Saturday In The Park #SkywatchFriday

On July 4, my country (the United States) turned 250 and my spouse and I decided to have a quiet day.

We didn't go to any live fireworks shows.  We sat back, watched TV, had a simple dinner, and watched the sky.

Except for the last photo, these were all taken during a walk at a local park. 

I went out again about 9:10 pm.

A bit surprisingly, we didn't have as many unofficial (as I call them) neighborhood fireworks shows., but the vanishing light after the sun sent down created layers of beauty.

 It was a nice Saturday In the Park.

Joining Yogi and other sky watchers for #SkywatchFriday. 

A New Mural #WordlessWednesday

A new mural was created next to a favorite Southern Tier ice cream shop this past month.

Closeup.

This mural was completed in June by a local art studio.  These pictures were taken on June 30.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday. 

Space Music #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 "Around the globe early July, World UFO Day is observed. Prompts this week you might consider is anything space related – stars, aliens, spaceships, galaxy, …. Get out of this world wild while having loads of fun discovering music to share!

Let's start with the original Star Trek series, that first aired in 1966 and was on for three seasons.  My childhood was filled with the United States space program, even watching manned launches on television.  I was reading science fiction by the time I was 10.  I was more than ready for Star Trek .

Theme song to the original Star Trek series, 1968 version. 

 Theme to the Star Wars movies.   I saw the first movie with my spouse and a friend in a theater in 1977.

Next, here is a song actually sung in space: David Bowie's Space Oddity, covered by Canadian astronaut and International Space Station  commander Chris Hadfield in 2013.  OK, he's not David Bowie, but this video is a must-see. 

Major Tom (Coming Home), a 1983 sort-of sequel, from Peter Schilling (English version).  I never realized until reaching another music post that this was originally released in West Germany in 1982 as "Major Tom (völlig losgelöst), which means "fully detached".

Europe - The Final Countdown, from 1986. 

Under the Milky Way - The Church, from 1988.   Not about space, but I don't care.

Finally, from 1977, Come Sail Away-Styx, a song that takes a sudden science-fiction-y turn towards the end when we realize it's a first contact song.

And that's a wrap!

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

Day Lily Season Begins

Here is a collection of my day lilies, taken July 1 through 4.  Their names, of course, are lost to history as I am terrible at recording gardening facts.

Most of these pictures were taken during a heat wave, but day lilies just soldier on. 

This is a reblooming day lily. 

Pink and yellow.

Another orange.

Finally, a large yellow.
 

These aren't all of them.  Several have shadows on them (like my lovely spider day lily) and I may post them next Sunday for Shadowshot Sunday.  

250 Years of Freedom #ShadowshotSunday

Today, the United States celebrates its 250th birthday. And I will post my picture for #ShadowshotSunday early, at the end of this post.

Today is our Independence Day, the day the Second Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia and formalized the name "The United States of America".

Since then, we've adopted patriotic symbols. 

There's our flag, for example.  

There's this beautiful building near Maine, New York (taken several years ago). 

And parades celebrating our birthday, such as this one in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on July 4, 2023. 

I've been fortunate enough to be around for both the 200th and 250th birthdays. 

For the 200th, my spouse was in the military.  We were stationed at a base in Texas, where there were festivities. Now, we are in our 70's, and we are going to have (we hope!) a quiet day, watching nationwide festivities on television.  For me, it will be a day of gratitude and reflection.

My grandparents came here to escape persecution and to find a better life.  If they hadn't, they may well have been civilian casualties of World War II. So, in a way, I owe my very life to this country. 

I have been fortunate enough to have set foot in 46 states, missing only North Dakota, Mississippi, Louisiana and Hawaii.  I've lived in New York, Florida, Iowa, Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas. I have visited 18 National Parks out of 63 (My spouse, 17). We've seen the Liberty Bell and Mt. Rushmore.  We've been to several Revolutionary War sites (Battles of Camden, South Carolina and Kings Mountain, South Carolina. Saratoga, New York.  Green-Wood cemetery in Brooklyn (New York City), part of which is on the Battle of Brooklyn battleground.) and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (before the age of digital photography).

These life experiences taught me how beautiful this United States is.  

Yes, our country's history has stains.  Many of them.  Slavery, including the fact that some of our Founding Fathers held enslaved peoples. Jim Crow.  Our shameful treatment of Indigenous people. The internment of some 120,000 people of Japanese descent (most of whom were American citizens) in camps within the United States. Medical experiments, including the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Various race riots. Deletion of condemnation of the slave trade from the Declaration of Independence between July 3 and 4, 1776, because some delegates would not vote for its adoption without deletion of that passage.

We must teach what happened in our history in schools, both the good and the bad.   But there is so much good to be taught about our country, too.  We enjoy freedoms that so many other people do not enjoy.

Our country is not just the beauty of its landscapes.  Truly, we are a nation built by immigrants.  In my 21 years of living in New York City, I was in nearly daily contact with immigrants from all over the world.  Diversity of cultures was the norm.  It still is.

So, happy birthday to the United States of America.  And, as we enjoy today, please remember the men and women who gave their lives so that we might enjoy those freedoms.

Finally:

For Shadowshot Sunday, hosted by Lisa at This and That:  A Blog, I offer this artwork found in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in early July, 2023.  Only in America can you find art like this.

Tomorrow, day lilies. 

Before the Heat #SkywatchFriday

We are in the midst of a heatwave where I live in the Southern Tier of New York.  We unofficially hit 100F (37.7C) yesterday (see below), with a heat index of 110F (43.3C). Ditto for July 1 and our heat index that time was 113F (45C). The last time we officially hit 100 degrees was August 26, 1948.  

So, I am not out there taking pictures.  But I was out there on June 24, enjoying a walk in the park.

I already long for those days.

Afternoon of July 2

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.

Tomorrow (my country's 250th birthday) it is supposed to be cooler but with a chance of rain.  For us, I think it's going to be quiet, but I don't mind.  I hope that all my American readers have a fantastic 4th of July.
 

Flowers of the First Day of Summer #WordlessWednesday

To my Canadian readers a few hours from me, Happy Canada Day.  On July 1, 1867, the Constitution Act of 1867 took effect, creating the Dominion of Canada.   

On July 4, my country celebrates its 250th birthday. 

 I can't believe it's already July!  It's hot, too. I want to go back to some cooler times.  How about the first day of summer June 21 (for us in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway).

What was blooming on the first day of summer?

 My earliest day lilies, that's what!

The names are long forgotten but day lily season has just begun. 

This is one of two fuchsia plants I purchased from Select Seeds.   It's a variety called Pink Galore and I am loving those pink blooms.

Honoring Canada Day.

 Honoring our Independence Day coming on Saturday.

Times are tough, but I hope the friendship between our two nations can endure.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.