Garden Bloggers Bloom Day October 2024

October in my zone 6a Southern Tier of New York garden has arrived, and it's time for the 15th of each month Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Where did summer and early fall go?

Another growing season is getting ready to conclude, as winter closes in.  We will most probably have our first frost Thursday morning.  Outlying areas have already had theirs.

This week so far has been rainy and cold, and for that reason, I cheated a little and took some of these pictures Saturday.

First, the outdoor flowers.  For the last time this year I have so many that I won't show all of them to you.

Japanese anemones are in full bloom.

Nothing says fall like mums.  I got this inexpensive plant at our area Aldi a few weeks back with buds just starting to open and it is now blooming its little mum heart out.

My dahlia is finally blooming.  It gave a disappointing performance this year.

Not so the lantana, which had a great year, perhaps the best ever in all the years I've grown them.

The last three years I've grown cuphea, a flower that hummingbirds love.  The flowers (at least, what is sold here) are normally red and yellow, but last year I found a cultivar with white flowers.  The hummingbirds didn't like it but, about three or four weeks ago, I found some growing in a crack between two pavers in my yard.  These volunteers were a pleasant surprise. 

My impatiens are not looking good.  I took five cuttings after I took this picture to (hopefully) root in water.  I keep them alive all winter and they will bloom later in the winter.

Sedum.

My fall blooming heuchera.  The leaves you see are not heuchera leaves.  The flowers were all leaning at angles and I got neighboring plants.

Variegated geraniums, before I took some cuttings.  These I will root in soil with rootone, a power rooting hormone.  Mine dates from the pandemic (my local nursery didn't have it in stock) so I hope it still works.   

This is the hard part of outdoor gardening, when it is time to say goodbye.

Before I go, some indoor flower pictures.  Here are two African violets.   I got these at my local nursery on a special sale.   This one is loaded with blooms.  I hope it doesn't meet the fate of my previous African violets, all of which died this summer.  I suspect overwatering was the cause.  

This African violet had sunburn on the leaves but I decided to buy it anyway. Its chances of seeing the sun this winter aren't that great. 

Last but not least, Plectranthus.  I've had this plant for years now - actually, three small plants. All are blooming. They bloom in October and November, on a northern window, too.

And that's my October collection of outdoor and indoor flowers.  Why not visit the link at the beginning of my post and find out what is blooming in other gardens from all over the world?

Memories of the Mid 70's #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and it's time for music!

Today I am joining up with other 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! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be labeled "No Music".)   

Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.

Every other week, we have a theme.  On alternate weeks, we can blog on any music theme we want. This week's theme is "You Pick".

I came up with this thought when I was starting to wake up the other day.  The years between 1974 and 1977 brought a lot of changes in my life - graduating college, marrying, moving hundreds of miles away, moving again (more than once) due to my spouse joining the military, and through it all, music was a constant.

So I've picked a playlist reflecting those years.  In no particular order:

 A top 10 song on June 1, 1974:  Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run 

Also from 1974, the artist is a man born Steven Demetre Georgiou, who is now known as Yusuf/Cat Stevens. and his song is Oh Very Young.

Just a little over a year later, 1975 was such a great music year.  First, Elton John and Someone Saved My Life Tonight.

1975- December 1963 (Oh What a Night) - Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

 The end of 1975 and beginning of 1976 brought us a crossover hit, C. W. McCall and Convoy.  This song may puzzle my younger readers but CB radios were big about that time.

1976, and memories of a hot, hot summer the year we lived in Wichita Falls, Texas while my spouse attended tech school.  And, as far as I'm concerned, this song has just enough cowbell.  Here's Blue Oyster Cult and (Don't Fear) The Reaper.

 Meanwhile, in the Airman's Club and its live bands (all good!), I first became acquainted with this song.  Here's Wild Cherry and Play That Funky Music, another 1976 hit.

Finally, 1977 brought us a cover of Bruce Springsteen's debut single from 1973.  But it took Manfred Mann's Earth Band to bring it to #1.  Here's Blinded by the Light, a song I've had on my blog before and it well deserves extra play.  This was released in 1976 but made #1 in February of 1977, just in time for it to bring back particular memories.

And that's a wrap!

Join me again next Monday for another installment of Music Moves Me!

And, if flowers move you, join me again tomorrow for my 15th of the month Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post.

Shadowy Scarecrows #ShadowshotSunday

Today, some shadowy pictures from the Otsiningo Park Scarecrow Contest.

The contest, explained.

West Corner Firefighters.

TV Weatherperson from a local station.  The space is so children can their picture taken with the scarecrow.

 

This is a picture which I wish I could identify, but I can't.  Anyone? 

