HERSHEY

 How I wish I lived in Pennsylvania! Recently, there was a casting call (of all ages) for extras for the filming of the movie "Hershey" about Milton S. Hershey.  If you are reading this from a country other than the USA, you might know about Hershey chocolate, but do you know the story behind The Hershey Company?  It is fascinating and inspiring...

Milton Snavely Hershey was born on September 13, 1857, in Derry Township, Pennsylvania. His education only extended to 4th grade. Apprenticed to a confectioner at the age of 14, he spent four years learning the trade. He started several businesses that were not successful. Did that stop him? No! He kept at it, and he developed caramels using fresh milk.  This company, The Lancaster Caramel Company was a success! In 1900, he sold this company to found The Hershey Company and went about making chocolate. He purchased land near the place of his birth in Pennsylvania and developed the company town of Hershey.  (A side note here, when I was a little girl, my Daddy loved telling me that when he drove through the town of Hershey, he was thrilled to smell the chocolate. I have had others tell me that this is true and it is still true today!) 

Milton Hershey developed milk chocolate that Americans could afford.  He created the Hershey Kiss in 1907.  (And I have read that he named it himself.  Is that not just the sweetest thing to learn?) He was very happily married to Catherine (Kitty) and what a wonderful love story they have for us to know! You may read more just here.

Sadly, the couple were unable to have children. Since they both had a great love for children, they founded a school in 1909, The Hershey Industrial School.  In 1915, his beloved Kitty died. (I have read that he kept a photo of her in his wallet for his entire life.) In 1918, Milton Hershey transferred the majority of his assets to The Milton Hershey School Trust.  

"One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy and only useful as he contributes his influences for the finer callings in life".  

 Milton Hershey

The film about Milton Hershey and his wife, Kitty should be released in 2026.  You know I am looking forward to it! A movie about an inspiring couple! Of course, we will all learn much more about all that Milton Hershey did from the film. I think the whole world could use that.

And I think I will have some chocolate!  Thank you, Milton Hershey!

"His deeds are his monument. His life is our inspiration".  (On plaque beside his monument at The Hershey School.)

AND he opened the Hershey Gardens in 1937, so I think some nice views of gardens and flowers will be my way to honor him. 

 Home - Hershey Gardens

 

Panola Mountain (With A French Accent)

 

Panola Mountain photos for you, as promised!  Panola Mountain State Park has several trails. The Outcrop Trail is one that obviously goes beside the rock outcrop, but it also goes through a forested area and beside the trail one can enjoy blooming trees and wildflowers.

At one part of it, you can see Stone Mountain! (That is the photo above.). Now, Stone Mountain is close to 15 miles away, so it was a clear day that we were there! 

  There is the rock outcrop with some of the bright red diamorpha!

Can you see the fringe tree with the pretty white blooms? It was very shady under these trees but there were quite a few of them.  This tree is Chionanthus virginicus. It is a native tree.

Now, can you see someone trying to camouflage behind this rock?

Ha ha, I am ONE with nature! There are massive boulders like this scattered all through this park.  Most of them don't have people posing with them, LOL!

 

Years ago, I told you in a post that they built a boardwalk where you can see Panola Mountain...

You can't really see it very well in a photo, but right there in the middle, where the trees are slightly higher, that is Panola Mountain! If there is a group on top of the mountain at the same time you are on this boardwalk, you can actually wave to the folks on top! Okay, I really wanted to see some lilies that bloom in this area in April...

Found them! This made me so happy! It is the atamasco lily, zephyranthes atamasco.  It is also a native.

This resurrection fern is on top of a rock boulder here and it also grows on trees or tree stumps.  It is a most amazing plant, the Pleopeltis polypodioides.

 This remarkable plant can lose about 75 percent of its water content during a typical dry period and possibly up to 97 percent in an extreme drought. During this time, it shrivels up to a grayish brown clump of leaves. When it is exposed to water again, it will “come back to life” and look green and healthy. The plant gets its name from this supposed “resurrection,” but it never actually dies during the process. By contrast, most other plants can lose only 10 percent of their water content before they die. Fronds are typically 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 centimeters) in length.

Saying "goodbye" to our Panola Mountain State Park until next time. 

    Happy Trails!

