In Remembrance of Donna De Solis

This post is in honor of what would be the seventy-fourth birthday of my dearly departed friend, Donna De Solis, who passed away on June 25th, 2015. In the picture directly above she can be seen at the bottom of image and I am standing directly behind her. It was taken in 2014 and we were on a pier at the Hudson River, celebrating my birthday. 

Little did we know it would be the last time I celebrated mine with her, for she died the following June two months before my birthday in the year 2015.

Donna was the office manager at The Church of the Blessed Sacrament (my parish).

Over the many years I knew her, I was honored and privledged to be a guest at a number of the Christmas parties she held in her home and to go with her to various events happening in NYC. 

Moreover, she came to a couple of exhibitions that featured my photography. In the next picture, Donna can be seen with a yellow sweater over her shoulders and yours truly is standing behind her. 

We are at an opening for a 2002 art exhibition that I was featured in (with two other artists who are not in this photograph) at The New York Gallery Building (on West Fifty-Seventh Street in NYC). The art piece which is behind us is one of my kaliedoscopic images titled Rocks By Strawberry Fields. 

At the time our picture was taken, my kaliedoscopic photographs could only be printed on photographic papers as wall art or rendred on to note-cards.

Howeover, over the years, with advancement in printing processes, my kaliedoscopic works (as well as all of my other photographs) can be rendered (by Fine Art America AKA FAA) in an aray of sizes on to various surfaces for wall art including, acrylic, art paper, canvas, metal, poster-paper and wood. FAA also has framed options available and they can render the images on to note-cards.

I think Donna might've found it cool that FAA can print my kaliedoscopic images (and my other ones) on to items for personal use such as totes, week-ender bags, pouches, note-books, stickers, cell-phone cases and jigsaw puzzles; as well as face-masks.

In any event, I'm certainly thinking of Donna as well as those family members who survived her including her husband Tony as well as her son, Bryan, who shortly after her death, requsted that I create a video in honor of memory, which I did and it can be viewed on Vimeo as well as You Tube.

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.

Friday Follow-up to Yesterday's Blog Post

JEWEL, THE MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURE IN V 3

I'm following up on yesterday's blog post, where I discussed my reacquainting with Jewel, the Muscovy duck featured in volume three of my book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

Upon seeing the content of my Muscovy duck entry (which was posted on Facebook on 7-8-2020), bird rehabber, Amanda Remsberg, commented saying, "That’s amazing. Her kind originate from Central America, I’m not sure how she has adapted to the winters there. I’m glad she is thriving!"

As some of you might recall, I wrote about how "supposedly one of the workers at this [Boat Bain] office puts out a bowl of fresh water for Jewel on a regular basis" (in a 2017 entry here on Blogger) after I first encountered Jewel.

I'm not sure if the man seen in the picture atop this person is the one who does this (puts out fresh water) and I suspect others (including residents of the houseboats) do as it well, for Jewel was flapping her wing (while on a pier near to several house boats) as if she were trying to get someone's attention...

JEWEL, THE MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURE IN V 3

... when I saw her the other day.

Reacquainting with Jewel, the Muscovy duck

JEWEL, THE MUSCOVY DUCK IS FEATURE IN V 3

Anyone who follows my cyber-venues (including Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter as well as my FB Pages (personal and business), in addition to here on Blogger) is likely to recognize Jewel, the Muscovy duck seen in the first picture, where she is standing on some mossy rocks that are in the Hudson River.

This photo was taken a couple of years ago during one of my first encounters with her when I was walking along the river. She is a year round "resident" in this area and I subsequently included her in volume three of my book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

In any event, I have not been to "her area" of the river since late 2019 because of my accident and then the shutdowns imposed during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in NYC.

I've been so curious about her well being, so finally after all these months, I took a walk (after my physical therapy session) in hopes of seeing that Jewel was still with us; and I'm thrilled to report that she was hanging out with other avian creatures including a Mallard duck....

JEWEL, THE MUSCOVY DUCK (LEFT) IS FEATURE IN V 3

.... and pigeons.

JEWEL, THE MUSCOVY DUCK (LEFT) IS FEATURE IN V 3

JEWEL, THE MUSCOVY DUCK (LEFT) IS FEATURE IN V 3

As you can see these avian creatures were adhering to signs on the pier re "social distancing," which have become household words ever since the relentless spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).

Maybe these birds can teach people a thing or two about social distancing.

