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Monday, November 26, 2012

"The Monday After Thanksgiving" (in 2012)

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Look up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a Christmas ornament — "floating" near some trees! Christmas is one month and one day from today, the Monday after Thanksgiving, and of course the stores and the media have been cashing in on this fact since Halloween. 

Moreover, a big portion of Macy's Thanksgiving Parade had (as it always does) a good number of floats and balloons "dedicated" to the Christmas holiday, including the ornaments seen here against the "back drop" of Central Park.

Tonight the neighborhood tree lighting at Lincoln Center will take place, and on Wednesday the Rockefeller Center Tree will be lit. "Normally" a tree lighting ceremony at The South Street Seaport this week, but, as per info on the web, "South Street Seaport's annual holiday traditions have been hampered due to the aftermath left behind from the enormous impact of storm flooding in our neighborhood."

New York City seems like several different cities at this time, as several areas are quite devastated by Hurricane Sandy, while others continue to go about business as usual. If one cannot donate monies or time directly to hurricane relief efforts during this holiday season, there is always something one can do locally for their friends in need, such as visiting the elderly, homebound and those that are in assisted living centers such as the one I have volunteered at for nine years.

But reaching out to others does not have to involve a lot of time or money, as every little bit helps! For example, yesterday, a man from my hood, helped me pull my Chelsea Larch (AKA Japanese Larch or Larix Kaempferi)
out of a "high-end" container in which it had been planted in my urban (NYC) garden, as I wanted to donate the container to his garden at our parish, but, because the larch was root bound, I was afraid I would break the container getting the tree out, hence my need for his help.

It gets dark so early now that I was not able to get my tree into its "replacement digs," a container which has been awaiting my wonderful larch! 

Therefore I had to prop it up in the container without planting it properly and hope that it would survive the cold night in order for me to plant it today, which I plan to do (with Michael's help) later this morning or early afternoon on this Monday after Thanksgiving.

"The Monday after Thanksgiving" may be a "phrase" that will remain with me throughout my life as it was one of the last things my father said before his death in 1995. On November 22nd of that year, my father recorded a tape from his hospital bed stating, "The doctor hopes to have me out of here by the twenty-seventh . . .  that would be Monday. The Monday after Thanksgiving,"  but alas that was not meant to be, for he took a turn for the worse and ultimately died on November 30th, 1995 — three days after "the Monday after Thanksgiving." This is something I have written about in prior posts here on Blogger, including an entry which may be found by clicking here.

In any event, seventeen years later, on this Monday after Thanksgiving, among other things, I hope to be successful in giving my Chelsea Larch a comfortable new home!

As for this day also marking the count down for Christmas, I won't start writing cards or decorating my home as I do not like to rush the season — or any season for that matter — as I have indicated before when folks were rushing the onset of spring, the onset of fall and the onset of events in general

However, I do confess that I've put a number of "pre-Christmas" figurines (deer) in my indoor succulent garden as it is an "installation" where I frequently change decor. In this instance I wanted to remove my Thanksgiving figurines, yet not fully decorate for Christmas at such an early stage, so I "replaced" the Thanksgiving figurines with a deer family until I "officially" decorate for Christmas. Photo-ops of this lovable family enjoying my succulent garden as well as the back story on the man who created these deer will be posted some time this week, so please stay tuned! Meanwhile, a "sneak preview" (image) of one, a "member" of my deer family can be found below.


Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

By the way if this adorable guy looks familiar to you, his "extended family" were a part of my terrace garden decor last season.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Change of Heart?

(Note the "scratches" you may think you are seeing are strings supporting "Bob")
It seems Sponge Bob (pictured above) was as surprised to see me as I was to see him yesterday morning, a "mild" one (weather wise) for Thanksgiving! For on this particular holiday, in bygone years in New York City, where I live, weather conditions have often been either rainy or windy or both, not exactly a "comfortable" atmosphere for a parade — especially one so huge as the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Sponge Bob is one of the participants in the parade, and since I have not watched television since the 1980's, I don't know much about him. I'm more familiar with good ol' Charlie Brown, the beloved Charles Schulz character who is pictured below, where he can be seen "marching" in yesterday's parade.


