Excellent Equinox #AtoZChallenge #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday, and it's time for music!  It's also time for E day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

First, the A to Z Challenge: 

Mount Equinox lies between Arlington (where Norman Rockwell lived for years) and Manchester Center, Vermont.  It is the tallest peak in the Taconic range, some 3,855 feet above sea level.  It is the second highest point in southern Vermont.  The name supposedly originates from 1823 and a visit around the autumnal equinox by one Captain Alden Partridge.

From its peak, on a clear day, you can see Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York.  It is said that, on an especially clear day, you can see all the way to Montreal, Quebec.

Currently there are only two ways to get to the peak .  The first is to drive up a well maintained toll road and then take a short walk to the top.  Or, you can hike up and back, which is about a six mile (9.6 km) round trip.  Back in the 1800's, hiking up the mountain was a popular pastime.

The views are beautiful, as are exhibits in the (free) visitors center.

The mountain, some surrounding land, and the toll road is privately owned by the Carthusian order of Roman Catholic monks.  Founded in 1084 C. E. by German born St. Bruno, who died in 1101, these monks live an austere life in silence.  They eat one meatless meal a day (bread and water only on Fridays), wear hair shirts, and spend much of their lives in prayer.  The monastery is not open to the public.

Let me show you some of the beauty of the mountain.

Taken on the drive up the toll road.

I think this was from the summit.

Love those clouds.

Religious art in the visitor's center.

 Goldenrod along the road.   These pictures were taken in early September.

 

Now, it's time for Music Moves Me, brought to us by Cathy of Curious as a Cathy, Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, Marie, and me:  

 

Keeping with my theme of the Beauty of our Land, Everything is Beautiful, from Ray Stevens.

Finally, the opening scene from the movie The Sound of Music.  This scene was filmed in the Untersberg Mountains of Austria.  What a beautiful land, a land that I hope to visit one day.

"E Day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme: Beauty of Our Land.

Joining up with Marie, Cathy, and Stacy for #MusicMovesMe.   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 link may be labeled "No Music" or even removed.)   We have occasional theme weeks, but you are welcome to ignore the theme and use music of your choice.  Why not join us?  You don't have to sing, or play an instrument.  All music lovers are welcome.   

And that's an Easy wrap! 

Join me again tomorrow for more of the Beauty of our Land.

Purple Spring Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

For Easter and my day off from the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, some flower shadow pictures. These were taken yesterday - it is raining this morning.  First, my purple crocus.

A bee is barely visible in the flower on the left.

One of my clumps.

Another bee photo, barely visible on the left. 

My purple lenten rose is finally blooming.

Happy Easter, for those who celebrate.

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

Tomorrow, music and an Excellent A to Z post. 

 

 

Disney Dunedin Delray Beach #AtoZChallenge

Today is D day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, and I bring you several locations from Florida, showing you some of the beauty of this southeast United States state.

Morikami Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida.

Another picture from Morikami Gardens, Delray Beach.

Delray Beach Wood storks.

Dunedin Dolphin.

Downtown Dunedin.
 

Disney (Springs) Dragon.

 

D Day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:   Beauty of Our Land. 

Clouds, Cruise and Commemoration #SkywatchFriday #AtoZChallenge

Today, for "C" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, it's going to be a busy blog post for me.  I participate in a skywatching meme each Friday, and I'm also doing the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

First, watching the sky for Yogi's Skywatch Friday, I am featuring some Clouds I saw from my front porch on March 31, just before a severe thunderstorm hit.  

We were on the fringes of the storm, but we still got pea sized hail.  Fortunately, nothing seemed damaged and Clouds qualify for "C" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Next, on the way to the Boston, Massachusetts cruise port in July, 2024, I saw this beautiful urban art:

Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, July 2024.  , I'd love to know who created this.

The next few pictures were taken at the Flynn Cruise port.  To my delight, there was artwork on this building.

 

These are hard to see so I turned one into a high contrast black and white photo.

The Boston skyline, as we embarked on the cruise

Sailboats in the harbor.

Finally, a Commemoration I do each year on my blog.   On April 3rd of each year, I Commemorate a mass shooting at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York.  

On April 3, 2009, a troubled 41 year old immigrant walked into a building housing the American Civic Association on the edge of downtown Binghamton.  He shot the receptionist (she survived) and entered an adult classroom for immigrants.  Seconds later, 14 people, including the shooter (by suicide), were dead. 

Most of the victims were, themselves, immigrants.

This post of April 10, 2009 was my first blog post. 

 I will not forget, and neither will the people of Binghamton.  There has been so much mindless violence since that date, and it's hard, thinking of all the families who have suffered.

Here is a commemoration event held in 2025. 

