Giving a THUMBS UP to #DrawaBirdDay (2017)

Today, April the 8th, is an official time to celebrate an unofficial holiday, which dates back to the 1940's and is known as Draw A Bird Day. In honor of the event, I've posted a drawing of a blue jay that I did as a very young child. As you can see, drawing was not my strength! When it comes to pictures of birds, I'm better off rendering them photographically, rather than with crayons, but being an accomplished drawer is not a criteria for participating in this holiday.

Here's what MNN (Mother Nature Network) has to say re the event: "Although it's not a recognized holiday, it's celebrated worldwide on April 8 as a way to find joy in life's simple pleasures and to help people temporarily forget their suffering. According to the Draw A Bird Day website, the holiday dates back to 1943 when a 7-year-old British girl named Dorie Cooper went to visit her uncle who'd been wounded in the war. The man was distraught after losing his leg to a landmine, so in an attempt to distract him, Dorie asked him to draw her a bird. He drew a picture of a robin, and Dorie laughed, saying he wasn’t a very gifted artist but that she’d hang the drawing in her room anyway.

"The young girl's honesty and acceptance lifted the soldier's spirits, and every time Dorie visited after that, he and the other wounded soldiers would have a contest to see who could create the best bird picture. In a matter of months, the ward's walls were covered in bird drawings. Tragically, Dorie was hit by a car three years later and killed. At her funeral, her coffin was filled with bird pictures drawn by soldiers, nurses and doctors from her uncle's hospital. She was remembered as the little girl who brought life and hope to a ward of suffering, and since her death, people have been honoring Dorie by drawing birds on her birthday."

MNN goes on to say that "anyone can participate in celebrating Dorie's life by drawing a bird on April 8 and sharing it with someone." 

Therefore, in memory of Dorie Cooper, I'm honoring the day by posting the following images of bird drawings that were on a chalkboard inside a store on the UWS of NYC;

as well as a drawing of a bird that was on a pop-up chalkboard (as seen below) outside a shop near to The Wild Bird Fund, the only bird re-hab facility in NYC.

Draw A Bird Day 2020

MOCKINGBIRDS ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME3

Today, April the 8th, is an official time to celebrate an unofficial holiday, which dates back to the 1940's and is known as "Draw A Bird Day" and because drawing is not part of my skill set, I honored the day by taking pictures of a Northern mockingbird (one of my photos is posted directly above) who stopped by my garden for a snack.

Draw A Bird Day 2019

Today is Draw A Bird Day, a longstanding holiday which was created in honor of the dearly departed, Dorie Cooper, who died when she was a child. In bygone years, I have written about little girl and her "role" in the  creation of the holiday. 

Within some of the aforementioned entries, I've included a a copy the photograph atop this post that features one of the ways I was taught to draw a bird by using my hand as a model. In any event, it seems birds learn to draw humans in a similar manner, as evidenced in the cartoon directly below.

That being said, in terms of humans drawing birds, Charles Schultz often comes to my mind.

#DrawABirdDay (2018)

Nearly one month ago, on the evening of March 10th, I took a walk through Central Park and went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While I was there I met the talented Daniel Lockhart, who was sketching, as seen in the image atop this entry.

Because of some very painful experiences with art teachers in elementary school, my not being able to draw has always made me uneasy. And seeing Daniel in the act of sketching is far from the first time that I've gotten a pit in my stomach when I've witnessed someone drawing.

National Bird Day 2020

Cardinal Feeds Fledgling (Info in my "Words In Our Beak" Book Series)

Today, January 5th, is a holiday known as National Bird Day, which is an occasion I've written about in bygone years;  and will continue to do going forward, as this holiday has great personal importance.

Honoring & Remembering the Service of Others Heartfelt Thanks to Ms. Susan Grimstead of WBU-NJ (as well as Sarah, D. William, Robert and Chris)

This past Wednesday was the twelfth anniversary of the 9-11-11 attacks and in bygone years I have dedicated blog posts (including ones here on Blogger) to those who lost lives in the attacks as well as to those who mourn losses as a result of that tragedy.

This year I acknowledged the anniversary on TLLG's FB Page as well as in an entry on hometalk. Both of the aforementioned posts included the photograph atop today's blogger entry. The image is of One World Trade Center (formerly known as The Freedom Tower), and it was taken by yours truly from a vantage point on the greenway along Manhattan's westside, slightly north of the Christopher Street entrance.

It is hard for me to believe that so much time has passed since that horrific day, but indeed time has passed and the construction taking place at the WTC site (including the building of One World Trade Center) is a physical indication of this fact.

During this year's 9-11-01 coverage, I heard the tail-end of a radio interview where the guests on the program were two brothers, who had lost someone in the attacks, and who were focusing their energy on efforts to promote the idea of September Eleventh being dedicated as a day to SERVE OTHERS, in memory of those both living and deceased, who served (by giving of their time and talents) to others on that fateful day and in the aftermath.

The position of these brothers is that while we still mourn the dead, and while we still feel for those who now have illnesses related to 9-11, a road to true healing is to also focus on how folks came together to help others in their time of need. 

One of the examples they cited was that of a man who came to NYC from Michigan — on a bus — to honor this year's 9-11 by helping folks (who were strangers to him) rebuild their homes (in Staten Island) which had been damaged as a result of a hurricane named Super Storm Sandy.

During the interview it was also brought up how service to others should not be limited to a one day dedication, nor does "service" need to always be in the form of a large gesture. Small gestures of service are essential too; and it is important to offer them as well as to honor them.

In my lifetime, I have been blessed by my interactions with a number of folks, and in today's entry, I'd like to acknowledge how my recent encounters with others have helped me to resolve (hopefully) an issue I am having feeding birds in my urban (NYC) garden; hence, my title for today's post: Heartfelt Thanks to Ms. Susan Grimstead of WBU-NJ (as well as Sarah, D. William, Robert and Chris).