Influenced by NNM's Autumn Clematis!

It has been eight months since my last post here on Blogger and that entry was just to let folks know my web-designer, Chris Deatherage, had made changes to my website. 

Prior to that posting I had become very sporadic in publishing my blog posts which was out of characer for me. For after years of being very dedicated to regularly offering excellent written content that was accompanied by my photographs and or videos — I even received an award for my endeavors and an image of it can be found on my right sidebar — circumstances, upon circumstances beyond my control, interfered with my being able to produce content for this venue.

Those circumstances were mostly due to new and severe consequences of my battles with Neurofibromatosis (NF) a medical condition I've had since birth, which is discussed in one of my first blog posts as well as in many posts thereafter. (NF is also the subject of my book project, Imperfect Strangers.) A short video introducing the book can be viewed on Vimeo and/or You Tube.

In any event, I won't go into details of my forced hiatus from blogging (at least not within this post) for it was my seeing Nancy Nelson Mancini's photograph of her Sweet Autumn Clematis (a copy of it is posted atop this posting) that brought back bittersweet memories of my own beloved Sweet Autumn Clematis vines that I got in either 2004 or 2005, and ultimately blogged about in 2010 in an entry where I described their back story, (which I encourage you to read it and check out the pictures included in that post). 

Moreover, my Autumn Clematis vines were subsequently featured in my first garden-themed movie, The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame... almost, which can be viewed on Vimeo and/or You Tube.

These vines ultimately survived being in two major garden upheavals (due to a couple of renovations ordered by my landlord) and one of those upheavls is discussed in volume two of my three hardcover book series, Words In Our Beak.

But getting back to NNM's image of her Autumn Clematis and my saying that seeing it evoked bittersweet memories, the reason for this is, as is that now, approximantely eighteen years of having these vines in my garden, they are gone.

I hadn't relized what a loss this has been for me until I saw NNM's image, and recalled my memories of having Autumn Clematis vines which never did well again after being hacked by my lanlord in 2021.

He had hacked the Autumn Clematis while standing on the building's rooftop and leaning over it to chop away my vines, This was not a safe action for him to take with my vines or with himself as he could've fallen off the building's rooftop.

Moreover, he had assaulted my Beech Tree, ruining her shape. 

The results of these violent actions are indicated in the red-bordered shapes which I've attached to the image directly above. It is also included in a post here on Blogger that I published at the time of the incident. It will still take quite sometime for the Beech Tree to regain her shape which she probably will, but the fate of my Autumn Clematis has not been good.

Initally, Juan V was able to redirect the vines' path and nudge them to grow on a custom built trellis as seen in the two pictures directly below.

But unfortunately they were begining to pull on the string lights that provide a "canopy" over my garden. I was concerned that the vines, given their strength, could yank down my string lights... 

... (which might cause a fire) and that fact, coupled with the truth that vines can harm brick and mortar, convinced me to have my Autumn Clematis vines (I had two) removed. 

For now in their place, a Clematis tangutica (she is indicated by an arrow affixed to the next photo) has been planted. She is a much less aggressive vine, but I feel she looks swallowed up by the big container and it will be quite some time before she eases into it. 

A couple of Amsonia plants have been placed there to keep the new vine company (as also seen in the next picture where a circle has been drawn around them)...

... but I don't like the look of their foliage, so I may need to plant something else there.

Not having my Autumn clematis is a big loss, yet I realize that is what happens when one gardens. Over the years, I've learned it's best to appreciate the flora when they are around as I certainly do, by meeting their needs for water and fertilizer, as well as by helping them to tell their stories through  my blog posts, my movies and my books.

However, given my new battle with NF and the limitations this brings, it may be quite a while before I can tell my flora's stories. Plus I need to concentrate on raising awareness about NF which I hope to do through my book project, Imperfect Strangers.

It's beginning to look a lot like Autumn! (Tuesday's Truths WK 223)

Welcome to my 223rd episode of my Tuesday's Truths series. As you undoubtedly know, dear reader, tomorow is the first day of fall and my truth for this segment is this: 

It is beginning to look a lot like autumn in my rooftop garden (a partial view of it is featured in the image atop this entry).

The photo directly belows shows that my Crepe myrtle seems to enjoy this time of year, evidenced by her brilliant pink blooms.

This next picture indicates that my Pyracantha coccinea (AKA Orange Charmer) is looking marvelous after Juan V pruned her. She knows that she has bragging rights for she is featured in my first garden-themed movie, The Kiwi Speaks Fifteen Minutes of Fame...almost (which can be viewed on Vimeo and/or You Tube.)

My Sweet Autumn Clematis was also included in the aforementioned movie and in the image directly below, she can be found climbing up a trellis and sporting her white flowers, with many more waiting to bloom as evidenced by the many buds she is "wearing."

Another "character" in my aforementioned movie is my Japanese Red Maple who is honored to share his home (container) with pumpkins and squashes.

Not ones to be out done by others, both my Anemone and Contorted Hazelnut are flourishing (and have many buds) too, as seen in the next picture.