(Note the "scratches" you may think you are seeing are strings supporting CB)
Although I now live very close to part of the route of the Macy's Parade, it is an event that I prefer not to make an effort to attend, as the crowds are often massive, as well as aggressive. 

Be that as it may, one of the first times I made an effort to go to the parade was when my grandmother's sister (and hence my great aunt) Ruth came to New York City to visit me. 

The time period was during one of my first few years of living in Manhattan, and during those years I was living in a rooming house (or SRO as "we" refer to them in the city). It was a miserable place to live, but I managed to procure a room for Ruth, and she insisted we navigate the crowds to travel and to see the parade — even though it was very windy and rain was pouring down.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 38


As you know if you follow TLLG's venues, if it's Tuesday it must be tumblr! I usually post the link to take you there much earlier than this so I apologize for the delay. A new feathered friend (a tufted titmouse) pictured here has been visiting my urban garden and has distracted me! I'm sure that upon your gazing at him/her you can surmise the cause for my distraction! 

However, I'll have more info on my new friend in the days to come, so please stay tuned! Meanwhile, the link to take you to tumblr can be found by clicking here.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Lumpy, Bumpy Greenmarket Thanksgiving Pumpkins AND THE WISDOM OF BIRDS


There are an array of greenmarkets all throughout New York City where I live, and one such market at Tucker Square takes place on Thursdays and Saturdays where, in by-gone years, have purchased Rosmarinus officinalis  AKA Rosemary  from a grower who participates in this particular market. And I've often gotten cheese from Bobolink, a cheese-maker that I have featured on Blogger in the past, including a post which you may refer to by clicking here.

In any event, this past Thursday, November 15th 2012, I went to the Tucker Square market with coupons for "freebies" in my hand as I was in search of pumpkins and gourds to photograph for my line of autumn and Thanksgiving cards. What I discovered was some pumpkins which were "lumpy and bumpy" (seen in the back row of the image above today's blog entry), and I immediately thought of them as a "visual" way of describing how the lumps and bumps that I have all over my body (as a result of being born with the neurological "disorder" known as Neurofibromatosis Type-One or NF-1) appear.

I asked the grower about these "odd" looking pumpkins and she referred me to an Internet source where I was informed that this lumpy/bumpy appearance "is not a hideously disfiguring disease that's suddenly stricken one of America's favorite autumn staples – these pumpkins have been genetically engineered to look that way. It takes at least 10 generations of cross-breeding to produce a pumpkin that's adequately covered in warts to be sold under the Super Freak label, according to Roy Pearman, director of sales and marketing for Siegers Seed Co., based in Holland, Mich., which "puts the genetics together" to create seeds for the bumpy, heavily wart-covered pumpkins and gourds."

This info leads me to believe that there is no political correctness in pumpkin patches when it comes to describing "favorite autumn staples," which is not surprising, given the type of verbal abuse I have experienced re my lumps and bumps; and an innocent pumpkin cannot defend himself against cruel remarks such as being considered a "super freak" and cannot get legal representation against such injustices!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Thank God It's Friday (TGIF) AND For Many THINGS



Part of my morning routine is to read Mutts, the comic strip by Patrick McDonnell, a comic strip which I have referred to a number of times here on Blogger, and if you'd like to refer to entries regarding this, please click here

Meanwhile, Mr. McDonell's "episode" from Monday, November 12th, is posted above today's blog entry. I adore all of McDonnell's characters as well as the "stories' of occurrences in their daily lives; but I was particularly touched by the one I'm featuring above today's blog entry due to my appreciation for all the birds which visit my rooftop garden.

As anyone who follows TLLG here on Blogger, tumblr, or Facebook, knows, I have been thrilled by the birds which visit my garden, and I have been saddened whenever Cam (one of my visiting cardinals) disappears for prolonged periods of time. I have posted her picture below for those of you who may be new to TLLG's venues.



