Autumn’s Last Hurrah

Aww…some Monday – Big Boy Toys

Monday’s Music Moves Me

Was Christopher Columbus a crooner? The theme this week at 4M is to honor Chris by selecting songs from Italian artists and bands. When I was a youngster the television networks filled the airways with music variety shows and Italian crooners were everywhere.

First up on the list is Perry Como. My mother loved Mr. C. He was born in Pennsylvania to Italian immigrant parents. His television show was a regular in our house.

Next up is the lovable Dean Martin. Martin co-starred in “The Sons of Katy Elder” with John Wayne. His television show was one of the most popular on the air, due in part to Dean’s easy going personality and sense of humor. Like Perry Como, Dean was born to Italian immigrant parents.

As Rock n Roll began to dominate the airways, the first Italian singer I listened to was Bobby Darin and his signature song was a bit of a jazz number that topped the charts for weeks. You can see the Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra influence in Darin, whose grandfather was actually a member of one of the five New York crime families that made up the mafia.

Closing out with a much more contemporary artist that is new to me. I just did a search for Italian musicians and artists. Zucchero Fornaciari was in the list and the song titled Wicked Game sounded intriguing to me. It was a pleasant find and a fitting end to this post. Have a blessed week.

Someone’s Living the Dream

Aww…some Monday

The butterfly bush is still blooming and Monarchs are still being attracted. The process makes for some awesome photo opportunities. Weather is beginning to cool down, so this can’t last much longer so I will just have to enjoy the show while I can.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

I failed to post last week when the theme was about bounty, plentiful and blessings so I am going to back the bus up and post a little Praise & Worship music that blesses my soul as I recall all of the ways our Creator has blessed me and my family over the years.

A song that has been a part of my life for over thirty-five years and blessed me in a very special way when I was without work early in my career. Regardless of the circumstances in my life I just have to keep in mind that I am a child of the King of Kings and I march to the beat of a different drum.

Every encounter with the Lord is a blessing to my soul. When my spirit is weary and my soul is troubled by the events of this world, a little time spent in praise and worship is like a refreshing drink from a mountain stream. Bless the Lord!

I can start my day reading a love letter from the Creator of the universe. At the end of our time together, I can raise a helleujah!

In a world filled with animosity and discord it is good for each of us to have a happy place that centers our thoughts and settles our soul. My happy place is in God’s Word, in God’s House, and in Praise and Worship music. Regardless of the chaos around me, I have A Reason to Praise! Have a blessed week.

Aww…some Monday

Our butterfly bush continues to draw visitors, including the elusive Monarch. Monarchs have not been coming in large numbers this year. In fact none of the larger butterflies, like the swallow tails, have been common sights this summer. Photo opportunities have been few, so I got pretty excited when this Monarch made an appearance earlier this week.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The theme this week at 4M is freedom of choice. A few weeks back I featured several male country artists that were not what most fans would consider A-list recording artists. I mentioned that I might feature one of them in a later post. Today is the day and Clay Walker is the artist. Clay came on the scene in the 90’s. He has a great voice and I love the lyrics to some of his songs. Here are a few tunes from an under-appreciated country singer. Enjoy.

Aww…some Mondays

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The theme at 4M this week is to honor Better Breakfast Month by selecting song titles that spell Breakfast! I can’t remember the last time I posted nine songs. There might be a little ADD kicking in because I’m not sure I want to research nine song titles that spell Breakfast. I’m not sure you want to listen to nine song titles that spell breakfast. Maybe I’ll just spell a breakfast food, like Egg or Toast. I might just pick a few letters from Breakfast and go with that. I believe that most American adults don’t consider their breakfast complete without a good cup of “Joe”. With that in mind I will pick songs that spell “COFFEE”. Time to wake up y’all!

Have a blessed week.

We have a winner! There is a photography website, http://www.pixoto.com that you can submit your photos to and they will be placed in one on one competition with other images in a similar category. People come to the site and pick which photo they like best. During the day your image may have 25 or 30 head to head competitions. Each win earns points. It’s fun just to see how your skills may be improving. Two weeks ago I entered this image and it finished as the 6th highest rated image for the day in its category and in the top 20% for the week. So far this is my fourth best entry ever. I haven’t done this is several years. My highest rating was a sports photo that finished first for the day and the week and in the top 5% for the year. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good and catching a butterfly in flight with wings spread certainly has a “lucky” component to it.

Well high school football is just around the corner so sport photography is about to blossom. The first game is Friday night, but I think I’ll just go as a spectator to the season opener. Have a blessed week all.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The theme this week at 4M is there is no theme. We get to pick whatever music we prefer. I am going to go back to the underappreciated ladies of the 60’s & 70’s. Every time I pick up an Emmy Lou Harris album, I am amazed at just how talented she is. Perhaps my favorite effort was her collaboration with Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton that produced the Grammy winning Trio album. If you have never listened to this album, you musical experience is just not complete.

Moving right along, I’m going to close this post with a little Southern Gospel from Jason Crabb. Be blessed.

Best Large Scale Mural In Town