I'll have more on Wednesday.

Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for her #ShadowshotSunday.

Another Installment of Scarecrows

It's time for another installment of scarecrows from the ninth annual Scarecrow contest at Otsiningo Park in Binghamton, New York.

The contest, explained.

Note, I will not be online until sometime tonight, so any comments will not be published until then. 

Elliot and a Scare Crow, one of the few entries not from a non profit.

We Scare because We Care.

This Prime Care international display deserves a closer look.

The closer look.

Vote Here! (sorry, in person voting only this year).

More scarecrows (and their shadows) tomorrow.

Aurora Photos #SkywatchFriday

 Taken around 10:20 pm last night outside my home in the Southern Tier of New York with an iPhone 13 mini and, I'm assuming, night mode.

This didn't look anything like what I saw with my eyes which was just a  sort-ofpurplish glow in the sky.  I live in a neighborhood with a lot of light coming from houses and some street lights.  You can even see stars in this picture.

I don't often do night photography, and my iPhone 13 mini insisted on a three second timer.

So I don't know if that is technical "cheating" but wow, those colors.  These photos are not manipulated in any way other than the three second delay.

Some stars are visible here, too.

I think I can even see a small piece of green aurora in this picture. 

I thank the co worker who texted me just after 10pm and told me to look at the sky.  She lives up on a hill and I hope she had a better view. 

Timing is everything.  I went out again about 11pm and it was (surprise) cloudy.

How fortunate I was.

Joining Yogi and other sky watchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

The Garden Winds Down

Our community garden plot is winding down for the year.  We've had nights in the 40's ( 7C) and next week we will be reaching down to the 30's.  We have a frost advisory starting at 12:01 AM Friday.

This year, my spouse (99% of the work) and I abandoned in ground beds in favor of two raised beds.  We were offered a third, abandoned bed mid-year which was a good year because one of the beds we had rented was absolutely infested with (I think) bindweed.  It was a losing struggle.  We would have had to live at the garden to even have a fighting chance against it.  We aren't going to rent that bed again. 

These are some of our last crops of 2024. 

Cabbage.

Asian greens.

Peppers, as the last couple ripen.

Lettuce.

We still have wax beans ripening (not pictured) and a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Fall is a bittersweet time for the gardener. It's a time to celebrate what the season provided us, but we know that the garden has slowed with the declining sunshine and temperatures.

But (hopefully) there is always next year.

Scarecrow Season 2024 #WordlessWednesday

It's time for the nineth annual Otsiningo Park Scarecrow Contest, which runs this year from October 1 to October 23. 

Per Broome County government, "Individuals, families, businesses, clubs, groups, and organizations are encouraged to create a friendly scarecrow to display at Otsiningo Park and for a chance to win prizes. Entry is FREE of charge. 

The public is invited to vote for their favorite of the almost 40 entries.

More and more, it seems non profits are the main participants and it's a good way to get their message out.

Like this one, for example, number seven, from ACHIEVE, a non profit that serves those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  I have a feeling this one is in the running for winner.  We'll see!

 Or this one, from STIC (Southern Tier Independence Center).  A developmentally developed family member gets services from both of these fine organizations.

Number 5 is from the NYPENN Pathways Girl Scouts, an Asian elephant to symbolize their Treats, Reads and More program.  This one, I think, will also be in the running for best scarecrow.

Finally, this entry from Broome County DDSO (Broome Developmental Center), which serves individuals 21 and over with developmental disabilities.  This is actually a state run agency but I am going to include it.

Did you have a favorite?  If not, no worries, as I'll have more entries in the coming days.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

By Some Other Author?

Imagine you are a female blogger.  Because you are a woman, you aren't allowed to blog.  So, if you want to, you have to have a man publish your blog posts - and he gets all the credit.  All the fame. Chances are, you would be forgotten by history.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult takes a controversy that has been raging for hundreds of years - were Shakespeare's plays written by William Shakespeare, or by other persons (perhaps more than one) under his name - and bases a historical novel on this question.  

Most of the people suggested as the possible true authors of Shakespeare's plays are men, perhaps more than one man, but what if one or more were women?  Perhaps it was women, knowledgeable of the theater, who could not publish plays under their own name because that just wasn't done, but had to have them published by a man? The man, of course, got the credit, the fame, most of the money, and would be known forever as their author.  Or, maybe just one woman wrote some of those plays?

Now, what if one of this woman's descendants struggles here in modern day America as she tries to get her play, based on the life of her ancestor, performed?

That is the basic plot of By Any Other Name, the second novel by Jodi Picoult I've read.

