THE SONGS OF A NIGHTINGAIL

  To market, to market t o buy a fat pig. Home again, home again,  Jiggety-Jig. To market, to market to buy a fat hog. Home again, home again,  Jiggety-Jog. Farmer’s markets in Tuolumne County usually offer more than just fresh produce, jellies, jams & honey, etc.  They also include home-crafted items and, more often than not, musical entertainment. Honey & Run  Lucky CuZns Brass Band My brother & his open-air market in 1951.  A few years later and he might have had some pretty righteous musical entertainment for his market there in our backyard from over the back fence thanks to the fellows below rehearsing in their garage! I know I’ve bragged about this before, but what the heck!  It’s fun knowing where they started and how far they went.  Tom and John (Fogarty) had three other brothers – Jim (the oldest brother), and Dan and Bob (the youngest brothers).  Not much is known about them.  I just remember the five of them...

  Hanging onto the hat, but the scarf is getting away.  Hopefully those aren’t his important papers flying off? Is he also about to lose a scarf or is that a tie? Hangin' on because you don’t want to lose a nice flat cap! Windy day at the Royal Ascot Races. I have no idea where this plateau is, but it looks like these folks are having one heckava time with the wind! As was I the day we visited Stonehenge.  It was a wet, blustery, miserable time to be seeing this historical wonder, but at least we were there to see it in person regardless of Ma Nature’s fickle weather. A few years earlier on a tour in Scotland, we stopped to admire the Cuillin Mountains.  The wind was blowing like crazy.  My husband’s slouch hat stayed put only because he had it anchored under his chin. On the same Scotland tour we visited the Ring of Brodgar on Orkney where, again, the wind was trying to blow us away.  I was hanging onto that stone statue for dear life.  Well, not qui...

  My eldest daughter with one of her best friends at Burger King. Two friends  at a soda fountain in the 1930s  enjoying a soda and ice cream.  Friends having refreshments together. Two ladies visit while awaiting their order.  Have they ordered tea?  Or sodas?  Or perhaps they’re here to enjoy some ices? These ladies have already been served and appear to be enjoying glasses of some sort of beverage as they visit together.  Lemonade, perhaps? Definitely tea for these ladies along with friendly smiles. And tea for these cheerful gals, too.  Must be good news in that letter. Friends chatting over cups of tea. Passing along the latest on-dit over cups of tea  with friends .  But it's coffee for my eldest daughter and me.  We're having Irish Crème lattes at Schnoog’s Coffee Shop in Sonora, Calif.  She’s having hers iced, I’m having mine hot.  We go every Friday afternoon at 3:00 on the dot.  On this particular day i...

  The arch marking the start of stage 4 of the AMGEN Tour of California  in Sonora, California on South Washington Street, May 16, 2012 The citizens of Sonora gathered en mass to celebrate the event. And the band played on. A banner advertising the Sierra Apple Festival across South Washington Street in Sonora. The banner on the right is advertising the Sonora Celtic Festival.  I can’t make out what the other banner is advocating – both stretched across South Washington Street. These two banners hanging over South Washington Street had me giggling.  I wonder if anyone else noticed these two might not be the best banners to put up together? Now we’re up the hill in Groveland and I can’t tell from here what the banner says, but the next photo answers the question. Looking at it close up from the other side it says “American Heart Month, Go Red For Women”. I have no idea what the banner way on down there is about, but it’s colorful and looks cheerful. Something will be ...