TEST YOUR POWERS OF OBSERVATION

Male House sparrow, Male Northern cardinal, Mourning dove & Male House finch

Male House sparrow, Male Northern cardinal, Mourning dove, Male House finch

Male House finch, Male Northern cardinal, Mourning doves

Male House finch, Male Northern cardinal, Mourning doves

Male House finches, Male Northern cardinal, Mourning dove

Male House finches, Male Northern cardinal, Mourning dove

Male House finches, Male Northern cardinal, Mourning dove

A few days ago before the days upon days filled with heavy rains were in full force, I took the bird-themed pictures that are included within this post.

There are seven photos within this posting and they all feature a few bird varieties who have been hanging out at one of my feeders, as well as alighting on the branches of my Contorted Hazelnut. It's as if they were having a last hurrah before the onset of relentless downpours occurred.

At first glance these images might look the same to you as their differences are very subtle, can you spot how they differ?

Other bird types are also visiting but they are not included in these pictures.

FYI, all of these bird types are featured (along with many other bird varieties) in my books.

You can find info re this matter within a post on this blog.

MEANWHILE, I'd like to give a shout out to PC who has been supplying my visiting birds with a variety of seeds. I'm not in the position to get this for them, but fortunately for the avian community, she has been able to this, for she loves observing them from the vantage point of her place and she also appreciates the songs they offer while spending time here.

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.

A Broken Stool Becomes A Plant Stand (Wednesday's Wisdom)

Many years ago, sometime in the early 1990's, I got a stool from the shopkeeper Maya Schaper (a woman I ultimately worked for and subsequently wrote an article about her.

The stool held up so well all these years but a few months ago its cracked in half and could not be repaired with wood glue or anything else for that matter.

My the first photo atop this entry shows how the top of the stool had cracked and it was when JuanV unscrewed it from the base, that we discovered writing on the bottom (as seen in the second image) now I'm curious if was once part of a whiskey barrel.

The end result can be seen in the next picture which features my former stool now serving as a stand for my Coral Bells Heuchea plant.

This is not the first time Juan had turned a rundown piece of furniture into a plant stand.

My Pumpkin Patch

PUMPKINS ON MY URBAN HEDGE VIEW ONE 

PUMPKINS ON MY URBAN HEDGE VIEW TWO

I now have a pumpkin patch in my rooftop garden! The photo atop this entry shows views of pumpkins atop one of my urban hedges.

It's May! It's May! (Tuesday's Truths Week 82)

OTHER TULIPS ARE  FEATURED IN VOLUME 1

OTHER TULIPS ARE  FEATURED IN VOLUME 1

Welcome to the eighty-second week of my Tuesday's Truths series, which this week is coinciding with the beginning of the month of May, and as has been the case in bygone years, a song (It's May! It's May!) from Camelot is on my mind.

NYC dwellers need Oliver Herford's optimism today! (It's only 19°F)!

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

It has been bitter cold the past few days here in NYC, so when I heard a Northern mockingbird singing in my rooftop garden, while he/she alighted upon my Avellana corylus, AKA Contorted Hazelnut (as seen in the picture atop this entry), I thought of the poem, I Heard a Bird Sing, by Oliver Herford.

Oh, Avellana corylus! Oh, Avellana corylus! How lovely are your branches!

Seeing the leaves of my Avellana corylus AKA Contorted Hazelnut (a shrub which grows in my rooftop garden) all covered with snow (as evidenced in the photo atop this entry) and clinging to their branches, caused me to think of the song, On Top of Spaghetti, which is associated with a nursery rhyme.

But, fortunately, unlike the doomed meatball in that nursery rhyme, I didn't lose any my shrub's leaves that were covered in snow, because NOBODY sneezed!

Tuesday's Truths WK 69: "Dreary Days and Mondays..."

STORIES IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK ARE SET IN MY GARDEN"

As of now, Verizon has fixed the Internet snafus that have been occurring, so, I'm back to my posting here on Blogger, and I'm just in time for week seventy-one of my Tuesday's Truths series.

I come to it with this thought: a well known pop song, Rainy Days and Mondays, which was sung by the late Karen Carpenter is on my mind, because yesterday was a very dreary Monday in NYC.

Part of the lyrics in Carpenter's song state, "... Hangin' around Nothin' to do but frown. Rainy days and Mondays always get me down..."

While it wasn't rainy in NYC yesterday, it certainly was dreary (and still is today), but I couldn't afford to let dreary days and Mondays get me down, or let any day get me down for that matter; and that is this  truth for my seventy-first posting in this series!

