2021's First Sunday in May

Under "normal" circumstances, The TD Five Boro Bike Tour would be occurring today, as it always takes place on the first Sunday in May. 

This annual event began on June 12, 1977 (an image of the event from Bike New York's web-page) and it was known as the Five Boro Challenge with 250 participants. 

Going forward it took place every year on the first Sunday in May hosting up up to 32,000 riders from every state in the nation and 65 countries around the world with the exception of last year when it was cancelled as NYC was in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic related lockdowns.

Cinco de Mayo in Bygone Years & 5/5/2020 (Tuesday's Truths WK 178)

It's Cinco de Mayo and I'm recalling a time the holiday fell on the first Sunday in May, which coincided the Five Boro Bike Tour, an event I referenced in this past Sunday's entry here on Blogger. At that particular time, I celebrated completing another bike tour with a margarita at Santa Fe restaurant (which can be seen in the photo directly above).

This year because of the somberness due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus)  pandemic, I  don't think there was much (if anything) mentioned about the holiday which is normally a festive one in my hood as we have a number of Mexican Restraunts (which are closed due to NYC's shutdowns).

FLASH BACK FRIDAY Cinco de Mayo in 2013

Today is Cinco de Mayo. Re this holiday, USA Today states "For many Americans, Cinco de Mayo is a day for enjoying Mexican food, culture — and maybe some margaritas. Its historical origin is quite different: Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's victory over French forces on May 5, 1862, at the Battle of Puebla. Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's independence day, which is Sept. 16."

In 2013, the holiday coincided with The Five Boro Bike Tour (TFBBT), which I participated in for the fourth time! The image atop this entry features me with my bike captain, ZW, and another cyclist as we posed at the start-line before the event took place. As you can see, scores (thousands) of cyclists are behind us, many of them wore sombreros over their helmet in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

And, a number of participants, including yours truly, wore a "solidarity" badge, as a way of paying homage to those who were severely injured and/or lost their lives during the bombing at The Boston Marathon,

This tragic event had occurred a few weeks prior to the time of the 2013 of the TFBBT. Therefore, security was especially tight! But all that were involved, made an effort to enjoy the opportunity to participate in this awesome event; topping it off a margarita to toast Cinco de Mayo!

This coming Sunday, another TFBBT, will take place but I won't participate this year. However I will always be grateful for all the times I was able to do so! AND, meanwhile, Happy Cinco de Mayo to you and yours, dear reader!

Cyclin' on Cinco de Mayo!

This past Cinco de Mayo (May 5th 2013), I participated in Bike New York's annual Five Boro Bike Tour where I rode as cyclist #3787; and once again I sincerely want to thank The Achilles Club in New York City (and especially Ayesha Rosena Anna McGowan) for making it possible for me to participate in The Five Boro Bike Tour. 

This was the fifth year that I've taken part in this awesome event with Achilles and the image posted with this narrative shows yours truly with my captain at the start line of the Five Boro Tour. The image was taken by Keegan Stephan of Time's Up, a cycling related organization/charity.

Mother's Day 2012

I have done volunteer work nearly every Sunday since 2003 (or has it been since 2002) at an assisted living center, a fact I've mentioned a few times here on TLLG (including a post which you may refer to by clicking here), and since today is Mother's Day, all the residents of The Home wished me a Happy Mother's Day today, knowing I am not a mother of any children, although sometimes growing up I felt like a mother to my own mother, as you may recall in one of my past  blog entries here on TLLG — which you may refer to by clicking here. 

On my way home, I ran into a young woman who asked me, "Are you a mother?" 

H.F. Clematis Flower Teams Up With 'Mindia'

As one of the many, many purple flowers (seen here — without my other H.F. comrades — in the left portion of the image above this blog entry, an image you may recognize from Youngquist's post on nybg — New York Botanical Gardens' tumblr) that belong to the H.F. Young Clematis Family, a vine which grows in Youngquist's (your blogger) urban (NYC) garden, I am thrilled to be here today to assist in authoring this post on TLLG.

We Three Lemon-Limes join Three Kings Bringing Peace to one Physocarpus opulifolius

Today is the first Friday of the New Year, which means it is a day the things (80+) which I grow in my urban (NYC) terrace garden, and I, "earmarked" for part of the 2011 year-end-review. As you may recall, this will occur over a number of Friday Follow-Up posts in January, and these posts will cover the brief "highlights" of the "activities" that occurred in my garden last year. What the things which I grow in my garden, and I, did not realize — when we agreed on today's date to begin our review — was that today is also the Feast of the Three Kings. This is an "event" that I wrote about last year on TLLG in a post that you may refer to by clicking here.