'Twas a most bittersweet Fourth of July... (Tuesday's Truths WK 187)

It was a bittersweet Fourth of July what with the coronavirus pandemic still in place, keeping everyone on their guard, but also it was a strained time because of the political unrest in the United States over how issues related to race were handled (or not handled) in bygone years.

Therefore, I was grateful to see that a neighbor who lives in the building across my courtyard (and who has participated in many #ClapBecauseWeCare sessions), did not allow any disparaging feelings about our history stand in her way of expressing appreciation, which she did by hanging up her American flag (as seen in the image atop this entry).

Honoring the (5) Great "new brand" Pumpkins (National Pumpkin Day 2019)

IMAGE CREDIT

Today is not part of my blog posting schedule for this week, but this entry is being published in honor of National Pumpkin Day!

One can hardly think of pumpkins without thinking of The Great Pumpkin made famous by Charles Schultz's Peanuts character, Linus, who can be seen with Sally (directly above) taking delight in a pumpkin patch, where they are awaiting the arrival of him/her.

This year I have five great "new brand variety" pumpkins and a few "standard" pumpkins, all of which I got from various farmers in the tri-state area who come to the Greenmarkets on the UWS.

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.

It's W.E.D. for 2019!

Today, June 5th is World Environment Day (WED). It is a day that has been set aside since 1974 to promote “worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.” Last year’s theme was “beat plastic pollution," and the Mutts comic strip stop this entry, is a small reminder of how plastics can hurt members of the avian and fish community. The following photographs show how plastic (or rather how people's disposal of plastic) harms the creatures among us.

The first two pictures are ones I took in bygone years when I was at Long Beach. The second image (also taken in bygone years) features a Mallard duck, "caught" in debris within NYC's Hudson River.

More info on 2018's W.E.D.'s theme of “beat plastic pollution," can be found within the following three links: https://theatln.tc/2sJsxya and http://bit.ly/2JeDG5l as well as https://ind.pn/2syboIG.

The way people's dispose their plastic is not the only thing harming our avian creatures.

"Mother's Day is for the birds."

I have often said, "Mother's Day is for the birds," so I was delighted to see today's Mutts comic strip (a copy is posted atop this entry) in my In Box. I just love Patrick McDonnell's drawings of birds, but that art medium is a talent I do not possess. Thankfully I can take photographs of them and the ones posted below are ones I've featured within this blog before, however because they are images of mother birds with their offspring, I am including them within this post in honor of today's holiday which is Mother's Day.

Today is National Go Birding Day... and it's Saturday in the Octave of Easter

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

Today is Saturday in the Octave of Easter and has come to my attention that it is also National Go Birding Day. According to a number of sources on the web, this unofficial holiday has always been observed the last Saturday in April.

Perhaps the pigeon featured in my photo atop this entry, where he/she seems to be looking at me from the vantage point of a tabletop in my rooftop garden, thinks of this as a time to go people-ing.

"People-ing," refers to the activity of birds watching humans and it is a term coined by Cam (the cardinal pictured below)...

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

... in volume one of the book series, Words In Our Beak ... in which all the stories are told from her perspective.

THE WORDS IN OUR BEAK BOOK SERIES

Each of these books provide a great way to go birding, for they feature twenty varieties of  avian creatures who spend time in the garden and a few bird varieties from Central Park, the Hudson River and Long Beach are also included.

National Siblings Day 2019

It's National Siblings Day, a holiday which I've referenced here on Blogger an in one of my entries re the event, I pointed out how Holiday Insights defines this occasion. 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..."

Yesterday wasn't a good one for a fish in CP!

As I was crossing Oak Bridge in Central Park in the early evening yesterday, it was especially peaceful because the guy who normally disrupts the sound of birds singing by playing show tunes on his loud instrument (while sitting on this bridge) was not there. I was blessed to spot a lone Great Egret (who can be seen in the image directly above) making his/her way in a seemingly methodical manner as he/she walked across the lake.

Interesting Facts re The "Keep Calm" Poster (Wednesday's Wisdom)

CANADIAN GEESE ARE FEATURED IN VOL  2

On a few occasions when I've observed waterfowl who are in The Pond in Central Park or in the Hudson River, they look as if they are conducting music, as evidenced by my photographs that are directly above this narrative. These pictures feature a Canadian goose and a female Mallard respectively.

Mallards Doing the Otis Redding Thing (Tuesday's Truths WK 116)

In yesterday's post here on Blogger, all but one of the bird types included were ones I'd seen when in Central Park this past Sunday.

