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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Happy 1/2 Year!

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

Well, dear reader, today is June the 30th 2012, which means that tonight is New Year's Eve for the half year! Six months down, and six months to go! And, as I promised in this past Monday's post, I am posting on a non-scheduled day in honor of the half-year.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Monday Morning Musings: Revisiting the Importance of Indoor Gardens

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

The "topic" of decorating an indoor succulent garden is something I have not addressed here on TLLG's Blogger, tumblr, or Facebook in quite some time; but even though it is the season when my outdoor (urban) garden calls for "overtime" attention, I have not neglected my wonderful indoor succulent garden, a garden of unusual succulents that, depending on the time of year, is "visited" by unique figurines. This is a fact you may recall from seeing my indoor succulent garden — here in cyber-space — when it has had very different "visitors" for Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall as well as for "off season" celebrations such as Penguin Awareness Day.

And, once in a while, as you may recall, dear reader, figurines of fruits such as apples 'n oranges, as well as pears (that all visit my succulent garden), "weighed in" on their life experience in my succulent garden.

So today, on a stormy Monday morning, when it is impossible to be tending the garden I have on my terrace, I have been given the opportunity to share the 2012 summer look in my indoor succulent garden, as evidenced by a bathing beauty figurine who is new to my succulent garden. I was given this figurine (over the weekend) by a dear friend whose husband also has an indoor succulent garden, as I described in an entry here on TLLG, which you may refer to by clicking here.

In any event, the bathing beauty figurine was welcomed by my succulents and by a little frog — who jumped on a succulent container — to get a closer look at her (as you can see in the image posted at the top of today's entry)!

I am hoping that my other bathing beauty figurinewho also visits my succulent garden, and can be seen in the image 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

will enjoy having some company, even though, like yours truly she enjoys her time alone. (The aforementioned figurine was given to me last summer by the same friend.)

The "story" of the importance of indoor gardens will be included in the series of Virtual Stories (mini movies) which I will be producing for a campaign that I launched late last week on indiegogo, a campaign whose mission is to give voice to the garden, and in doing so remind folks that "The very old, they are miracles like the just born; close to the end is precious like close to the beginning."

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Remembering Matthew Adam Garber (1956-1977): "FEED THE BIRDS . . ."


Matthew Adam Garber, pictured here with Karen Dotrice, in an imagedepicting a scene from the 1964 trailer for the movie, Mary Poppins, died thirty-five years ago today, June 13th, 1977. He was twenty-one years old.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 24


This morning Juan V was here to work with me in my rooftop garden, and, as he always does, took a few aerial photographs (using my camera) for me. I added the orange double-pointed arrow to one of his images as a "sneak preview" of what I plan to post about down (way down) the blogger road on Monday, July 16th 2012: Mark your Calendars!

You can see that the double-pointed  arrow is "aimed" at an empty chair and at the base of a container whose color is Black Forest Green. That container was refurbished this past week-end and "houses" my Actinida kolomikta and Actimida (Kiwi Vines) whose claim to fame was their role in my first garden themed Virtual Story (movie), titled, "The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame . . . almost," which has been referenced a number of times here on TLLG's Blogger Blog, including a post which you may refer to by clicking here. The Virtual Story itself may be viewed within my You Tube Channel. In any event, after many "production" delays of this Virtual Story sequel, my Actinida kolomikta and Actimida (Kiwi Vines) will return as a guest blogger, here on TLLG, Monday, July 16th, (boasting about their refurbished digs) to talk about his starring role in the sequel, so please stay tuned.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Glad not to be a cooky!



A flower from my Lavandula angustifolia (English Lavender) is mugging for the camera. I think she was so thankful that I hate to bake, because she overheard me speaking about some yummy Lavender Cookies I had this past weekend, and she knows from my lack of culinary skills I won't turn her into an edible dessert.

Friday, June 8, 2012

My First Comic Strip! A Fagus sylvatica's (Beech Tree) Romantic Evening

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

As anyone who has followed my blog can surmise, I "love" the comics! This is evidenced by my including strips from Dagwood's antics (from the comic strip Blondie); as well as Snoopy's observations (from Charles Schultz's Peanuts; and the beloved animal tales found in Patrick McDonnell's Mutts; in various posts here on TLLG.

I particularly enjoy the human traits, feelings and habits that Schultz attributed to Snoopy as well as Woodstock; and, McDonnell does this frequently in his cast of characters which include Earl, Mooch, Guard Dog, Woofie, and Shtinky Puddin'.

So, what's a comic-strip loving gardener, such as yours truly (who has little talent for drawing), to do when she observes emotions and human characteristics in the things she grows?

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 23

As you can see my "If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . "  weekly feature has a new look! From this Tuesday forward, I'll provide links to the new content, but as always once you are at tumblr you can scroll around and see images or read content that is not included on this Blogger Blog.

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

Image above's story on tumblr: “A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter, he who finds one finds a treasure; A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth …”  Click here to read.



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

Image above's story on tumblr: “Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup . . . ” Click here to read.


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

Image above's story on tumblr: "Once the paparazzi convinced one  of the Helichrysum roseo-niveums which grows in my urban (NYC) container garden (first image shown here) that she was indeed, 'camera ready' . . . "  Click here to read.


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

Image above's story on tumblr: “Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear?” Click here to read.


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

Image above's story on tumblr: "TWO THUMBS UP!" Click here to read. 



Image above's story on tumblr: Memorial Day Reflections. Click here to read.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Rainy Days and Mondays in the Garden

It is Monday. And it is raining. And, if you are of a certain age, you may recall the combination of "rainy days and Mondays prompted a song that the pop singer, Karen Carpenter, made famous, known as, well, Rainy Days and Mondays.