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.
 

The Sky Was So Blue

Permit me to concentrate today on a 25th anniversary.  So, if you are looking for my Skywatch Friday post, please click here.

25 years ago today I woke up and prepared to go to work.  My spouse was at home - he would be going to work around 12:30 pm.

It was supposed to be a beautiful mid September day with clear blue skies.

Now, 25 years later, I remember that day.  Everyone of my generation remembers that day. Residents of New York City and its surrounding communities remember.  Residents of the area around the Pentagon remember.  Residents of the area around Shanksville, Pennsylvania remember September 11, 2001.  The people of Gander, Newfoundland, remember that day, the day we've called "9/11" since that beautiful blue sky late summer morning.  Until it wasn't. 

Other countries remember dates of tragedy.  Here in the United States, we remember, even after 25 years.

According to the World Trade Center Health Program, some 9000 people have died from 9/11 related illnesses.

9/11 is still claiming victims from related illnesses today.

I've blogged about 9/11 every year since I've started to blog in 2009, and I will continue to do so as long as I continue to blog.

Here are some of my posts:

September 11 Reaches Adulthood

Yes, One Day We Will Forget

In New York City's 9/11 Memorial and Museum there is an art installation called Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on that September Morning".  How can I not forget that blue sky?  

Finally, we are also called to remember the generosity of the people of Gander, Newfoundland (Canada) on September 11, 2001 after United States closed its airspace and airlines grounded their planes.  Some 7000 passengers and crew on 200 planes ended up landing in Gander International Airport, near a city of (then) about 10,000. people.  

The people of Gander quickly mobilized  to make the people stranded there when airlines grounded their flights feel welcome. 

 Food and clothing was donated. Schools were turned into dormitories.  A hockey rink provided refrigeration for donated food.  The people of the planes became known as the Plane People.

The people of Gander never asked for payment but the passengers and crew of one of the flights set up a scholarship fund for students in the Gander area.  The fund has grown to over one million dollars.

Tonight, the City of Binghamton, New York will host the LUMA festival, which features light projections onto buildings.  I won't be there in person, but I will be there in spirit, as light chases away the darkness.

25 years.

One of the alumni lost from my high school. 

If you read some of my more recent 9/11 posts you can see my concern that the generations unborn on 9/11 will not understand the significance of that day in U.S. and world history or the kindness of 9/12.

Let us never forget those affected.

Seen Around Town #SkywatchFriday

I am posting early for Yogi's Skywatch Friday with some scenes from the Southern Tier of New York,  taken on two consecutive days.  Tomorrow, my blog will be devoted to commemorating the 25th anniversary of September 11.

Downtown Binghamton, Court Street bridge over Chenango River, September 9.
 

Mural, downtown Johnson City, New York, September 10.

Finally, today's mystery.  This diner used to be the Red Robin diner, situated in a 75 plus year old building in downtown Johnson City, New York. The diner closed in 2021 and a halal restaurant, part of a New York City chain called 8-Bit Bites, opened there in 2023.  8-Bit Bites closed this location around June of 2026.

I wonder what is happening with the building.  I hope it is just being fixed up and will continue as a diner.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.

Cuddly Corn #WordlessWednesday

 At this time of year, I eat corn on the cob several times a week.  I can't get enough of it.  That sweet goodness is so fleeting.  I am fortunate that I live in an area where I can get fresh sweet corn at farm markets or even in a local supermarket chain that buys local when they can.

So, the other day, I peeled the husk off a corn.  Seemed like the corn was a bit thicker than normal.

Before cooking.

After cooking.

Cuddly corn.  

I don't know if this was one corn that split in two while developing, or two separate corns. 

Either way, it was delicious.

If you enjoy sweet corn on the cob, have you ever run into this?

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Summer Ends #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: You Pick.  But I am choosing as my theme today, last week's theme, which was:  It’s the end of the month, summer is drawing to an end unofficially. Share songs that make you think of the end of summer.

Songs for the end of summer, many times, deal with the end of summer romances, or a nostalgic look back at summertime.  So here's my selection.

The Boys of Summer, Don Henley, from 1984.

Summer Nights - John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, from the wonderful Grease soundtrack.

Summer's Almost Gone - The Doors, from 1968.

Famous Last Words - Billy Joel, from 1993.

Last but not least, out of ideas, I decided to look up the number one song for the week of September 21, 1976 (50 years ago) and came up with this:

Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry.