However, because I wrote about The Three Kings on TLLG last year (where I included an image similar to the one at the top of today's blog entry), and because I have recently shared information about celebrations regarding this feast day on both nybg's (New York Botanical Gardens) tumblr as well as TLLG's Facebook Page, we have concluded that the Three Kings would not mind sharing the limelight today in regard to the scheduled year-end review.

Be that as it may, the question raised by my Lemon-Lime Cypress triplets — who, given their name, know a thing or two about limelight — and who can be seen in the second image above today's blog entry (more on this later***), was this: while the Three Kings might not mind sharing the limelight with the things that I grow, would the things that I grow be willing to share the limelight with the Three Kings? In particular would my Physocarpus opulifolius (Coppertina) have problems doing this?

"If it's Tuesday, it must be . . ." tumblr. Week Eight

Today is November the Fifteenth, meaning we have already come to the midpoint in the month of November for the year 2011. November, a month known to be a months of "no's" for the humorist/poet Thomas Hood — which I discussed at the onset of the month in a blog entry on TLLG titled, "the No in November", which you may read by clicking here — has been a month of "yeses" in terms of the colors in my urban (New York City) garden.

My Physocarpus opulifolius Poses a Question for TLLG Blog Readers

The comic strip posted above today's blog entry, as you may recognize, dear reader, is from Blondie. For, as you may recall, various "segments" of Blondie have appeared within this blog in previous posts that you may refer to by clicking here as well here and here. Meanwhile, the strip posted at the top of today's entry was at the suggestion of my Physocarpus opulifolius AKA Coppertina Tree.

A Coppertina Tree Weighs in on Cinco de Mayo

COPPERTINA TREE 

Allow me to introduce myself on this day known as Cinco de Mayo, a name I like pronouncing instead of saying May 5th.

In any event, my name is Physocarpus opulifolius, however, you can call me Coppertina — just don't call me Coppertone. I am so over those suntan lotion jokes when it comes to my name.

In any event, I am posting an entry to this blog from where I usually stand, in the extreme northwest corner of the rooftop garden belonging to Patricia Youngquist, who normally writes the blog that you now are reading, which she calls The Last Leaf Gardener.

With all her focus lately on her Paeonia suffruiticosa (Tree Peony) and her Tulipa (Tulips) in her blog entries these past few days. I am ready to rename the blog, The Last Straw Gardener, if she doesn't write about me! Did you know that since this past April she wrote about the tulips six, yes six times? Count them:

ONE: May 4th 2011
TWO: May 1st 2011
THREE: April 30th 2011
FOUR: April 29th 2011
FIVE: ;April 27th 2011
SIX: April 26th 2011

Well, actually it's five times, because one of the tulips took it upon himself to post his opinion (the April 27th post) about a Sylvia Plath poem where he bemoaned her reference to tulips. How ungrateful! No poet ever wrote about a Physocarpus opulifolius. I mean the tulips are fairly newcomers to The Last Leaf Gardener's garden, and I have been here for nearly one year, and I don't recall her ever writing a post about me! But the tulips?

All those posts about them occurred in less than one month! I guess I should be used to flowers getting attention by now. After all, last year, my gardener (aka your blogger) posted about her Paeona suffruiticosa (Tree Peony) six times in six weeks, and remember, she was only posting once a week in those days, so the Paeonia suffruiticosa got all the“press”last year!

ONE: May 29th 2010
TWO: May 22nd 2010
THREE: April 24th 2010
FOUR: April 23th 2010
FIVE: April 17th 2010
SIX: April 10th 2010

So, if you'd like some images of me, I highly recommend that you contact my gardener (a.k.a. your blogger) and suggest that she render some photos of me into her unique collection of correspondence materials, or even a fine print.

Additionally, The Last Leaf Gardener has already posted about the Paeonia suffruiticosa four times this year, and she only re–opened her garden the week of April 13th, so it has not even been a month and the peony already has four posts!

ONE: May 3rd 2011
TWO:May 1st 2011
THREE: April 16th 2011
FOUR: April 13th 2011

What about featuring me? After all, with my coppery–orange foliage, I provide a beautiful contrast (if I do say so myself) to the H.F. Young Clematis, whose leaves you can see to my left in the photograph posted above this blog entry, and if you look closely, you might even see the many, many buds that are about to burst into gorgeous purple flowers, which of course, The Last Leaf Gardener blogged about last year without mentioning my name.

