The Autumn Clematis (AKA Clematis paniculata or Sweet Autumn Clematis) flowers are in bloom again...

MY SWEET AUTUMN CLEMATIS IS IN HAS A STORY IN WIOB

A true sign of fall: the Autumn Clematis (AKA Clematis paniculata or Sweet Autumn Clematis) flowers (which grow in my rooftop garden) are in bloom again...

Some (there are many more which are off camera) of this vine's new buds and flowers (seen in the image atop this entry and in the pictures directly below) have been featured in a number of posts here on Blogger.

MY SWEET AUTUMN CLEMATIS IS FEATURED IN WIOB

The flowers may look delicate, but they are very hardy, especially when you realize that my Sweet Autumn Clematis has endured being upended for two garden "renovations."

It's still September (barely), but....

I saw the cartoon posted atop this entry on a friend of a friend's FB page, and while it's still September (we sill have two more days), I wanted to share it with you, dear reader. Though it may still be too early for "Boo-shit," it is probably not too early to get Halloween cards to send to those near and dear to you.

How does your indoor garden grow?

On this last Friday in the month of September, I would be remiss to not mention that last week (the third week in September) was National Indoor Plant Week.

According to Holiday Insights (HI),"this particular "celebration" was created to promote and increase awareness of the importance of live plants in internal spaces. Those spaces can be your home, an office where you work, a hospital, or even an indoor shopping mall." 

Furthermore, HI proclaims, "Indoor plants are widely popular in American homes. Yet, with their passive nature blending into the decorum of the home, they are seldom thought of, and sometimes ignored."

I confess that recently I've been guilty of not giving my indoor garden (which can seen in the image atop this entry featuring fall-themed figurines who have stopped by to visit it) the same attention and care that I give to my rooftop garden.

A Jack-O-Lantern Birding

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

October will begin this Monday so it's probably not too early to get your Halloween cards to send to those near and dear to you. My card, House Finches Trick or Treating (seen in the image atop this entry), can be purchased via Fine Art America.

For your information, dear reader, it also makes a great invitation if you will be entertaining on Halloween. I personally think it should be called A Jack-O-Lantern Birding, but these male house finches who visited my rooftop garden would only sign a release for me to use their photo if I put their name in the title!

But my Jack-O-Lantern didn't mind, he gets such pleasure out of seeing these birds that letting them have their say in the card's title was a small price for the joy these creatures bring to him.

Besides, the Jack-O-Lantern is featured in volume two of my Words In Our Beak book series...

VOLUMES ONE AND TWO

...and he did ask that I let you know he can be found on page forty-five of that book as evidenced below.

SOME PAGES FROM VOLUME TWO

This particular volume includes the impact (positive and negative) certain Halloween decor can have on the well being of members of the avian community ...

SOME PAGES FROM VOLUME TWO

... and it might make a nice treat to give (in honor of Halloween) to anyone who has birds visiting their yard,

FALL 2018 ADDENDUM: 

Hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can 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 Collection, Kaleidoscopic 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.  [The press release does note my Kindle version of the digital Words In Our Beak, but I withdrew it from Amazon a few years ago and at this time, I do not intend to make it live again.]

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.

Consider the Toad Lilies AKA Tricyrtis... (Wednesday's Wisdom)

A flower from a toad lily growing in my rooftop garden can be seen in the picture atop this entry.  I first wrote about this flora variety in August of 2016 after Juan V (JV) had planted her in a box style container that also is a home to my Sweet Autumn Clematis.*

These delicate lily-like flowers got their common name (Toad Lily) from the fact that many of them have spotted petals. Perennials gardeners have learned that they make dependable color in the garden during late summer and fall when most other flowers are gone, as evidenced in my photo which was taken this September.

