Hot Summer Music And Another Induction #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 "In ancient times, “Dog Days of Summer” was connected with bad luck, mad dog attacks, unexpected thunderstorms, heat, and drought.  These days gained the “Dog Days” name because they are connected with a star in the Canis Major (Greater Dog) star system known as Sirius. Nowadays, “Dog Days of Summer” is associated for summer’s long hot days. Based on these interesting tidbits use your imagination to find music that’ll make us howl on the dance floor!"

Summer always makes me think of several songs dating back from my New York City Childhood.  I've had them on my blog before but I hope you enjoy them as reruns.  But before I do, it's time for another induction into Rock and Roll Heaven.

Freddie "Boom Boom? Cannon died July 17 at the age of 89.   

I best knew him for his 1962 hit Palisades Park.  Palisades Amusement Park was a now-closed amusement park in New Jersey, which I went to several times growing up in New York City. They were famous for a huge salt water pool and their musical entertainment, which included famous Big Bands, and, in the rock era, the Four Seasons, Bill Haley & the Comets, the Jackson Five, Diana Ross & the Supremes and yes, Freddie Cannon .  The property is now occupied by high-rise condominiums but New Yorkers of my age fondly remember it. 

Nothing says "summer" like amusement parks for many people. 

N

His first hit was Tallahassee Lassie". 

And now, to our theme.

Summer in the City - a 1966 hit for The Lovin' Spoonful. 

Dancing in the Street - a 1964 hit for Martha and the Vandellas.

Two more, from the 1970s:

 Hot Summer Nights - Walter Egan, best known here for his 1978 hit Magnet and Steel. 

I almost didn't include this, as I'll bet others include it, but here's a song from the movie Grease, Summer Nights, sung by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.  This was a big hit in the summer of 1978.

Tell me more?  No, I'm fresh out of words. 

And that's a wrap!

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

Still More Day Lilies and their Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

Here are some day lilies in my garden for your Sunday enjoyment. 

This was taken July 14.  This photo is actually on its side because I liked how the shadow looked.

The next three were taken July 8.

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

Here We Go Again #SkywatchFriday

Like so much of the United States, our skies for the last two days have been blanketed by wildfire smoke.

 I missed photographing the sunrises and sunsets.  Wednesday, especially, I didn't even want to go out there.  The sky looked yellow (at least it didn't look red) and it smelled like a campfire.  Someone told me the Thursday sunrise was nice and red.  I was sleeping at the time.

Thursday, around 8pm, I took this picture.   I'm thankful that it wasn't bright orange like it was for so many people in the Northeast.

I hope we can return to this kind of sky soon. 

Joining Yogi and other sky watching bloggers for #SkywatchFriday. 

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day July 2026 #WordlessWednesday

It's another two memes for the price of one day - Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and Wordless Wednesday.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day has been a years old meme. hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.  On the 15th of each month, flower gardeners from all over the world take pictures of what is blooming in their yard and/or houses.  Carol is retiring from this meme the end of the year, so this is the last July installment.

In my zone 6a Southern Tier of New York, it's hot and dry.  Today, we are also enduring a bonus - wildfire smoke.  I feel for all those affected.  Fire is a terrible thing.  So most of these blooms are from yesterday.

My astilbe didn't make it until today, alas.  And, I also have a confession.  In the last two years, my flower gardens have been neglected (long personal story why) and are a bit out of control. I'm going to have to pay someone to help me get it into shape, but not this hot week.

Much of the blooming in my gardens is from the humble daylily, and I'll be sharing some of my daylily collection in a minute.  But first, some non-daylily blooms.

Bee balm, leaves wilted but the flowers still beckoning bees.

Yellow million bells.

Yellow loosestrife.  Lesson learned from this plant:  when buying a plant from the local extension service plant sale and they warn you, "this is aggressive", believe them, no matter how pretty the plant is.  I started from one plant.  I don't want to count what I have now.

Ditto for these perennial sweet peas, which we grew from seed, and now wish we hadn't.

One of several hosts.  

Now the daylilies 

This is my oldest daylily.

I bought this at the same time, I think.  It was from a mail order nursery.

Thankfully, these beauties don't mind heat or little water.

 

These are my tallest dallies, and good thing, as they are competing with other plants.

I'm going to call it quits now, because I'd like to visit some of you, so have a Happy Wednesday filled with joy.

Linking up with Carol at May Deam Gardens for her #GardenBloggersBloomDay

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

A Total Eclipse of My Heart #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" .  

It's my sad duty to conduct another set of inductions into Rock and Roll Heaven. 

Bonnie Tyler, Welsh musician, passed away July 8 after having been in a medically induced coma after emergency intestinal surgery in Portugal back on May 6.  She was expected to recover but it was not to be.    Tyler had a long musical career, including three Grammy Award nominations.

These are the three songs I know from her.

1983's power anthem Total Eclipse of the Heart was Tyler's biggest hit in the United States and I have to admit, as a total eclipse of the sun watcher (three successfully, one unsuccessfully) that this song has been played to death in connection with eclipse coverage.  As for me, I never tire of it.

1984's Holding Out for a Hero, from the Footloose movie soundtrack, subsequently was covered in at least two other movies, Shrek 2 and The Super Mario Bros. movie.

Finally from 1978, It's a  Heartache, was subsequently covered by Rod Stewart. For this tribute, though, I am using Tyler's original.

My next induction is for someone who died way too young.  Lauren Bennett, singer most famous for being included in Party Rock Anthem, died May 29 at the age of 36, but her passing was just recently announced.  Sadly, she had suffered from mental health issues and her father claims she never got the proper help. She leaves a six year old daughter. 

 I loved Party Rock Anthem.  Years ago I took water Zumba classes and nearly every session, we danced to this song.  Here is LMFAO, feat. Lauren Bennett. 

Finally, Paul Wheatbread,  the original drummer for Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, died July 6 at the age of 80.  Causes of death were Alzheimer's and complications of kidney failure.   Here is their hit "Over You" from 1968.

So many heartaches recently, as the rock musicians of my youth and young adulthood pass away. 

And that's a wrap!

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

Silver Spotted Skipper #ShadowshotSunday

My bee balm plant is in full bloom.

On July 8 I saw a lovely butterfly on it.  I followed it around as it went from flower to flower.  

Thank you for visiting! 

I think this is the first time I've ever seen one of these butterflies.  Or are they butterflies?  I looked them up and, at least at the present time, the skipper family is considered a type of butterfly.  

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

 

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.