July 1971

Here's for the next in my ongoing series of reviewing the Top 40 songs from 50 years ago.  I've been doing this version of the review for over a year now, plan to continue indefinitely.  

  So what was July 1971 like?

There were 5 weeks of July'71, and there were 58 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.  1971 was a pretty outstanding year!

Three songs topped the charts over July's 5 weeks:  Carole King's "It's Too Late" held #1 for the last 3 weeks, finishing out a 5 week stay at the top.  "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee) took #1 for a single week, and "Don't Pull Your Love" by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds finished the month at the top spot. 

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:

• It's Too Late - Carole King - 1.25
• Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian) - The Raiders - 1.75
• Treat Her Like A Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - 4.25
• Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds - 4.5
• You've Got A Friend - James Taylor - 5
• Rainy Days And Mondays - Carpenters - 6.5
• Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight - 7.5
• She's Not Just Another Woman - The 8th Day - 11.75
• That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be - Carly Simon - 12
• Draggin' The Line - Tommy James - 13.5

Twenty Three (23) songs made their Top 40 debut, a couple of pretty notable songs.  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye - 26
• What The World Needs Now Is Love - Tom Clay - 26
• Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants) (Pt. 1) - James Brown - 27
• Maybe Tomorrow - Jackson 5 - 30
• Signs - Five Man Electrical Band - 33
• Rings - Cymarron - 33
• Double Barrel - Dave & Ansil Collins - 36
• Love The One You're With - The Isley Brothers - 37
• Beginnings - Chicago - 37
• If Not For You - Olivia Newton-John - 37
• Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth - 37
• Sweet Hitch-Hiker - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 37
• You've Got A Friend - Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway - 38
• Summer Sand - Dawn - 38
• How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Bee Gees - 39
• Chicago - Graham Nash - 39
• Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart) - The Stylistics - 39
• Riders On The Storm - The Doors - 39
• Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones - 40
• Moon Shadow - Cat Stevens - 40
• Love Means (You Never Have To Say You're Sorry) - Sounds Of Sunshine - 40
• Liar - Three Dog Night - 40
• Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics - 40

Instagram, June Look-Back

 So, June was a pretty slow month, photo wise.  As was May.  Sorry about that, a lot of stuff going on.  I can't promise, but I do plan to do more going forward.

Anyway, now that were a week into July, I decided to look back at Instagram, and see what my Top 5 (popular) images were.  Now, I only had 21 posts to my main account:  lsqrd42 (https://www.instagram.com/lsqrd42/?hl=en).  Pretty mediocre.  And I think my total likes + comments were impacted by the spotty posting.  Regardless, here's the Top 5, in chronological order (oldest to newest):

Red Admiral Butterfly

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Canal Motel

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Watershed Nature Center

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Greenup Covered Bridge

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Southern Illinois Landscape (Farm)

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It's interesting that 4 of these 5 were shot on my Fujifilm X series cameras, only one was taken with my phone.  I tend to stress the iPhone on Instagram, and 12 of 21 posts in June were from the iPhone, so the results this month were disproportionally skewed to the "real" camera.  What can it mean?

Meanwhile, quiltshopsphotoops (https://www.instagram.com/quiltshopsphotoops/?hl=en) was really dead i June, only 3 posts.  That forum was especially hard hit by the intrusive life of the past couple of months.  I do hope to ramp that one back up, if we can get back to day tripping. 

Thanks for supporting my postings, I do appreciate it!

Mulberry Grove

 Mulberry Grove is about 60 miles from St. Louis, just off I-70. This storefront has certainly seen better days...

Mid-day at the Watershed

One general rule of thumb is to avoid mid day for photography.  Hash lighting, too much contrast, etc.  But yesterday found me at Watershed Nature Center just before noon.  Since I was walking anyway, I brought my cameras.  And I managed a few photos I'm satisfied with. Call me a rule-breaker!

 Nice excursion to Watershed Nature Center yesterday...  Here's a few photos, click for larger size.

Great Egret

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Floating Primrose Willow

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Pearl Crescent Butterfly

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Blue Dasher

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BetterPhoto.com, May Contest

 Last December, I posted here about my prior association with BetterPhoto, and how I was looking to start posting there again.  And an update at the end of February.

I haven't updated since, but I've continued to participate over there, and even upgraded to a paid (basic level) subscription.nd I think its going pretty well.  The community doesn't seem as active as 365project, but I'm getting some recognition.

