Meaning Associated with the "Flower Moon" (Wednesday's Wisdom)

Last night when I was speaking by phone with my friend CF (who has been "temporarily" living out of the city for a little over one year, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need for her and her husband to move into the house where his mother lives, which is in a  NJ town); she remarked on how beautiful the moon looked —  something that would've been harder to view in NYC than in the rural area where she is staying.

It was only my hearing her remark which prompted me to remember that I had heard about how the moon would appear when listening to the morning news and I had made a mental note to myself to go out to see it.

However, after dealing with my computer pick up, and issues related to reinstalling my machine, I forgot all about it.

After she told me about what she had seen, I immediately went to the end of my street to see if I could catch a glimpse of it as I could not see it (even through a long lens) when standing in my garden.

When I got to the corner, I could catch a glimpse of it but in my excitement re the possibility of seeing it, I only had my pocket  camera with me, not my long-lensed DSLR.

With city lights it is difficult to observe the brightness of the moon without going deeper into Central Park.

However doing that at night is not safe or wise, so I took a few snaps from the stret corner and just reflected on the phenomenon of this special moon, known as the Flower Moon. 

Many sources re last night's moon offer wise words and concur on how it came to be called the flower moon, aand in honor of this recnt event, I wil share them in this segement of Wednesday's Wisdom:

"The Full Moon of May is known as Flower Moon to signify the flowers that bloom during this month. ... Other names for May’s brightest Moon phase are Corn Planting Moon, Mother's Moon, and Milk Moon, from the Old English Rimilcemona which means Month of Three Milkings, when cows were milked three times a day."

Be that as it may, re this May moon, upon seeing it, I found myself singing the Cat Steven's lyrics, "....I'm being followed by a moon shadow, moon shadow...."

Ed O'Neill Has the Worst Celebrity Recognition Skills Ever? (If so, I'm a close second)

The photo atop this entry features a screen-shot from the You Tube video posted directly below.

In the video Ed O'Neill is on the Ellen DeGeneres show where she "acuses" him of having the "worst celebrity recognition skills ever," 

Apparently he earned the bragging rights for having the "worst celebrity recognition skills ever," upon being in a waiting room at an airport when he wass approached by Britney Spears, who wanted her picture taken with him. He, asuming she was just a young fan, agreed, but after Spear's photo-op (seen within the image atop the entry) went viral is when O'Neill learned the identity of the airport fan.

Valentine's Day 2020

A SIMILAR IMAGE IS FEATURED IN MY HT  ARTICLE

My visiting Cupid figurine featured in the image atop this entry (where he is standing amongst succulents that grow within my indoor garden) joins me in saying Happy Valentine's Day from my place to your place.

He has been coming to my place annually for a number of years now, therefore, you may recognize his face from prior entries here on Blogger or from an on line HT article that I wrote for in bygone years.

National House Plant Appreciation Day (Tuesday's Truths WK 161)

The official observance for  National Houseplant Appreciation Day has come and gone, but in my mind, house plants and indoor succulents can be celebrated at any time!

A reason the official holiday which is my (Tuesday's Truth for today) is celebrated annually on January tenth (according to National Today) is this:

"By mid-January, most of our various holiday decorations and Christmas trees have made their way out of our homes. National Houseplant Appreciation Day is on January 10 every year, and it reminds us that we don’t have to lose the freshness and vibrancy that plants bring to our homes just because the holidays have drawn to a close. If you have the post-holiday blues, this is the perfect chance for you to brighten up your house with a lovely plant that you can enjoy all year long."

My indoor garden is comprised of plants are a collection of succulents which thrive under grow lights but I have to take them outside or place them in a basin on a regular basis in order to give them water.

Facts About Bergamasco Sheep Dogs ETC (Tuesday's Truths WK 149)

This past Saturday was a perfect "Autumn in New York" kind of day and when I was doing my weekly early morning walk with my friend CF, we were quick to discover many forms of wild life in Central Park, including a fledgling female cardinal taking advantage of this lovely time. She can be seen in the two images atop this entry.

Thursday's Testimony: The Legacy of Friends (Remembering DD and Claudia Ferrer)

Today is not part of my blog posting schedule for this week, but it is being published in honor of what would be the seventy second birthday of my dearly departed friend, Donna De Solis, who passed away on June 25th, 2015. The video posted atop this entry is one I created to honor her memory (at the request of her son) and it is included within my Vimeo as well as my You Tube library.

We first met in the mid 1980's. Donna (or DD as many called her) lived in my hood was a frequent visitor to my rooftop garden and I attended her annual Christmas parties held in her home.

My Brief Encounter with a lone Winter Wren (and nearby Mallards)

Last Saturday when I took my weekly walk with CF, I spotted the tiny creature (thanks to my long camera lens) seen in the one and only photograph that I was able to get and it is atop this entry. I have now learned his/her identity through the NYC bird expert, Robert DeCandido PhD.

The little one I saw is a Winter Wren, a type of fauna whom I've never seen before.

After learning the ID, my research led me to many interesting facts re Winter Wrens, including a  web-page for Bird Watcher's Digest, explaining, "The winter wren is one of North America’s smallest birds, kinglet-sized and rounded in shape like a small teapot, with a short stubby tail for a spout. Its bill is short and thin. Dark brown feathers suit its skulking habits, for this is a bird that likes to hide among the leaf litter or crawl into dark crevices in rocks or the cavities created by fallen logs. (Its scientific name, Troglodytes, means 'cave dweller.') Often found along stream banks or thick roadside tangles, this wren may pass unnoticed much of the time unless you are attuned to its double-click chip note. In the breeding season, however, males will often establish a perch on top of a snag and remain there for long periods as they sing their glorious, bubbly song."