This song has nothing to do with the end of summer, but it carries a lot of nostalgia for me.  My spouse was undergoing technical training for his military job.  We would go to the enlisted persons' club and listen to live music and perhaps eat supper there, and this is one of the songs the cover bands played a lot.  Call it an end of summer song.

And that's a wrap!

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

Late August Stroll #ShadowshotSunday

Today, for #ShadowshotSunday, brought to us by Lisa at This and That: A Blog, I'm featuring some shadows from two late August walks in a park.

Picnic bench.

Trees and clouds. 

A wildflower that my iPhone photos app identifies as heal-well. 

Update: since my Friday Skywatch Friday post which mentioned the 2026 tornado count in my state of New York, that number has been updated to 22.  I hope September is calmer.

Have a shadow photo?  Why not join us at Lisa's link above?

 

Thunderheads #SkywatchFriday

Where I live in the Southern Tier of New York, it has been a stormy week.  But we've escaped a lot of the severe weather that the central and western part of the state has experienced in the last few days.

As of last night, we've had 18 confirmed tornadoes so far in New York State since the beginning of the year.  

I took these pictures on August 27.  

Thunderheads.

Let's zoom in.  

Pinkish sky right before sunset, taken through trees.  Sorry for the blur.

Tuesday and Wednesday we had on and off torrential rain.  We got at least four inches, and my spouse and I were caught in one of the downpours trying to get to an appointment.  A bit over an hour away, the New York State Fair had to close because of flooding. 

Our storms Wednesday night came after sunset, and I wasn't going to go out there at 10pm with lightning flashing and lighting up the sky.

Hoping for better weather for all in September.  

Joining with Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday. 

Monarch Time #WordlessWednesday

One of our local libraries has an aquarium set up with monarch butterfly larvae developing. They’ve had several become butterflies.

Here are some pictures of their set up. The larvae are the striped caterpillars, and I hope you can make them out in these pictures.

If you are interested, here is more on the life cycle of a monarch butterfly. 

You can see one towards the right middle of the picture.  I apologize for the glare. 

These are milkweed plants, which the caterpillars feast on until their next stage of development.  I see at least three in this picture.

The enclosure itself. 

This is the Vestal Library's certificate of recognition from the Monarch Waystation program.  The program states, in part:

"Monarch Waystations are intentionally managed gardens that provide critical breeding resources and food sources to support monarch butterflies throughout their multi-generational, 3,000-mile migration.....As of 11 August 2026, there have been 57,969 Monarch Waystation habitats registered with Monarch Watch."

The very first monarch waystation was established in 2004 at the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas. 

 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
 

Goodbye Dolly #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and it's time for music, and (sadly) another induction into Rock and Roll Heaven.

Seems like we are having inductions almost every week now, and this one is especially sad. 

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: It’s the end of the month, summer is drawing to an end unofficially. Share songs that make you think of the end of summer.

But I am going to go in another direction today (I'll save this theme until next week, hopefully).

Dolly Parton passed away on August 25 at the age of 80.  I had blogged a short tribute to her on Wednesday, and it's time to feature some more of her music.  Dolly Parton, in her lifetime, was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  This amazing woman first sang at the Grand Ole Opry (the longest running radio show there is) at age 13, in July of 1959.  She was introduced by Johnny Cash as "a little girl from East Tennessee".

She was so loved that our national flag was lowered to half staff for the week following her death.

I'm devoting this entire post to her music.  First off are a couple of songs familiar to many of us.

9 to 5, sung and written by Dolly Parton, who also starred in the movie of the same name.  This song was used as the closing of the Grand Ole Opry's tribute Saturday to Dolly Parton.

From 1971, a deeply personal song, Coat of Many Colors, about her childhood.  A duplicate coat made by Dolly's mother is on display at Dollywood, the theme park Dolly developed as a tribute to her East Tennessee roots.

Next, a lesson rooted in Dolly's philosophy of life..  

Better Get to Livin', from 2007, is a fan favorite although not considered one of her greatest songs. 

My Tennessee Mountain Home, from 1972. 

One of the Music Moves Me bloggers, DrillerAA from Driller's Place, introduced us to this song last week.  I am including it as another side to Dolly Parton, who was a deeply religious Christian and recorded a number of gospel songs.  This is her cover of He's Alive, a song originally by Don Francisco.  Dolly heard this song on the radio while traveling in 1989 and decided to record it.

Finally, I had to include a live performance of what was probably Dolly Parton's signature song, Jolene, perhaps because of the introduction.

And that's a wrap! 

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

Late Summer Flowers #ShadowshotSunday

Today, some late summer flowers. 

