Positivity and Joy #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.  

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.

Shadowy Scarecrows of 2026 Continued #ShadowshotSunday

Our annual county park scarecrow contest is over but I am continuing with some of the contestants.   We should have the voting results tomorrow. 

These photos were taken October 7 so our foliage is further along than this. 

The importance of water.

Girl Scouts.

Minions.

 Tick buster. Tick borne Lyme Disease has become a major problem here.

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

Blue October Art Skies #SkywatchFriday

We've had a gorgeous stretch of weather where I live in the Southern Tier of New York.  I don't remember a fall quite like this.   Clear blue skies most of this week, until yesterday morning.

The sky decided to put on a cloud art display.

Enjoy as the sky unveils its art display.

The trees joined in with their colors.Fall color is progressing but we aren't at peak yet.

Whee!  Yes it was breezy.  I'm glad I decided not to rake leaves today.

Several stages of leaf turning.
 

Today is supposed to be beautiful, too.

Joining Yogi and other sky watching bloggers for #SkywatchFriday.

Still More 2026 Wordless Scarecrows #WordlessWednesday

 Today, I continue to feature scarecrows from a local park's annual Scarecrow contest.  Voting is still open but has to be done in person.

The first two pictures are the exhibit that got my vote.

Kraken. 

Spider-Man.  

Nature Can't Breathe 

Many people love this bakery's Italian bread.

A local hospice.

I will feature several more on Sunday for my Shadowshot Sunday.

Joining up with Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Five Decades #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.  

Today's prompt is:  You Pick.  I've picked some random tunes (a couple of which I've previously had on my blog) spanning five decades.

From 1965, The Supremes and Stop! In the Name of Love.

 

From 1975 , Elton John and Someone Saved My Life Tonight, 

From 1981, Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go, from Soft Cell.  

From 1994, Bush and Everything Zen.

Finally, from 2002, Lose Yourself from Eminem. Note, explicit version.  I have to admit that I'm not a great fan of Eminem or the rap genre in general but I absolutely love this song.

And that's a rap...I mean, wrap!

Join me again next Monday for another episode of Music Moves Me.

More 2026 Shadowy Scarecrows #ShadowshotSunday

Here's another collection of scarecrows from our area's annual Scarecrow contest in a local park.

Independence. 

I should know these characters, but I don't.

It's all in fun.  A lot of these entries come from non profits, and spectators get to vote on their favorite.

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

Foliage and Sky #SkywatchFriday

Today, I am featuring fall foliage and skies from the morning of October 14.

Foliage up against our hills. 

From a slightly different angle.

Framed.

In the afternoon, our skies cleared up.

Saturday we will have winter weather, but it's supposed to warm up again (a bit more seasonably than the last few days) by Monday.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.