Moreover, if you'd like to read "stories" about Cam's antics, you may do so by clicking here for entries that have been published here on Blogger; or here for posts that have been written about her on tumblr. 

Additionally, you may click here to view a Virtual Story (mini movie) which features a number of photo-ops "showcasing" her.

In any event, whenever Cam disappears, my reaction is very much like Mooch's — the cat — in McDonnell's comic strip, I don't wonder if it was something I said; rather, I wonder did I frighten her somehow? Did I leave too much food or not enough? Did I not plant "things" that attract birds? Did I not clean her feeder throughly? And, also, in my saner moments when I realize her absences may have little to do with me, I always worry that she has been injured and that I could've of devised a way to insure her safety. 

My reactions are clearly tied in with my abandonment issues re having a father who left our family when I was quite young and a mother who insisted if I talked to him in the "right way" he'd return, which he never did.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

IF the dog hadn't STOPPED to SNEEZE . . . .


The anniversary of my father's death will be at the end of November, for he died on November 30, 1995; and indeed it is a fact you might recall, as I've referred to this event here on Blogger in prior posts, including one which you may refer to by clicking here. One of my father's favorite sayings was, "if the dog hadn't stopped to sneeze, he'd 've caught the rabbit!" The dog's itchy nose was the rabbit's fortune, as you probably can surmise; but, as you can also surmise, that has nothing to do with why my father reiterated this quote time and time again.

I confess I tend to be an "if only XX had happened, YY would be ok" type of person: playing scenarios that have come and gone, over and over in my mind, as if that would somehow change the outcome; but alas, there is no Edit/Undo or Ctrl/Z outside of life in cyber-space.

Most recently (this past Friday, November the 7th), I was caught up in what I had done wrong re plans I had made with my friend, Michael (pictured above). 

Michael is a longtime friend of mine who lives across the street —  a few doors west of me — and among other things, we share a love of gardening. Moreover, it was Michael who helped me prepare my urban (NYC) garden for a so-called renovation in September; and then again for Hurricane Sandy this past October. I've discussed both of these "scenarios" in previous entries here on Blogger, and you may refer to them by clicking here as well as here respectively.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

"God gives every bird its food, but he does not throw it into the nest."


The quote, "God gives every bird its food, but he does not throw it into the nest," which is attributed to Josiah Gilbert Holland (an American novelist and poet), is layered with meaning; but since this is not a dissertation, but rather it is a blog post (albeit a belated one as it was scheduled for yesterday) I am only focusing on one aspect of the quotation, and that is the literal translation.

Since God does not throw food into the birds' nests and since I can't see their nests, I provide food for birds that visit my rooftop garden in a variety of ways; and this blog entry is a pictorial account of some of the ways I do this as well as some of the ways my visiting birds respond to my efforts, and one of my visiting mourning doves is sitting atop my one of my urban hedges and staring at me through my window as I write this because he wants to make sure his brood is included in the photo-ops within this entry. Due to the fact this posting is about birds that eat in my garden it would be hard not to include him, as the mourning doves nosh here more than any other visiting bird and often I'm concerned that their overwhelming presence will deter other feathered creatures from enjoying a bite to eat on my roof extension garden!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 37


Yowzers! As if the on-going sound of jackhammers and constant "buzzing" of other construction equipment being used to reconstruct an entire building a few doors west of me was not enough to make me plug my ears, one of my visiting blue jays tapped his blue tootsies on the arm of my bouncer until I looked up to see what he wanted.

Thankfully his "noise" is not as bad a sound as finger nails on a chalk, board but the bird did want to get my attention and this time it was not for food! As it happens, he wanted to make sure that I did not indulge in a diversion this Tuesday here on Blogger (which has been my tendency these past few Tuesdays) but, instead, send you directly to tumblr, for, after all, he's been around long enough to know, if its Tuesday in TLLG  land, it must be tumblr

And just why is this blue jay so eager for you to get to tumblr? Well, he's no bird brain! He knows fully well he's been featured a number of times on TLLG's tumblr venue; so, without further ado, the link to take you to my tumblr pages can be found by clicking here.