The birds in the photograph atop this posting (mostly Mallards) are ones I saw the Saturday prior to that when I was walking along the portion of The Greenway (on the UWS) which is parallel to the Hudson River.

Rare Disease Awareness Day 2019

It was brought to my attention (through a Facebook posting) yesterday by my acquaintance (Catherine C) that Rare Disease Day is being observed on February 28th this year.

According to a number of sources, including NORD (The National Association for Rare Disorders), "In the U.S., any disease affecting fewer than 200,000 people is considered rare. This definition comes from the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 and is slightly different from the definition used in Europe. There are more than 7,000 rare diseases affecting 25-30 million Americans. In other words, one in ten Americans are suffering from rare diseases and more than half of them are children."

She advocates for this cause due to the fact daughter has a rare disease (Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome AKA Fibro-Adipose Vascular Anomaly OR Kawasaki Disease). As it happens, before I saw Catherine's posting, I had a very unpleasant experience re my rare disease (Neurofibromatosis).

Some Facts Re Male Wood Ducks (ETC) Tuesday's Truths WK 114

Hello and welcome to Segment 114 of my Tuesday's Truths series. In this post I'll be telling you (along with other points of interest) some cool facts re Wood ducks, the bird type featured in the image atop this entry, who seemed to be giving me the stare (or glare) when I saw him in Central Park this past Friday.

A Fear of Ducks Phobia = Anatidaephobia (Tuesday's Truths WK 109)

I recently came across some information re Anatidaephobia that I found interesting so I'm drawing your attention to it in this 109th episode of my Tuesday's Truths series.

Evidently (according to many sources including the web-page quoted here), "a person suffering from this condition feels that somewhere in the world, a duck or a goose is watching him/her (not attacking or touching, simply watching the individual)."

This page explains with apparent empathy that "There are many kinds of seemingly irrational fears and phobias prevalent in the world. What might be laughing matter to people, is not so to a phobic."

As you can see, dear reader, the photograph atop this posting is of a female and male Mallard. I took it when I was in Central Park a few weeks ago. Anyone coming upon this pair of ducks would notice that the male is preening, but if the person who happened to come upon these ducks was suffering from Anatidaephobia, he/she might have cause for alarm; for it does seem as if the male is watching as he preens.

By the way, the aforementioned page explains that the word "Anatidaephobia is derived from a Greek word ‘Anatidae’ which means ducks, geese or other water fowls, and phobos is Greek for dread/fear."

Édith Piaf + "La Vie En Rose" Insights (Wednesday's Wisdom)

One hundred and three years ago on this day in 1915, Édith Piaf was born. Followers of this blog may recall that her singing was a a favorite of my dearly departed friend, Donna De Solis, and that Piaf's rendition of La Vie En Rose, which  she is singing in the video atop this entry is one that I used in a memorial DVD which I created in honor of Donna's memory at the request of her son.

I've just learned via a comment (by Joshua F) on this You Tube video that "La vie en rose literally means life in pink. It's a French expression roughly equal to 'rose-colored glasses', but without the negative connotation of the English expression. It's about seeing the world in a brighter and more idealistic way- directly in the context of the song, this is because of a lover, but because it was released in 1945, it served to soothe and inspire a France still recovering from the horror of Nazi occupation."

Prior to my reading the comment I had read in a Google search "La vie en rose literally translates to Life in pink and it would be better translated to life through rosy (pink) glasses. The idea is to depict a state where everything appears rosy and cheerful to you. It's about a state of bliss when everything around you is a source of joy..." 

And in that search I also read, "Ah, la vie en rose! The quintessential French phrase for non-French speakers, popularized by Édith Piaf's love song. It comes from a very common and popular expression ''voir la vie en rose' which literally means ''seeing life in pink.' In English, it's often translated as ''wearing rose-colored glasses..."

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID, Bible Readers: Scripture needs to say "AS a sparrow..." (Wednesday's Wisdom)

SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

The other week I saw a male house sparrow bathing in a puddle that was on the part of a greenway that runs along the Hudson River.

Upon my seeing the little creature I instantly thought of Henry David Thoreau's quote which was in response to how he felt when this bird type was visiting his property.

He is known to have said “I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.”

My talk/presentation at NYSEC is in 2 WKs! Theo plans to attend!

Yesterday I was invited to attend an informal event for a man named Theo who lives in my hood, he can be seen in the image atop this entry where he is being interviewed for a documentary film being made about him.