First, a confession (please hold the hate mail and comments).  I had to read Shakespeare's plays in junior high and high school English.  I hated them. I dreaded them.  I couldn't understand the language.  I couldn't visualize the action.  As an adult, I've never sought them out, either to read or to watch a play, or to see a movie based on one of them.

It didn't matter which plays they were.  I remember I had to read The Taming of the Shrew,  Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and probably one of the historical plays like Richard III.  I remember none of them fondly.  It was a joyless slog for this person who loves to read and always has.

So, why would I even want to read this book? 

I took the chance because I absolutely loved the other Jodi Picoult book I read, Wish You Were Here.  Plus, I enjoy an occasional historical fiction book.

I was instantly absorbed into the book, but I also had some disappointments along the way.  Nevertheless, I gave it four stars out of five on Goodreads.

My observations:

1.  It was obvious Jodi Picoult put in many hours of research on Elizabethan England and modern theater.  I should note that Emilia Bassano Lanier, who Picoult posits as the woman who may have written several of Shakespeare's plays, was a real person who led a hard but fascinating life.  She has modern day descendants, some of whom may be living in Tennessee.  

I love extensively researched writing and Jodi Picoult put hours and hours of research into this book.  It shows, and perhaps that's why I was more drawn to the Emilia Bassano

2.  I loved the Emilia Bassano portions of the story, although I also thought the plot dragged with too much explanation occasionally. I was much less enthusiastic about the story of her descendant, Melina Green.  I especially felt that Green's dialogs discussing the sexism and racism of the modern theater did not flow naturally from context, but were just words put into the characters' mouths to express the author's opinions.  

I could not feel Green's personal struggles the same way as I did Bassano's, which included Bassano becoming, not by choice, the mistress of a much older man when she was 13.  In her 20's, after she became pregnant, a cousin forced into a marriage to a abusive man.  And then, there was the Plague that ended up killing about 25% of the population of London.

3.  I thought the modern day Melina Green's story ending was a bit too-good-to-be-true fairy tale-ish.  I would have been happier, in general, if the book had been shorter.

Despite the flaws, I would highly recommend this book, and I could see it being discussed in a high school English (or even history) class. 

So, am I now going to run out and read any Shakespeare? (Or, better yet, see one of his plays.  These were, after all, plays to be experienced live, not read?).  Right now, it's still ano, but one never knows.

Have you read this Picoult book?

More Than These Songs from the 80's #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and that means music!

Today I am joining up with other 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! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be labeled "No Music".)   

Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.

Every other week, we have a theme.  On alternate weeks, we can blog on any music theme we want. This week's theme is "Pick a Song or Build a Playlist of your favorite rock songs from any decade".

Of course, it doesn't need to be rock if there are other genres you groove to.

I've always considered myself as being in love with the 80's.  So,in no particular order:

I Ran from A Flock of Seagulls (1981) 

More Than This - Roxy Music (1982).

The Look of Love - ABC (1982)

Lawyers in Love - Jackson Browne (1983)

Islands in the Stream - Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (1983).

Finally, changing my theme just a little, four more songs.  First,  a musical tribute to Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye - here is The Commodores and their 1985 song Nightshift. 

Next, another song by Dolly Parton, who, once again shows her greatness in her gift of one million dollars to Asheville, North Carolina, to help in the area's recovery from Helene. Here is award winning  9 to 5, from 1980.

Finally, a song I've had before and it's worth repeating because of its message:  The Way It Is, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, 1986. 

I love the 80's so, it's too bad I can only bring you this small sample today.

But that's just the way it is....

So I am going to include a bonus song.  I was introduced to a You Tube video channel hosted by Garren Lazar by Cathy at Curious as a Cathy. Among other things, he takes songs and syncs them up to Peanuts footage.  So here's a song from the 80's - 1982's Subdivisions by Rush - from the Peanuts gang.  (By all means, check out Yes's Roundabout, which is the video Cathy featured.  I think it was done better, but didn't fit my theme.

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

Unexpectred Plant #ShadowshotSunday

One of the pleasures of gardening is finding the unexpected.

A month or so ago, this little plant started to bud in my semi shady backyard.  It put out one flower mid-September, then took a break. Now it's blooming again.

It's got three flowers now.  My apple photo app identifies it as a Jerusalem artichoke.

Friday, late afternoon, one of these shadows almost in the middle of the photo reminded me of a flying bird.

Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for her #ShadowshotSunday.

Fall Color Begins

Taken September 27, our fall color has progressed, but not that much.

Green and red.
 

Along the Vestal Rail Trail.

A sneak preview.

Local grapes.

Does anyone know what this winter squash is?

We're only at the beginning of the color season.

