april 10

POTD: Musk Thistle

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In the Asteraceae family, this is a Carduus Nutans. Other names are nodding thistle and nodding plumeless thistle. It has been deemed a noxious weed and is very invasive. This was in my yard and I wouldn’t advise stepping on one. ~Vic

Musk Thistle Image
04-10-2019

Picture of the Day

POTD: Tulips

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Pl@ntNet seems to think this is a Didier’s Tulip or Tulipa Gesneriana. There are so many tulip variations, it would be difficult to narrow down any particular one. There are lots of hybrids. They are all in the Liliaceae family. ~Vic

Didier's Tulip Image
04-10-2019

Picture of the Day

Hans 2021 Song Draft: Round One-Pick Three-There Goes My Baby-Drifters (1959)

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The Drifters Image One
Photo Credit: poprockdoowopp.com

Hanspostcard has a song draft challenge. This is my Round One pick. I will be posting these per decade.

Having grown up on the East Coast/Mid-Atlantic, one thing my state is known for is shagging (for the Brits, no, that is not what it means). While my grandparents did the Jitterbug as youths, my parents shagged (a descendant of the Jitterbug), as did my classmates and I. This song, in particular, was my favorite to shag to, though I enjoyed many beach music songs. ~Vic

Released either in May (per Rolling Stone Magazine) or April 24, 1959 (per Wikipedia), it was written by Benjamin Nelson (Ben E. King), Lover Patterson and George Treadwell. Produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the song hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B chart (July) and, #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 (August).

This is the second version of The Drifters under Treadwell’s management, crafted from the Five Crowns: Ben E. King, Charlie Thomas, Doc Green and Elsbeary Hobbs with James “Poppa” Clark being rejected for alcohol issues. With this line-up, There Goes My Baby was their first single and King’s debut as lead singer. It was unusual for its time, being the first commercial R&B/Soul recording with strings, arranged by Stan Applebaum, and a Brazilian Baiãon groove. Phil Spector studied the production style under Leiber & Stoller.

The song is ranked at #196 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Donna Summer did a version that was released in July 1984 and peaked at #21 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Additional:
Ben E. King and The Drifters (The Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation/Inducted 2000)
John Gilliland’s Pop Chronicles (The Drifters & Ritchie Valens/Track 2/University of North Texas Digital Library)
There Goes My Baby (The Art of Rock Music Listening Guide/University of Albany/PDF)
Things You Didn’t Know About The Drifters (Pop, Rock & Doo Wopp/Joe Mirrione/April 10, 2020)

Lyrics

POTD: Magnoliaceae

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It’s genus is Magnolia but, this is a hybrid tree with Magnolia Denudata (Lilytree or Yulan Magnolia) and Magnolia Liliiflora (Mulan Magnolia, Purple Magnolia, Red Magnolia, Lily Magnolia, Tulip Magnolia, Jane Magnolia, Woody-Orchid or Japanese Magnolia) as parents. Whew! That is longer than the last one. ~Vic

Magnolia Image
04-10-2019

Picture of the Day

FFTD: Gated Tulips

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That’s not really a genus or a family but, they do look cute peeking through the iron gate. ~Vic

Tulips Through The Gate Image
04-10-2019

Flower for the Day

Pink Moon 2020

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Pink Moon Farmers Almanac 1818 Image One
Image Credit: Farmers Almanac 1818

Our full moon this month is a Super Moon, as was last month‘s…which I totally missed. I did a Pink Moon post last year with all the different names so, I won’t repeat them here.

Perigee Apogee Old Farmer's Almanac Image Two
Image Credit: almanac.com

I also didn’t have any immediate shots because of the weather and wound up posting some older pictures. Earlier, I thought the weather wasn’t going to cooperate tonight, either and I shared some older pix, below. But, it rose beautifully, without much cloud interference. It is a bit hazy, tho. I saved it for last. All photos are my personal collection ©, unless otherwise stated.

Full illumination occurs at 10:35pm EDT. Howl for me! ~Vic

Pink Moon 2017 Image Three
Spooky
04-10-2017
Pink Moon 2018 Image Four
Peek-a-boo!
04-28-2018
Pink Moon 2019 Image Five
Waxing Gibbous four days earlier.
Not sure why I didn’t post this last year.
04-15-2019
Pink Moon 2020 Image Six
Last night’s walk.
Moon over the Library.
04-06-2020
Pink Moon 2020 Image Seven
Got this standing in the middle of the street.
The tree is holding on.
04-07-2020

References:
Full Moons (Moon Giant)
Full Moon Dates & Times (Farmers’ Almanac 1818)
Full Moon Names (The Old Farmer’s Almanac 1792)
Pink Moon (Time and Date)

FFTD: Unusual

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Out on one of my walks, several of these happy things were poking out through the wrought iron fence. I haven’t the first clue what this is but, it’s flower-ish, I suppose. It is quite striking. If anyone knows what this is, SPEAK. ~Vic

Update:
Thanks to another blogger, this strange flower is a Euphorbia, or Spurge, which is the same family that Poinsettias come from. This particular variety is either an amygdaloides variant called ‘Robbiae’ or, a Redwing Charam, which is a hybrid of amygdaloides and martinii. I can’t tell. Thank you!

Unusual Image
Strange, pretty plant.
04-10-2019

Flower for the Day

POTD: Grounding

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New heading…

Picture of the Day or Photo of the Day. Either works.

Grounding Image
Pumas in the grass.
Me, grounding.
04-10-2019

Finally, some warm weather. ~Vic