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Friday, March 30, 2018

Easter Triduum 2018

IMAGE CREDIT
The Easter Triduum for 2018 began last evening and out of respect for events associated with the triduum, I don't plan to be posting until this coming Monday.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

"PLANT THE GARDEN ANYWAY"


I came across this mini essay by E.B. White, who as readers of this blog know, happens to be one of my favorite authors. I hope you enjoy the wit and wisdom in this piece as much as I do.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

The Month of March is N'tl Peanut Month (Tuesday's Truths WK 77)

 CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

Hello, and welcome to the seventy-seventh week of my Tuesday's Truths series. Today happens to be the last Tuesday in the month of March, and I've been reminded by Cam and Mac's daughter, Peanut (seen in the image atop this entry), that the month of March will end soon. March coming to a close is of great concern to Peanut!

This is because in the United States, March is known as National Peanut Month, and Peanut fears that with the month ending, peanuts may not be available. But I assured her that she need not worry about peanuts being unavailable in my rooftop garden!

Monday, March 26, 2018

A Red-Winged Blackbird is Bird Number Eight! (Monday's Musings)




This past Friday I met my eighth new bird type (who can seen in the photographs posted directly above) in this Year of The Bird! I encountered the little fellow when I was walking in Central Park.

This particular is a member of the Red-Winged Blackbird family and his ID, as well as his gender, was confirmed for me by Robert DeCandido PhD. As you may recall, dear reader, DeCandido is the one who ID-ed a Great Blue Heron whom I came upon in Central Park earlier this year. You might also remember that he a provided bird information (gender) when I met a Bufflehead Duck for the first time. Both bird types can be seen in the photos below (respectively).



In any event, I'm very grateful for DeCandido and I hope I can afford to participate in one of his many bird walks in the near future.

But getting back to my coming upon a Red-Winged Black Bird, my encounter with him was by mere chance, for I had gone to the park and headed to the pond in hopes of seeing an American Coot, a bird type that I initially encountered on March 19th under very bad conditions for taking a photo and I was hoping to get a better picture of this bird.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Palm Sunday 2018

IMAGE CREDIT
It is Palm Sunday and out of respect for the occasion, I will not be positing today. See you tomorrow.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Saturday's Sequel (WINTER BACK YARD)


The mini essay, WINTER BACK YARD, which is posted atop this entry was evidently published in The New Yorker sixty-seven years ago today.

It's by E.B. White and, as you may recall, I've already featured this particular essay in bygone years here on Blogger. Because today marks the anniversary of its publication, and because I admire the written works of E.B. White; and because I adore the bird type known as dark-eyed juncoes, I'm posting the essay again.

I so agree with White that these birds "are beautifully turned-out little character(s) who look as though (they) are on (their) way to an afternoon wedding" — or any occasion where one usually dresses up.

A few pictures of a lone junco spending time in my rooftop garden can be seen directly below:

DARK-EYED JUNCOES ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"
DARK-EYED JUNCOES ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"
DARK-EYED JUNCOES ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

I'm not the only one who is impressed when dark-eyed juncoes visit my place.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Yinka Shonibare's Wind Sculpture (SG)




There is currently a twenty-three foot tall fiber-glass sculpture known as Wind Sculpture (SG), which was created by Yinka Shonibare (a British-Nigerian artist), that can be found at at the southeast entrance to Central Park (on the Doris C. Freedman Plaza). It will be there until October 14, 2018.

Partial views of Shonibare's sculpture can be seen in the photographs atop this entry. As you can see by looking in the lower right hand corner of the last picture, a lone pigeon (indicated by an arrow that I've affixed to my photograph) is fascinated by it.

Like this lone pigeon, dear reader, I think you too will fascinated by this work of art, as well as the backstory of the process its creator, Yinka Shonibare (who can be seen in the next picture) goes through to achieve his results.


Therefore, in lieu of my publishing my musings on this masterpiece, please allow me to direct you to an article from untapped cities (where I got this photo of Shonibare); as well as to an article that was published in The Guardian, and also to a page on Wikipedia for further information.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

This Thursday's Testimony is for the Birds! (some of the birds that is)


This particular Thursday (March 22nd"is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 284 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56)."

Mooch and Earl are honoring the day by birding, as seen in the Mutts comic strip posted directly above, where Mooch is being "reprimanded" by a ruby-crowned kinglet for only noticing a robin.

Normally by the twenty-second of March, American Robins  have returned to my urban garden (here in NYC), but the spring season has been slow in getting underway in my area (as I mentioned in yesterday's post here on Blogger) and I haven't seen one spending time in my place as of this entry.