Galeux d’Eysines, Bumpy Gourds, & The Muscovy Duck, what's bumps got to do with it? (Tuesday's Truths WK 95)

In yesterday's blog post, I mentioned that while on my way to a greenmarket and the green-flea (on the UWS) this past Sunday, I noticed (as did many others, including the police) that a raccoon was looking down (from the tree tops near some scaffolding) on all who passed by. I also mentioned that I was at the market longer than I anticipated, so I never did find out what happened to the creature; for when I returned all evidence of the incident, including on-lookers and policemen were gone.

One of the reasons for my tarrying at the greenmarket was that I spotted a pair bumpy looking pumpkins (pictured above) at Gaia's Breath Farm's "vending" stand and took the time to ask about them. I learned from a kind woman working there that these are a variety known as a peanut pumpkins, a term which I immediately googled after putting the one I got atop the urban hedge in my rooftop garden.

According to a gardening-related web-page, "the peanut pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima ‘Galeux d’Eysine’) is an heirloom pumpkin varietal notable for its distinctive peanut-like growths peppering the exterior of its pink hued rind. Certainly unique looking, some might say unattractive, the 'peanuts' are actually a buildup of excess sugar in the flesh of the pumpkin."

I was not surprised to learn that some say the Galeux d’Eysine was "unattractive" because of having peanut-like growths. However, it is the peanut-like growths that drew my attention, because they reminded me of my own lumps and bumps (that I deplore so much that I rarely alllow my picture to be taken, but for purposes of this entry, one is included towards the end) which I have as a result of being born with the medical (neurological) condition, Neurofibromatosis Type-One.

Monday's Musings: It's not just for the birds, raccoons also do people-ing.

Yesterday I reported on TLLG's Facebook Page, the following: when I was walking up Columbus Avenue, heading towards the greenmarket and green-flea on the UWS, there was a large raccoon who was doing some people-ing from a treetop near to some scaffolding; as evidenced in the picture atop this entry, where the creature can be seen seen "spying" on all who happened to pass by.

POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY ...

... for 2018 took place this past Friday, September 21.

The United States’ National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed across the nation on the third Friday of September each year. Many Americans take the time to remember those who were prisoners of war (POW) and those who are missing in action (MIA), as well as their families.

I've honored this solemn holiday in by gone years, but was not able to post on 2018's official day for remembering POWS and those who are MIA.

But if truth be told, one should think of those in these situations more than during a once a year date and I hope my belated posting will bring solace to have loved ones that have been categorized as "prisoners of war" or "missing in action."

Linus's Reminder For Autumn's First Day 2018

We are far too early for the "leaves in a pile situation" since it's only the first day of Autumn, but Linus's advice is something to keep in mind as we enter the fall season.

The 1st time I met a Cairina moschata... (Throwback Thursday)

THIS MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

It's September 20th 2018 and last year on this day, I took a walk to the 79th Street Boat Basin and encountered a Muscovy duck (AKA Cairina moschata), a bird type whom I'd never seen before and whose picture can be seen atop this posting.

Wednesday's Wisdom: Celebrate Pirates

For this Wednesday's Wisdom, I'm reminding you (with the help of Sandra Boynton, whose image is atop this entry) that today, September 19th, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, so it's time to use your "pirate-speak."

Holiday Insights reminds readers that "it is not a requirement to dress like a pirate today. Just talk like one." 

And if you'd like to read more about this holiday, please refer to my September 19, 2016 posting here on Blogger.

My NYSEC Booking: Tuesday's Truths WK 94

As of this posting, I am scheduled to give a talk/presentation at a prominent institution on NYC's UWS, known as NYSEC (New York Society for Ethical Culture) that is related to issues raised in my Words In Our Beak book series (hence the image atop this ninety-fourth entry of my Tuesday's Truths series).

Friday's Follow-up to my 9-12-2017 Post

Atop this blog entry is an image that I saw on an FB Page of someone that I knew (and haven't  seen since) in high school. The photograph instantly made me think of a recent entry that I made on TLLG's FB Page regarding NYC's Tribute In Light, which pays homage to the victims of the September 11th terrorists attacks on the World Trade  Center.