Throwback Thursday: "When this old world starts getting me down," I can rarely go "up on the roof" (and now Juan can't either)!

This past Thursday (October 5th, 2017), Juan V came to do his magic in my rooftop garden; and he took the photograph posted atop this entry. As you can see, it's beginning to look a lot like autumn in my garden. The foliage on my Continus Coggygria (Smoke Bush), indicated by the number one in the photo below, as well as the foliage on my Avellana corylus (Contorted Hazelnut), which is indicated by the number two; and the foliage on my Crabapple Tree (indicated by the number three) are beginning to wear their autumn colors.

The circle affixed to the aforementioned image is indicating Juan's shadow as he photographs my garden from the rooftop of the building where I live.

Juan has been taking aerial views of my garden on a bi-monthly basis (during the growing season) since the year 2010. In order to do this, he has to climb up a ladder that is my hallway and thrust open a latch which leads to the building's rooftop.

Let them eat unshelled peanuts.

The photographs atop this entry features a blue jay alighting on the twisting branches of one of the shrubs growing in my urban garden which is a Avellana corylus (Contorted Hazelnut). In the image he/she is eyeing a ball-style bird feeder that is nearly empty of the black-oil sunflower seeds which it holds. Blue Jays are known to eat these seeds as evidenced in the photo below, where a blue jay is availing him/herself of black-oil sunflowers seeds which I had placed on a a saucer.

This bird-type also enjoys eating berries, especially blueberries, as evidenced by the next set of images.

And blue jays eat suet, as you can see in the photos directly below.

However (according to WBU-MICH), "if you offered a buffet, their first choice would be peanuts in the shell."

I certainly agree with them on this, for I have offered un-shellled peanuts in a variety of ways, and my efforts have not been lost on this bird type!

Climbing Roses Create Another Urban Hedge!

The image atop this entry of my white climbing roses, is very similar to one I included in an FB entry for my author page, as well as in my post here on Blogger, this past Saturday.

As I indicated in both of the aforementioned cyber-venues, these rose are in a box-style container and trail up a trellis which has been attached to the railing that surrounds my rooftop garden. They are in between my Avellana corylus AKA Contorted Hazelnut (which is to their left) and my Continus Coggygria AKA Smoke Bush (which to their right). It was the intent of Juan V and I to create an urban hedge to give me some privacy in my garden.

In bygone years I wrote a series of posts for hometalk which discussed various ways to construct urban hedges; and I thought my urban and non-urban dwelling friends who have and/or appreciate gardens, might enjoy reading this series.* For as you know, Benjamin Franklin once said, "Love thy neighbor — but don't pull down your hedge. " 

*LINKS to my Urban Hedge series:
Part One:
SHELVING
Part Two:
BAMBOO TRELLIS
Part Three-A:
KIWI VINES
Part Three-B:
KIWI VINES

Oh, the weather outside's been frightful! (BUT....)

The image atop this entry was taken by Juan V when he was here eleven days ago on May 9th, on his third visit for the 2017 growing season. I featured it in an entry on TLLG's FB page at that time; and I discussed certain attributes of the H.F. Young Clematis vine. This particular vine climbs up a pole which in the northwest corner of my rooftop garden. It produces strikingly beautiful purple flowers which can be seen in Juan's image. Moreover, I have a number of close-ups of this vine's blooms within my May 9th entry here on Blogger. Unfortunately, only four days after Juan worked with me in my garden, and after my publishing posts re the flowers of my H.F. Young clematis, a Nor'Easter struck NYC and surrounding areas.

Last Saturday, May 13th 2016, "a moisture-packed coastal storm that hit the New Jersey region on Saturday dumped almost a month's worth of rain in just one day in parts of the area." I've been try to find out how much rain fell in the NYC area.

Follow-Up Friday: Christmas Card Day

Due to a number of circumstances, the last time that I was able to post an entry here on Blogger was December 8th 2016 and I'm glad to be back! In any event, last Friday, December the 9th, was a holiday known as Christmas Card Day and I'm sorry to be telling you about it one week after the occurrence! But since Christmas is ten days from now, it is certainly not too late to do something about Christmas cards!

Halloween Decor in my Garden + in my Hood

In two weeks it will be Halloween and in honor of the holiday, Juan V helped me do a bit of decorating in my urban garden that is on a rooftop in NYC. Some of the decorations he placed can be seen in the pictures that is atop this entry. The image features pumpkins dangling from my Continus Coggygria AKA Smoke Bush (seen in the left hand portion of the image). This picture also shows a partial view of pumpkin lights climbing on a trellis that is the “playground” for my climbing white roses.

