Grace: Most Worthy of a (at least one) LIKE Button: "The very pink of perfection."

The leaves of my Continus Coggygria  AKA Smoke Bush, 'Royal Purple' and 'Grace,' can seen in the photograph directly above. The picture was taken in my urban (NYC) garden, and I think her leaves appear to be applauding, or is that her version of a "LIKE" button?

I am sure that 'Grace' is happy about the beautiful weather we've been having, especially after the surprise snowy-ice storm we had the last Saturday of October (which I referred to in a previous blog entry that you may read about by clicking here).

Whatever she's happy about, it is I who should be applauding her, and giving her many LIKES, which I have done to some extent in that I have featured her in a number of blog posts including ones which you may refer to by clicking here as well as here and here. 'Grace's' leaves are always extraordinary, with their exquisite pink edges and veins (Why can't my veins look that nice?), calling to mind a quote from Oliver Goldsmith (an AngloIrish writer) who is associated with the quotation, "The very pink of perfection." 

Mr. Goldsmith is on my mind today, November the tenth, because it is one of the days that is thought to be his birthday. His birthdate is "disputed" in the sidebar of his Wiki page, where the body of the text states that "Goldsmith's date and year are not known with certainty. According to the Library of Congress file, he told biographer that he was born on 29 November 1731, or perhaps in 1730. Other sources have indicated 10 November, on any year between 1727 to 1731. 10 November 1730 is now the most commonly accepted date."

If sources are so uncertain about Goldsmith's birthdate, then I am not sure how they can know for certain the aforementioned quote, "The very pink of perfection," was said or written by him!

Whatever the case may be in terms of who authored the quote, the edges as well as the veins of 'Grace's' leaves are indeed the "very pink of perfection", and I have given them a LIKE back with more than just blog posts; they have appeared on nybg's (New York Botanical Garden) tumblr.

'Grace's' leaves are also the "subject" for one of the greeting cards that go beyond communication. The beautiful card is an all occasion greeting card, but it is especially nice to send at Thanksgiving, given that the card is named 'Grace'.

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.