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Hope you are all doing well, my friends!  When I wrote my last post, there was still light green leaves on all the trees. Now, our trees are fully leafed out and it looks like summer! (On some days, it has felt like it!)  

When I watch TV shows or sporting events, I spend a lot of time pausing and researching the background of the cities that I see on the screen. Bozouls is in the South of France. Have you ever been there? I have, IN MY MIND! I love beauty and beautiful places. 

Hey! We just had a thunderstorm. Might as well give you some "Summer Lightning"!  Richard plays this all the time!

Arabia Mountain- Bright and Beautiful

 

Our local wildflowers in this area have been beautifully blooming during this month of April.  We like to go on hikes at Panola Mountain State Park and also, Arabia Mountain.  And when I am walking, I am constantly on the lookout for blooms!

Look at the photo below, can you see my outline in the pond of water? I am taking a photo on my phone. Clever Richard! (He said he had me clearer than this, but I MOVED! Guess I was ready to go up Arabia Mountain!)

Here I am, marching up the 

mountain!

Hooray! I made it!  It was wonderfully windy and cool and from this point, you can see for miles.  (See the bright red diamorpha? Some have started blooming with the pretty white flowers on top, you will see.)

Arabia Mountain was quarried heavily at one time. How amazing it is to see nature making a comeback! And after the quarry was shut down, this area was used as dumping ground! Thankful for those who were behind this area becoming a park.

After a good rain, there will always be the vernal pools on top of Arabia. How lovely it is to see this water at the very top!

                                 Spiderwort (Tradescantia). 

             The tiny white flowers are called "sandwort". I called them "joyflowers" before I knew what they were called. JOY, it is to see them blooming.

Can you see the tiny fringe tree above? (It has the frilly white blooms.)  This was on top of Arabia Mountain and it was very windy! Richard did very well to get this shot! (I will show you more photos of this tree from Panola Mountain in my next post.)

I love the lichens and mosses too!

We are coming back down the mountain now and just at the base of the mountain, we smelled them before we saw them....

Campsis radicans, the Trumpet vine!  I wish you could smell this flower. Some say it smells like cinnamon, some say it is like coffee. It is SUCH a beautiful fragrance!  (I sent a text to a friend and told them I saw this, Campsis radicans and the phone changed it to "Campsite radical". Tee hee. I am glad I noticed!)

Just had to show you a photo of our columbine! We had some in a pot and it dropped seeds and we were rewarded with these lovely blooms.  Aren't they gorgeous! 

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Today is April 14th and yesterday was the Final in a little golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, you may have heard about.  Rory McElroy won the Masters! (I'm not crying, you're crying!) 

Hope you are all well and enjoying April wherever you are! April is my birthday MONTH, so I celebrate it for weeks! Maybe I am biased because it is the month where I came into the world, but I think it is such a beautiful time of year.   

Wish you all could smell the blossoms on our lemon tree too! We have had some very cool nights, so Richard lugs this in and out of the garage almost every night!  Hope it will reward us with lemons!

Next post: Panola Mountain!

In Real Life/ "King of Kings"

 

It is most useful to do my little puzzles that I enjoy. Not just to keep my brain ticking over but also, to learn certain phrases and words that I might not otherwise know.  Here are just three things that I learned recently....

1.  IRL...  

This means "in real life". It refers to life outside the internet. It is often used in texts or DM. (Direct messaging).  I had to know this for the Mini Puzzle in the New York Times.

2.  Baize...

     A coarse woolen cloth, often used as a covering for gaming tables such as pool, snooker or billiards.  Upon further reading, I discovered that stately homes often used baize upon doors as wool is a fire retardant and also would deaden noise. (How can woolen cloth be so interesting? It is!)

3.  Flexion...

This means the act of flexing or bending.  The definition of this came home to me when I spent a lot of time raking up leaves in my yard! (Some trees hang on to their leaves and only drop them in the Spring, just before the new leaves emerge. This retention of leaves in the winter is called marcescence.) 

 

When we stopped at a supermarket on the way home from walking at a trail, I saw a pretty bed of flowers at the edge of the parking lot. Guess who had to jump out and walk over to admire the flowers? Yep, that would be me! (Had to block out that bright sun with my gigantic head but hey, anything to get that red tulip shot!)