It seems like nothing has changed except the number of dead and injured over the years, hasn't it?

I wish I didn't have to blog about it during a Blogging from A to Z Challenge whose theme is Beauty in our Land.

I will leave you with one more spot of beauty - Madame Alexander's Dolls, a tribute to one of the dead. Sadly, the museum I blogged about no longer exists, but the memory lives on.

Tomorrow, a happier D post. 

 

Brewster (Gardens) #AtoZChallenge

Something I love to do is to visit gardens, big and small.

In 2023 spouse and I visited Plymouth, Massachusetts during the Fourth of July weekend.  There is so much history in this city of around 65,000 people.  

In downtown there is a small garden park called Brewster Gardens.  This park is located in the original garden plot that was granted to settler Elder William Brewster in 1620.  Brewster was an English official and was a passenger on the Mayflower ship that brought the Pilgrims to the United States. He was also the only university trained passenger on the ship, and became a church leader for the Pilgrims.

For another side of the story, here's a post I wrote in 2024. 

The park was established 400 years later, in 1920. Today, it is a spot of beauty in downtown Plymouth.

Shall we go in? 

All over Plymouth, hydrangeas were in bloom. 

Note the statue behind the fountain.

This statue is the Pilgrim Maiden, by Henry Hudson Kitson. 

The Immigrant Statue.

Finally, a flower closeup.

"B" day for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Beauty of Our Land.

Tomorrow is "C" day and also time for Skywatch Friday. 

Art #A to Z Challenge #WordlessWednesday

 With the letter A, the Blogging from A to Z Challenge begins on this April Fool's Day.

This is a challenge even in the best of times.  On April 1 (today) our blog post must begin with "A". Tomorrow, "B", and so forth, six days a week, Sundays excepted.  Simple to describe - hard to do, especially when you get to X.

Who am I?   I live in the Southern Tier of New York State, in the United States.  I've been blogging since 2009.  I blogged daily since May of 2011 until 2024, due to circumstances, and, until today, have only been blogging four days a week.   I want to see if I still have what it takes to blog daily.

My theme for this year is "Beauty of Our Land".  My travels have taken me to 46 state of our United States and several provinces of Canada. My goal is to bring some comfort and beauty into these times, as I sort through my nearly 20,000 pictures (yes, you read that right) on my iPhone.

It is also Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.  And, it's April Fool's Day.

So, what is the beauty of our land?  It is scenery.  Art.  Flowers and gardens.  Really, beauty is anything that can lift our spirits.

In honor of April Fool's Day: April Fool art by Norman Rockwell, Arlington, Vermont.   It's hard to see because of the size, but perhaps you can find some of the 45 mistakes.

Steeplechase Park, Brooklyn, New York City, Coney Island.

Plymouth, Massachusetts. 

Carved bear, Skaneateles, New York.

Needlework, New York State fair, Syracuse, New York, 2024.

Tomorrow, the letter B.  

Joining up with the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

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

If you are new to my blog, thank you for visiting, and I hope you'll stick around and visit other of my AtoZ posts.  If you are a regular reader, thank you!!

 

A Trip to the 70's #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! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post link may be labeled "No Music" or even removed.)   We have occasional theme weeks, but you are welcome to ignore the theme and use music of your choice.  Why not join us?  You don't have to sing, or play an instrument.  All music lovers are welcome.   

This week's theme is:  America’s favorite past time for many starts up again for professional baseball players.  You don’t have to be a fan but it could be fun to pick songs that include the teams’ mascot. Stretch this prompt to fit your play set however you want!

But before I dig into the theme, it's time for another induction into Rock and Roll Heaven, with the passing of Dash Crofts, half of the duo Seals and Crofts, who died last Wednesday from heart failure at the age of 87.

Here are some of their songs.

Summer Breeze, from 1972, was their breakout hit.

Get Closer, from 1976.

1972's Hummingbird (please, if possible, watch the video - it is so beautiful).

We May Never Pass this Way Again, from 1973.

 This brings us to our theme.  The mascot of our local AA baseball minor league team or rather both mascots, are ponies.  I didn't want to include Chappell Roan's Pink Pony Club (which really isn't about ponies) so soon after having it on my blog, so I will change this to songs mentioning horses, and include two songs.

 

The first, America's Horse with No Name, is another 1970's staple.  It reached #1 in 1972, and, for some reasons, has been the topic of a number of memes.  

The other one, The Rolling Stones' Wild Horses, was recorded in 1969 and released in 1971.

And that's a wrap!

Programming note:  The Blogging from A to Z Challenge begins April 1 and I may switch my music posts to Sunday, our Challenge day of rest. So join me again next week - either Sunday or Monday.