"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 28 OR Gone Fishin' (Year Two)

The image posted above today's blog entry may look familiar to you dear reader, as I posted it above an entry that I made here on Blogger on July 30, 2011, when my sister came to visit me for her annual vacation. As it happens, she has returned again (last evening) to put up with me and all my idiosyncrasies and my posting in cyberspace may be minimal during her stay. However, since today is Tuesday, which means, it must be tumblr, I'll still "send" you there, dear reader, for there is a lot of content to be had. (And you can always take a side trip to my Pinterest Boards by clicking here.)

Oh, where OH WHERE, has my sweet cardinal gone? (Monday Musings PART ONE)

It has been eight days since I posted here on Blogger, which means that even though my last entry was unscheduled, as per my intent (laid out in a post which you may refer to by clicking here), I have not been present here for the days I scheduled myself, and, dear reader, if you visited here during that time, I apologize, for I know how precious time is, and I do not appreciate visiting blogs, where content has been promised, only to find no fresh news.

The truth is that words have not come easily to me for the past several days, and, therefore, I've spent my energy and efforts on my pictorial venues, such as TLLG's tumblr Pages , and Pinterest Boards, along with posting updates on TLLG's Facebook Page, as well as promoting my "giving voice to what lives in a garden" campaign, which I've launched on indiegogo.

Be that as it may, I hope you have been well, and I'll begin today's entry (which is a two part post) with where I left off here on blogger, which was with my announcement of a flip-book  (Virtual Story or Virtual Flip Book as I refer to them) that I created, and which I dedicated to my visiting cardinal (seen in the image at the top of today's blog entry).

I titled my Virtual Story "Words in my Beak! (Book One)". My intent was to make a series of Virtual Stories dedicated to this sweet bird; but I have not seen her since she "posed" for the aforementioned book! She left without a trace, as "they" say, and she hasn't even tweeted me to let me know where she is eating dinner these days! She is the opposite of Zits, the protagonist seen in the comic strip below,

who like most text-ers and tweeters, insists on letting folks know his every comings and goings! Not my visiting cardinal! She came to my garden — unannounced — and left without a trace! I miss her so much and pray for her safe return!

The visiting house finches, whom I also made a book about (Meet the Finches), have continued to visit my garden and to nosh, and nosh, and nosh, as evidenced by the images below:

The finches' antics are a pleasure and I don't mean to discount them by bemoaning the absence of my cardinal. For it is good for me to learn to appreciate things as they come; and enjoy them while they are here, for life is certainly fleeting, and there is nothing like observing how things live in a garden to begin to comprehend the importance of this life lesson. With this somewhat trite and quasi-philosophical statement, I'll end part one of today's entry, and will hopefully see you at part two a week from this coming Friday, which will be August 10th, 2012! (I won't be on Blogger until then as my sister is coming for her annual visit.)

Words in my BEAK

Press Release in this unscheduled TLLG entry. As posted on TLLG's FB Page and tumblr: This Virtual Story (mini movie/flip book) is the first in a series dedicated to a cardinal which has been visiting my urban (NYC) garden. It is my hope that I’m allowing her to express herself and not putting words in her beak! And, of course, this lovely lady will be featured in my “giving voice to what lives in a garden” project, which is currently on indiegogo and may be viewed by clicking here.

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 27

You know the TLLG Blogger deal! If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr, but before you go there, for your viewing pleasure, I've posted a  Virtual Story (mini movie) called Meet the Finches, which is a Virtul Flip Book depicting some of the antics of the finches that have been visiting my urban (NYC) garden! I plan to include more of the finches antics in projects I design for my "giving voice to what lives in a garden" indiegogo Campaign, which may be viewed by clicking here.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia (Fear of Being Born on Friday the 13th) REPRISED

Magical Moments

Today is Friday the Thirteenth, and as you may recall, dear reader, there are some folks who suffer from a case of Friggatriskaidekaphobia on this day. I discussed this in a blog entry in May of 2011, where I pointed out that my H.F. Clematis vine, which grows in my urban (NYC) terrace garden, had no such qualms. And, if you want to refresh your memory on this fact, please click here to refer to that particular entry here on Blogger.

Meanwhile, as you can see from the image posted above, my visiting finches are also fearless on this day. In fact, they always just take life as it comes, as evidenced in a few photo-ops posted below:

Who goes there?

Here we go round the little bird feeder, the little bird feeder, early in the evening.

