National Camera Day 2019

IMAGE CREDIT

According to a number of web-pages, including, National Day Calendar, (AKA NDC), June 29th (which is today) is National Camera Day. One of the things NDC states is "... This day commemorates photographs, the camera, and their invention. A camera is an irreplaceable tool used to record and replicate memories, events, and people/places..." I find it interesting that NDC considers one of the purposes of is to "replicate memories..."

Many of my childhood experiences of being photographed for a family picture seemed be that the intent behind the camera wasn't replicating a memory of what was occurring, rather, it was to creatue  an ideal which wasn't there. For example, in the following picture I can be seen (at the far right) with my family.

We are all seated on our front porch, the front porch my father constructed when he built our house (that we ultimately lost when our family came apart), the house which my grandfather, who was an electrician wired; and, we are looking quite like the family living the American dream, which could not have been further from the truth! My father moved away soon after that Christmas card photo was taken, which resulted in my mother 's proclaiming (for years to come) how much she hated Christmas, and for years to come she did send cards.

Saw a Great Egret in Central Park Again! (Friday Follow-Up)

A few days ago, in the late evening of Wednesday, June 26, I took a walk to the landing alongside the
Delacorte Theatre (in Central Park) with the hopes of observing tortoises in the Turtle Pond which the  landing overlooks. As usual there were numerous turtles swimming in the pond but there were a few teenaged boys standing near the railing so it was hard to get a close view of these reptiles.

The boys were there with fishing gear and speculating on the possibility of their being able to catch catfish.

In very close proximity to the landing a Great Egret was slowly making his/her away along one of the pond's edges. She/he can be seen doing this in the photographs atop this entry.

It had been exactly one month since I saw this avian variety when I was at the lake in Central Park and took a picture of him/her (seen below) with some NYC skyline in the background.

Now, one month later, I see this striking bird type again, and give my unsolicited two cents saying that if this bird was present, the likely hood of fish being present was high for I silently recalled my witnessing (this past April) a Great Egret capturing a fish near CP's Oak Bridge.

Throwback Thurs (Follow Up on 6-18 Post)

Last Wednesday (6-19) I published a post announcing that I was very pleased to say Chris Deatherage was able to upload three of my black and white photographs to my collections on Fine Art America (FAA).

Yesterday he uploaded six more! Copies of them can be seen in the images atop today's entry and directly below this paragraph.

All of these images were included in NYC gallery exhibitions. Chris (CD) has done an excellent job in uploading them to FAA.

Wednesday's Wisdom: Contact Amanda

The adorable creature featured in the pictures atop this entry is a young male Common Grackle whom I saw in Central Park this past Sunday. From his characteristics (eye color and beak shape), I had suspected the bird's ID was a young Common Grackle, but I've never seen one in this brownish coloring, so I began to doubt my judgement in determining the bird type.

I second guessed myself to the point where I wondered if this bird was a member of the avian community known as Rusty Blackbirds; although that would be highly doubtful at this time of year. Still, one never knows unless they reach out to an expert; which is what I did by contacting the amazing Amanda Remsberg.

Tuesday's Truths 131:It's a Somber Anniversary

My dear friend Donna De Solis (pictured above) died four years ago today. I have no words for the void in my life. She was truly supportive of my creative endeavors and attended openings of my art exhibitions, including one that was in The New York Gallery Building that featured my kaleidoscopic photographs, such as Rocks By Strawberry Fields.

In the next image DD can be seen standing next to yours truly on my opening night.

As I've just said, the void in my life since her passing is huge and my heart constantly goes out to her son Bryan and husband, Tony. I've preserved some of her legacy in video format (at the request of her son) and it, titled, Remembering Donna, (The Wonder of DD) can be viewed on my Vimeo Channel  as well as my You Tube Channel.

Monday's Musings: Making Room

The photo atop this entry is from a story that went viral after a young boy sprawled across a few subway seats, refusing to move so others could sit down, and one passenger retaliated by sitting on top of him. Comments from those siding with the passenger to those who took the judge-ye-lest-ye-be-not-judged approach with the little boy were all over the Internet.

I thought of this breaking news story when I came across a few turtles sitting on a log that was within the lake in Central Park as seen in the next photo.

As you can see three of them were resting upon the log, while another (far right) swam towards it.

Evidently he /she soon noticed the small space between the two turtles at the left...

... for he/she began swimming towards it in order to grab a seat on the log, much like public  transit passengers make their way to get an available seat.

But unlike people on a crowded train, turtles left space in the event that another one need to join them on the crowded log.

Seeing these turtles getting along did cause me to think of a song ("So Happy Together") by a band called The Turtles. However, as you may recall from my prior entries here on Blogger, turtles will do as this irate passenger did: pop atop another being;

National Pink Day 2019

Today is an unofficial holiday known as National Pink Day which I honored last year (in an entry here on Blogger) by sharing images and stories about Mouse Ears (a mini hydrangea) as well as stories about the pink trimmed leaves of my Smoke Bush, and stories about the pink facial features of Jewel, a Muscovy duck who is included in volume three on my book series, Words In Our Beak.

