Blogger Patricia Youngquist is an author and a photographer. Her recent e-book, BIRD TALES, is interactive and includes the Blue jay featured above. Prior works include versions of WORDS IN OUR BEAK, where the stories are narrated by Cam, a female cardinal. Additionally, some of her photographs have been licensed by Fine Art America to reproduce as wall art and on to an array of surfaces for various products! Do view both side-bars for specific details on all of this.
When I spoke by phone to my dear friend, VB, I mentioned to him that we have had a lot of heavy rains this month which I found to disprove the adage,“April showers bring May flowers,” as our showers are taking nearly away chances of May flowers.
He responded by quoting a line from Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare (who died on this day in 1564): “Rough Winds do shake the darling buds of May.”
European starlings the bird type featured in the image atop this entry (visiting my roof extension garden) were brought to NYC from England 131 years and one month ago yesterday (3-16-1890).
Caesar did have warning signs re March 15's Ides Of March, but you know the story, dear reader...
And now on 2020's Ides of March, there are warning signs (precautions) I need to continue to heed re Coronavirus today and beyond, while remaining calm as well as mindful of the pleasantries I have.
A copy of the Mutts comic strip that's posted atop this entry was in my In Box this morning causing me to recall a joke that I heard a few years ago: Q: If an April shower brought a May flower; what did the May Flower bring? A: Pilgrims!
But if truth be told, imho, April showers take away May flowers and I've mentioned my observation re this occurrence in prior posts here on Blogger. Welcome to the 124th segment of my Tuesday's Truths series...
NYC has been receiving heavy rains for several days now and many of the tulips in my garden that I wrote about in this past Tuesday's blog post (where I included photographs of them) have lost their petals.
Today marks the 129th anniversary of the arrival of Sturnus vulgaris AKA European starlings in NYC. A few photographs of "solo" starlings visiting my garden at various times over the years are posted atop this entry.
Today, March 15th, is widely known as "The Ides of March," words made famous by the play, Julius Caesar (believed to have been written in 1599),where one character warns another to "beware" them.
However, the significance of The Ides of March was well established before the playwright, William Shakespeare ever wrote that play. I was not aware of certain facts re The Ides, Et tu, dear reader?
That being said, in honor of this day being The Ides of March, I will refer you to an informative article on the true meaning behind the line, "Beware the Ides of March," please click here to read.
I observed a pair of Northern cardinals this past weekend when I was walking through The Ramble in Central Park. Now, as I look at one of the pictures of them, I let my mind wander as to what they might be telling each other. Perhaps because tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I thought of Ophelia's (from Shakespeare's Hamlet) quote upon studying the expression on the female's (bird at the top of this photo).
"To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupped the chamber-door;
Let in a maid, that out a maid
Never departed more."
I think you must admit, dear reader, that this female bird's non-verbal communication could be interpreted as a reminder/warning/hint for her mate to do something.
Cupid (the figurine seen in the image atop this entry) joins me today in welcoming you, dear reader, to the seventy-fifth week of my Tuesday's Truths series. He wants to make sure that we heed the certain words (posted directly below) uttered by Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupped the chamber-door;
Let in a maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
For indeed, tomorrow is Saint Valentines Day! This year it coincides with Ash Wednesday, which means today is Shrove Tuesday.
Therefore, because Valentines Day is on Ash Wednesday (marking the onset of Lent), you may not want to give your special someone chocolates, or champagne, but, you probably want to give the person who is near and dear to you a special gift! May Cupid and I suggest giving him/her a version of the book, Words In Our Beak Volume One.
DIGITAL (TWO OPTIONS):
ePub: http://amzn.to/2kzWGw0
iBook: http://apple.co/2nHZMBq
FALL 2018 ADDENDUM:
The digital versions of Volume One within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can now be found wherever books are sold.
Moreover, I no longer actively produce event program covers, invitations and the types of greeting cards described here or on my website but arrangements might be able to be made under certain circumstances. My focus is on the Words In Our Beak book series, pictured below...
...whose stories are told from the point of view of Cam, a female cardinal, whose photo is on the cover of each book. Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in my rooftop garden in NYC, 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. The books include hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.
Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books.
"Never say never," the saying goes, and I suppose that applies to saying, "I no longer....," which I did in my 2018 addendum and now I'm here to announce at the advice of Chris Deatherage, my book series formatter, who is also my web-master (for patriciayoungquist.com) I now have some versions of the greeting cards that are referenced in this blog post available via FAA, please click here to view them.
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.
... 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.
The photograph atop today's entry was taken during this past Tuesday's nor'Easter; a "bombogenesis," winter storm named STELLA. It's a picture featuring a representative of one of the dozens upon dozens of dozens of European starlings who spent the entire day in my rooftop garden, eating and squawking (not sedate like the one seen here) while the blizzard raged on (as evidenced in the following images).
This bird type that I'm speaking of is a member of the Sturnus vulgaris family whom are also known by the common name of European starling. Evidently this variety of bird was brought to NYC from England by Eugene Schieffelin in March of 1890, and he subsequently released them in Central Park.
Now, in preparation for today's throwback Thursday post, I've read other interesting information re Eugene Schieffelin's "responsibility" in bringing starlings across the pond, as well as interesting facts re this ubiquitous bird type, all of which I'm sharing in this entry.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day; and the text-image posted above features what Shakespeare's Ophelia had to say re the eve of this holiday. I discussed her speech in a prior post here on Blogger, back in 2010! And, now, with the soon to be 2017 Valentine holiday, I am thinking of Charles Schultz and his cast of characters re this event.
Perhaps this is on my mind because, yesterday, here on Blogger, I posted an entry as a way of paying homage to Charles Schultz, who died seventeen years ago on February 12, 2000. After all, this is a holiday that he embraced in many a poignant manner! One of the ways can be seen in the following picture;
and another way can be seen in the following image of Schultz's comic strip,
which is from the Facebook Page for The Charles M. Schultz Museum. Moreover, Schultz's Valentine's Day scenarios have been depicted in video format, and a number of them, including the one posted below,
can be seen on You Tube. This particular one makes me think of my figurine (pictured below),
that is rendered in the likeness of a mailman delivering valentines. Knowing how saddened and disappointed Charlie Brown was at his not receiving Valentines Day wishes, causes me to want to stress the importance of folks reaching out to the one, or the ones, that they love, by sending a gift or a card.
In terms of Valentines Day cards, I have designed three (postcard style) that would be very appropriate to give to love birds who love birds. My cards can be seen in the following pictures.
All of the images on the cards are from Cam's book, Words In Our Beak, Volume One.
This book makes a great Valentines Day gift! And, because it is available in iBook and ePub format, the book can be given to one you love immediately; which is a good thing, since, to quote Ophelia, "To-morrow is Saint Valentine's Day!"
ADDENDUM FALL 2018:
The non-hardcover version (or versions) of Volume One within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can now be found wherever books are sold. 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 viaFine 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.
On Sunday, March 16th 2014, the day before a number of folks were due to celebrate the Saint Patrick's Day holiday, I realized another holiday was taking place. The holiday I am referring to is the 124th anniversary of the arrival of the bird type known as Sturnus vulgaris (European starlings) in New York City, the city where I live and have an urban garden that this bird type is now visiting. It appears they truly enjoy noshing here as evidenced by the photos above.
Today is Post One re my effort to distribute my blog content across the board as I discussed in yesterday's post here on Blogger. My focus in my other blogging venues (tumblr and hometalk) — with a slightly different take in each one — was on the comings and goings in my succulent garden as they pertain to Thanksgiving; which is in ten days time including today (November 19th 2013). Because of this fact re the holiday, a few guests have begun to arrive in my succulent garden and their photo-ops can be seen within this entry.
The character at the top of this post calls herself Madam Falling Leaf, and she is especially close to my heart since I call myself TLLG, an abbreviation for The Last Leaf Gardener, a name based on the O'Henry story, The Last Leaf.
Whiles night's black agents to their prey do rouse.
Thou marvel'st at my words; but hold thee still.
Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.
So, prithee, go with me."
