Reflecting On 01-01-01

Happy New Year to you and welcome to my blog, The Last Leaf Gardener. Since tomorrow is the start of not just a new year, but a new decade, I find that I look back to how the decade began. The year 2000 began with all the Y2K frenzy. The following year 2001, came in much more peacefully, as evidenced in the photo above of a snow sculpture of the Madonna with Child, which I saw in Central Park on 01-01-00, after a winter snow storm. 

Unfortunately, that peacefulness would ultimately be shattered within nine months and eleven days, on September 11th, 2001 when airplanes flew into the World Trade Center, murdering thousands of people.

Today as I return to this peaceful image snow sculpture image, I'm reminded of the freedom to create. Snow sculptures that often pepper Central Park after a snow storm are one result of that freedom. I imagine the snow sculptures bring joy to those who create them, and joy to those who, like myself, see them when they walk in the "winter wonderland" of Central Park. However, since snow melts, these are fleeting moments.

Fortunately, I've preserved this solemn sculpture's moment in time in the format of a photographic image which I have rendered into a note-card, and it can be seen posted at the top of this entry. I have created and produced a limited edition of these cards which can be viewed on my web-site where they can be purchased.

Meanwhile, as the year and this blog move forward, many of my post  topics will be about my work as a photo-artist and my gardening endeavors as well as other gardeners. 

Additionally, from time to time I may post about a current event, but at the moment you and I are just getting acquainted, so I will leave you with this thought: Now that I've gotten the setting up of my blog underway (and making my New Year's resolution to stick with a posting scedule), it seems I may be passée. 

I understand many people have moved on to Twittering and Tweeting. It is my life story summed up in ten words: at the airport when the ship comes into the dock. Being a reflective soul, I'll probably stick to blogging over twittering and tweeting. 

Besides, as it is, while some of my posts will be snippets and captions, others may border on mini essays. My temperament reminds me of Herb Gardener, whom I happened to meet while working at a theater (but that is as "they" say, another story), and he told me that before becoming a playwright, he was a cartoonist and when the "bubbles of dialogue got bigger than the cartoon-characters, it was time to be a playwright."

Similarly, as opposed to tweeting and twittering, blogs let you generate more in-depth content. I see them having greater resilience in terms of perception. But they require what many people seem to consider long-term commitment today:setting aside 20-90 minutes daily, weekly or semi-weekly. Still some bloggers are providing insightful or informative blogs which I hope to do also. I am in it for the long haul, and perhaps the Charles Schultz cartoon posted below sums it up:

As for this blog, I will post my first entry on January 4th 2010 and then every other day of the first week of 2010. I do not intend to write very much about me per se  throughout this blog, other than this first week to be spent discussing a few personal topics. 

My hope is that by introducing you to myself in this way, I will provide a foundation that  gives insight into my orientation as a photo-artist and my endeavors as an urban gardener.

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 Collection, Kaleidoscopic 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 now have some versions of the greeting cards that are referenced in this blog post available via FAA, please click here to view them.