THERE IS A BEGINNING AND THERE IS AN END

 OUR LITTLE FROG POND WATERFALL

Later, after publishing my post Monday night, I quietly slipped out the door and took Subie for a slow drive into and around the sleeping little village of Bayfield.  How peaceful, how serene the feeling, and how soothing the patter of a light rain on the windshield.  Not a creature or a critter to be seen on the quiet backstreets.  With my calming soft ambient music playing low in the background and the soft colorful glow of Subie's dash lights, it once again reminded me of how much I treasure these infrequent but necessary alone times by myself.   It's a time to reflect, remember, and reassure myself that things are eventually going to be okay.  There is a beginning and there is an end, and in between those two times, we all travel our journeys of life as best we can.

 A NIGHT TIME GARDEN LIGHT?? NOPE, A SHAFT OF SUNLIGHT SHINES THROUGH AN UNFOLDING HOSTA LEAF

 NOTICE THE LITTLE 'SHADOW CAT' ON THE RIGHT

FRONT YARD FERNS ARE UNFOLDING

I probably fell asleep too early last night because I was wide awake at five and up by five thirty this morning.  Maybe it was the steady sound of rain on our roof, or maybe it was simply my mind waking me up and encouraging me to step up and take charge of the day.  Whatever it was, I was awake and yet another day had begun.  And, I felt okay about that.  However, by 10 a.m. my body obviously thought it was about midnight already, well past my bedtime, and tried its best to shut me down.  Sitting down in my livingroom recliner, I had a hard job of getting out of it again.  Soooo tired.  But eventually, out of it, I did get and ventured outside.  I didn't get anything substantial done today, but I did raise up a fuss with my putterings in the metal shed and the carport.

 EVENING SUN SLIPPING THROUGH THE TREES INTO OUR FRONT YARD

BACK-LIT HOSTAS

It was already 7:30 this evening when I realized I had not taken any photos today for the blog.  Looking out the sunroom window, I saw a few shafts of sunlight from the setting sun filtering through the pine trees into our front yard.  With that....out the door with my camera I went to snap a few quick pics before those sunny rays were gone.

 FRONT YARD FROG POND PLANTS

Al's Music Box:)) It's All In The Game  is a pop song whose most successful version was recorded by Tommy Edwards in 1958. Carl Sigman composed the lyrics in 1951 to a wordless 1911 composition titled "Melody in A Major", written by Charles G. Dawes, who was later Vice President of the United States under Callvin Coolidge. It is the only No. 1 single in the U.S. to have been co-written by a U.S. Vice President or a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (Dawes was both).  The song has become a pop standard, with cover versions by dozens of artists, including Cliff Richard whose version reached No. 2 in the U.K. in 1963.  Edwards' song ranked at No. 47 on Billboard's 2018 list of "The Hot 100's All-Time Top 600 Songs".   In summer 1951, the songwriter Carl Sigman had an idea for a song, and Dawes's "Melody" struck him as suitable for his sentimental lyrics. Dawes had died in April of that year. The range of the classical melody would have made it "difficult to sing", so Sigman also rearranged the song.  The song was recorded that year by Dinah Shore, Sammy Kaye and Carmen Cavallaro but the first release was by Tommy Edwards in August.  Edwards's version reached No. 18 on the Billboard Records Most Played by Disk Jockeys survey dated September 15, 1951.  A jazz arrangement was recorded by Louis Armstrong (vocals) and arranger Gordon Jenkins, with some of Armstrong's most honey-tinged singing. In 1956, Jenkins would produce a version with Nat King Cole along the same lines.  In 1958, Edwards had only one session left on his MGM contract.  Stereophonic sound recording was becoming viable, and MGM executive Morty Craft asked Edwards to cut a stereo version of "It's All in the Game". Edwards updated the song with a rock and roll ballad arrangement.  The single was released in July and became a hit, reaching number one for six weeks beginning September 29, 1958, making Edwards the first African-American to chart at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It would also be the last song to hit number one on the R&B Best Seller list.   The single sold over 3.5 million copies globally, earning Edwards a gold disc.  The gold disc was presented in November 1958.  It is one of few number one songs to reach the top 30 three times. The single helped Edwards revive his career for another two years, The success of the song also led other artists to re-record older songs in the newer styles.

 THERE'S A HYACINTH IN THERE

Groaner's Corner:(( At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young players, "Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?" The little boy nodded in the affirmative. "Do you understand that what matters is whether we win together as a team?" The little boy nodded yes. "So,"the coach continued, "when a strike is called, or you're out at first, you don't argue or curse or attack the umpire. Do you understand all that?" Again, the little boy nodded."Good,"said the coach. "Now go over there and explain it to your mother."

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- If electricity comes from electrons... does that mean that morality comes from morons?

- In a relationship one person is always right and the other person is a male.

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"If you had one dollar and you asked your father for another, how many dollars would you have?" "One dollar.""You don't know  your arithmetic." "You don't know my father!"

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