Claudia, the crow, pictured at the top of today's blog entry has recently joined my indoor succulent garden, and I overheard her reciting a speech from William Shakespeare's, Macbeth.The speech she was deliveringcomes from Act Three, Scene Two and is posted here (above) in orange text.
On the southern wall of my urban terrace garden, I keep a thermometer (seen in the photographs posted above, taken over two consecutive days respectively, before seven o'clock in the morning). I initially got this outdoor thermometer to keep in a cold-frame which was built specifically to use in the winterizing of my garden. Winter and its freezing temperatures prompting songs like Baby, It's Cold Outside, seem a distant memory. For at 6:41:23 AM, EDT, this Tuesday morning, the thermometer registered a little over 80 degrees as it did yesterday, giving me a good indication that by late morning or very early afternoon New York City, where I live and have my lovely garden, will officially meet the heat wave criteria for the tri-state area on this summer day, July 19th 2011.
Yesterday, April finally relented and gave into Spring. Perhaps she heard me bring up the "cruelest month" quote from T.S. Eliot the other day, and said, "oh not that bit again . . . " because yesterday's spring-like weather certainly made up for any ill feelings regarding April. I was able to unwrap all my herbs, plants, shrubs, and trees that had been fitted in winter-gear early last December when they were winterized. It was like unwrapping Christmas presents — 62 of them.
This is the 363rd day of 2010, and there are only two more days of this decade (in the Gregorian calender) after today passes. The promise of the onset of a new year is an occasion for me to send a card to people who bring meaning to my life.
While you may not have time to go on my on-line viewing sources to choose a card for you to do the same, I do have a beautiful selection of cards in the store-front pages of my web-site, and I hope you will make it a New Year's resolution to reach out to your colleagues, friends and family from time to time by sending them a card for the array of events that are bound to occur during the course of the new year for all persons.
To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupped the chamber-door;
Let in a maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
Yes, Ophelia, you are right; tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s Day, and while I’ve yet to create a card specific to this occasion, I have been somewhat sentimental about it. Pictured above is one of my first valentine’s received in grade school — fourth grade — when as students we were assigned to bring Valentines to class. This one was from Michael Brink, a boy who lived in a much more posh area than me. I felt so good that it said “song of love” perhaps like Laura in Tennessee Williams’s play The Glass Menagerie, but after he sent me that card, Michael never spoke to me in grade school or high school. I haven’t saved the valentine because I harbored a crush on him. I just liked the card and the feeling I had when I first received it. Another Valentine’s card (posted below) that I’ve saved is from Catherine, the subject of one of my black and white portraits and also featured in my black and white prints including Dinner is Served, Cocktails and Engaging Conversation, and Thanksgiving in Riverdale, the print discussed in my eighth posting. All these prints can be viewed in the black and white gallery on my web-site.
Catherine sent me this Valentine upon my receiving five straight “A' s” in undergraduate school and included her acknowledgement of this in the card:
I had saved this correspondence because not only had I been inspired by Catherine in a way that caused me to photograph her, but I had hoped to write about her one day. As you will see, in her obituary posted below, she was an interesting woman.
Paper cards stored in desk drawers provide great inspiration on days when there seems none to be had. Just looking at them can cause a wealth of ideas to come forward during dry spells in the creative process. There is nothing that comes close to a personal card to preserve a moment and I offer a wide variety of unique cards that can be viewed more closely on my web-site.
FALL 2018 ADDENDUM:
I no longer actively produce event program covers, invitations and the types of greeting cards described here or on my website but arrangements might be able to be made under certain circumstances. My focus is on the Words In Our Beak book series, pictured below...
...whose stories are told from the point of view of Cam, a female cardinal, whose photo is on the cover of each book. Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in my rooftop garden in NYC, 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. The books include hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.
Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books.
"Never say never," the saying goes, and I suppose that applies to saying, "I no longer....," which I did in my 2018 addendum and now I'm here to announce at the advice of Chris Deatherage, my book series formatter, who is also my web-master (for patriciayoungquist.com) I now have some versions of the greeting cards that are referenced in this blog post available via FAA, please click here to view them.