However, I saw them in Central Park, on February 8th, as they may have gotten the memo that the city's groundhog had predicted an early spring (which ended up being fake news) this past Groundhog Day (2-2-2018).

Be that as it may, one of the robins I encountered there can be seen in the set of pictures below.

ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB" VOL 3
ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB" VOL 3
ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB" VOL 3

In any event, American Robins were not the first birds I've seen in Central Park in this year of 2018, which as you may know, has been designated as The Year of the Bird, due to this being the one hundredth anniversary of The Migratory Bird Act.

Ever since the onset of 2018, I've seen the usual cast of avian characters who spend some of their time in Central Park. These include blue jays, Canadian geese, cardinals (female and male), common grackles, European starlings, House sparrows (including a very young one), Mallard ducks (female and male) pigeons, as well as white-throated sparrows. They are all represented below respectively:

BLUE JAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"
CANADIAN GEESE HAVE A STORY IN "WIOB" VOL 2
OTHER CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB" 
OTHER CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"
OTHER GRACKLES ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"
OTHER STARLINGS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"
OTHER SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"



OTHER PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"


For me, this Year of the Bird, has also already provided me with the opportunity to meet a number of bird types whom I've never seen in Central Park.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

This Wednesday's Wisdom is for Snowmen (And it's from Linus!)


Today, March 21st, marked the first full day of spring for 2018, the season "officially" began yesterday at 12:15 PM in NYC, but you would never know it from our weather, as I mentioned in yesterday's blog post.

And today, on our first full day of spring for the 2018 season, we are having our fourth nor'Easter since the new year began (a newspaper article re the event can be found by clicking here).

However, in spite of the inclement weather, I took a walk within nearby Central Park, and came upon a lone black squirrel (pictured directly above) nibbling on an abandoned snowball. On another side of the park, towards the lake, I came upon a snow-person holding a fishing pole.

The creation can be seen in the next picture (where the pole is indicated by a red arrow that I affixed to my photo).


Upon my seeing this snow creature, I recalled a Peanuts comic strip in which Linus had created a snowman standing on his head (and I've posted a copy of the strip directly below).

This strip was published 1-6-1975.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

It's officially the 1st day of Spring in NYC but... (Tuesdays Truths WK 76)


This particular Tuesday marks the seventy-sixth week for my Tuesday's Truths series and it coincides with the first day of spring for 2018, but apparently NYC did not get the memo! Our fourth Nor' Easter is due in tonight. In any event, the silent video atop this entry (from Mutts) honors the season. I hope you enjoy it, dear reader, and that you have a happy spring!

Monday, March 19, 2018

Saint Joseph's Day 2018


Today, March 19th, is the Feast Day of Saint Joseph.  I have a small statue rendered into his likeness above my desk (indicated by the arrow in the photo directly above) to remind me of my need for his intercession on my behalf. I'm grateful for the help that I've received from him in the past and I hope he will continue to come to my aid.  In any event, I've blogged about Saint Joseph in bygone years and in honor of his saint's day, I invite you to reference my entries by clicking here.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Sunday's Sequel: It's a Northern Pintail Duck!



My photos that are atop this entry were featured in this past Friday's blog post (albeit without arrows affixed to them). At the time of that entry, the identity of the duck who is swimming in a body of water within Central Park (where the arrow is pointing) was unknown to me, but I reached out in a Facebook post today and got my answer!

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Saint Patrick's Day 2018

IMAGE CREDIT

Today is St. Patrick's Day, and I wish all of those who celebrate it a safe and happy one! As for me, I've written about the holiday a number of times (including entries here on Blogger, so please click this to read those posts).

Friday, March 16, 2018

Remembering Eugene Schieffelin ETC


The photograph atop this entry is of a statute in Central Park that is in very close proximity to Delacorte Clock — named after philanthropist George T. Delacorte.

According to a web-page, it "is one of the most beloved monuments in the parks of New York City, this musical clock hovers above the arcade between the Wildlife Center and the Children's Zoo."

The aforementioned page goes on to say that "Delacorte conceived of the clock as a modern version of belfries in churches and city halls dating back to the Middle Ages....

... and designer Fernando Texidor collaborated with architect Edward Coe Embury (son of the 1934 zoo’s designer, Aymar Embury II) to create a brick arcaded bridge between the Monkey House (now the Zoo School) and the main Central Park Zoo quadrangle to house the clock and its animal sculpture carousel. Italian sculptor Andrea Spadini (1912–1983) crafted the whimsical bronze sculptures, which depict a penguin, kangaroo, bear, elephant, goat, and hippo parading with a variety of musical instruments as well as two monkeys with mallets that strike the bell."