WHAT???? NOT ANOTHER PHOTO-OP! 

Truly my visiting finches live in the moment and live out the parable described in Matthew, which surmises, “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns. . . "  

Of course you could argue that my visiting finches do not have to toil, reap or sow, because I feed them, and I must be the one to toil, reap and sow in order to be able to provide for them. The fact is my visiting finches provide so much more for me than I could ever give them as evidenced by the images included in today's blog post as well as ones on tumblr and Pinterest. 

Moreover, I certainly hope to include a documentation of my visiting finches' amazing antics in the Virtual Stories (mini movies) which I plan to produce for my "giving voice to gardens" project that I have recently launched on indiegogo, and which you may review by clicking here.

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 26

In yesterday's entry here on Blogger, I promised that, even though today is is a Tuesday, which on TLLG's Blogger means it must be tumblr, I would start off with an update on the fate of my mini Japanese Larch (Larix Kaempferi), after Juan V came over to evaluate my sweet larch's fate. I was so devastated yesterday that I did not have the heart to publish a photograph of her revealing how she looks in a sad state because I respect my wonderful Larch, and I do not like to showcase her when she is feeling down. 

But it's important, I think, for people who are learning about gardening to know some of the back stories, and that even though one may be the most attentive of gardeners, there is no guarantee that the fate of what one grows will always be positive.

My Sweet Larix Kaempferi

Douglas William Jerrold, the English dramatist and writer, is reported to have said, "He was so benevolent, so merciful a man that, in his mistaken passion, he would have held an umbrella over a duck in a shower of rain."

I thought of this quote when I came across one of my favorite strips from Mutts, which I've posted above today's blog entry. As you may recall, dear reader, I am a Mutts fan, and if you want to refer to Blogger entries where I've referenced this fantastic strip, please click here, and you may also click here to "catch" my tumblr post which includes yet another Mutts strip.

My sensibility towards the 80+ things which I grow in my urban (NYC) terrace garden can be quite similar to Jerrold and Mutts; as there are moments when I want to hold an umbrella over some of the things I grow; especially when they are suffering from too much rain; as they did this past May. Too much rain, however, was hardly the issue this past week, as NYC was under a very oppressive heart wave for a number of days, and I wanted to stand in my garden with my umbrella, to give a few of the less heat tolerant things that I grow some shade, as there is nowhere to prop one up, and there is little, if any, shade in my garden.

Hip! Hip! HOORAY!

It is a verrrrrrrrrry noisy Sunday morning as the 80+ things I grow in my urban (NYC) terrace garden can hear many folks cheering. This is because the Triathlon is occurring near to where we live. The periwinkle-colored flowers from my "spent" salad greens and the crimson-colored leaves from my 'Tamukeyama' — both pictured here — have been practicing their own cheers since yesterday morning, as evidenced by the image posted above this entry.

I have written about my salad greens and my 'Tamukeyama' on a number of occasions on tumblr, as well as here on Blogger; including ones which you may refer to by clicking here and here respectively. 

Moreover, my salad greens and my 'Tamukeyama's' leaves are also excited as they anticipate their roles in my "giving voice to gardens" project, which you may view by clicking here.

Finches, they just wanna have fun!

VERRRRRRRY INTERESTING

Whad-cha sayin' to me?

WHEEE!

It's MY turn to nosh!

The are at it again! Their antics in my urban (NYC) garden are SO entertaining that I'm doing this other unscheduled post featuring some of their photo-ops. Additionally, you can find more entertaining images of them on tumblr, Pinterest and TLLG's Facebook Page. Moreover, I hope to be including these quirky birds in my indiegogo project where I am giving voice to gardens!

Finches Want to Catch a Glimpse of the Fireworks!

Some visiting finches who have recently come to my urban (NYC) garden (and were recently featured on TLLG's tumblr Pages) and I are now sneaking in this off-schedule blog post, dear reader, as we are taking the opportunity to wish you a meaningful July 4th. It is very hot where I live, and tonight's Macy's Fireworks are sure to be one of those hot-time-summer-in-the-city CROWDED events! 

As it was last year, the Macy's Fireworks will be on the Hudson River, near to where I live, and the river is the direction that the visiting finches are facing in the image at the top of this entry. Their "stance" leads me to believe they have the best seats in the house for this annual fireworks event. Moreover, the finches knew it was "protocol" to arrive early in the morning to guarantee seeing the fireworks — even though they don't start until sundown!