Monday, November 5, 2012

That Was the Week That Was


A couple of the mourning doves as well as a couple of house finches who visit my rooftop garden here in NYC, got together — at one of my feeders — late this afternoon to nosh, and after nearly emptying it, they wanted to discuss how they survived the hurricane ultimately named Super Storm Sandy, when it slammed the city and surrounding areas a week ago today!

I'm told that these birds' initial plan was to meet to discuss the events of this past week (for the memo re their meeting stated, "that was the week that was" — borrowing a title from an old sit-com).

However, instead of chirping about Sandy, three of the birds seemed to focus their gaze to the northwest, while the other eyed yours truly (through the "window" of my bird-house-style feeder), as seen in the photo-op at the top of today's blog entry.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Thoughts for All Soul's Day


Eight days ago, on October 25th 2012, at 5:26:01, I took this image of one of my house finches enjoying my Kiwi Vine in my roof top garden (in NYC); and he was even using one of its branches for a "launching pad" to take off, and fly around in peace for the first time that day! 

For as it happened, all day long, ruthless jackhammers had been being pounded below the surface of a building (a few doors away from me), which is being renovated. 

This renovation has been going on for months, and the workmen are pounding the jackhammers from early in the morning until late afternoon, disrupting all the folks who live within earshot. I had been concerned about how the noise has impacted the birds who visit my garden, but folks told me "the birds are used to it."

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

at my JACK-O-LANTERN'S request . . .

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11


Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11


Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

My Jack-O-Lantern's stint in my rooftop garden ended early this season as he had to be brought inside due to my preparing my rooftop garden for a hurricane who became known as Super Storm Sandy. 

Moreover, there was no room for him at the inn (my indoor succulent garden), so he was forced into an early hiatus; but he promised to return next year, if I shared a few more photo-ops of the pleasure he derived from watching my visiting mourning doves and house finches. I told him that I was not sure who'd see this entry as I normally do not post on Wednesday, but he insisted!

Moreover, this sweet Jack-O-Lantern is aware of the sorrow brought on by the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, and he said if he had to leave early, he wanted to make sure to leave you something to make you smile! He assumes you will derive pleasure from seeing the mourning doves' and house finches' experiences with a feeder. In the finches' case (the little red guy), settled for the scraps that fell to the table whilst the mourning doves worked their beaks off! 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 36 (But First The Birds Survive Hurricane Sandy)


Today, October the Thirtieth, or rather the eve of today, is what is known as Corn Night or Mischief Night, and according to Holiday Insights, “Mischief Night appears to have roots in England back to the nineteenth century.” It occurs the night before Halloween and typical acts on this day include, “soaping windows, egging houses [as well as] cars, tossing a few rotten tomatoes, toilet papering house trees et ceteras, (and) knocking on doors, then running away.

I never really understood honoring mischief, but even if I did, New York City, where I live, has already endured enough “mischief” through the perils of Hurricane Sandy, which slammed us (and our surrounding areas) yesterday, which is why I did not post here on Blogger, which is normally what I do on Mondays.

Sandy wreaked havoc, which has resulted in (among other catastrophes) power outages, including damage to a back-up generator at a prestigious New York City hospital, causing them to have to relocate all their patients by ambulance to other hospitals!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Central Park, TLLG, and Her Feathered "Friends" Honor Pumpkins!

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
Lunch Break
Yesterday, October 26th, was National Pumpkin Day, as I discussed in an entry here on TLLG's Blogger; but in terms of New York City (where I live and have my garden), today, October 27th, is the day to enjoy pumpkins. And the "powers that be" in Central Park are honoring the day with a special event, which I've tried COUNTLESS times to "announce" in an entry on tumblr as today, is Saturday, which is not part of my schedule here on Blogger! However, tumblr seems to be having technical difficulty; hence this non-scheduled post which I hope you enjoy! 

