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Friday, November 30, 2018

Remembering Albert Loth Youngquist


I don't want this day to pass without mentioning my father, Albert Loth Youngquist, who died on this day of November 30th in 1995.

In the photo atop this entry, he can be seen holding me up when we were on a Florida beach. His parents are standing there with us.  I was two or three years old at the time.

It still saddens me that he left our family when I was in elementary school and that I had so little time with him growing up because he was a wonderful man!

May he be resting in peace.

Friday Follow Up: My Event at NYSEC


Just a quick follow-up for my well wishers re the speaking engagement (about birds and related issues) that I had this past Monday (11-26) at the New York Society for Ethical  Culture (NYSEC):

JG, the wonderful man who has been rehearsing my presentation with me for several weeks made himself available for a quick run through of my talk with slide show and to help me schlep some volumes of my Words In Our Beak series to the event, which was beyond helpful, since torrents of rain happened to be falling and I already had to carry my computer and other equipment.

Moreover,  he surprised me with a "bouquet" of Paper Whites, which can be seen in the photo atop this entry.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Monday, November 26, 2018

Tonight's THE night!


Tonight's the night of my talk at the New York Society for Ethical Culture (NYSEC) located at 2 West 64th Street. It will start at 6:30 PM and is scheduled until 8:00 PM.

Please see press release for details.

By the way, the photo atop this posting is a very partial of The Adler Study, the room where my event is to take place.

I hope the seats are filled to the max and that audience members will enjoy the presentation, which is mostly based on the birds featured in my book series, Words In Our Beak.


MY BOOK SERIES


But I will also include info re the now celeb Mandarin duck as he spends a lot of his time in the pond  that is located in the area of Central Park that is not too far from NYSEC...

SEE MY FAA COLLECTION FOR IMAGE DETAILS

... as seen here in my photo that NYSEC used to promote the venue.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Sunday's Suggestion: Mark your Calendars!


As I've been saying for the past three days (Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday, and yesterday) here on Blogger, FAA (Fine Art America), the place who renders my photographs on to greeting cards as seen in the examples below, including one of my many images of the now world famous Mandarin duck ... 

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

... as well as two of my many kaleidoscopic images ...

AVAILABLE VIA FAA
AVAILABLE VIA FAA

... and one from the number of images within my Words In Our Beak book series ...

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

... is offering free shipping on all merchandise through tomorrow, Monday, 11-26-2018 .*** (at midnight EST), so please mark your calendars. My cards are perfect for the many upcoming holidays as well as for any occasion; and people seem to always enjoy receiving a card through the mail.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Small Business Saturday 2018


Today is Small Business Saturday, and folks in cyberspace are promoting it with hashtags including #ShopSmall or #SmallBusinessSaturday, as well as with images such as the one featured atop this entry. 

A well known small business's web-page who is using a copy of this particular image has this to re this Saturday's annual "observance:"

Small Business Saturday "always happens the Saturday after Thanksgiving .... Small Business Saturday was started in 2010 as a way to encourage shoppers to patronize businesses that are small and local. This was in counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which feature big box retail and e-commerce stores.  Started almost surprisingly by American Express, it wasn't until the next year in 2011 that the day became official with governors, mayors, senators and even President Obama voicing support for Small Business Saturday. "

I certainly recall the onset of putting Small Business Saturday on the calendar back in 2010, for I discussed the topic in an entry here on Blogger at that time.

As a published author and creator of photographs that can be reproduced on to greeting cards, various surfaces for wall art; as well as on household items or on to things for personal use, I consider myself to be a small business owner, albeit without a brick and mortar store.

And I certainly appreciate it when any brick and mortar store is willing to carry my books and or "products" that have incorporated my photographs.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Take Advantage of Black Friday Savings (Without Going to a Mall)


It's Black Friday, a day known for specials and savings in the shopping malls, a place that Snoopy seems to think is pretty good, as evidenced in the PEANUTS Comic Strip atop this entry. BUT, here's a savings you can take take advantage without leaving your home, all you need is access to the Internet!

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Thanksgiving Day 2018 + November 22nd: JFK's Assassination + My Father's Last Words (PLUS AN UPDATE FROM FAA!)