Tuesday's Truths WK 1: The Construction of Young Starlings's Beaks Help Their Parents!

                              

Those of you who have followed this blog over the years have probably discovered that I have incorporated certain templates and after a bit of time stopped using them, switched to another format, but have often wound up reverting back to what I started with. My behavior re this "process" reminds me of how Oscar Wilde once described his editing. Here's what he said: “I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.”

Today, Tuesday, July 19th 2016, I am returning to a posting feature I once provided in my blog during the years of 2011 and 2012. The feature I am speaking of is to designate a given day of the week for an entry topic. During the years of 2011 and 2012, I often designated Mondays as "Mondays Musings"; Wednesdays as "Wednesday's Wisdom", and Friday's as "Follow-Up Friday." I set aside Tuesday's for referring folks to my activity on tumblr and called those Blogger posts, "If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr..." 

While it has been a long time since I desingnated a certain day of the week as a springboard for a blog topic, all of those day-of-the-week posts can still be found within my blog by going to the left hand column titled TLLG's Blog Archive. Meanwhile, as I just stated, today, Tuesday, July 19th 2016, I am returning to a posting feature, which will be designating a day of the week as a springboard for a post. 

Beginning with this Tuesday,  I will feature "Tuesday's Truths." These series of posts will provide an interesting fact about flora growing in my urban (NYC) rooftop garden and or an interesting fact re a member of the avian community who visits it. I was encouraged to return to this type of feature by Jenn G, a young woman who works in my hood (she drew the bird I've featured below).

Jenn believes that folks are interested in fun facts and has encouraged me to share some of what I know, hence my new Tuesday thing. I'll start this new series with a fact that I've just about the bird type known as European starlings. One can be seen (in the images posted below) alighting upon the container which is home to the kiwi vines which grow in my garden. 

Some of you may recall, I was once criticized (by a stranger) for writing about this bird type. Be that as it may, I am continue to be fascinated by the antics of European starlings; and I recently discovered something I hadn't known about them, after placing a saucer of blueberries atop the table in my garden.

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART ONE (FOR January 2013)

On this tenth day of the new year, my champagne loving character (pictured above) and I offer you, dear reader, cheers and all good wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2014.

Usually by this time in a given January here on TLLG's Blogger pages, I have offered my salutations, spoken about resolutions, written reflections on The Feast of the Epiphany as well as reflections on Three Kings Day; and I have even been in the process of writing a year-end reflection of the comings and goings in my urban (NYC) terrace garden.

This year, 2014  salutations were posted on TLLG's FB Page, and mentions of Epiphany with salutations were discussed on hometalk. As for 2014's Three King's Day, I posted info about it on TLLG's FB Page as well as hometalk, where I offered new content re specifics of traditions to honor the day. 

Alas, I did not get the chance to post anything here on Blogger, but please don't feel slighted as I am even further behind in my "correspondence" with my tumblr community!

In any event, having just told you where I've been spending my blogging energies, I will tell you that in terms of my annual year-end reflections on comings and goings in my rooftop garden, I've "saved" the topic for the community I have here (but may refer others, especially those interested in gardening, to this content).

Last year's year-end review (for 2012) spanned a number of entries here on Blogger (fifteen) from January 5, 2013 through January 20, 2013. 

My year-end review for 2013 will be set up in a similar manner but will not span as many entries. For 2012's garden circumstances included coping with a few upheavals in my garden such a so-called building renovation, preparing for a hurricane that was ultimately named Super Storm Sandy which was followed by preparing for a nor' easter. 

Thankfully, the aforementioned events were not a part of my 2013 gardening endeavors!

The format for my 2013 garden year-end review will span twelve months as I'll use the first day of a given month to take a look back. 

And now without further ado, the 2013 year-end garden review!

What FLORA Knows RE Time Passing

Once upon a time I saw a Mary Englebreit greeting card where the text read, "Time flies whether you are having fun or not." And indeed time does fly, calling to my mind, two of my favorite quotes invloving the passing of time.

Dr. Seuss's "How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?," is one of them.

The second quote re time passing that I appreciate is Kermit's quote: "Time is fun when you are having flies." 

For my Ajuga & Her "unacknowledged" Friends

The other day, these two mourning doves, sitting atop the container that "houses" my Actinida kolomikta and Actimida (Kiwi Vines), were having a heart to heart convo. They were discussing how they felt about the fact that unlike "some birds" that visit my garden, they do not have a baseball team named for them!