Central Park is close to where I live, and whenever there is an event taking place there, the flowers, grasses, herbs, plants, succulents, shrubs, trees and vines as well as the bees, butterflies and birds that visit us, get very excited and want to do something special here to show our appreciation for living so close to the park.

So in light of this, a few of my visiting birds (the mourning doves and finches) agreed to "pose" for photo-ops with one of  Jack-O-Lanterns who is in town for Halloween. (The other Jack-O-Lanterns which visit here can be seen in images rendered into Halloween cards.
Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
It's MY Party and I'll LAUGH if I want to! 
Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
Mourning Doves AGREE:
Jack-O-Lantern "COULDA" Flossed With Their Beaks!
Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
PRIVATE JOKE 
FALL 2018 ADDENDUM: 

I no longer actively produce event program covers, invitations and the types of greeting cards described here or on my website but arrangements might be able to be made under certain circumstances. My focus is on the Words In Our Beak book series, pictured below...

WORDS IN OUR BEAK BOOK SERIES

...whose stories are told from the point of view of Cam, a female cardinal, whose photo is on the cover of each book. Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in my rooftop garden in NYC Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The books include hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.

Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books.

Additionally, I have rendered some images from these books into other formats and they are available via Fine Art America (FAA). Some of my other photographs (Black & White CollectionKaleidoscopic Images and the famous Mandarin duck who visited NYC) can also be found on my FAA pages.

SUMMER 2020 ADDENDUM: 
                             
"Never say never," the saying goes, and I suppose that applies to saying, "I no longer....," which I did in my 2018 addendum and now I'm here to announce at the advice of Chris Deatherage, my book series formatter, who is also my web-master (for patriciayoungquist.com) I soon will have some versions of the greeting cards that are referenced in this blog post available via FAA.

Friday, October 26, 2012

In Honor of National Pumpkin Day . . .

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

In honor of National Pumpkin Day, which is today in the United States, I wanted to post some photo-ops of my visiting birds interacting with various types of pumpkins which I have in my garden.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 35 (But First A Follow-Up)

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

The schedule I announced this past May for my entries to be published here on Blogger continues to be disrupted! As "they" say, "if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans . . . "  


And, if you follow me on TLLG's Blogger Pages, you will notice that this past week my post was on Saturday instead of my usual days, and the week prior was the same! I apologize for any inconvenience, and I will try with this post to get back on track with my regularly scheduled programing here on Blogger; however, my schedules on TLLG's Facebook Page, Pinterest Boards, and tumblr posts, have NOT been disrupted. Yay!

Speaking of tumblr, I am aware that since today is Tuesday, it must be tumblr, but before I send you there, I'd like to follow up on a few stories I've posted here on Blogger, in the event you have been unable to visit TLLG on my aforementioned venues.


Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

First of all, the cause of Wink's eyesight problem remains a mystery, and I continue with my fervent efforts to reach organizations that are supposedly knowledgeable about the well being of our feathered friends, but so far I've gotten very little information. For a moment, I thought one of the mourning doves, who, like Wink, visits my garden to nosh, was concerned about its comrade, as you might also surmise from the image above today's entry. But perhaps I  am projecting my sensitivity towards eye related issues due to my battle with my legal blindness as well as my concern for Wink's well being, onto the mourning dove, for it seems it was merely pausing for a moment before making itself at home with Wink at the "noshing table" as seen in the image below, an image where you can notice Wink's eye injury. (Once again, dear reader, if you are familiar with anyone or any organization that might be able to provide an answer re Wink's situation, please let me know in the comments field below today's entry!)

My other "follow-up," dear reader is to tell you that the deadline for my Campaign on indiegogo has come and gone with little success, and I'm back at the drawing board working on plans B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, ANd Z! Please stay tuned.

And with these updates — before I send you to tumblr —  I am hoping you will recall that, in addition to my urban (terrace AKA roof extension garden), I grow an array of succulents in an indoor garden, and that garden is frequented by seasonal visitors, a few of whom (pictured below) have dropped by for Halloween to join in the festivities!


Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

AND NOW WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THE LINK TO tumblr IS HERE!