Honoring September's Morning Glory Flower (with a Memory of Barbara Brine)

The photographs atop this entry (and directly below) feature Morning Glories who climb up a metal fence in an area of Central Park located on the northern edge of Sheep's Meadow (mid-Park at 69th Street just north of Sheep Meadow) known as Nell Singer Lilac Walk. I saw them a little over a few weeks ago when taking a walk with CF.

A web-page for the Official Website of Central Park describes the Nell Singer area by saying it "boasts many varieties of its signature fragrant flower from around the world. Artfully composed he walk was designed for the greatest visual effect. Come spring, it's a wonderland of white, pink, and purple blossoms. Twenty years later, Conservancy gardeners undertook the major task of replanting the beds. Today, the little path along the meadow is a spring highlight for Park lovers."

I'm surprised this web source does not state that Morning Glory's grow up the fence (enclosing Sheep's Meadow), for as you can see this vine's flowers are spectacular.

With this month of September coming to an end the day after end tomorrow, I thought I should take the opportunity to publish this non-scheduled day entry in order to give a shout out to this flower type since she, along with the Asters (the flower variety seen in the pictures below that were taken within Shakespeare Gardens in Central Park), are considered to be the birth flower of the month of September.

According to a web-page for The Old Farmer's Almanac, "Asters are mainly symbols of powerful love. Perhaps because of their positive symbolism, according to folklore they were once burned to ward off serpents."

Re the Morning Glory, the aforementioned page has this to say: "Morning glories are simple symbols of affection. Those who rise early may be able to watch their lovely blooms open. Morning glory flowers generally curl closed later in the day, hence their name!"

Their beauty was not lost on my dearly departed friend, Barbara Brine, who was born on October 19th in 1934. Her obituary states, "Barbara Theresa Brine (Bebe) was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 19, 1934, lived most of her adult life on Manhattan's Upper West Side, and died on August 22, 2014 in Centerville, Massachusetts..."

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.

"... Another Day (Saturday) in the Park..."

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 rock band Chicago, and today was no exception.

Even though NYC (as well as much of the United States) is undergoing a dangerous heat wave, I took my weekly early morning walk with a friend (CF) and when we walked through Central Park and spent time in The Conservatory Gardens near the area where the Untermyer Fountain (seen in the images atop this entry) is located.

Sunday's Sentiments: Catching a Dragonfly (and other beings) On Camera

ANOTHER DRAGONFLY IS FEATURED IN VOL 1

ANOTHER DRAGONFLY IS FEATURED IN VOL 1

ANOTHER DRAGONFLY IS FEATURED IN VOL 1

ANOTHER DRAGONFLY IS FEATURED IN VOL 1

"Yesterday a child came out to wonder Caught a dragonfly inside a jar..." are a couple of lines from Circle Game, a song by Joni Mitchell. These words are on my mind as I write this, because Friday, when I went out to wonder, specifically in Central Park, where I had gone for a morning walk with a mission of observing dragonflies through the long lens of my camera, I caught a dragonfly.

A Bird in the Hand

IMAGE CREDIT

Yesterday when I was on what has become my weekly Saturday walk with CF in Central Park, we paused on a grassy area to take in the beauty of the day, both of us had seeds in in our hand which we were intending to feed birds. From out of no where a fledging Downy Woodpecker flew toward us and landed on CF's fingers where he/she perched and began nibbling from the morsels in C's hand.

My camera was sling across my shoulder and I also had seeds in my palm so I could not get to it easily. After eating from CF's hand, the little bird alighted on my fingers and began eating from my hand. CF's cell-camera was not in easy reach for her so neither of us have a physical photo-op of the day; but we have a permanent image of the blessed event in out hearts and minds.

Moreover, the "undocumented" event gives us the opportunity to heed the wisdom of E.B. White's beloved aunt who evidently once told him, "Remembrance is sufficent for the beauty we have seen."

Such wise words and ones that may be familiar to those who read my blog as I've discussed them in a few of my past entries, including one I published a litle over three years ago.

By the way, Downy Woodpeckers are featured in my book series, Words In Our Beak.

THE WORDS IN OUR BEAK BOOK SERIES

National Pink Day 2019

Today is an unofficial holiday known as National Pink Day!

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.

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..."

Another Saturday in the Park

As I have mentioned a number of times here on Blogger (including this past Saturday's posting) any time it is a Saturday and I'm in 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.

I took an early morning walk with a friend (CF) and when we were on a grassy area which was near the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, we witnessed a dramatic rescue. Part of what we saw was a mother raccoon coming to her young one's aid which is what is going on in the video atop this entry.

Someone had been walking their large dog off leash (which against the law) and the dog suddenly bolted after a very young raccoon. This little creature was so frightened that he/she raced up high  — very high  — into the tree tops and sat their trembling as he/she was unable to get back down.

His/her mother swiftly climbed up the trunk and into the tree tops to help her little one. She held him in her mouth as she ever so carefully made her way down the trunk from different angles as you can see in the mini video I created.

How special it was to have so many people gathered round to witness this rescue.

Saturday In The Park (Central Park)

Today I spent some time in Central Park with a dear friend (CF) . She and I took a walk in The Rambles. On our way back we encountered a squirrel with a limp. But his/her injury did not deter the sweet creature from frolicking about or  playing peek-a-boo with us; as evident by the photographs atop this entry. Even though this critter seemed to be in a New York State of mind, the scene had a real Chicago feel about it; after all it was a Saturday in the park!