Last year in an entry here on Blogger, I wrote about the danger this tribute poses to migrating birds.

At this time, I'm so grateful to learn that NYC Audubon has made great progress in their efforts to minimize — if not eliminate — the danger this solemn, well-intended, tribute causes migrating birds.

Throw Back Thursday: #NationalPeanutDay

IMAGE CREDIT

Today is National Peanut Day (hence the web-image atop this post). It is a holiday that I discussed in a prior post (published in 2016) making it "eligible" for a Throw Back Thursday entry. You may reference that posting by clicking here, and as I stated there, and reiterate today, #NationalPeanutDay is for the birds for they celebrate no matter what the day or the weather!

The Seventeenth Anniversary of 9-11 (Tuesday's Truths WK 93)

The truth for segment ninety-three of my series, is that this day marks the seventeenth anniversary of the September Eleventh terrorists attacks. Please click here to see what I've posted about them in bygone years.

Monday's Memory stems from PEANUTS...

.... this strip was published on this day of September 10th in 1982. But Charlie Brown is wrong, Summer is never over on September 10th! The official ending of the season for summer in my hemisphere takes place around September 22nd — twelve days after the tenth, CB!

Thursday's Testimony: 9/6 is Read a Book Day

According to a number of sources, September 6th is National Read a Book Day, a web-page has this to say re the holiday:

"Break out your reading glasses and favorite mug of hot coffee, because it’s National Read a Book Day! Some people just can’t stop reading, but most of us tend to put reading on the back burner with other 'maybe later' activities like hitting the gym or cleaning the oven. Life can definitely get in the way of our reading time, but National Read a Book Day is the perfect opportunity to make some time in your life to read. Whether you’re a sci-fi fanatic, a non-fiction buff, or a not-so-often reader, there is a book out there just for you. This holiday literately reminds us that entertainment isn’t limited to what you can watch on a screen or hear through your speakers. Books can bring whole new worlds to life, not to mention shed light on world events and share perspectives on the human experience in a way that other mediums just can’t. In a world of increasing technology and screen-based communication, National Read a Book Day encourages us to switch off and turn the pages for a while."

Tuesday's Truths, the Ninety-Second Week: "Vous pouvez porter blanc toute l' année!"

CoCo Chanel's quote, "Vous pouvez porter blanc toute l' année," that's within the title of today's post may sound familiar to you, dear reader, as it was included in the title of a blog post that I published here on the Tuesday after Labor Day in 2011 (although at that time I was not running my Tuesday's Truths series).

Incidentally, the picture atop this entry was also featured in the aforementioned entry. When I wrote that entry, I referred to the white flowers which were growing in my rooftop garden including a variety of Echinacea, such as the one seen in the photos directly below....

...  as well as the flowers growing on my Autumn Clematis.

I'm not sure why I didn't mention (in the blog post which I've been referencing) the white flowers produced by my Tree Peony — AKA Paeonia suffruiticosa — whose flowers are featured in the images below...

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

... perhaps I failed to do so because by the Tuesday after Labor Day in 2011 this particular shrub was long past its thriving days (which always occur in April through early May).

Labor Day 2018

Honoring Labor Day with a copy of the Mutts comic strip posted atop this entry, but I'm not doing any of the activities Earl mentions for my holiday.

As for Cam, pictured below...

THE NARRATOR OF "WORDS IN OUR BEAK" TAKES A NAP

.... she is catching up on her much needed zzzz's for this holiday After all, she's put many long hours into volume three of her Words In Our Beak book series, which will hopefully be out in the early days of fall (as I mentioned in a previous blog post).

FALL 2018 ADDENDUM: 

Hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can 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 Collection, Kaleidoscopic Images and the famous Mandarin duck who visited NYC) can also be found on my FAA pages.