Over the last 6 months (Dec. 2021 through May 2021), I submitted 69 photos, with 86% of my images receiving some sort of recognition (Editors' Choice / Staff Favorite / Finalist / 2nd place).  For May, 2021, I only entered 8 images, and received 5 Editors' Picks and 2 Finalists,  I'm not sure if the two finalists are still in the running for higher recognition...  they're a little funny how they release their badges, and the higher levels haven't been announced yet..

Here's my two Finalists:

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So pardon me while I bask in my glory.  Or should I say "glory"?

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National Selfie day

 So, apparently yesterday (6/21/2021) was "National Selfie Day".  Predictably, I missed it.  I suspect a lot of other people did as well, since I didn't see any trend on social media.

Here's a photo I took yesterday, pretend it's a selfie, or that it at least provides an insight to my soul...

Watershed Nature Center, Edwardsville, IL

June 1971

  Time for the next in my ongoing series of reviewing the Top 40 songs from 50 years ago.  I've been doing this version of the review for over a year now, plan to continue indefinitely.  

  So what was June 1971 like?

There were 4 weeks of June '71, and there were 56 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.  

Three songs topped the charts over June's 4 weeks:  "Brown Sugar", by the Rolling Stones opened the month at #1, carrying over from the last week of May.  "Want Ads" by The Hone Comb took over for 1 week, and Carole King held #1 for the last 2 weeks.  

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:

• Want Ads - The Honey Cone - 2.5
• Rainy Days And Mondays - Carpenters - 3.0
• Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones - 3.25
• It's Too Late - Carole King - 4.25
• It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr - 5
• Joy To The World - Three Dog Night - 6.75
• Treat Her Like A Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - 8.5
• Sweet And Innocent - Donny Osmond of The Osmonds - 8.5
• I'll Meet You Halfway - The Partridge Family  - 10.0
• Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian) - The Raiders - 11.75

Nineteen-two (19) songs made their Top 40 debut, a couple of pretty notable songs.  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• You've Got A Friend - James Taylor - 24
• Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds - 30
• Never Can Say Goodbye - Isaac Hayes - 33
• Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight - 33
• Bring The Boys Home - Freda Payne - 33
• Albert Flasher - The Guess Who - 34
• Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again - The Fortunes - 34
• Never Ending Song Of Love - Delaney & Bonnie & Friendsv34
• That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be - Carly Simon - 35
• She's Not Just Another Woman - The 8th Day - 36
• Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver - 36
• I Don't Want To Do Wrong - Gladys Knight And The Pips - 36
• Puppet Man - Tom Jones - 37
• Sooner Or Later - The Grass Roots - 37
• Escape-ism (Part 1) - James Brown - 37
• High Time We Went - Joe Cocker - 8
• Draggin' The Line - Tommy James - 38
• Get It On - Chase - 39
• Funky Nassau-Part I - The Beginning Of The End - 40

Love Bites...

 

With apologies to Def Leppard...

Better off dead... I found this mosquito on the kitchen island this morning, dead. I believe it is an Asian Tiger Mosquito, at least that’s what the “seek” ap says. Either way, dead is the only way I want to see a mosquito, unless fully squashed!

Cross posted on my Instagram account.

Flutter-bye?

 

Red Admiral Butterfly, hanging out in the fresh mulch in our front yard. Vanessa Atalanta to be precise.

Cleared for Landing

 

Chirping Sparrow, coming in to the feeder.  From a sequence shot in burst mode on the Fujifilm X-T4.  I should do a Triptych...  

One of the really notable advances in digital over the past several years (IMHO) is performance at high ISO.  This is shot as ISO 4000, in order to get 1/1000th second exposure on a grey day.  My circa 2007 Nikon D70 (a wonderful camera) only went to ISO 1600, and didn't really do so well pushed that high.

May 1971

 Time for the next in my ongoing series of reviewing the Top 40 songs from 50 years ago.  I've been doing this version of the review for over a year now, plan to continue indefinitely.  

  So what was May 1971 like?

There were 5 weeks of April 1971, and there were 61 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.  

Despite 5 weeks in the month, only 2 songs made it to #1.  Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World topped the charts for the first 4 weeks of the month, finishing an impressive run of 6 weeks at the top.  The Rolling Stones' Brown Sugar took over for the last week of the month.