This page also explains that "Each day between eight in the morning and six in the evening, the clock--now digitally programmed--plays one of thirty-two nursery rhyme tunes on the hour. On the half-hour, the mechanical performance is a bit shorter. The animals rotate on a track around the clock and each also turns on an axis."

I came upon it the clock this afternoon when walking with a friend. I've seen it on many occasions as but in all my years of living in NYC, I've rarely arrived at the clock just as it is about to "perform."

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Thursday's Testimony


I'm feeling a little bit like Franklin (one of the characters featured in the Peanuts Comic Strip atop this entry). As you can see he claims that he leads "a very active Tuesday."

My the past few Tuesdays have also been very active, hence, I have not been able to offer a post (ever since 2-27-2018) for my long running Tuesday's Truths series here on Blogger.

However, unlike Franklin, my Tuesdays have not been filled with fun activities such as his (guitar lessons, Little League games, as well as swim club and '4 H' meetings). Rather, I've been wiped out with a pesky and very nasty cold! Today I seem to be on the mend and I hope to return to my regular blogging schedule in the coming days! Please Stay tuned!

Monday, March 12, 2018

Monday Musings: N'tl Napping Day & DLST

CAM, THE NARRATOR OF "WIOB" GETS HER BEAUTY SLEEP

It's the Monday after the onset of 2018's Daylight Savings Time (DLST) and Cam, my visiting cardinal (pictured above where she is taking a nap under the 'Tamukeyama' which grows in a container that's within my rooftop garden).

This is a picture of Cam that you might recognize as I've featured it in a prior post here on Blogger, and if you have read volume one of her book series, Words In Our Beak (which can be seen in the image directly below), you might recall that it is featured at the conclusion of her story.

SEE PRESS RELEASE

In any  event, Cam has brought it to my attention that any Monday occurring after the onset of DLST, is considered to be a holiday known as National Napping Day.

According to a web-page, "National Napping Day is observed annually the day following the return of daylight saving time.  National Napping Day provides everyone with the opportunity to have a nap and catch up on the hour of sleep they lost due to the spring forward time change."

The aforementioned page goes on to explain the history of this holiday stating: "William Anthony, Ph.D., a Boston University Professor and his wife, Camille Anthony, created National Napping Day in 1999 as an effort to spotlight the health benefits to catching up on quality sleep."

Anthony and his wife proclaim,“We chose this particular Monday because Americans are more ‘nap-ready’ than usual after losing an hour of sleep to daylight saving time."

I confess that I've never heard of National Napping Day, but there is no time like the present to take advantage of it! And just to make sure that I don't miss any more National Napping Days going forward, I've made a list of when they will occur in the coming years.

I've posted the list below for your convenience, dear reader:

March 12, 2018
March 11, 2019
March 9, 2020
March 15, 2021
March 14, 2022
March 13, 2023
March 11, 2024
March 09, 2025

Meanwhile, I hope to get a nap in on this National Napping Day, and if you are so inclined, I suggest that you take one too!

ADDENDUM FALL 2018: 

The digital 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.

MY BOOK SERIES

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 CollectionKaleidoscopic Images and the famous Mandarin duck who visited NYC) can also be found on my FAA pages.

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2021:

When the third volume of the hard-cover version of Words In Our Beak was released, I withdrew from promoting my former versions of Words In Our Beak. 

The very first one is an iBook and went into Apple's book store in 2015.


This was followed by an ePub version...


... that is available on Amazon and was also published in 2015.

Subsequently, Words In Our Beak's digital versions were published as a soft-cover book (with slight variations) by MagCloud in 2017.


Its press release can be read by clicking here.  

Now with the release of BIRD TALES....


... I've been advised to make mention of my early versions of volume one of Words In Our Beak, they do vary ever so slightly in content from the hard-cover version of volume one.

As of this addendum, I do not intend to create digital or soft-cover versions of Words In Our Beak Volume Two or Words In Our Beak Volume Three.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Ellen's passing was one month ago.


Today marks the one month anniversary of the passing of Ellen Rachel McConnell Blakeman, who I met when we were both in the third grade. The image atop this blog post is of a page that she read from An Inside Story, my book length piece about the inner experience of growing up with the medical condition known Neurofibromatosis (NF).

Within the page seen in this text-based image, I tell about an incident that took place at the time when Ellen and I first met.

I've put a red square around Ellen's comment to highlight her wit and insight re the situation. I miss her very much, but I guess going forward, it is far better for me to focus on how Ellen lived her life than on the date of her passing.