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.
I find many interesting things when I take a walk.
One of these finds were a bunny nest sign I saw earlier this week near an office.
The sign reads "Bunny Nest (with arrow pointing down). Please be mindful when mowing".
Rabbits build a shallow nest more like a depression in the ground. I think the nest was a depression directly below the arrow. It's hard to see in the photo. I didn't want to get closer just in case the little ones were still in the nest.
As much as I don't appreciate rabbits in my yard, they were there first. I'm happy someone cared enough to post this sign. Would you have?
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 of Curious as a Cathy, Stacy of Stacy's Random Thoughts, Marie, and myself, plus other music loving bloggers.
Why not join us? Our theme this week is "You Pick". Any music counts.
Before I get into the Eurovision Song Contest, I've been featuring too many inductions into Rock and Roll Heaven in recent months. So, I wanted to pay a quick tribute to two musicians who passed away this May.
First, Dennis Locorriere, lead vocalist for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, died May 16 at the age of 76, from complications of kidney disease. Here is Dr. Hook's hit Cover of the Rolling Stone done live in 1980.
Clarence Carter, R&B singer, songwriter and producer, died May 13 at the age of 90. Carter had two (I believe) mainstream hits, but other songs were considered too ribald for mainstream music stations. He may have been best known for Patches and this song from 1968, Slip Away.
And now for the Eurovision Song Contest. Saturday, the finals were held in Vienna, Austria. This contest is a big
event for a lot of the world but I think a lot of Americans still have
not heard of it.
As I blogged in 2022:
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual contest which originated in the
aftermath of World War II, when Europe was struggling to recover from
the horrors of World War II. The idea was for various European
countries to cooperate with each other "through cross-border TV
broadcasts". The contest started in 1956, based on an Italian music
festival, with seven countries participating, and has expanded
into the largest world music event there is.
Until
last year, I had no idea that the singers Celene Dion and the group
ABBA, among
others got their start from Eurovision. I was aware that Riverdance had
its start as the "interval" act in 1994. (An interval act performs
after the last act in the final during the tallying of the votes, and
some of these acts have won their own brand of fame. Additionally, I
learned a new word, too, because "intervals" are what we Americans call
"intermission" in an event.)
Winners do not get cash prizes, but they do get the Crystal Microphone trophy, and (best of all, perhaps) exposure. Also, with a couple of exceptions, the host country for the following year is the country that won the year before.
I was introduced to the Eurovision Song Contest several years by a fellow participant in Music Moves Me. This is the 2026 winning song from DARA, with Bulgaria's entry, Bangaranga. It's catchy and it would be a great song for an exercise class. It's already getting millions of listeners on social media.
You have heard some of the songs of the Eurovision Song Contest, even if you think you haven't. Previous winners have included Céline Dion , Lulu (of To Sir with Love fame, but not with that song), and Brotherhood of Man. (Save Your Kisses for Me).
Here are the performances of two previous winners. First, from 1974, perhaps the most famous Eurovision Song Contest performance: Waterloo, by ABBA, competing for Sweden.
Finally, in 1997, Katrina and the Waves. won with Love Shine a Light, competing for the U.K.
And that's a wrap!
Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.
In the United States, where I live, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May.
Last Sunday was the day. My son always gifts me with a hanging basket.
This year he gifted me with the large basket above, filled with fuchsias. I hope I can get to see hummingbirds visiting it. I also hope I can keep it alive. It's large!
On this last Garden Bloggers Bloom Day May post (because Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who has hosted this meme for many years, is retiring GBBD at the end of this year) I have many blooms to show you in my zone 6a garden in the Southern Tier of New York.
Our weather has been so up and down. This week we had days in the 50's F (12.7 C) and by Monday, it will be in the 90's F (32.2 C). Then, by the end of next week, it will cool down again. This was after having a warmer (and wetter) April than we normally do.
I looked at my flower photos from May of 2025 and it appears we are slightly behind May of 2025, after all that up and down.
The daffodils are fading away.
These are the last good ones.
The Japanese tree peony buds are getting ready to open.
Euphorbia has been blooming for a while.
A fuchsia tower, my Mother's Day gift. Thank you, son! (Smart son; he brings me a different hanging basket each year).
Lily of the Valley.
One of the two pansy baskets I made up this year.
In the front, my iris are starting to bud up.
Now to the shady back yard.
My trillium, This variety does not have flowers that open; they don't need to as they are pollinated by ants.