ADDENDUM: 

I no longer actively produce event program covers, invitations and the types of greeting cards described on my website but arrangements might be able to be made under certain circumstances.

My focus is on the Words In Our Beak book series (pictured below)whose stories are told from the point of view of Cam, a female cardinal.  

As of May 22 2018, I have rendered some images from these books into greeting cards and they are available on Fine Art America, please click here for more info.

Re my book seriesWords In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in my rooftop urban garden in New York City. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The books include hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.

At this moment, May 2018, both volumes one and two are in hardcover format (as seen below) and are available wherever  books are sold.


*Here's the  purchase info for the Words In Our Beak book series:

Volume One: ISBN: 9780996378529:
Book Seller Info: http://bit.ly/2AFZDCz
Barnes & Noble On-Line: http://bit.ly/2AAnB26
book culture On Columbus: http://bit.ly/2FsC1Uf

Volume Two: ISBN: 9780996378536
Book Seller Info: http://bit.ly/2q75g8e
Barnes & Noble On-Line: http://bit.ly/2G65m6H


Saturday, October 20, 2012

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Meet Wink: The Tenacious Finch!



I am in a bit of a funk over something that may be occurring re the health and well being of one of the birds which visits my garden, and, therefore, in my (unsuccessful) attempts to clarify what is going on with her, I was unable to post here on blogger yesterday as is my norm on Fridays!

The bird which I am concerned about is one of my house finches, who, as you can surmise from the images posted above, seems to be having an "issue" with her right eye!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 34 (To Enter OR Not to Enter That IS the Question)

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11


Last Wednesday, I attended an art show of someone who had been one of my teachers when I took classes at Apple's Upper Westside Store. She suggested that I submit certain images that I've taken (re the flowers in my garden) to a photographic competition honoring Georgia O'Keeffe, the prolific painter of flowers.

Although I have many images of flowers on my Pinterest Boards, I have also featured flower photo-ops here on Blogger, as well as in my entries on TLLG's Facebook Page, and tumblr posts, my former instructor's suggestion prompted me to view the flowers that are still remaining (it's fall so the number of flowers dwindles) in my urban (NYC) garden in a different manner, as evidenced by the image posted above, which I took this past weekend. This image features the very expressive Black and Blue Salvia which is still thriving in my garden.

While I'm flattered about the recommendation of my former instructor, I am not sure if I will enter the competition, as the entry fee is out of my reach momentarily, but I will see what happens as the deadline to enter it approaches.

In the meantime, since it's Tuesday, it means it must be tumblr in "TLLG Land," so, without further ado, the link to take you there can be found by clicking here.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Discovery Day

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Today many folks in the United States are celebrating Columbus Day, which basically means that schools, post offices and banks are closed. I wish it meant that construction on Columbus Avenue, less than a block from where I live (and have my terrace — roof extension — garden), would cease, because the jack hammer is deafening! But hammer away it is, and the noise is quite distracting to yours truly, even though the sweet house finches are trying to drown it out with their songs as they go about their activities; which mostly include eating, as seen in this image posted above.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Since you asked . . .

gardener named Kevin Loud posed a question to a Linkedin Discussion Group for garden writers, and that question was this: "Now that it's October what changes are happening -- and how are you getting your gardens ready for the cooler weather?"

From what I understand, Mr. Loud lives in New York in the Long Island area, and because I live in New York City, he and I share the same growing zones, so, presumably, we would get our gardens ready for "cooler weather" at the same time. 

However, a major difference between his garden and mine is that his is in the ground on his property and mine is in containers (80+) which I have on a roof extension. Therefore, my prep for winter is very different than his, and it is something I've discussed in great detail in a variety of venues, including here on blogger, within an entry you may refer to by clicking here.

I don't begin my garden winterizing in October, in fact, in bygone years, I've done it in late November, December, and even in early January, depending on the severity of the weather. I am in no hurry to put what I grow to bed for the winter — especially since they suffered such trauma in my recent garden upheaval, which you may refer to by clicking here, as well as here, and here.