We have granite outcrops beside some of our trails here in Rockdale County. The diamorpha smalli is bright red.   In April, this will have the starlike white flowers on top. (I have shown you photos of this before from Arabia Mountain and Panola Mountain, but the same plant life exists on many of these rock outcrops also. That bright red is just beautiful! Look, let's get closer...

Just found out today that there will be an animated film coming out on April 11th. "King of Kings". (Not to be confused with the 1961 film with the same name.) This is based on a short story by Charles Dickens, which he called "The Life of Our Lord" about the life of Jesus.  Isn't that interesting? Apparently, he wrote it for his children and would read it to them every Christmas, but he never wanted it published.  (It was eventually published in 1934, the publication being delayed until the last of the Dickens' children had died.)

 I have a trailer here for you. There are several trailers, but I hope I have chosen the one for you that doesn't have the Broadway type song in the background.  Oh dear, sometimes music enhances a film and sometimes, it does not!  I have some very strong opinions about what kind of music should be in the background of films or TV shows.

What do you think? I think I would like to see it. (Please Lord, forgive them if they have a very trendy song which is jarring to the subject matter!)

Did you know that Handel's Messiah has been performed at The Royal Albert Hall every Good Friday since 1876?  Isn't that wonderful?  It was first performed on April 13, 1742 in Dublin, Ireland.  Ladies were asked to wear "dresses without hoops" so as to "make Room for more company".

I started this post to tell you about words and phrases that I learned recently.  I learned more but...now, I have forgotten them. Ha ha, such is life! 

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Hope you are all doing well these days, my friends!  In the Atlanta area, our pollen count today is very high. There are clouds of yellow pollen just floating in the air, it looks like yellow powder has been dusted by a giant hand. We are hoping for a wonderful cleansing rain tonight. Wish us luck!

Oh, I almost forgot! Here is a photo that Richard took of the Eastern Towhee, which was just beside our walking trail, and he was singing his heart out! (And this looked like a male bird to us, the male has very dark feathers on his head whereas the female is more a dark brown color.) Hey, we love our birds! 

You Can Say That Again!

 

As time goes by, I realize that there are words and phrases that are no longer in use. Recently, I was sure about something, and I said, "If this doesn't happen, I will eat my hat!".  It reminded me that I have not heard anyone say that in a very long time. Can you think of more?  (Even the title of this post, "You can say that again!" refers to what one used to say when someone made a statement, and you were in total and complete agreement.) 

                     "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it". 

                                (243 steps across, I counted!)

                    This photo is of a pleasant canitude.  (Meaning whiteness or greyness).

               "Fences make good neighbors".  (From a poem by Robert Frost, I think)

I know that I told you that the title of this post reminded me of what we used to say when we agreed with someone but what really brought that to mind was the birdsong we heard on a walk.  You have heard of the mockingbird, it is called that because it repeats the songs of other birds.  It normally repeats three times.  If you hear a bird repeating TWICE, then you are hearing the brown thrasher!  It was the brown thrasher that we heard, such clear beautiful sounds.  And I wanted to say, "You can say that again!".  

The brown thrasher is also very welcome in our back yard! Look at that tail! Such a gorgeous bird. I think I have told you before that all the states have their own state birds. Georgia is the only one that chose the brown thrasher. I read somewhere that it was chosen by Georgia schoolchildren in the 1920's.  I don't know if that is true, but I like that story and I hope that it is.

We normally drive a few miles to get to a walking trail. Recently, some wild turkeys were beside the road.  I snapped a quick photo, but I asked Richard if he could take a few shots from his side of the car.  Since there was no traffic, he did so....

THIS was my favorite!  Isn't it wonderful?  You can say that again!

Chas & Dave! I have told you my admiration for them before. Sadly, Chas died a few years ago.  Dave Peacock seems to endorse this cover band, The Rokney Rebels.  I really love to see young people do great covers, don't you?  

Chas & Dave Tribute | Rockney Rebels - The No.1 Chas & Dave Tribute Band | Leeds

Of course, Chas & Dave can still be found on YouTube! Don't forget!

The following song lyrics for you:

"Mustn't grumble, you cry and you cry all alone. Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry all alone."

"Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink.  The years go by, as quickly as a wink.  Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think!"