Primrose is almost finished.
I think this is brunneria Jack Frost. I didn't capture many of the lovely small blue flowers because I was concentrating on the foliage.
I call this my lemon and lime brunneria. I also have brunneria with "regular" green leaves.
In the back, it looks like my bleeding heart didn't survive the winter and my purple lilacs are on strike this year. My white Lilacs are still blooming but are so high up I decided I had enough flowers already. So I will end this here.
May is such a wonderful time. Hoping that if you have a garden, it is doing well.
Now, why not visit some of the other flower gardeners posting their links at Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and check out what's blooming for them?
First, a thank you to everyone who commented on my Wednesday blogging problem. Comments fuel my blog, and I thank everyone who verified on Thursday that they were able to comment.
Now, it's time to watch the sky.
This April 9 is a sunset that I would’ve missed had I not glanced out the window at just the right time. I'm been remiss in looking for sunsets recently.
So I wanted to capture this sunset.
I went running outside just in time to catch these images.
For this last photo I decided to zoom in a little.
P.S. if you like flowers, I'll be posting later today for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.
Wednesday and today, I have had problems on my blog. My Wednesday post (which I am not linking to here) posted but the title of the post is not a live link i.e. if I was to send you a link it does not link to the individual blog post. Also, you can not comment on it. I can't, and at least two of my readers weren't able to.
So I am trying again today with this test post, although I am going to try without the picture in the blog post, just in case that photo was part of the problem. My Wednesday post was about a bird's nest on my front porch light.
Over the years, our front porch light has attracted various birds,
who have built nests. When we first purchased our house, house finches
nested there successfully several times.
But more recently, the nests have failed. Or they were decoys, which some birds do build.
A couple of years ago a Carolina wren built a decoy nest on the light fixture.
This year (above), it was the turn of an Eastern phoebe. We saw the
bird a number of times. Perhaps this was a decoy nest, too - Eastern
phoebes, many times, will build multiple nests but only use one of them.
Our porch light nest was never used.
We've had American robins successfully nest on our back porch, but not this year.
Maybe next year, we will get the approval of birds for a true nest.
So, let's see if this post goes through. If it doesn't, I'd sure like to know a possible solution that is simple for a non-tech person like me to implement.
I'd appreciate comments, if only to let me know that you were able to comment. If you can't comment, could you comment on my Monday music post and tell me you couldn't comment on today's post? I thank you for your time.
Thank you!
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
The Failed Nest #WordlessWednesday
Over the years, our front porch light has attracted various birds, who have built nests. When we first purchased our house, house finches nested there successfully several times.
But more recently, nothing.
A couple of years ago a Carolina wren built a decoy nest on the light fixture.
This year (above), it was the turn of an Eastern phoebe. We saw the bird a number of times. Perhaps this was a decoy nest, too - Eastern phoebes, many times, will build multiple nests but only use one of them.
Never used.
We've had American robins successfully nest on our back porch, but not this year.
Maybe next year, we will get the approval of birds for a true nest.
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 of Curious as a Cathy, Stacy of Stacy's Random Thoughts, Marie, and myself, plus other music loving bloggers.
Why not join us?
Our optional theme for this week is: "May 11th Kentucky Derby has long been hosted this month since 1875. This event has a long history of traditions. Use some of the traditions or gallop with the ponies in your own direction sharing your song inspired picks this week."
There are quite a number of songs mentioning horses or ponies. Many times the horses/ponies symbolize freedom or connection. Other times, they are songs about....horses. There are a lot of playlists online for the Kentucky Derby but I decided to go my own way. I grew up in New York City and, while I never got into horses, my best friend did. (Yes, there are ways to learn to ride a horse in New York City.)
Rolling Stones - Wild Horses, recorded in 1969 and released in 1971.
From 1975, Wildfire, Michael Martin Murphey, a song about a girl and her horse, based on a legend about a ghost horse told to Murphey by his grandfather, combined with a dream Murphey had once.
The older I get, the more I get into the great songwriter and singer Willie Nelson. Ride Me Back Home is a song from 2019 about rescuing horses.
One Trick Pony, a 1980 hit for Paul Simon.
Couldn't resist this; the theme song from a childhood TV show.
Finally, My Old Kentucky Home is traditionally sung by the crowd each year before the Kentucky Derby. This was recorded in 2024 at the 150th Kentucky Derby.
And that's a wrap!
Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.
