Tuesday's Truths WK 79: It's N'tl Siblings Day!

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

Welcome to my seventy-ninth "segment" of my Tuesday's Truths series. According to Holiday Insights, today is National Siblings Day, and they state: "National Sibling Day is a day to appreciate and cherish your brothers and sisters. Siblings are truly a special blessing that we probably all too often take for granted. They are often our best friends and supporters through life. Another reason to celebrate is that not everyone is lucky enough to have siblings. Their lives are significantly different growing up, and throughout  life."

But I confess that I think this holiday is for the birds, so I'm featuring them in this entry. Peanut, a young cardinal pictured above has three siblings named Frannie, Vincenzo, and Pica-John.

You might recognize Peanut because I have featured her in a prior entries here on Blogger, including one that was published two weeks ago.

Frannie and her brother, Vincenzo can be seen in the next set of images (respectively).

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

There are no photos of Pica-John because she hates to have her picture taken and since I feel the same way about having someone take my photo, I never push her to be in a photo.

Father's Day 2018

CANADIAN GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

CANADIAN GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

CANADIAN GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

CANADIAN GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

CANADIAN GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

CANADIAN GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

CANADIAN GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

On Father's Day is good to remember, one cannot (probably) be a good father without a good mother on hand. Canadian Geese realize this, and as parents, they work together...

... A blogger states, "to me they (geese) came to represent the commitment of families – parents who do their best to stay together, who are always there for their children, who help each other and who are predictably where they are supposed to be."

Another web-page points out that "the parents will lead the goslings to the safety of open water within 24 hours of birth. Goslings are able to dive and swim 30-40 feet underwater when they are just 1 day old."

It appears that what this web-page describes what night've been happening when I encountered geese and their goslings in Central Park last summer (as evidenced by the photos I'm featuring atop this entry and some of these are featured in a prior post here on Blogger).

Canadian geese and their goslings are featured in volume two of the Words In Our Beak book series.

FALL 2018 ADDENDUM: 

Hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can be found wherever books are sold.

MY BOOK SERIES

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 via Fine 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.

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.

This was followed by an ePub version...

... that is available on Amazon and was also published in 2015.

Subsequently, Words In Our Beak's digital versions were published as a soft-cover book (with slight variations) by MagCloud in 2017.

Its press release can be read by clicking here.  

Now with the release of BIRD TALES....

... 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.

Thursdays Thoughts: Challenging the adage "bad things happen in threes" REPRISED

GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

Today I am thinking about the gosling triplets (pictured above), which I encountered in Central Park this past June, because I am also one of three (sisters), although we are not triplets.

A photograph of us with our grandfather that was taken when we were very young can be seen in the next picture.

Being one of three, has caused me to challenge the adage,"bad things happen in threes," which I did in a blog post that was published in 2011. This entry deals with the placement of flora (in threes) within my rooftop garden.

In any event, I'm thinking of the "bad things happen in threes," adage on this day of July 13th, as it is my youngest sister's birthday. She is the one in the middle in the aforementioned photo (I'm the one to her left — or seen to her right in this image).

Sunday's Sequel Regarding Canadian Geese (The bird type featured in Friday's post.)

CANADIAN GEESE ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME 2

The photograph atop this entry features a prominent (and feisty) member of the Canadian Geese family. He/she is spending time in the lake within Central Park while a lone female Mallard duck (at the left) observes (with amusement) the silly goose.

The Third Day of Christmas 2018

It's The Third Day of Christmas; a day when someone's true love gave to them three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

Many web sources concur that "French Hens were very expensive during the 16th century, and thus are symbolic of the three costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh given by the wise men (Matt. 2:10-11). An alternate significance is symbolism depicting the value of three virtues, faith, hope, and charity (sacrificial love) (1 Cor. 13:13). Other forms of the song use the French Hens to symbolize the three persons of the trinity."

I don't have three French hens, so, today in honor of them being given as a gift, I'm offering three views of French Canadian geese enjoying Central Park with their three goslings.

GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

GEESE AND GOSLINGS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

By the way, Canadian geese and their goslings are included in the second volume of my book series, Words In Our Beak.

Here's Some More of Thursday's Testimony (Not Comey's; It's Still The Little Things)

Earlier today, I published a post here on Blogger that's titled Wednesday's Wisdom + Thursday's Testimony (It's The Little Things). 

My reasoning for giving it this title is that I started writing the aforementioned post on Wednesday, which is the day I do my Wednesday's Wisdom series, but, I didn't publish it until today. Now, before the day's out, I'd like to share with you another testimony, which has nothing to do with the testimony James Comey gave today.

The additional testimony that I'm offering here (as part of my Thursday's Testimony series) is for the birds, and, the bird type which I'm dedicating this entry to is known as a Canadian Goose, seen in the image atop this entry.

I took the photograph last night when I was in Central Park, having a picnic with a few acquaintances. What a joy it was to see the adult Canadian Geese spending quality time with their goslings.

Neither of the goslings' parents were on their cell phone talking or texting; rather, their entire focus was on their young ones, as they made their way down a path that is near to the lake in Central Park.

Both parents just kept their eye on the birdie, as evidenced in the next set of photos.

They seemed like such a happy family out for a late spring evening stroll! And the parents took such pride in showing their off-spring out to the public as they strutted down the path!

The Sixth Day of Christmas 2018

IMAGE CREDIT

It's The Sixth Day of Christmas, the day (according to a song) when someones's true love gave to them six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. In honor of Christmas's Sixth Day, I've posted an illustration of geese a laying atop this entry.

