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, for Wordless Wednesday, an American flag with a formation of Canada geese flying by.
I wonder if they were migrating, or just searching out a local place to eat. What is interesting is that we've been hearing a lot of red winged blackbirds recently. They aren't year round residents where I live but we have never heard them this late in the year.
I even saw a couple of American robins the other day. I tried taking pictures of one but it was too far away (see lower left of middle-I apologize for blurriness). It's been so mild these past couple of weeks and I don't know if bird rhythms have been disrupted. I've seen American robins in winter at a local walking trail and know they don't necessarily migrate if there is enough food in the area, but it still made me think.
Who are the Music Moves Me bloggers? 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! We are brought to you by Cathy ofCurious as a Cathy, Stacy of Stacy's Random Thoughts, Marie (Xmas Dolly), and myself, plus other music loving bloggers.
Today's prompt is: You Pick.
Lately, Rock and Roll Heaven has been choosing the themes for You Pick weeks. Today, it is my sad duty to host another induction into Rock and Roll Heaven.
Guitarist and vocalist Dominic Ierace, better known as Donnie Iris, died October 26 at the age of 83. He had been battling bladder cancer for several years.
Iris had been a performer since age five, encouraged by his mother who sang in a family member's local orchestra. He started performing at weddings at age five.
His career was a lot more extensive than I had realized.
His first hit was with a group (not the first group he formed) he formed called The Jaggerz. Their hit The Rapper (1970) was co-written byIerace, who later became known as Donnie Iris. Iris made the name change, he said, because Donnie Iris was easier for people to remember..
Iris eventually joined the group Wild Cherry after their hit Play That Funky Music but was not involved with that song. Eventually, he helped to form Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.
In 1980, he co-wrote the hit Ah! Leah which was on his first solo album.
In 1981 he had another hit, Love Is Like a Rock.
Iris had at least two other hits. I am not familiar with either: My Girl and Sweet Merilee. Here is My Girl.
Subsequent releases were never as successful as these. His last studio album was Ah! Leluiah, a play on Ah! Leah, from 2010. But
Finally, you may be aware that two main characters from the Star Trek universe passed away this past week, and, in tribute, here are the two Star Trek themes from both series.
Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov starting in the second season of the original Star Truk died from COPD October 25 at age 90. Fun fact, the vocalization in the second half of the theme was eliminated from seasons two and three so royalties would not have to be paid.
Shakespearean actor Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek the Next Generation died October 28 at age 86. He died from natural causes after a period of declining health, including a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
Star Trek the Next Generation Intro.
An AI tribute. I normally do not post AI content but I liked this one.
And that's a wrap!
Join me again next week for another, hopefully happier, episode of Music Moves Me.
While both coasts of the United States suffer from rain, king tides, and floods, we in the Southern Tier have had the most marvelous skies. Combined with fall color, let's enjoy the color before it is gone.
October 27, first picture, red maple and blue skies.
Interesting ripples in the sky
Second and third pictures, October 28, the clouds we normally experience returned later in the day, and colors were muted..
Sooner or later, the clouds had to return.
But the next day, the sky was blue once more. Here, Canadian geese fly overhead.
It's time to announce the winners of the 2026 Scarecrow Contest at our local park and, for Wordless Wednesday, post pictures of some of them. Some I've posted already and I've posted a link to that post, if you are interested.
I hope you've enjoyed this scarecrow competition as much as I did. Here are the winners and their creator(s). Many are non profits.
4th Place: “Cruella Di-Ville”– Susque-Nango Kennel Club
5th Place: “Independence” – Broome County Democratic Committee (posted October 18)
6th Place: “In Loving Memory of Aliza Spencer” (#54) – Friends of Aliza Spencer. Aliza Spencer was a 12 year old girl murdered in 2022 while out for a nighttime walk with her father and brother. No arrests have ever made and there is a scarecrow entered in her honor each year.
Who are the Music Moves Me bloggers? 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! We are brought to you by Cathy ofCurious as a Cathy, Stacy of Stacy's Random Thoughts, Marie (Xmas Dolly), and myself, plus other music loving bloggers.
Today's prompt is: October’s birth flowers are marigold and cosmos. Marigolds symbolize positive emotion and energy and Cosmos represent order and harmony. Build your playlist that resonates positive vibes and harmony.
We all can go for more joy and positivity in this time of anything but. So let's begin!
Joy - Apollo 100, based on a Bach song "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" written around 1716 and premiered in 1723. It hit the charts again in 1972 through this then-modern intepretation.
2013's Happy from Pharrell Williams may be the ultimate positive song.
Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves, originally released in 1983 and again in 1985.
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen, from 1979. Throwing in a personal favorite: The Beach Boys and Good Vibrations from 1966. It was released as a single October 10, 1966 so we just missed its 60th anniversary. Time does fly.
Bonus: the original Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Johann Sebastian Bach:
And that's a wrap!
Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.