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:

• Joy To The World - Three Dog Night - 1.2
• Never Can Say Goodbye - Jackson 5 - 2.4
• Put Your Hand In The Hand - Ocean - 3.6
• If - Bread - 7.4
• Bridge Over Troubled Water - Aretha Franklin - 8.2
• Me And You And A Dog Named Boo - Lobo - 9
• Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It) - Daddy Dewdrop - 9.8
• Stay Awhile - The Bells - 10.2
• Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones  - 2.6
• Love Her Madly - The Doors - 13

Twenty-two (22) songs made their Top 40 debut, a couple of pretty notable songs.  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• Rainy Days And Mondays - Carpenters - 20
• Sweet And Innocent - Donny Osmond - 22
• It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr - 24
• Superstar - Murray Head - 27
• Battle Hymn Of Lt. Calley - C Company - 27
• I Don't Know How To Love Him - Helen Reddy - 28
• (For God's Sake) Give More Power To The People - The Chi-lites - 28
• Treat Her Like A Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - 30
• Reach Out I'll Be There - Diana Ross - 31
• Want Ads - The Honey Cone - 32
• Don't Knock My Love - Pt. 1 - Wilson Pickett - 32
• When You're Hot, You're Hot - Jerry Reed - 32
• I'll Meet You Halfway - The Partridge Family - 33
• Right On The Tip Of My Tongue - Brenda & The Tabulations - 33
• I Don't Know How To Love Him - Yvonne Elliman - 37
• It's Too Late/I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King - 38
• Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian) - The Raiders - 38
• Me And My Arrow - Nilsson - 39
• Double Lovin' - The Osmonds - 39
• Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones  - 40
• Nathan Jones - The Supremes - 40
• Lowdown - Chicago - 40

Sorry...

 Wow...  it's been over 5 weeks since my last post.  Deep apologies to the few regular readers I might have, but it seems my muse has taken an unannounced vacation.  Over those 38 days, I've posted 14 photos over at 365project.  That's bad, but I haven't even managed to cross post those here. 

Oh well, time to kick start myself.

Here's a little something, snapped this morning with my iPhone in my back yard.  This will be (but hasn't yet) been cross-posted to my instagram account.

April 1971

 Time for the next in my ongoing series of reviewing the Top 40 songs from 50 years ago.  I've been doing this version of the review for over a year now, plan to continue indefinitely.  

  So what was April 1971 like?

During the 4 weeks of April 1971, there were 54 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.  

As with March, Only 2 songs made it to #1 during the month.  The Temptation's "Just My Imagination" held the top spot for the first 2 weeks of April, and Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World finish the month.

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:

• What's Going On - Marvin Gaye - 2.8
• Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations - 3.0
• Joy To The World - Three Dog Night - 4.0
• She's A Lady - Tom Jones - 5.3
• Me And Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin - 6.8
• Another Day - Paul McCartney - 7.0
• For All We Know - Carpenters - 7.5
• Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted - The Partridge Family - 9.5
• One Toke Over The Line - Brewer And Shipley - 11.8
• Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner - 12.3

Seventeen (17) songs made their Top 40 debut, a couple of pretty notable songs.  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• Bridge Over Troubled Water - Aretha Franklin - 24
• I Am...I Said - Neil Diamond - 26
• I Play And Sing – Dawn - 30
• Me And You And A Dog Named Boo – Lobo - 30
• Timothy - The Buoys - 32 (anybody know who played on this record?)
• I Don't Blame You At All - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - 37
• Love Her Madly - The Doors - 37
• Baby Let Me Kiss You - King Floyd - 38
• Friends - Elton John - 38
• Don't Change On Me - Ray Charles - 38
• If – Bread - 39
• Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It) - Daddy Dewdrop - 39
• I Love You For All Seasons - The Fuzz - 39
• Here Comes The Sun - Richie Havens - 39
• Power To The People - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - 40
• Woodstock - Matthews' Southern Comfort - 40
• Ask Me No Questions - B.B. King - 40

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RIP Rusty Young

 I just heard this morning that Rusty Young passed away Wednesday (4/14/2021).  Rusty Young was a multi-instrumentalist, and one of the founding members of the band Poco.  My of the great underrated bands of the 70's.

I saw Rusty and the most recent configuration f Poco in fall of 2019, here's an iPhone photo from that night:

And yes, I do have a playlist on my iPod of Rusty Young written songs.  I only have 46 songs, covering 48years...  I may have to fill the couple of gaps...

I posted a review of that 2019 show here, check it out.

Rest In Peace, Rusty Young, and thanks for all the music!

Hydranga

 

So, last year for Mother's day, my son gave his mom a Hydrangea plant.  And surprisingly, it survived our "care" throughout the summer.  (let's just say that neither my wife or I have a particularly good record with house plants).

Last fall, we decided to transplant it from its pot to the earth, and see how it would do.  It dropped all its green, and was just some sticks.  But, with spring,  it is coming back!  As of  4/6 (Tuesday) it's starting to push out some leaves.

We'll see how it progresses...