But the other question Mr. Loud posed had to do with how the gardens of his fellow members in Linkedin Discussion Group were faring, and today's post is my "answer" to him; hence the following aerial images were taken by Juan V (this past Tuesday, October the second), and marked by yours truly to point out specific events which are occurring in my garden at this time.



The image above shows a partial view of the west "wall" of my garden, and the oval shape (to the left of the image) is surrounding my Rubus calycinoides (Ornamental Raspberry), a vine that I once referred to as a "diva," because her presence is so extraordinary! At the present time, her leaves have not yet begun to change into their autumn color wardrobe, but, in years gone by, she has looked this way (see images below) in the fall.





The larger circle that I've added to Juan's image indicates how my  Continus Coggygria (Smoke Bush), looks at this time. Some of its leaves are slowly beginning to turn color, but, like yours truly, my Continus Coggygria, seems hesitant to rush the season.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 33 + also in Honor of Charlie Brown...

Today is Tuesday, so in TLLG's cyber venues, it must be tumblr! But it is also October the second, and, therefore, the anniversary, of the Charlie Brown comic strip, which is one of my faves (as evidenced by my previous posts here on Blogger), even though the strip debuted in 1950 — long before I was born!

Subsequently, in 1967, Woodstock was introduced by the strip's creator, Charles Schultz, a man I have admired here in cyber-space as well as "real life!"


It has been said that Charlie Brown was a character who was "possessed of endless determination and hope, but who is ultimately dominated by his insecurities . . . "

Monday, October 1, 2012

Watching Leaves Turn

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11


Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

This past November, on two occasions here on Blogger, I referred to a quote by Elizabeth Lawrence. The quote is this, "Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn." 

Sunday, September 30, 2012

"YA-BUH-DA-BUH-DUE"

Because I have missed a couple of days of posting re my garden upheaval, I thought I'd post today even though it's not one of my scheduled days, and besides, today is an important day in United States history, as forty-two years ago today, the first episode of The Flintstones, a cartoon series, aired on television, making the phrase "YaBaDaBaDo" popular (the word is pronounced as it is spelled in the title of today's blog entry).

I cannot take credit for remembering the significance of today; as it is Cam (a cardinal who regularly visits my terrace garden) who reminded me of this fact. 

It came up in a conversation I had with her when I was discussing my sequel to one of my garden themed Virtual Stories (mini movies and flip books) within my You Tube Library

The one Cam and I were discussing is titled Words in my Beak (Book One), and it featured her exclusively. I was letting Cam know that in the sequel I may include the other birds (Cam's entourage) which also visit here. At this time the birds who come to my garden to nosh include Cam's child, as well as her significant other, house finches, mourning doves, and blue jays.

Cam was apprehensive about sharing the spotlight and pointed out to me that the book's title is "my beak" and not a plural pronoun! Cam explained that her beak is very versatile, and, she told me that one of her ancestor's beaks was the basis for the way birds' beaks were used in The Flintstones! Then Cam referred me to the following video on You Tube!



I had forgotten that in this cartoon series a tip of a bird's beak was "used" as needle for a record player (a turtle); and that its beak followed the groove of the record. Cam glowed with pride for her bygone ancestor whose beak inspired the Flintstones' record player needle. And, in fact, Cam had been gesturing so much as she related the story that she nearly lost her balance (as seen in the image below) from atop the rim of my 'Tamukeyama' (Japanese Red Maple)'s container, a place where Cam loves to perch.



She seems to gravitate towards that vantage point as it gives her a bird's eye view (excuse the pun) into the apartment of the building directly east of me. If it were me, I would not choose that view, as I don't care for television; and, besides, the woman who lives there is constantly using her window sill as an ash tray, as seen in the images below.






Cam is much more tolerant of cigarette smoke than I am; my father had a horrific death due to a bout with emphysema, brought on by his nearly two pack a day Pall Mall habit. Part of his dying words were, "When I die, the cost of cigarettes will sky rocket as the tobacco company will miss my revenue."