Rock and Roll Heaven Again #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and it's time for music - and time for Rock and Roll Heaven to build a new wing.

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.  

Our theme this week is:  You Pick.  Sadly, this week will again be inductions into Rock and Roll Heaven.

 Rosalind Ashford, founding member of Martha and the Vandellas, died September 15 at the age of 83.  The cause of death was given only as natural causes. 

I loved all of the hits of Martha and the Vandellas.  I'm choosing the first of their songs that popped into my mind.   Here is "Nowhere to Run", recorded in 1964 and released in 1965.

Musician and songwriter Duncan Sheik also passed away on September 15, several days after he was admitted to the hospital in critical condition.  He was only 56. His song "Barely Breathing" from 1996 was his best known but he was also a Tony Award winner and composed soundtracks for movies.

Finally, Gerrit Graham, stage, television and film actor, screenwriter and songwriter who co-wrote a song called "Victim or the Crime" with Bob Weir for the Grateful Dead, also died September 15 died at age 76 from lung disease.

 

I'm not done with songs yet so here is another from Martha and the Vandellas, 1964's Dancing in the Street.

And that's a wrap!

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me which, hopefully, will be happier. P.S-I may be late catching up with my blog reading/commenting today and tomorrow, but I will be visiting. Thank you for your patience!

Carrot Cake Recipe Shadow #ShadowshotSunday

While decluttering the other day, I came across this cutout from a woman's magazine.  This recipe coming out of the shadows of my life was one of the first from scratch cakes I ever baked.  I believe the recipe would have been published in either the late 1960's or early 1970's.

I baked this now and again in my college years for the fellow student I've been married to for the last 52 years.  Right now I'm not into scratch baking but as the weather gets colder I think I might just make it again.  It really was a good cake.  Nowadays I might want to add some crushed pineapple but I'm not sure how it would affect the recipe.

And no, I didn't frost it.  I'm really not into frosting that isn't chocolate.

 For the sake of nostalgia, I wanted to take a photo just in case I lost it again, and, since there is a shadow, I'm sharing with my fellow shadow photographers.  

Joining up with #ShadowshotSunday, brought to us by Lisa at This and That:  A Blog.

Last Skies of Summer 2026 #SkywatchFriday

On September 15, the sky where I live in the Southern Tier of New York featured one of my favorite cloud types.

 But rain was on its way, and as September 16 progressed, the sky became overcast. 

By September 17, rain.

Next week, fall begins, and the temperatures will start to fall, too. 

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday. 

A Tribute #WordlessWednesday

A friend's sister, N, passed away Friday, after a years long battle with various medical issues.  

I had only seen her in person a few times (the last time, I think, was 2020), but years before that, she had become my go-to for wildflower ID and she shared my love of history.  We emailed each other on and off when I traveled.  

Years ago, I did a Wildflower Wednesday feature on my blog, and N was a great help to me.  I will miss her knowledge.

I know N wouldn't want any fuss over her due to her passing, so, instead, I will post some pictures of wildflowers in and around my yard.   Unfortunately, I have to depend on my iPhone camera app for wildflower ID and it doesn't always get it right.  Unlike N, who was so knowledgeable.

Several years I bought some plants from a wildflower nursery and they gave me a wild aster as a thank you gift.  This may be a calico aster but it isn't in the place where I planted that gift aster.  I apologize for the blur.

White snakeroot.  I definitely did not plant this, which I found the other day on the side of my house, and I'm thinking of removing it as I understand it is an aggressive grower.  I don't need anymore aggressive growers in my small yards.

Last year I had one of these woodland sunflowers pop up in my back yard.  This year there's a bunch of them.  I hate to get rid of native plants, but...aggressive. They spread via underground rhizomes.

Finally, a mystery I know N would have solved easily.  We planted a lilac bush several years ago. It didn't bloom until this spring.  What we thought was a lilac had small flowers this year that died after only a couple of days.  These berries have now appeared.  Lilac berries?  Didn't know they made berries but the iPhone camera plant ID says this is a lilac.  I'd love to know more.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
 

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day September 2026

It's the 15th of September, and time to join other flower lovers for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

It's a beautiful, sunny day, and crisp. 

We are getting an early taste of fall in my zone 6a garden in the Southern Tier of New York.  Yesterday, it never got out of the 60'sF (20 C).  Last night they were even warning of isolated frosts. But soon fall will be here officially.  So, I have to get out and enjoy my outdoor flowers while I still can.

My front yard:

A fuchsia plant that my son gave me for Mother's Day.

Garlic chives in my overgrown front garden.

Sedum.

Sunpatiens.

Pink tall phlox.

Whitish tall phlox.

Last of the sweet peas.  They've reseeded so much that they are going to have to go. 

Let's go around the back now to my shady back yard:

Zig Zag goldenrod really took off this year.  I'm going to have to thin it out.

Japanese anemone.

Heuchera.

Cuphea "Torpedo"  I bought it due to its unusual shape but I think next year, I will stick to "Vermillionaire" or one of the other varieties that hummingbirds like.

Fuchsia "Pink Galore".

Pink turtlehead.  I like seeing bumblebees feed on it.  

I had toad lilies once, but they seem to have vanished, along with an aster.  My back yard has gotten so choked that I have hired a landscaper to thin it out - neither my husband or I, due to physical issues, can manage it anymore. Ditto for my front yard.  

As my garden approaches fall, I am also in the season some call the autumn of life.  If I need help with my gardens in this season, so be it.  As long as I can have it, I will be grateful.  Life is too short.   

Joining Carol at May Dreams Gardens for her 15th of the month Garden Bloggers Bloom Day meme, as it approaches its December, 2026 end date. 

 

Meow #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.  

Our theme this week is: Unbeknown to me, September is National Happy Cat month. You don’t have a cat or any animal to share some songs about these adorable four-legged creatures!

These are songs that have "cat" in their title; they may or may not include lyrics about cats. 

Sit back and enjoy the imagery this first song paints for you.

Year of the Cat - Al Stewart, from 1976, refers to the Vietnamese year of the Cat (one of their zodiac signs.)  It brings back a lot of memories for me in a year that brought a lot of changes to my life. This was recorded at Abby Road studios by engineer Alan Parsons during the Vietnamese year of the cat (but released afterwards). I am bringing you an extended version, although there are longer ones on You Tube, which includes some instrumental passages.

Here's a live performance of Honky Cat - Elton John, released in 1972.

From the Broadway play Cats,  "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats”  The Jellicles are a tribe of cats which meet up once a year in a junkyard for their Jellicle Ball, dancing to show their stories and personalities to be picked for a rebirth.  The play is based on a 1939 poetry collection written by T.S. Elliot.  

The Broadway show ran for a little over 18 years.  Not bad!

One last song: Love Cats - The Cure

Meow!

And that's a wrap!

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.  And join me again tomorrow afternoon for the last September Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. 

Staircase #ShadowshotSunday

 A staircase, taken September 11, 2026.

Yesterday and this morning, the sky is so gloomy.  That angle of the sun reminds us that fall is on its way. 

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