These are pink turtleheads. I bought one plant at a farm market in Asheville, North Carolina in 2012.  I also bought a white turtlehead but it didn't survive.  Turtleheads are a native wildflower to where I live, but I found out recently that while the white turtleheads are native to where I live, the pink ones aren't.  However they are native to where I bought the plant.

Finally, (hiss boo) Japanese knotweed in bloom.  It's lovely when in bloom.  But:  it  was brought over to the United States as an ornamental and erosion control plant around 1873.  By the 1930's it was considered a major problem.  It reproduces vegetatively and is found on all continents except Antarctica.  The only good thing I can say about it is that the honey bees make from it is delicious.

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

Three Colors of the Sky #SkywatchFriday

A quiet post today showing the different moods and colors of our sky. 

After sunset August 21. 

Peaceful park scene August 23.  Spouse and I had spotted a bald eagle but weren't able to take a picture with it visible.

August 25, storm clouds.  This picture was taken in color.

Watching the every-changing sky is a beautiful pursuit, never ending, never boring.

Joining Yogi and other sky watching bloggers for #SkywatchFriday.

A Cake Mix Tribute to Dolly Parton #WordlessWednesday

I was going to blog about monarch butterflies today, but I find myself blogging about a different monarch.  So this will be a fairly wordy Wordless Wednesday.

Dolly Parton used to joke that she was the Queen of Tabloids.  She certainly was a queen: a talented singer who rose from poverty to enrich the world, the fourth of 14 children of an east Tennessee family.  She was also an actor, a songwriter, a philanthropist,a humanitarian, a re-creator of a Tennessee theme park to enrich and pay tribute to her local community, an entrepreneur, and the bringer of a free reading program called Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to the parents of thousands and thousands of babies and toddlers.  (That program is available in the United States, Ireland, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia.)

You can read more about Dolly Parton here.

Dolly Parton died yesterday at the age of 80, just four days after she reassured fans about her health.  The cause of death was cancer.

I am not a country music fan, but I love every song I ever heard her sing.  I will feature her induction into Rock and Roll Heaven on my blog this coming Monday.

In the meantime, there is the matter of this cake mix. Yes, Dolly had a line of baking mixes.  I had two in the house yesterday, a cornbread mix and this coconut cake mix. I had never tried the coconut mix and now it was time.

Why not bake a cake as a tribute to her?   So I baked the coconut cake.  It was delicious.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday. 

And a duet with Kenny Rogers...

Goodbye, Dolly.
 

The Beardless Beard and Other Music #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and it's time for music!  It's also time for another induction into Rock and Roll Heaven.

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? This is our "you pick" week when we can pick any music we want.

Frank Beard, drummer and only beardless man in the group ZZ Top, died on August 17, 2026.  He was in hospice care, suffering from pneumonia and heart disease at the time of his death.

Beard was not ZZ Top's original drummer, but joined the band after their original drummer (Dan Mitchell) left in 1969.  Unlike the remainder of the band, who were famous for their long beards. Beard only grew a (short) beard for a time in 2013.  Beard, with some brief exceptions due to illness and other reasons, was their drummer until 2025. 

La Grange, released in late 1973, became a hit in 1974. 

 Cheap Sunglasses, from 1979.

Not an induction but a sad moment.  The Hollies officially retired from touring and broke up this past week, with their 80 year old lead guitarist Tony Hicks announcing his retirement due to health reasons.   Their drummer, Bobby Elliot (84) followed shortly after.  The band had been together for some 63 years. 

This is one of my favorite Hollies songs:  Stop Stop Stop with Hicks on banjo and Elliot on drums.  I never realized, until researching this post, that Hicks was playing the banjo and not sitar.

I wanted to include some music I listened to this week on the radio. 

The Babys - Every Time I Think of You, from 1978. This is such a beautifully sung song that I wonder why I don't hear it more.

The Four Tops - Bernadette 

And that's a wrap!

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

Backyard Plant Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

From this past Friday, let's take a quick visit to my shady back yard.

Last year, a woodland sunflower (according to my iPhone) showed up. This year, several other plants joined it.

Here is the first bloom.   Yesterday, a couple of more showed up.

While I was at it, I got a picture of my Persian Shield plant.  It looks a little wilted so I'll have to get a better photo one day.   I've grown Persian Shield now for many years.  The last two years, I've gotten my plants from Select Seeds.  This is all one plant.

Joining Lisa at This and That: A Blog for her #ShadowshotSunday.  Have a shadowy picture to share?  Why not join us at the linky at Lisa's blog post?