On this Thanksgiving Day of 2018, I can hear the bands from Macy's Parade through my window, but have not gone outside to see it. The temperatures are some of the lowest on record for this day, and the wind gusts are abnormally high, which means the Macy's Balloons will be flying low to the ground, and not as easy to see, since people stand on ladders and put toddlers on their shoulders.



I'm not concerned re not seeing the balloons today, for I've seen them over the course of many years as they made their way down Central Park West ...

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Thanksgiving Travel



On one of busiest travel days of the year, the day before Thanksgiving, here's some breaking news re my figurines! A pair of pilgrims save turkeys from being someone's holiday dinner by traveling atop them to a destination wedding — that is taking place in a grove of candy-corn trees!


What will your mode of transportation be re this holiday, dear reader?

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Mandarin duck T Shirts = 50% off! Today only! (Tuesday's Truths WK 103)


For my 103rd segment of Tuesday's Truths, I'm informing you that I received a notification (via email) late last night that Fine Art America (FAA) is offering a promotion that is only good for today, November 20th, 2018.

Here's the deal; Up until midnight EST, FAA is allowing me to offer my images of the now famous Mandarin duck (in Central Park) when rendered on their T shirts for folks to buy at a 50% discount!

The image atop this entry is an example of how the T shirts looks, but for a clearer image, details re fabric used, background color choices, Mandarin image choices, sizes; and pricing, please click here to view all within my collection on FAA.

These T shirts make perfect gifts to satisfy bird lovers — especially ones who have experienced Mandarin mania. They are also a great gift idea for the upcoming holidays of Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanza!

I will be featuring a few details re the Mandarin duck in my upcoming talk on the Monday after Thanksgiving, 11-26-2018 (which is six days from now) at NYSEC (The New York Society for Ethical Culture). Click here for details.

Monday, November 19, 2018

Mark your calendars for the Monday after Thanksgiving; It's one week from Today!

An event that I've been writing about here on Blogger and in other cyber venues is one week from today, which is the Monday after Thanksgiving. This is just a reminder during this time of hustle and bustle, to please mark your calendars and share the info with those near and dear to you: 

I will be the guest speaker at NYSEC's (New York's Society for Ethical Culture) Speaking of Science series on Monday, 11-26-2018. The details on the "photocopy" of the flyer posted directly above may be a bit hard to read, so I'm taking the liberty of copying and pasting the content below:

Studying the wild birds in NYC and surrounding areas has important implications for understanding the similarities of human behavior and the behaviors of members within the avian community. The topics I will cover in my presentation include how birds teach us about the human race in such matters (to name a few) as finding our voice, ways in which we compensate our behaviors to meet our needs, accepting our physical appearances, and how bullying impacts our lives.

Patricia Youngquist is the author of the three volume “Words In Our Beak” book series, published by Ingram Spark, in which stories are told from the bird’s-eye perspective of Cam, a female cardinal that regularly visited her rooftop garden located near NYSEC and is illustrated with her own photographs. Prior to publishing this series, Youngquist published an article on Google Mapping for Contribute Magazine as well as over a thousand posts on her blog (thelastleafgardener.com). It has been listed (by feed_spot) in the top one hundred urban blogs. Her earlier impressionist and kaleidoscopic photography has been exhibited in NYC which led to radio interviews with John Montone’s New York for 1010 WINS and The AL Lewis Show with Karen Lewis for WBAI. All of her work, including these radio interviews, can be found on her website, patriciayoungquist.com

Date: Monday, November 26, 2018 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Location: Adler Study, Room 514
Admission: Members $5, Guests $10

Also please note, copies of all the books in my Words In Our Beak series will be available for purchase after the event ...

THE WORDS IN OUR BEAK BOOK SERIES
... and if you'd like I can autograph any copy.

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Happy 90th Birthday, Mickey Mouse!


It is Mickey Mouse's 90th birthday today (having been born on 11-18-1928). And in 1934, when he was only six years old he appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, "making him the third pop-culture character to have a licensed balloon in the parade. This balloon was 40 feet high, 26 feet wide, and required 25 handlers...

