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Sunday, November 23, 2014

"Words in Our Beak" UPDATE

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

It has been a little over six months since my last entry (May 14, 2014) here on Blogger; and in that post, I mentioned I was taking a hiatus from Blogger to work on a book (WORDS IN OUR BEAK), that I'm co-authoring with Cam, a cardinal who visits my urban rooftop garden.

Progress is being made and if you'd like to see the details, please click here.

ADDENDUM FALL 2018: 

The non-hardcover version (or versions)  of Volume One within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can now be found wherever books are sold. Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books.

MY BOOK SERIES

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.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

UPDATE ON TLLG'S CYBER-VENUES

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
This image is of a sign in a store front on Columbus Avenue in NYC. It was posted in an Indian restaurant that never re-openned and ultimately was taken over by someone else and turned into an expensive wine bar. 

I don't know for sure but I assume that when the sign was posted (September of 2011), the proprietors of the Indian restaurant intended to only be closed for the day, not permanently. But alas things happen. And as I've said in prior posts, and will probably say again (re quoting an anonymous scholar), "if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." 

As a writer, my take on the quotation has always been, if you want to make your muse laugh, tell him/her your plans, and I must've really had my muse laughing when I laid out my intent for this blog going forward.

For  at this time, I am unable to post regularly on Blogger! My reason for no longer being able to commit to a schedule here on Blogger is because the book (Words In Our Beak) that I am co-authoring with Cam, is about the only writing endeavor my muse will allow, except for posts on TLLG's Facebook Page, which I hope you will follow in my absence from Blogger.

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Consequence of Reporting on Sturnus vulgaris (European starlings)





On Sunday, March 16th 2014, the day before a number of folks were due to celebrate the Saint Patrick's Day holiday, I realized another holiday was taking place. The holiday I am referring to is the 124th anniversary of the arrival of the bird type known as Sturnus vulgaris (European starlings) in New York City, the city where I live and have an urban garden that this bird type is now visiting. It appears they truly enjoy noshing here as evidenced by the photos above.

Friday, March 14, 2014

MARCH: The new month of NO's?

No sun - no moon! 
No morn - no noon - 
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day. 
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, 
No comfortable feel in any member - 
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, 
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! 
November! 

Thomas Hood wrote a poem called "No," which is posted atop this entry. Hood's poem may be familiar to TLLG's readers for I've referred to it in a number of cyber venues. including a prior post here on Blogger.

But, it is not November that has been a month of no's for me, for November in bygone years is when birds, (including tufted titmouses) visited my rooftop garden (in 2012)! And so did cardinals (2012 and 2013)!

Moreover, this past November, as most TLLG readers know, I was graced by the extended visit of Emily, a lone Baltimore oriole. As I have stated on TLLG's FB Page, Emily arrived on November 16th 2013 and visited me daily until December 26 2013; then she returned on January 30th 2014, but her visits since that time have been on a sporadic basis: the last time I saw her was on February 16th 2014, the third day of GBBC (Great Backyard Bird Count). Not only has Emily stayed away, but so have Cam and Mac, my cardinal couple, and I have seen no tufted titmouses either! 

Therefore, the month of no's for me, has been March.

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.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

An UPDATE: Tweeting and Reflecting (Details on The New Direction for TLLG on Blogger)


Tweet! Tweet! (View One)
I also posted this image on WBU-MICH FB Page
Tweet! Tweet! (View Two)
I also posted this image on TLLG'S FB Page

It has been over a month since I posted here on Blogger, and I'd like to use today's entry as an opportunity to state what my intentions are for this blog in the days to come, for I feel I have gotten away from my original hope re this endeavor, an endeavor I began on the last day of 2009, when I set up this blog, stating:

"Now that I've gotten the setting up of my blog underway (and making my New Year's resolution to stick with a posting schedule, it seems I may be passée. I understand many people have moved on to 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 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, 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:"





Now, today, March 6, 2014, as I look back on my initial (December 2009) intent for this blog, which was at a time I knew very little about social media, I realize that in some ways, I've succumbed to the "pressure" of tweeting, albeit through my Facebook (FB) and Pinterest postings being automatically tweeted (it's rare that I compose a direct tweet from twitter), and I've neglected what is near, as well as dear, to my soul: generating more in-depth content.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART TWO (For February 2013)


Hello and welcome to part two of my 2013 year-end garden review which I introduced in a prior post here on Blogger when I discussed certain "events" that occurred in my urban (NYC) terrace garden in January of 2013. 

Today's post will focus on a specific event that seemed to be the main focus re my garden in February 2013. That event was the unexpected and brutal "attack" of Nemo, a nor'easter causing a couple of my trees to topple over from the wind and weight of heavy snowfall; and not from the cocktails they may or may not have been drinking.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

The PLOT Thickens (Re Emily)


The last time I posted here on Blogger, which was January the Fourteenth, I made a link available re a tribute I'd written in honor of Emily, the Baltimore oriole featured in the images above and below this narrative.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

"PRESS" RELEASE: Tribute to Emily (a LONE Baltimore oriole)


For those of you who do not "do Facebook" or read posts on hometalk or tumblr, but, who might be interested in what happened to Emily, (who was introduced here on Blogger in November 2013), and who is the lone Baltimore oriole pictured above (alighting on a bird bath in my urban — NYC — garden); I have posted a tribute to her that also addresses the loss of visiting birds, and you may read it by clicking here.

Friday, January 10, 2014

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART ONE (FOR January 2013)


On this tenth day of the new year, my champagne loving character (pictured above) and I offer you, dear reader, cheers and all good wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2014.

Usually by this time in a given January here on TLLG's Blogger pages, I have offered my salutations, spoken about resolutions, written reflections on The Feast of the Epiphany as well as reflections on Three Kings Day; and I have even been in the process of writing a year-end reflection of the comings and goings in my urban (NYC) terrace garden.

This year, 2014  salutations were posted on TLLG's FB Page, and mentions of Epiphany with salutations were discussed on hometalk. As for 2014's Three King's Day, I posted info about it on TLLG's FB Page as well as hometalk, where I offered new content re specifics of traditions to honor the day. 

Alas, I did not get the chance to post anything here on Blogger, but please don't feel slighted as I am even further behind in my "correspondence" with my tumblr community!

In any event, having just told you where I've been spending my blogging energies, I will tell you that in terms of my annual year-end reflections on comings and goings in my rooftop garden, I've "saved" the topic for the community I have here (but may refer others, especially those interested in gardening, to this content).

Last year's year-end review (for 2012) spanned a number of entries here on Blogger (fifteen) from January 5, 2013 through January 20, 2013

My year-end review for 2013 will be set up in a similar manner but will not span as many entries. For 2012's garden circumstances included coping with a few upheavals in my garden such a so-called building renovation, preparing for a hurricane that was ultimately named Super Storm Sandy which was followed by preparing for a nor' easter

Thankfully, the aforementioned events were not a part of my 2013 gardening endeavors!

The format for my 2013 garden year-end review will span twelve months as I'll use the first day of a given month to take a look back. 

And now without further ado, the 2013 year-end garden review!