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Thursday, March 31, 2016

Monday, March 28, 2016

"EGGS--PRESSIONS" in honor of Easter Octave Monday


On this Monday within the Octave of Easter, two of my Easter visitors, Mr. and Mrs. Easter Egg took the time to teach one of their youngsters about non-holiday things associated with eggs, including some "EGGS-PRESSIONS."* I was glad they shared the convo with me for I had not heard of some of the "EGGS-PRESSIONS" that they sited and I've posted them below:

Thursday, March 24, 2016

“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.”

TULIPS

Earlier in the week, upon my hearing the news of the terrorist's attacks in Belgium, I thought of CB, a woman in my hood who died in February of 2014. Among others, CB was survived by her sister who, as far as I know, still lives in Belgium. I've only met CB's sister, once, and the occasion was at the luncheon which was held after CB's funeral mass.

As for CB, I initially met her in the 1980's when I was doing some volunteer work for SL, a widow of the man who had headed The William Morris Agency. SL lived in the luxury building, where CB and her husband had a penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park. There is an entrance to Central Park directly across that building, and it one that I’ve used numerous times over my many years in New York City.

And it is at that entrance one can see a tribute to Theodore Roethke, the American poet who lived between the years of 1908 and 1963. Many poets were influenced by his teachings and/or writings including the poet, Sylvia Plath.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

The Luck of the Irish — NOT SO LUCKY FOR PIGS!


A little over three weeks ago, March 1, 2016, I announced here on Blogger that it was #NationalPigDay. In that entry, I had pictures of pigs that have visited my home from time to time, including a different image of the pig that is featured in the photo (accompanying this entry) of her in my succulent garden, where she has been spending the month of March.
The month of March is known as Irish American Month, and today, March 17th, NYC will have its annual parade. The parade is in honor of this heritage, and in honor of of Saint Patrick’s Day.
At the time that I posted my March 1st entry re pigs, I did not know that they are a part of Saint Patrick’s history, but since that posting, I’ve read the following:
“…when (Saint) Patrick was traveling with some sailors on land after they docked their ship in Britain, they had trouble finding enough to eat while crossing through a desolate area of land. The captain of the ship on which Patrick had sailed asked Patrick to pray for the group to find food, since Patrick had told him that God was all-powerful. Patrick told the captain that nothing was impossible for God, and he prayed for food right away. Miraculously, a herd of pigs appeared after Patrick finished praying, in front of where the group of men was standing. The sailors caught and killed the pigs so they could eat, and that food sustained them until they were able to leave the area and find more food…”
I don’t eat meat and have an appreciation for these creatures as Charlotte (from Charlotte’s Web) did! Therefore I found this information to be disturbing! For while pigs may have met luck to the persons traveling with Patrick, this animal type was not so lucky…

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Reflections on "MYSTERIES OF LIFE"





One of my favorite mini essays by E.B. White is, "Mysteries of Life." Recently I referred to it when commenting on an entry on The Writer's Almanac's Facebook Page. And I thought of White's "mysteries" essay again the other morning, prompting me to share it here:
MYSTERIES OF LIFE (9-22-28 E.B. White):
"About once a year the human soul gets into the papers, when British scientist convene. Once a year the mystery of life, the riddle of death, are either cleared up or left hanging. The reports of the learned man enthrall us, and there have been moments when we felt that we were really approaching an understanding of life’s secret. We experienced one of those moments the other morning, reading a long article on the chemistry of the cell. Unfortunately, when we finished we happened to glance into our goldfish tank and saw there was a new inhabitant. Frisky, our pet snail, had given birth to a tiny son while our back was turned. The baby mollusk was even then hunching along the glassy depths, wiggling his feelers, shaking his whelky head. Nothing about Frisky’s appearance or conduct had given us the slightest intimation of the blessed event; and gazing at the little newcomer, we grew very humble, and threw the morning paper away. Life was as mysterious as ever."
The essay came to my mind, not because I was reading through the newspaper to check on the reports of "the learned man," and missed the birth of a creature in the process; rather, I thought of the essay when I woke up this morning after a difficult night caused by my having spent too much time going over and over things I had or hadn't done that made me disappointed in myself.