... A second balloon, which was slightly more colorful, was created and test flighted in 1971 and was originally supposed to debut that year to celebrate the opening of the Walt Disney World resort in Florida, but due to the weather all balloons had to be grounded, and so it debuted in 1972, appearing alongside his pal Donald Duck. 1935 and 1972 are the only years in the parades history where Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse both appeared in the parade together as balloons. The balloon continued to be used until after the 1983 parade...

... After 17 years of absence, Mickey returned in 2000 with a "Bandleader" balloon, which led that year's balloon lineup. This balloon did not return after that year...

...Several years later, a fourth balloon of Mickey was made, depicting him as a sailor; it debuted in 2009 to celebrate the announcement of the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy cruise ships. This new Mickey was retired in 2012, as both ships had set sail by that time." 

(More info @ http://bit.ly/2qPUDaw)

For  your information, dear reader, the image you see atop this blog posting is of Mickey rendered as a balloon was taken just before he retired in 2012. As you can see, he peers into windows!

It's a "Mallard-something" Hybrid!



Many thanks to #RobertDeCandidoPhD for emailing me re this bird's (seen in the two photos directly above) ID. "This is a mallard-something hybrid, a larger version of a mallard whose ancestors were (a) a mallard and (b) a large white duck that was bred as a table (dinner - to be eaten) duck that was probably all-white."

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Take Note of Gift Ideas ETC




Take Note, peeps who love seeing and/or hearing about the Mandarin duck who has been visiting NYC: I developed a collection of 10 spiral notebooks (one through three can be seen in the images atop this entry).

Friday, November 16, 2018

Attention! The American coot is NOT a duck! (Friday's Fact)


The other day Wednesday (11-14-2018), the "cat and mouse" Mandarin duck who has been making headlines in NYC, returned to the pond near 59th Street in Central Park.

In the image atop this entry, he can be swimming with a Wood duck as a pair of "birding" Mallards gaze at them.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID, Bible Readers: Scripture needs to say "AS a sparrow..." (Wednesday's Wisdom)

SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

The other week I saw a male house sparrow bathing in a puddle that was on the part of a greenway that runs along the Hudson River.

Upon my seeing the little creature I instantly thought of Henry David Thoreau's quote which was in response to how he felt when this bird type was visiting his property.

He is known to have saidI once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.”

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

I recently met a new (to me) bird type: Hooded Mergansers! (Tuesday's Truths WK 102)


This past Sunday when I was looking in the waters of Turtle Pond, I observed a never before seen by me bird type, a pair of Hooded Mergansers. This was my sixteenth new encounter (in this Year of the Bird) with avian creatures whom I've never seen before.

According to a number of sources, including Wikipedia, where a page states, "The hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a species of small duck. It is the only extant species in the genus Lophodytes. The genus name derives from the Greek language: lophos meaning 'crest', and dutes meaning diver... both sexes have crests that they can raise or lower, and the breeding plumage of the male is handsomely patterned and colored. The hooded merganser has a sawbill but is not classified as a typical merganser. Hooded mergansers are the second smallest species of merganser, with only the smew of Europe and Asia being smaller, and it also is the only merganser whose native habitat is restricted to North America."

I have a long lens on my camera, but not long enough to get great pictures of the male (black on head) + female (brown on head)! Still I did enjoy seeing them swimming in Turtle Pond and you can see them in the picture atop this post.

Monday, November 12, 2018

My talk/presentation at NYSEC is in 2 WKs! Theo plans to attend!


Yesterday I was invited to attend an informal event for a man named Theo who lives in my hood, he can be seen in the image atop this entry where he is being interviewed for a documentary film being made about him.

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Veterans Day 2018


On this Veterans Day of 2018, I've posted a screen shot of a web-image featuring a quote attributed to Jose Narosky, I've referenced the quote in bygone years in entries here on Blogger, I'm sure I can add no wisdom to Narosky's words, so please let them suffice for this solemn day.

Saturday, November 10, 2018

ANNOUNCEMENT: My Mandarin duck images are now available via FAA (Fine Art America)!

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

A well-respected birder in the NYC area suggested I put some of the photographs that I've taken of the Mandarin duck (who has been visited the Boat Basin on the Hudson River and who has been spending time in Central Park) up on Fine Art America (FAA); so that they could be rendered into wall art and greeting cards; as well as be printed on an array of "products," such as notebooks and essentials for the home.

