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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Ode to a Tufted Titmouse and Dearly Departed Flora


It has often been said that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. I don't know much about making God laugh, but I do know that if I want to make my muse laugh, I'll tell her my plans, which is something I not only told her last week, but also posted here on Blogger, where I stated that in going forward with this blog, "I'll return to posting more in depth content within my blogging venues: Bloggertumblr as well as hometalkI'll leave the shorter content for FB readers, who will always be directed to my blogging in case they want to read more."

A week has passed and my postings have been confined to Facebook, not only my page, but the pages of others such as Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, The Ellen Show, and WBU-Paramus

I find it difficult to give up old habits and routines, but be that as it may, today's post is an attempt to act on the plan I laid out in my previous entry here on Blogger, and so without further ado, I give you today's post where I am honoring a very sweet bird.

In 2012 the tufted titmouse had been a first time visitor to my garden, albeit a sporadic one, which is (hopefully) a story he will tell himself in my book. [But without giving his story away please let me say this: I was graced with his visit in the fall of 2012 and thrilled to see him continue to come here in 2013, and I'm certain the smoke bush and the cypress twins enjoyed him too, for not only is he a cutie but his singing voice is amazing!]

Be that as it may, my tufted titmouse only performed a short aria on the day the aforementioned photograph was taken, and, in spite of our applause, did not return until five days later, on March 18th 2013, to perform an encore. Some photo-ops of this can be seen below:







In the first three images the tufted titmouse can be seen in his favorite spot, within the "arms" of my smoke bush as the cypress twins look on in awe; and in the fourth image, the tufted titmouse — alighting on a smoke bush's branch — is the one in awe. The object of his awe is of a bud from my Paeonia suffruiticosa (AKA Tree Peony), which can be seen (hot pink color) in the lower right hand corner of the photo.


And indeed, the peony bud was an amazing sight to behold so early in March! But this year the Paeonia suffruiticosa is still bundled up in its winter gear, which is a good thing as the temperatures are only in the twenties with "real feel" temps in the single digits! 

Moreover, the cypress twins are not outside yet, and, in fact, one of them has died this winter, due to the heat in my apartment being too strong for it to survive as it had in bygone years when the heat inside was not as high (due to the fact that the temperatures outside were not as low). Just as i have no control over the outdoor temperatures, I have no control over the heat in my apartment and have a limit on what is in my power to do to protect from certain elements my visiting birds and the flora I grow!

It is hard to be a gardener who loves birds when you have abandonment issues and experience loss more deeply, for it is very hard on me when flora dies or a bird does not return, and I truly need to focus on new flora that springs up as well as new birds that come to visit. 

However, as I stated earlier, "I find it difficult to give up old habits and routines." But I am working on it. As for my tufted titmouse's long absence, there are several possibilities for this: I live near Central Park, the preferred dining spot of birds in the area and he may now be noshing there; a hawk has been seen near my building and my tufted titmouse may have gotten out of town or been a victum of prey, and the weather changes have altered this sweet bird's travel plans. Whatever the case may be, I have to accept his absence as I must do with the absence of other song birds and the death of my lemon lime cypress, because none of it is in my control. 

What I can do, and have done (to some extent) in bygone years, is give voice to both my flora and visiting birds. 

Examples of this re flora can be found in mini movies (which are within my Vimeo Library) that cover a number of flora related stories: The American Lady butterfly's flora choicesBees and hyssop, Echinacea for all seasonsKiwi vines and the flora that surrounds them, Nasturtium, Tulips, Strawflowers, Roses, as well as stages of their growth (portrayed in two places: click here and here to view) and flora winterizing. The lemon lime cypress mentioned in this post was featured in 50+ Shades of Green, also in my Vimeo Library. 

Examples of this re a few birds can be found in mini movies (which are within my Vimeo Library) that cover a couple of bird related stories. Please click here for one re Emily, my Baltimore oriole; please click here for one re Cam, my female cardinal; and please click here to see some antics of house finches.

And there you have it for today, dear reader. Please stay tuned for updates re the tufted titmouse's storyline in my book, and more importantly please hold good thoughts for this sweet bird and his comrades as they attempt to adjust to ever-changing envrionment. Hopefully they are more adaptable than yours truly! 




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