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.

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.

Throwback Thurs (Follow Up on 6-18 Post)

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

Last Wednesday (6-19-19) I published a post announcing that Chris Deatherage (CD) 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.

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

All of these images were included in NYC gallery exhibitions. CD has done an excellent job in uploading them to FAA. His name is familiar to many because he is also the one who designed my website, plus he edited and formatted the hardcover versions of  my three volume  book series Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

Wednesday's Wisdom: Contact Amanda

OTHER COMMON GRACKLES ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

OTHER COMMON GRACKLES ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

OTHER COMMON GRACKLES ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

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 13: 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.

National Pink Day 2019

Today is an unofficial holiday known as National Pink Day!

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

OTHER SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

OTHER SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

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.

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!

THE WORDS IN OUR BEAK BOOK SERIES

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.

Yet another Saturday in the Park

Two weeks ago when I was on what has become my weekly Saturday walk in Central Park with CF, a friend, we came upon some wonderful nature sightings; a mama raccoon rescuing her young'un and  a baby robin taking in his/her view from a nest, as well as a baby blue jay learning to fly and gosling triplets with their parents.

Today when I walked with my friend, she spotted a number of fish in Turtle Pond and and a few in Wagner Cove, such as the one seen in the image atop this entry. I've never seen such large fish in any spot within the park but I've often seen people fishing. Seeing today's big fish, prompted me to come home and fish around via google for information on fishing in Central Park. Here is a link that leads to info re the Catch and Release Fishing Policy in Central Park. And here are some more pictures of the fish I saw at Wagner Cove.

As I have mentioned a number of times here on Blogger any time it is a Saturday and I'm in either Riverside Park or Central Park, I find myself thinking of the hit song Saturday in the Park by the band Chicago, and today was no exception: "What a day in the park, everyday's The Fourth Of July..."

"... Keep your eye on the grand ole flag..."

Today is Flag Day, a holiday I've written about this event within a few posts here on Blogger. This year I'm honoring it with the YouTube Video posted atop this entry and as you listen (and maybe even sing along), I've included some pictures (below, although in some the flag is quite small) so you can "keep your eye on the grand old flag..."

Throwback Thursday: Philharmonic Fireworks

It's good to be back "on the air" after my recent ordeal which I touched on in yesterday's blog post.

Last night the New York Philharmonic performed a free concert in Central Park. The weather was certainly on everyone's side, but I did not attend. As I stated in the aforementioned  blog post, I am having very rough times health wise and financially (because of my health issues) so I did not go to the concert; but knowing the concert would end at 10:00 PM, I walked to the end of my block and caught the Philharmonic's Fireworks!

My Update

I've not posted for the past couple of days here on Blogger which is unusual for me, but I've been very preoccupied with a  number of issues that are taking a lot of time to deal with. Additionally I have my on going (and life long) appointments with eye doctors, one of them was yesterday. I hope to be back to my regular blogging schedule soon.

Soon It Will Be Father's Day!

The photograph that is atop this entry is one sent to me by Joan Budilovsky. She wanted me to see how my image, Inside The Cathedral, looked on a wall in her home. Inside The Cathedral is one of my kaleidoscopic photographs which can be rendered on an array of surfaces (including acrylic, canvas, metal, wood, special art papers as well as poster paper) by Fine Art America (FAA) to be used for wall art. FAA can also print the images on items for personal and/or home use.

Remembering my Mom on June 7th

I can't let this day pass without mentioning the fact that I am thinking of my mother as I always often do; but especially on this day of June 7th for it the day she married my father. The marriage did not work out which was understandably hard for her to handle.

Years upon years later, she would still talk about it and when I took a Visual Art Bookmaking class in college I created a book based on this fact.

It can be seen in the image atop this entry. The cover of the book features an image of her that was placed a little above the surface to indicate her attempts to rise above the situation. Inside the book is her torn wedding picture.

Turtles Go Bananas for Bananas

Last In a recent posthere on Blogger, I discussed some reasons that turtles pile up on top of each other as I've seen them do when I am in Central Park. A few days after I published that entry, while taking a walk in by the park's lake, I saw these creatures partaking in another activity which I have witnessed them doing on a few occasions: they were eating bananas, which they throughly seemed to enjoy as evidenced by the pictures atop this entry.