Unforgettable #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and it's time for music!  

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 (Xmas Dolly), and myself, plus other music loving bloggers.  

Why not join us?  Our theme this week is "You Pick" and I'm going to pick several songs that I heard recently, and a couple I didn't.  No, you don't have to guess which is which.

Elton John and his 1975 hit Philadelphia Freedom, written in honor of tennis great Billie Jean King. 

Unforgettable, from Nat King and Natalie Cole, was a duet made possible by the technology of 1991.  Here, Natalie Cole sings her late father's 1961 hit as a duet with her late father, who died from cancer in 1965.  Natalie was just 15 years old.  Who can listen to this without a tissue or a tear?

Let's lighten it up with Livin' on a Prayer - Bon Jovi, from 1986, their breakout hit.  And what a hit it was.  This is one of my favorite songs.

Shake it Off - Taylor Swift 

I'll end this with 1970's So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright, a song written by Paul Simon and sung by Simon and Garfunkel. The song was written as a tribute to Art Garfunkel, who studied architecture in his youth.  I love every song on this album (which I owned on vinyl) but this one has a special spot in my heart.

And that's a wrap!  Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me. 

And, if you like flowers, join me again later today for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. 

Flowers and Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

Today, on a day promising storms this afternoon, I decided to post a couple of shadow pictures from yesterday.

Taken at a local farm market.

My shady back yard, with shadows and golden hour lighting.  Nothing in this picture is yellow; the gold is provided by the sun's angle in what photographers call the Golden Hour.

Joining Lisa at This and That: A Blog, for her #ShadowshotSunday.  

 

After A Storm #SkywatchFriday

Last night and this afternoon, we had thunderstorms and brief deluges of rain where I live in the Southern Tier of New York State.

I was unable to get photos of the beautiful sunset we had last night but here are some pictures taken around 5:30 this evening once a humidity front came through.

Potholes are a hazard, but they also make for good puddle photos.

Here, a series of potholes reflect the sky and scenery (I know, hard to see).
 

The sky itself. 

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.

 

Oreo Yea or Nay #WordlessWednesday

It's Wordless Wednesday on a Tuesday!

Let's dig into  Oreo cookies: specifically, limited edition flavors. I blog about them from time to time.  I know Oreos can be found outside the United States so I hope you like the basic Oreo (chocolate cookie with white filling) wherever you live.

But there are two flavors I like even better than the original.  One of them has been brought back as a permanent Oreo flavor.  Time to celebrate!

First up, Reese's Oreos.  They are the iconic Oreo chocolate cookie with a filling made with Reese's peanut butter filling and chocolate Oreo crumbs.  I know many people outside the United States aren't big fans of peanut butter as a sweet (it's used in savory dishes, which I love also) but this American loves peanut butter. And these Reese's Oreo cookies score a 10 of 10 in my scoring.

Not from the United States?  No problem!  I would love your input, too.

Anyway, for this flavor, Yea or Nay?

 The other is a limited edition flavor.  Again, I don't know how much outside the United States you can find these multi flavored ice pops , but these are vanilla cookies with a filling of lemon, raspberry, and cherry.  I haven't tried them yet.  Do they appeal to you?  Yea or nay?

Joining with Sandee's #WordlessWednesday.

Note, I may be late getting back to you but I will get back.

Music of the Parks #MusicMovesMe

 It's Sunday, and it's time for music! 

 

 I'm posting a little early this week.

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 (Xmas Dolly), and myself, plus other music loving bloggers.  

Why not join us?  Our theme this week is  "June boasts the most daylight hours. Share music about long sunny days. Express yourself in song however this prompt moves you! "

How about a visit to local parks, or somewhere you can appreciate the warm weather, the clouds, and other things. I grew up in an apartment building in the Bronx (a borough of New York City) and we did not have a terrace. We didn't have a backyard.  Or a car.  But we did have our parks. 

The first song that came to mind is Grazing in the Grass from the Friends of Distinction.  Can you dig it? (oh, that outdated slang in the song, but it's still a nice, mellow song).

Here's another song you can dig, so to speak.  Saturday in the Park was a hit for the group Chicago in 1972, but I am going to use the cover from Leonid and Friends.  To me, Leonid and Friends covers sometimes outdoes the Chicago originals.

The Cowsills and their 1967 song The Rain, the Park and Other Things (which enough people think is named I Love the Flower Girl) was a part of the Summer of Love.  Here's a live performance of the remaining Cowsills from 2025 including that song and Indian Lake, another one of their hits. 

I have to include one Beatles song:  Strawberry Fields Forever, not because it's about New York City's Strawberry Fields area of Central Park, but, rather, the innocence of childhood and John Lennon escaping into the gardens of a local children's home with friends to find peace.  As you may have guessed, the Strawberry Fields of Central Park was created as a tribute to the late John Lennon, who lived close by at the time of his assassination, dedicated in 1985 to his memory.

And that's a wrap!

I may be late getting to you this week, but I will get to you.  Thank you for your patience and enjoy the music! 

Tree Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

Several years ago, trees were planted in several local parks along rivers or streams under a Trees for Tribs program.  Here's more information (from 2022) from my blog on this program.

It's been interesting seeing these trees grow.   

Taken May 31, 2026.

Of course, the trees already in the park cast some shadows, too.

Joining Lisa at This and That: A Blog for her #ShadowshotSunday. 

Great Mind Skies #SkywatchFriday

I was going to post some pictures of streaky skies that I took on June 3, when my guest photographer sent me some of her own.

I'm going to use some of her pictures and save mine for another day.  So please enjoy these pictures from early June in a rural part of New York State.

Note, for this and the next Skywatch I may be a little late getting back to commenters and posters, but I will get back to you.  Thank you for your patience.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.
 

What Is This? #WordlessWednesday

Just outside Norwich, New York (where Pepto-Bismol was invented in 1901) there is a wonderful French bakery and cafe called La Maison Blanche, which I will blog about another time.

For now, I want to solve a mystery.  What is this structure that is on the grounds of the bakery?

(Bakery building is to the right side in the picture).

If I lived nearby, I would just ask the bakery people (they make amazing baked goods, by the way) but I think it's more fun to make a WordlessWednesday post about it. 
 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.