I guess I shouldn't take it so personally, after all The Last Leaf Gardener hasn't posted much (if anything) about the little guy to my right (in the photograph at the top of this blog entry), who goes by the name Acer shirasawanum (Autumn Moon) and whom I've nicknamed Limey because of his leaves.

For your information, dear reader, that purple color that you see in front of his container is basil and it smells SO good. And speaking of containers, I can't feel left out when it comes to where she houses me. I have pretty nice digs, eh?

Actually I just got them earlier this week when Juan V did some repotting, and I love 'em! I used to be in terra–cotta, and that's nice too, but my rim cracked (at the end of my growing season last year) while I was being moved out of the corner by Juan V and Patricia, which they did because they wanted to protect me from the harsh winter elements.

I was safely wrapped — like everything else in this garden — for the winter by The Last Leaf Gardener and Juan V before this past winter's onset as you may know from the blog entry discussing urban garden winterizing.

Since I'm not on Facebook (yet), you can check out my photos, both in my former terra–cotta home and also what I looked like in my winer gear when I was just before I was unwrapped for the spring.

However, since I'm in a New York terrace garden, I'm really lovin' my new“Viducci”home, especially since my garden comrades already have Viduccis!

The Autumn Clematis (which is on a diagonal from me so I get to stare at it) got its Viducci two years ago, while the Actinida kolomikta and Actimida (Kiwi Vines) got their Viducci last spring, and the Continus Coggygria (Smoke Bush, Grace) got her Viducci last fall. These can all be seen in the photographs posted below which were taken this past autumn.

FLORA GROUPING IN MY ROOFTOP GARDEN

YELLOW IS THE FALL LOOK FOR KIWI WINES

SMOKE BUSH AND ORNAMENTAL RASPBERRY

Moreover, the Sweet Autumn Clematis is going to be featured with the Actinida lolomikta and Actimida (Kiwi Vine) in a YouTube movie about the life in an urban garden from the Kiwi's point of view, as mentioned in a previous post.

And an image of the Continus Coggygria (Smokey Bush, Grace) has been rendered into a greeting card has been the subject of a number of blog posts including this one, this one, and this one.

Hopefully, I'll "join the ranks”and be featured in The Last Leaf Gardener's line of invitations, event program covers, greeting cards, or movies, but for now, dear reader, thanks for hearing me out. I guess my new container has given me the confidence to boast and post on my own behalf. It's black color is pretty elegant, don't you think? (You probably have heard how New Yorkers love the color black, and I gotta say, as a Coppertina who has seen it all, so do I.)

And, before I leave you, let me wish you, once again, a Happy Cinco de Mayo, a great excuse I've heard for having a Margarita. My gardener had this to say about a grapefruit/cilantro variety that is pictured below (and available at Santa Fe restaurant in NYC):

“What EVEN Jimmy Buffet (when he was wasted again in Margaritaville) may not have known is, while having“booze in the blender,” may render a“frozen concoction”that helped him“hang on,”having a Grapefruit (yes, I said grapefruit) Margarita at Santa Fe (a restaurant serving southwestern cuisine in the Upper West Side of New York City, just off Columbus Avenue on 71st Street), you will be doing more for yourself than just 'hangin on.' This is without a doubt the best margarita in New York, and deserving of a nod from The Daily News' Best of New York. The grapefruit Margarita (pictured above) is refreshing, with just the right potency, and it was“designed by bartender extraordinaire, Alex (pictured below) . . .

. . . who gives all the credit to a bar he came upon by chance by traveling to Pennsylvania of all places. What makes it better than the booze-in–the–blender Margaritas? Well, first of all, no blender — just wonderful ingredients that include fresh white grapefruit, agave, guava nectar, fresh lime juice, cilantro infused tequila and of curse the mixology skills and secrets of Ales. The grapefruit margarita can be had at Santa Fe, located at 73 West 71st Street, a fun bar and superb restaurant serving southwestern cuisine. Open Sun–Thurs from 11:30AM–11:00PM and Fri–Sat from 11:30AM–12:00AM. Credit Cards accepted. 212.724.0822.”

Now dear reader, I'm signing off, but do feel free to put in a good word for me, the Coppertina, when you next contact The Last Leaf Gardener, and do enjoy your Cinco de Mayo, whether you are puttering in your garden, toasting with a Margarita, or just going about your day.

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...

MY BOOK SERIES

...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 urban garden in New York City. 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. 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.