This year, I'm honoring the holiday by sharing some photos (atop this entry) that I took of various pink flowers during my "Saturday in the park" (yesterday). [Those of you who regularly read this blog know that often when I spent time in Riverside Park or Central Park on a Saturday I refer to the golden oldie by the band Chicago.]

I confess that I do not know the names of the flowers featured in the first two pictures, but the flowers in the third photograph (as well as in the ones directly below) are a Hydrangea macrophylla variety.

I learned their identity through the courtesy of a passerby who identified herself as Samantha.

NYC's Pedi Cab Drivers Spread Fake News! Saturday's Saga

This past Thursday in my posting here on Blogger, I discussed the fact that a statue of Daniel Webster near the West Seventy Second entrance Central Park is a favorite spot for house sparrows to build their nests. Within that entry I included a couple of photos from the web and last night I was able to take my own pictures of the statue, some include the monument "holding" nesting material (as seen in the images atop this entry) others include a lone house sparrow alighting on the nesting material that Mr. Webster is holding; as seen directly below.

The inscription at the base of the state features a quotation from Daniel Webster's famous senate (1/26/1830) speech: “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!”

When I was photographing a sparrow enjoying herself in the arms of Mr. Webster, various pedi-cabs filled with tourists stopped their vehicle near the statue to announce that Mr. Webster was the "inventor" of the dictionary, which is totally fake news.

Summer Solstice 2019

The 2019 Summer Solstice began in this hemisphere in the wee hours of the morning (EST) today. It is the longest day of daylight, although in NYC we may not have too much of that given the heavy thunderstorms which are predicted to occur throughout the day. As I've mentioned here on Blogger in bygone years, I know professional gardeners who do not like this day because going forward, every subsequent day it will turn darker and darker at an earlier hour.

Therefore, they prefer the Winter Solstice, which is the darkest day of the year and every subsequent day it turns lighter and lighter at an earlier hour.

What are your thoughts on the Summer and Winter Solstice, dear reader?

Mixed Company and Other Central Park Stories (Throwback Thursday)

This past Tuesday I published an entry here on Blogger that featured a Mallard swimming with turtles in the area of Central Park known as Turtle Pond. I'd like to use this throwback Thursday to refer to that posting by adding this Mallard seemed to enjoy being in  mixed company of turtles and fish, as evidenced by the pictures atop this entry, which I took this past Saturday when I took a walk in the park.

Update Re my Black & White Photos

I am very pleased to announce that Chris Deatherage was able to upload three of my black and white photographs to my collections on Fine Art America (FAA). Copies of them can be seen in the images atop this entry.

The first one, Sophia, has been featured in gallery exhibitions in NYC. Moreover, it has been included in prior entries within this blog and it discussed at length in a radio interview given by Karen Lewis, for The Al Lewis Show on NYC's WBAI. The interview can be heard on my web-site, which was designed by Chris.

The second and third one, Clay Pots, and Cow With Children, have also been discussed in prior posts here on Blogger and were included in NYC gallery exhibitions. Chris (CD) has done an excellent job in designing my web-site and up loading my images up to FAA. His name is familiar to many because he is also the one who edited and formatted my hardcover versions of Words In Our Beak.

Bravo, CD! Bravo! And thanks again!

Swimming with Turtles Instead of Dolphins (Tuesday's Truths WK 130)

This past Saturday when I was at Turtle Pond (in NYC's Central Park), I noticed a Mallard swimming with turtles as seen in the photo directly above as well as in the ones below.

My seeing this occurrence of a Mallard swimming with turtles prompted me to recall a human activity: swimming with dolphins and in doing some research, I was somewhat surprised to discover (which is my Tuesday's Truth for week 130), "the reality is that it can be a really intrusive and stressful experience for the whales or dolphins."

Father's Day 2019

 "Death ends a life. But it does not end a relationship; which struggles on the survivor's mind, toward some resolution, which it may never find," is a quotation from Robert Sherwood Anderson's theatrical play, "I Never Sang for My Father."

The quote is on mind this Father's Day as I reflect on my experiences with my dad. He moved out of our house when I was nine, a year or so after this picture of me was taken when I sat on a raft with him soon after I broke my wrist.

I've often struggled to get some resolution on why I was not able to talk with him, which probably had a lot to do with his second wife.

People tell me that when I was born, my dad thought the world of me, which I would never have guessed, except when looking at the following pictures.

I am aware from stories his sister (my aunt) relayed to me that he had a difficult childhood for which I am sorry; and knowing this makes his lack of communication with me understandable. It doesn't take away years of emotional pain in my seeking a relationship with him, but it does make it understandable.