We are trying to go through lots of "stuff" we have accumulated over the years. A LOT of it is associated with our son! But honestly, it was all so doggone cute! Just look at this Wallace and Gromit toothbrush holder!  

Hope you are all doing well, my friends.  March is marching on by!

Love Will Steer the Stars

  See the planets all lined up tonight!  

Seven of the planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (along with the Moon!) will align in the night sky just after dusk today.  (February 28th).  Isn't that wonderful?  This might be a bit later in other parts of the world, I think it is next week for Europe. Check out your part of the world to see when you may see this viewing!

Now, did this make anyone start singing a song? You know I did!  

"When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, Then peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars". 

"Age of Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In" was a huge hit in 1969. It spent six weeks at number one on the charts in the spring of that year. The song came from the musical "Hair".  Anyone else remember this? The 5th Dimension was the group behind the hit.  Two of the singers from that group, Billy Davis, Jr and Marilyn McCoo married and have been together for fifty years. Isn't that great? 

Reading just a bit about this couple, they released an album in 2021, "Blackbird Lennon -McCartney Icons". Just as the title suggests, they are singing songs by the Beatles!  Of course, you know that means that they have good taste. Just an aside here, I once saw them on a plane in the early 1980's.  We had stopped in Las Vegas, just for a stopover and they got off the plane in Vegas!  (I was on a plane headed to Reno. The only time I ever went there, and I got to see Lake Tahoe. I think that lake might be the prettiest lake ever- the clear, deep blue of that water! I have never forgotten it.)

Just a few sky photos for you above.  Hey, the planets don't have to align for me to look up.  I find the skies amazing all the time!

 (Another sky photo for you - it is a picture of a circumhorizontal arc! You may see it just here! It is from my blogging friend in Germany!)

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  Oh, that peace would guide the planets and love would steer the stars! 

When All the World Is a Hopeless Jumble ( Songs!)

 

(Not one but THREE videos here!)

You all know the lovely song "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" sung so wistfully by the young Judy Garland with her little dog Toto with her.  Did you know that the man who wrote the lyrics (the marvelous Yip Yarburg) also wrote an introductory verse that began with "When all the world is a hopeless jumble"? It is sometimes included in some theatrical productions of "The Wizard of Oz". Several artists have also recorded it with this verse and is in the original sheet music.  (Anybody remember sheet music? I do.)

"Somewhere Only We Know" is a song by a British band that I really like a lot, Keane.  The song "Somewhere Only We Know" was released in February 2004 as a single from their album, "Hopes and Fears".  The album was released in May of 2004 and went on to become one of the UK's best-selling albums.  You can spend a lot of time listening to covers of this song. (Ask me how I know!) I will save you a lot of time and tell you that one of my favorites is one that I have shared with you above.  All those dear children!  Did you know I love kids? I do!  I want to take every one of those kids home with me! There is a great feeling of hope that you sense when you listen to them sing.  (And I also loved those playing the piano, guitar, drums and violin in the background, also kids!) 

Did anybody watch the 50th Anniversary of Saturday Night Live?  It was 3 HOURS LONG.  We recorded it to watch later. Of course, it must have run over its allotted time because we didn't get Paul McCartney at the end!  Oh well, there's always YouTube!

Am I the only one to think that the show was mostly terrible? I didn't find any of the skits funny. I am old and perhaps a fuddy-duddy but I am okay with that.  I think maybe even using the word "fuddy-duddy" might just show you my personality. I just had my hair cut and the hairdresser cut my hair shorter on one side. It might not have been her fault. I think I am just looking at the world askance just now.  ("Askance- with an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval.  Yep, that's me!)

Sir Paul McCartney's performance from the SNL 50th.  (We used to say our words but now "Saturday Night Live" is "SNL".) Gotta roll with the times and abbreviate everything now, I keep telling myself!

"If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why, can't I?"

So nice of these bluebirds to visit us just so I can have them in this post!

Keane from Glastonbury 2024.  You know I had to have this on here. The lead singer, Tom Chaplin, has such an amazing voice! And the crowd singing along!  Wish I could have been there.  I would have been singing too! 

HOPE you are all doing well and making it through February!  It is very cold here in the Metro Atlanta area today, it MIGHT make it above freezing! Supposed to be in the 70's next week though! Hoping that forecast is correct.

Hope is such a lovely thing, don't you agree?