Just a note, I am having problems with signing into my blog (now, on two different computers) probably because of my cookie settings. I was unable to do any editing or new posts until I resolved it.  I had to clear my cache and cookies on one computer, which led to some unexpected problems on other sites.  For now, I'm not going to touch the other computer.

If this continues, I may have to rethink using Blogspot as my platform.  Apparently, Google doesn't appreciate it when you try to prevent it from tracking you.  I'm not familiar with WordPress, though, and I know there is a learning curve.  We'll see what the coming week or two brings.

For now, I can still post on my laptop, the one I fixed first.  For now.

Compared to what the people of Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, etc. are going through, it isn't even worth my time to fret about it. But if I disappear, you'll know why.

Skies of Late September #SkywatchFriday

Today, a variety pack of recent skies in the Southern Tier of New York, mostly from the past week.

Peaceful park, Tuesday morning.

Trouble brewing, late Tuesday afternoon.

These may have been clouds from Helene, as far away as we were, also Tuesday..

Contrails, last Friday.

A sunny day between rain events, last Friday.

Hopefully, I'll have some fall color for you next Skywatch.

Joining Yogi and other bloggers for SkywatchFriday.

What Do They Have In Common?

Here's a little quiz for my readers.

What do the following companies have in common?  A deodorant company, a bath remodeling company, flavored water, a fitness business, a security business, a couple of tax relief companies, a lose-weight business, a house gutter business, a seafood business, a replacement window business, and a company that insures car repair costs.

I'm not naming the guilty companies with their business names because I don't want to give them publicity.

Answer:  they all spam me.  Continuously.

I have to believe that it doesn't cost much to have someone send emails out to perhaps millions of people.  I'm sure people out there are responding.  Oh yes, I need to have work on my gutters, or I have a window that needs replacing,  so let me click on this email coming from someone with the weirdest email address imaginable who just randomly picked me out of all the people in the known universe psychically knowing I needed their product. Sign me up!

On second thought, don't.

These are all legitimate companies, too.  Most of the business names you would immediately recognize. But if you send me three emails a week, that's spam.  I don't care who you are.  Stop filling my mailbox up.

Do you know how I respond? I don't unsubscribe.  Besides deleting said emails, I don't buy their products.  Period.

No, wait.  There is an exception.  There's one company I started getting spam emails from and it was a beverage company whose delicious product I was already purchasing.  So I decided to email them and respectfully told them I was disappointed they were taking this route.  And you know what?  They responded with this email:

"Hey [AM]:

Thanks very much for reaching out. We apologize for the number of emails that have made their way to you. We sincerely try to balance good commerce with good communication. Certain customers enjoy getting them and some don’t. We are working on getting better at predicting this.

We also wanted to provide this link for you here: [website link] where you can manage preferences and reduce the number of emails you receive from us.

Again, please accept my apologies on behalf of everyone at [beverage company] We really appreciate all of your continued support and are really glad to hear you have been enjoying our [product]! :)

Cheers,

[Real Person's name]

It's nice to know there's a good corporate citizen out there.And (this was a while back) the emails did stop.

Maybe there is hope.

If you've had similar experiences, please feel free to vent, or compliment, in the comments.

Fall Flowers #WordlessWednesday

Some recent sights in our flower garden on a suddenly rare sunny fall day.

Autumn crocus.

Mums.

A cultivated New England aster. 

Finally I never have considered cosmos a fall flower.  We had one struggling cosmos plant (of all the ones we planted) and it kept growing bigger, and taller, and did not bloom until last week.  Now, this white seashell cosmos is putting on a fall display for us.  Here's some of it.

Finally, to all my Jewish readers, I wish you shanah tovah umtukah, may you have a good and sweet new year.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Kris Kristofferson

It had to come.  Another induction into Rock and Roll Heaven is underway on this first day of October.

Kris Kristofferson, who died Saturday at age 88 (cause of death not released), wasn't exactly a rock and roll singer, true.  He was an actor,the son of an Air Force general, a Rhodes scholar, a singer, a Golden Gloves boxer, a rebel who ended up being disowned, a member of a supergroup (the Highwaymen), a song writer, a one time janitor, the ex of Rita Coolidge, a father of eight, and...oh, did I leave anything out?

No doubt, I know I left a lot of things out.

One more piece of trivia? He even played the mentor of a vampire hunter in the movie Blade.

So, what do I post here to show his talent?   The SESAC licensing situation has made it more difficult as I live in the United States, where this dispute is going on.

But apparently, that didn't touch Janis Joplin singing (noting she made some changes) his song Me and Bobby McGee.

Hoping these next two play: Performing Sunday Morning Coming Down with Stephen Bruton.

With Lorrie Morgan - Help Me Make It Through the Night.

RIP, Kris.