Friday, November 9, 2018

Ducks in a row and not in a row...


The "Ducks in a row..." seen in the picture atop this entry, where they are swimming in the pond  in Central Park, include a Wood duck, a Mandarin duck, and a Mallard duck (respectively).

And the set of images directly below feature other duck types, a Khaki Campbell (swimming in the Hudson River), a Bufflehead, (swimming in the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir), and a Muscovy, who is also swimming in the Hudson (respectively).



THIS MUSVOVY DUCK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

The latter of these, a Muscovy, is featured in volume three of my Words In Our Beak book series...

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Has the Mandarin has gotten out of Dodge?



I saw this You Tube video in my newsfeed and wanted to share it with you, dear reader, especially since I've blogged about the unusual avian visitor featured in this clip.

I'm very thankful that I got to see the now famous Mandarin duck while he was visiting Central Park, especially since it appears he is gone. If you'd like to read about my experiences seeing this duck pls chk out my blog posts where you will also find a number of photographs of this amazing bird.

Now in his likely permanent absence, I'm trying to heed the wisdom in a quote of Dr. Seuss, “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

ADDENDUM: Nearly a little over eight hours after publishing this entry, I'm happy to report that the video included here may have been unintentionally broadcasting fake news — or premature news — for I received a notification that the Mandarin duck has once again been seen spending time in Central Park!

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

"We are all just passin' through..." (Wednesday's Wisdom)


The image atop this entry is a screenshot of a tweet from Manhattan Bird Alert. Accompanying the image of this Mandarin duck, (who has been making headlines as I've discussed here on Blogger) their text states: Where is our MANDARIN DUCK? He was not reported yesterday, and we checked the likely spots late day. If you see him, let us know! He likely still is in Central Park, but he has been known to fly to the Hudson River 79th-Street Boat Basin.

Hope that Manhattan Bird Alert is correct! I not only hope the creature is doing well; I would more than welcome a chance to see this beauty again either in Central Park or at the 79th-Street Boat Basin on the Hudson River.

Like the author of the tweet, I've also heard (through very reliable sources who do not report fake news) that this Mandarin did spent time near the Boat Basin and I was also told he got along very well with Jewel, the Muscovy duck (seen in the picture below) who lives there year round.

THIS MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

Jewel, as some of you may know, is featured in volume three of my book series, Words In Our Beak, and that I have announced that I will be discussing her impact on my life when I give my talk at NYSEC (New York Society for Ethical Culture) on November 26, 2018.

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Tuesday's Truths WK 101: November No's

No sun--no moon!
No morn--no noon!
No dawn--no dusk--no proper time of day--
No sky--no earthly view--
No distance looking blue--

No road--no street--
No "t'other side the way"--
No end to any Row--
No indications where the Crescents go--

No top to any steeple--
No recognitions of familiar people--
No courtesies for showing 'em--
No knowing 'em!

No mail--no post--
No news from any foreign coast--
No park--no ring--no afternoon gentility--
No company--no nobility--
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!

In honor of it being six days since the onset of yet another November, I'm sharing the poem (as I've done for many years during this month) that's atop today's blog entry as my "segment" for this one hundredth and one segment of my Tuesday's Truths series.

Today is also the day for midterm elections in the United States and I'm certain there are people on both sides of the aisle who are hoping for a "NO" to be had in the election's outcome.

Be that as it may, this poem is by Thomas Hood. I've written about Hood a few times here on Blogger. If you'd like to reference my posts re him, please click here.

Monday, November 5, 2018

My event at NYSEC is 3 Wks from today! (Monday's Memo)

THIS MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

You've surely heard of humans "swimming with dolphins...," dear reader! But I'm wondering if have you heard that there is a Muscovy duck who swims with Khaki Campbells?

This is evidenced by the pictures within this blog post featuring Jewel, a Muscovy who is spending her time swimming with the Campbells in the NYC's Hudson River, which she has been doing for many years!

THIS MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

THIS MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

THIS MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

This Muscovy has taught me a thing or two about myself which is part of what I will be discussing at my lecture for November 2018's Speaking of Science series at the New York Society for Ethical Culture (NYSEC) that is scheduled for three weeks from today (11-26-2018).