Up next is a photo-op of my Smoke bush who is thrilled to be sharing her container with an array of pumpkins and a few squashes.

My Beech tree  (below) is especially happy for the opportunity to share her container with pumpkins — particularly since she suffered severe trauma when my landlord hacked her back in May.

Additionally, my Coral Bells Heuchera is thrilled to stand alongside my "urban hedge" (metal custom shelving currently being occupied by a number of pumpkins and squashes).

All of the aforementioned flora and much more that grows here are featured in each version of my books which have "Words In Our Beak" in their title.

Saturday's Sequel (to my garden's flora and me being violated).

Yesterday Juan V came by my rooftop garden to assess the damage my landlord (FA) did to my flora this past Saturday evening (which I discussed in my 5-18-2021 post here on Blogger. It turns out he has really damaged my Beech tree. I’ve had her since the mid 2000’s and she can be seen within the rectangle affixed to the image of directly above posting. FA hacked at her so badly that he split her top in two. 

Moreover he took such a huge hunk off of her that the container she lives in now seems oversized. 

Additionally he ripped a good portion of my Autumn clematis’s (featured within the circle affixed to the aforementioned image) buds, flowers and foliage right off the vine and threw everything to the floor of my garden. I’ve had these vines for a bit longer than I’ve had the Beech tree and I included them in my garden-themed movie, The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame… almost.

[This movie can be viewed within my Vimeo and/or You Tube Channels.]

I am truly grieving re the loss of these flora varieties whom never hurt anyone. Plus I’m shaken up by the violence and invasion that I’ve experienced.

Just as one might do when they lose a pet or a loved one, I’ve been going through my photos of the Beech tree. It looks like that even though I’ve had her since the mid 2000’s, I did not take a picture of her until 2010 (a copy of it can be viewed directly below and I've affixed a rectangle to the picture to indicate her location.

I got her at a nursery in Brooklyn and carried her home on the subway. She thrived in my place and her container had to be replaced a few times as she out grew it. I’ve had her in various places of my garden and had she been in another spot during the attack, FA would not have been able to reach her.

I’m truly frightened by the fervor of FA’s hate-filled mission as it is very dangerous on our building’s rooftop and easy to fall off — especially if you use a cane which he does.

On another note, I’ve spent my grieving time going through photos of her, which I guess is what one does upon losing a living “thing.”

A Recent Visit By Cardinals

Last Monday, shortly after Juan V left from working with me in my garden, I had a visitor who happened to be a male Northern cardinal. He is featured in the image atop this entry which is very aimilar to the ones included in this past Tuesday's (5-4-2021) blog post.

As I stated in thse entry, "This incident was most welcome after having made my place more beautiful with yesterday's plantings. In any event the handsome creature is featured in the sequence of images atop this entry which serve as a play-by play to his discovering peanuts I had placed in a small petri-dish-style bird feeder, that hangs in close proximity to my lush pair of kiwi vines."

In any event this male cardinal's visit was followed by a visit from an array of other avian creatures including a very young female cardinal.

Out like a lion?

Today, in NYC, March is kind of going out like a lion, albeit not all that of a ferocious one, just chilly and rainy. But — as evidenced in photos atop this entry — she is leaving behind some colorful buds bursting from my crabapple tree. Buds are also appearing on my other trees as well as my shrubs and they are appearing on my kiwi vines as seen in the next set of pictures.

I have had my kiwi vines for 11 years! They have bragging rights for being featured in my first garden-themed movie, The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame....almost. 

It can be viewed on Vimeo and/or You Tube. Moreover as some of you may know, my garden is the setting for my three volume book series, Words In Our Beak. 

MY BOOK SERIES

My stories are told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. 

Monday's Musings: White is still being worn! Labor Day 2020 Three Weeks Later

Today is Monday, September 28th and I realize the last time I published a post here on Blogger was on Sunday, September 20th 2020. Eight days is certainly not a long duration but if you follow this blog regularly, you know that I publish on a more frequent basis, so I aplogize to those of you who may have been expecting content during my mini absence. In any event, as of today, it will  be three weeks since 2020's Labor Day. My blog entry for that holiday discusses the question of wearing white after this holiday passes (in any given year) from  the point of view of Jewel, the Muscovy duck seen in the next image.

JEWEL HAS A STORY IN VOLUME THREE

After all, she wears white throughout the year. (Stories about her are featured story in volume three of my book series, Words In Our Beak).

MY BOOK SERIES

As you may know, dear reader, the stories within these books are all set in my rooftop garden. This is a place where various flora wear white after Labor Day, in fact in the case of my fall blooming anemone variety, known as 'Honorine Jobert' (and seen below), only begins to show her colors after Labor Day has come and gone.