Friday, March 11, 2016

"It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information." (REPRISED)


Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, the Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet is on the mind — as well as in the heart — of yet another visitor to my succulent garden.
He is pictured here — in my succulent garden — standing below my pencil cactus, and where he told his comrades,*"fifteen things (they) probably didn't know about leprechauns."
He thought they'd appreciate knowing this information, given the fact that Saint Patrick's Day (March 17) will be here in six days!
And before he told them fifteen things that they probably didn't know about leprechauns, he reminded them that "It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information," which is a quotation attributed to Oscar Wilde.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Hat Trivia



One may carry a pot of gold. One may carry a pumpkin. But this leprechaun (first image top) and pilgrim (second image top) have similarities: They both enjoy spending time in my succulent garden, albeit during different times of the year!
However, no matter the season, they both wear nearly the same head gear! So… my question to them has been: Why a buckle on a hat?
They each had the same answer which is this: “Simple. Our hats are based on the one-size-fits-all pattern. The buckle is for a ‘belt’ which you use to adjust the crown to the head size!" (And I thought baseball caps were the first adjustable headwear….)

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Seductive Looking Easter Bunny Causes Irish Eyes To Smile!


The day before yesterday — here on Blogger — I introduced you to a a girl who is visiting my succulent garden for Irish American Month. And yesterday she introduced me to one of her traveling companions, who happens to be a musician.
Both of them are well acquainted with an Irishman, who has also been traveling with them. And they've told me that he has a thing for the ladies. He can be seen here (in the image above) with an Easter bunny, who has arrived to help prep my succulent garden for Easter, which is only nineteen days from today!
She was doing some watering in my succulent garden, while wearing some very skimpy clothing, as she had a case of Spring Fever now that the weather is warming up a bit!
You can see that her attire — or lack of attire — was appreciated by the visiting Irishman, whose Irish eyes were smiling!
Like my visiting bunny, I also got a bit motivated by the warmer temps, as well as the weather reports, that announced the prediction of even warmer ones coming our way!

Monday, March 7, 2016

The Onset of Spring in a Leap Year


I’ve just learned that spring “will be off to a very early start in 2016, thanks to leap day weirdness… This year, spring begins March 19 or 20, depending on your time zone.”
And since the first harbinger of spring in a garden is often chive sprigs (AKA Allium schoenoprasum), it looks like we in the NYC area will be able to give into Spring Fever.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Visitor Arrives In Honor of Irish American Month!


This is the first time that whimsical characters are visiting my indoor succulent garden in honor of Irish American Month, which occurs annually in March. Saint Patrick's Day is eleven days from now, and the figurine pictured here has suggested I get moving along if I want to prepare any treats for the upcoming holidays, something she has already done! This is evidenced by the platter of Irish Oatmeal Cookies she has on the platter that she is holding in her photo-op.
I'm not skilled at baking holiday treats, which is something I confessed (on Fb on Saint Patrick's Day in 2014), when I wrote about a NYC treat shop that featured special Rice Krispie Treats that were designed for the Irish Holiday (you can refer to this Fb entry by clicking here).
In any event, if I were to be good at baking, I probably would need to do it much closer to the actual holiday, to avoid eating any goodies before I had the chance to share them!

Thursday, March 3, 2016

"Oh, say can you see...? " Honoring National Anthem Today


Cardinals are  the state bird for seven of the United States (these include Illinois; Indiana; Kentucky; North Carolina; Ohio; Virginia, and West Virginia). This is  a fact that gave Cam (to the right of her husband in the first picture) bragging rights (as if she needed them) when she put together her book Words In Our Beak Volume One.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Remembering Dr. Seuss on His Birthday



One hundred and twelve years ago, #DrSeuss was born on this day of March the second. 
I have appreciated many of his writings as well as his illustrations, and I have written about his work on here on Blogger as well as tumblrBut its  #DrSeuss's perseverance with his first book, "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street," 


that keeps me going, as I try and promote — as well as sell —  the book I wrote with Cam, Words In Our Beak Volume One.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

A Bit More Info Re #NationalPigDay!


Earlier today (here on Blogger), in honor of this March 1st holiday of #NationalPigDay, I posted an excerpt from E.B. White's, Charlotte's Web. I specifically referred to the passage where Charlotte advcated for a pig that her father was about to kill. (If you'd like to refer to that Blogger entry, please click here.)

Meanwhile, Charlotte can be seen in the first image accompanying this entry. She is holding the pig she saved. She ultimately named him Wilbur. However, Charlotte is not the only one who appreciates this animal, which may be fairly obvious, given there is at least one holiday dedicated to honoring this creature.

According to Holiday Insights, "Ellen Stanley, a Texas art teacher created National Pig Day in 1972. Her intent was to to recognize and be thankful for pigs as intelligent domestic animals." Holiday Insights goes on to say that "there is no evidence to suggest that this is truly a 'National' day, which requires an act of congress." BUT thankfully, lovers of this animal are not waiting for an act of congress to make this holiday official, for we all know congress can't agree on anything!