my blog today.
Before I joined A to Z, I used to post an annual April Fool post.
So today, on April Fools Day, I want to talk about The Good Old Days.
April Fools Internet pranks are fun to find each year but if you think about it, enough of the top hoaxes of the last hundred years
(including the famous BBC Spaghetti Tree Harvest Documentary) predate
the Internet.
But, thanks to the Internet, I can also bring you this classic hoax from 1957.
And I can bring you another classic - the flying penguins of 2008.
It isn't just the fine folks at the BBC that can create hoaxes. We Americans got hoaxed but good on April 1 1996 when Taco Bell bought one of our great patriotic symbols - or did they?
Here are some other hoax ads.
But we used to have a lot of fun "in the old days" with April Fool's
jokes in magazines - including special TV supplements published in TV
Guide magazine. I wonder if anyone else remembers this, because I can't
find anything online about these April Fools issues except, perhaps some people selling said magazines on eBay.
Back then, before cable TV systems had online TV programming
information, and before cable TV further homogenized the weekly TV
listings, a weekly magazine called TV Guide published the listings.
They had tens of of regional editions and I loved to collect them when I went traveling. Just think of how much work this all took. I still have some of them, too.
At least twice in the early 1960's I remember the issue that would have
contained listings for April 1 having a special section, with hoax TV
shows and other non-information.
This, of course, was part of a distinguished April Fools tradition of hoax magazine articles. I just think it would be so cool if anyone else remembered what TV Guide did - and if I could even see some of those issues.
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.)
Every
other week we have a theme. This week's theme is "You Pick".
Earlier this week there was another induction into Rock and Roll Heaven, with the death of Jesse Colin Young, songwriter, vocalist, and founding member of The Youngbloods, on March 16. He was 83 years old. The cause of death was "complications of cardiac, atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease".
"Get Together" brings me back to a time when life seemed to be...dare I say it, less complex?
All we would need to do is smile on our brothers, get together, and try to love one another right now. So, without further comment, here is the 1967 hit song "Get Together" by the Youngbloods. Now that I hear this song as a senior citizen, the lyrics call to me once again.
It made me think, too, of these songs.
Richard Chamberlain, an actor that I remember from the TV show Dr. Kildare, died March 29 at the age of 90 after having suffered a stroke. But did you know that he was also a singer? Here he is with the song "They Long to Be Close to You" (no parenthesis) in 1963. I never knew Richard Chamberlain was the original singer of this song, which later became a hit for The Carpenters.
The Beatles and "Yesterday". When this came out in 1965, it was instant love for me.
1988's "Forever Young" from Rod Stewart.
1984 and Alphaville's "Forever Young" (a different song).
The Carpenters and "We've Only Just Begun". It's so sad hearing this song and knowing that Karen Carpenter died when she was only 32 years old.
Do I dare to close with The Who's "My Generation" with its infamous line "Hope I die before I get old"? Now, Roger Daltrey just turned 81 on March 1, and Pete Townshend is 79. Has anyone asked them recently about growing old?
And that's a wrap, on this last day of March.
Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.
Friday, I took a picture of a chicken stir fry I made, and I said to myself, why not use this shadowy picture for a Shadowshot Sunday?
Chicken Breast strips with California Blend frozen vegetables, served over spaghetti.
I was given this spur of the moment recipe by a family member after I found a boneless chicken breast in the freezer that needed to be used up. If anyone is interested in the recipe, I can post it (perhaps) next Sunday.
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.)
Every
other week we have a theme. This week's theme is "Spring Time Again"
Of course, where I live, I would have to say "not so fast!". The weather in March is so variable - spring one day, winter the next, lots of wind - but my crocus are blooming, the birds are singing, and I'm counting the days until winter leaves for good.
So, how about some appropriate music?
The Association and "Windy", from 1967.
April in Paris, from 1932, here here done by the Count Basie Orchestra in 1956.
A Johnny Cash song from 1965 - When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's 40 below), a duet with June Carter.
For musical lovers, here is It Might as Well be Spring, from the 1945 film State Fair.
Let's wrap it up with a song that makes me think of spring - The Rain, the Park, and Other Things, from the Cowsills.
And that's a wrap!
Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.