ANEMONE FLOWERS 

ANEMONE FLOWERS

ANEMONE FLOWERS

ANEMONE FLOWERS

ANEMONE FLOWERS

Squirrels got this! "When this old world starts getting you down....." GO UP ON THE ROOF (Wednesday's Wisdom)

THIS SHRUB IS FEATURED IN VOL 1

I noticed that my visiting squirrel (whose antics have been covered here on my blog) has a "boo-boo" on his/her forehead (as seen in the picture atop this entry, where he/she is enjoying being in the home of my shrub known as a Pyracantha coccinea AKA Orange Charmer).

My Jumping Squirrel (Tuesday's Truths WK 189)

THIS SHRUB IS FEATURED IN VOL 1

In recent blog posts (including one published on 7-8-2020) and one published on 7-19-2020), I've been discussing my observations of a lone squirrel who has been spending a lot of his/her time in my rooftop garden.

One thing I've noticed is his/her's incredible ability to jump. She/he often enters my place by jumping from the trees in an adjacent courtyard on to one of the pole that supports my string lights and from there she jumps on to a stake in the container of my Japanese Larch (Larix Kaempferi) as seen in the photo atop this entry.

"Social Distancing" MAY be the wrong phrase. (Monday's Memo)

MY GARDEN IS THE SETTING FOR MY BOOK SERIES

The other day a lone Mourning dove and a young American robin came to my garden and spent time in the home of my Pyracantha coccinea (AKA Orange Charmer). She is a shrub that is featured in my garden-themed movie, The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame... almost, which can be viewed on Vimeo and/or You Tube. These birds spending time in the home of my shrub can be seen in the image atop this entry and if they look familiar to you, dear reader, it may be because I included them in yesterday's blog post.

Sunday's Sequel (Re my 7-8-2020 Blog Post)

Squirrel Visiting My Rooftop Garden
(which is the setting for my book series)

Squirrel Visiting My Rooftop Garden
(which is the setting for my book series)

As I mentioned in a recent entry, A Day in the Life of my Pyracantha coccinea (7-8-2020), here on blogger, I've had a new visitor to my rooftop garden and he/she can be seen in the images atop this entry.

During all the many years that I've had my garden, I've never seen a squirrel here, nor have I seen one in the trees within my courtyard. Upon my seeing this quirky character, I did some research to see what poets as well as scholars have said about squirrels, and I was thrilled to come upon the following words of Saint Francis of Assisi:

A Day in the Life of my Pyracantha coccinea

A squirrel was digging up the soil in the container (in my rooftop garden) that houses my shrub known as a Pyracantha coccinea (also called Orange Charmer). I’ve never seen a squirrel in my place but that doesn’t mean one hasn’t been here. As soon as I realized the creature was there, she/he jumped into a tree within my courtyard and then to another tree (an image of this creature can be seen in the picture atop this entry.

The crocuses's flowers are in bloom again! (Friday Followup)

CROCUSES ARE FEATURED IN V1

CROCUSES ARE FEATURED IN V1

This past Tuesday here on Blogger, I  mentioned that my white crocuses which share a home with my kiwi vines* are in bloom again.

The white crocuses are in bloom again! (Tuesday's Truths 166)

CROCUSES

On Sunday afternoon, March 8th, while in my garden, I noticed the crocuses that are planted in the large container housing my kiwi vines were beginning "wake up" from their winterized state of being mulched.

Yellow Coloration in Nature

I came upon the Silver-Spotted Skipper (seen in the image atop this entry) when I took a walk in Central Park twith CF his past Saturday and I included facts re him/her in my blog post for that day. This creature is on my mind today because I've been thinking about his/her yellow markings as well as elements of nature who have yellow in their coloring.

The Bees and the Wildflowers in Central Park (Friday Follow-up to last Friday's Post)

OTHER BEES ARE FEATURED IN VOL 1

Last Friday, here on Blogger, I posted an entry stating, "My seeing a bee taking nourishment on an Echinacea flower in Central Park... caused me to think of these lines from HUM, a poem by Mary Oliver:

"'... The little

worker bee lives, I have read, about three weeks.

Is that long? Long enough, I suppose, to understand

that life is a blessing...'''

And I mentioned that "Bees are featured in my movie, Here's The Buzz (which can be viewed on my Vimeo Channel)... Bees discussed in my book series, Words In Our Beak."

THE WORDS IN OUR BEAK BOOK SERIES

Soon after that entry was published (the following day) I encountered bees again when I took a walk in Central Park. Only this time they were nibbling on wildflowers as seen in the first picture included with this entry as well as in the ones directly below.

OTHER BEES ARE FEATURED IN VOL 1

OTHER BEES ARE FEATURED IN VOL 1

OTHER BEES ARE FEATURED IN VOL 1

As I stated in the first paragraph here, in the aforementioned post, I referenced a stanza from Mary Oliver's poem, HUM. In this followup post, I have referenced (below) stanzas from another one of her poems HUM, HUM; a poem which also speaks of bees:

"One summer afternoon I heard

   a looming, mysterious hum

 high in the air; then came something

like a small planet flying past –

   something

not at all interested in me but on its own

way somewhere, all anointed with excitement:

bees, swarming,

not to be held back.

Nothing could hold them back."