Re the reference to these birds in the song, a web-page (12 Birds of Christmas) has this to say: "The important element is the "a-laying" part. The Egg represents the birth, creation and new life. And what about the number Six? Because of the shape of the number, which is a continuous, spiraling curve without angle, it too represents the cycle of life. Geese, when they aren't a-laying, are birds of the Air, an element that includes the sky and the heavens."

As you can see, geese a laying are certainly the theme of the illustration that I've included here; as for me, over the many times that I've seen geese (the Canadian variety) in Central Park, they certainly haven't been a laying.

"Young waterfowl face many challenges but are well-adapted..." Tuesday's Truths WK 139

A couple of weeks ago while I was near the northeast corner of Turtle Pond in Central Park, I came upon a Mallard with her ducklings. These birds can be seen in the photographs atop this entry.

The ducklings captured my heart with their actions and I'm sure you'll see why they did upon looking at the next set of pictures.

Seeing these ducklings engaging in life, prompted me to do some research to learn more about these sweet-looking creatures.

Feast of the Epiphany and Related Matters

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, (also known as Three Kings Day), a celebration that I've blogged about in bygone years. I don't have anything to add to my musings re that subject, so please click here to read my former entries and have yourself a blessed Epiphany!

Meanwhile, because there were three kings it's a good time to once again DISPEL (I first attempted to do this here on Blogger in 2011) the adage, "bad things happen in three."

WW:* Don't Go Near the Nests of Geese (*Wednesday's Wisdom/Warning)

I learned through my newsfeed (yesterday) that "Isaac Couling, 16, was attacked by two birds while he was competing in a tournament at Wolf Creek Golf Course, in Adrian, Michigan, on Saturday."

The news of the incident was reported by multiple news sources, including Metro, where the photos atop this blog entry were included.

II was not surprised by this report, for in my research re Canadian Geese, I've learned they have been known to attack humans when they believed that their nests were in danger.

Evidently, Couling was near to a nest of geese when golfing.

Be that as it may, both genders of this bird type participate in the parenting of their goslings and are very protective of their young creatures.

Friday Follow Up: Miracle on the Hudson

CANADIAN GEESE ARE FEATURED IN WIOB

The photo atop this entry features a pair of Canadian geese walking on a sheet of ice that is covering a lake in Central Park. I was surprised to see this happening as this bird type can often be seen trying to keep their feet warm. A way that they do this is to stand on one foot and tuck the other one under their breast, as evidenced in the following pictures.

Doing this action to keep warm was impossible for Kaitlin, a goose who lost most of her right leg to fishing line while swimming in Central Park's Boat Lake. Apparently this accident occurred a years ago and her mate, a faithful gander, remains at her side as he attempts to protecting her from harm, as seen in the next photograph.

If you'd like to learn more about this avian couple's compelling story, it can be found in my article, The One Legged Goose and Her Faithful Partner, which was published by ilovetheupperwestide.com

Not only are Canadian geese loyal partners, they both take part in the parenting of their goslings as you migh surmise upon seeing the following image.

This image along with others of a Canadian geese family is featured in volume two of my book series, Words In Our Beak (AKA WIOB).

MY BOOK SERIES

In any event, this bird type is on my mind today because this last Friday, January 15th,  (which also happpened to be Martin Luther King's birthday), marked the eleventh anniversary of The Miracle on the Hudson, when Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III had to make the difficult decision to land US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan after both engines were disabled by a bird strike by Canadian geese. All 155 people aboard survived. 

As stated in many articles about the event, including one published in The Guardian, the outcome wasn't so good for the geese.

Tuesday's Truths, the Ninety-Second Week: "Vous pouvez porter blanc toute l' année!"

CoCo Chanel's quote, "Vous pouvez porter blanc toute l' année," that's within the title of today's post may sound familiar to you, dear reader, as it was included in the title of a blog post that I published here on the Tuesday after Labor Day in 2011 (although at that time I was not running my Tuesday's Truths series).

Incidentally, the picture atop this entry was also featured in the aforementioned entry. When I wrote that entry, I referred to the white flowers which were growing in my rooftop garden including a variety of Echinacea, such as the one seen in the photos directly below....

...  as well as the flowers growing on my Autumn Clematis.

I'm not sure why I didn't mention (in the blog post which I've been referencing) the white flowers produced by my Tree Peony — AKA Paeonia suffruiticosa — whose flowers are featured in the images below...

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

... perhaps I failed to do so because by the Tuesday after Labor Day in 2011 this particular shrub was long past its thriving days (which always occur in April through early May).

Parents Day is for the birds!

IMAGE CREDIT

This is the fourth Sunday for the month of July 2019 which means it is Parents Day. A number of web-sources (including National Day AKA ND) ) concur, "National Parents’ Day honors all parents on the fourth Sunday in July. No matter where our parents may be, this day serves to celebrate their important role in our lives. 

ND (and other web-pages) also claim "President Bill Clinton established National Parents’ Day in 1994 when he signed Congressional Resolution (36 U.S.C. § 135) into law. The recognized the '…uplifting, and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children.' Republican Senator Trent Lott introduced the bill. "

I am honoring the holiday by posting a copy (atop this entry) of a Peanuts Comic Strip which was published long before (8-1-1978) Clinton created a holiday for parents. The strip paints a picture of how a relationship between a parent and child can be.

But Parents Day is also for the birds, for when it comes to the avian community, both parents play a significant role in rearing their young.

Sunday's Sequel to Yesterday's Post

OTHER ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME THREE

Yesterday here on Blogger, my post included a very young American robin who can be seen in the picture atop this entry which was included in that posting. This little creature was not the only young bird enjoying the first day of June in Central Park.