I'm back after yet another hiatus...

Once again I have had circumstances that have taken me away from being present here on Blogger as well as from moving forward with my "Imperfect Strangers" book project.

I feel akin to Mooch, the cat featured in the Mutts comic strip atop this entry and I must confess, the longer I'm away from my book project, the more confidence I lose re any value it might have. 

But I've received an encouraging "note" (email) from an advocate for those who suffer from NF.

It stated:

"Your struggle is real, Patricia. 

Youngsters nowadays are SO lucky to find there's information (re NF), care and acceptance of their differences, at least in safe circles.

You got a very opposite message.

Remind yourself of the courage and strength of character it took to make a new home in New York.

It wasn't the end of ridicule or discrimination, but your determination to educate the uninformed has been a real inspiration.

I'll admit that it seems cosmically unfair that you've been assaulted by so many complications - both painful and cosmetically distressing - at this point in your life.

Why you should be so afflicted I cannot understand.

All I can suggest is to set small goals for yourself each day. 

Celebrate small accomplishments.

Thank each bird who graces your garden. 

You're a good person with a kind soul. 

That's huge.

RM"

I'm not so sure RM is correct in calling me a person with "a kind soul," I can get pretty short tempered, but this is not the time or place for self-deprecation, so onward I shall go with my return to this blog.

Friday's Fact: Rainfall still doesn't deter birds from visiting my garden.

 

The first half of this month has certainly lived up to the adage re April having showers, however this year they could be taking away May flowers, as the rain has been more like torrents than showers. Flowers are falling off their stems as a result and flowering trees are dropping their blooms. Such heavy precipitation often begs the question, Where do birds go when it rains?

A number of interesting articles have been published about this, including one by Chipper Birds. As for me, I often know where they go because a number of songbirds spend their rainy days in my garden. This is something I mentioned in a recent post here on Blogger which includes a male cardinal visiting my place during a rainfall.

During yesterday’s heavy rain several species spent time in my place, including a Northern mockingbird and an American robin (the bird types featured in the photographs atop this entry).

When do my pictures say the words or when do my words paint a picture?

It is such an honor to have mockingbirds visit my garden (which one is doing in the image atop this entry), but today for my Wednesday Wisdom segment, I can't find the words to describe the feelings such visitors provoke in me.

Therefore, I will use the words that Henry David Thoreau used to describe when another bird type (a sparrow) how he felt visited his garden.

Here is what he 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.”

This quotation has been referenced in a number of my blog posts including one published on an anniversary of one of Thoreau's birthdays (July 12th 2017).

Usually I'm not one who is at a loss for words, which is a good thing since I'm a writer but today, when it comes to describing the feeling I had the other day upon seeing a lone mockingbird in my garden, I don't have much to say. 

Perhaps I'm thinking that my words about this have all been said by me (in prior posts) or have been said by writers whom admire.

Another possibly for lack of words might be due to the fact that I've taken a picture of what  I saw and it might suffice due to it being one of those picture says a thousands words things.

According to a web-page, "the idea that a picture can convey what might take many words to express was voiced by a character in Ivan S. Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons, 1862: 'The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book.'"

April Downpours Did Not Deter Visiting Birds (YAY)!

Today's April showers were more like downpours and lasted from early morning throughout the night. Fortunately they not deter a number of birds from visiting my garden, including a Northern mockingbird, the avian creature featured in the photos atop this entry.

Mockingbirds and starlings have common behaviors! Tuesday's Truths WK 208

For this 208th segement of my Tuesday's Truths series, I'd like to tell you a behavior that the bird types (European starlings and Northern mockingbirds) featured in the photos atop this entry have in common.

Friday's Fact: Mockingbirds can recognize a human's face.

In a recent post here on Blogger, I mentioned that birds are quite the watchers. As a follow up to that entry, I'd like to add this fact: 

According to a study about mockingbirds, "As they build nests, raise young and feed on insects, they keenly observe and remember everything that comes near their territory... 'Mockingbirds can recognize a human after only 60 seconds of contact,' Levey said. 'I would challenge most humans to do the same.'"

The photo-ops atop this entry of a Northern mockingbird (taken in my garden) do seem to suggest that this bird type does recognize me.

I am always intrigued when this avian variety visits my place and I've included a number of photo-ops and facts about them within my book series, Words In Our Beak.

 

This bird type is referenced in all the books and have their own chapter in volume three.

MY BOOK SERIES

The goal of these books is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden (mine) in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. 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 make a perfect gift for someone who may be in quarantine or lockdown due to consequences of the coronavirus because the stories in them can bring the outdoors into the homes of those who cannot go out and about.

Cinco de Marcho 2021

Happy Cinco de Marcho! A number of bird types stopped by my garden to celebrate the day including a pair of House finches and a lone Northern mockingbird, they can be seen (respectively in the next two pictures).

Other  birds also spent time here today.

March 2021 is here!

March 2021 didn't come in like a roaring lion or a docile lamb, at least in my garden, but it did come in with a visit from a Northern mockingbird which I always appreciate.

The 5th Anniversary of Harper Lee's Passing

The author, Harper Lee, known mostly for her novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird," died five years ago today (2-19-2016). In honor of her memory I'm sharing three photo-ops (atop this posting) of a Northern mockingbird who hung out with a Mourning dove in my garden during yesterday's snowstorm.

Friday's Follow-Up Re A Visiting Jay

Atop this entry is a copy of a Mutts cartoon created by Patrick McDonnell. It was initially posted in celebration of the 2018 Winter Solstice and I thought of the sentiment expressed by Mooch during the nor'easter which occured in NYC this past Monday (2-1-2021).

As I said in my blog post about the event (which I published the next day) an array of bird types (including a lone American robin, several Dark-eyed juncoes, a number of House sparrows, an entourage of Mourning doves, and a lone Northern mockingbird) spent a lot of time in my garden during this storm. 

The day following the storm, which happened to be Groundhog Day, a Blue jay stopped by my place.

2021's Ground Hog Day + NYC's 1st Nor'easter for this Year (Tuesday's Truths WK 203)

Results are in! A couple of hours prior to this seemingly pensive Blue jay (seen in the picture directly above) alighting on the branches of the smoke bush that I have in my garden, NYC's spokes-groundhog predicted an early spring. However, Phil, the spokes-groundhog for nearby Pennsylvania predicts six more weeks of winter.

Sunday's Sentiment: Remembering my Grandfather's Appreciating Trees

My maternal grandfather, Albert Elmer Herman Lewis Melahn, can be seen in an unndated snapshot (directly above) with a tree he had just planted. He died in the mid to late 1970's on this day of January 24th.

Squirrel Appreciation Day 2021

Today, January 21st, is the annual day to celebrate Squirrel Apppreciation Day. I've written about this holiday within a number of venues including entires on this blog.

These animals can provide a lot of entertainment when you observe them as I've done in both Central Park and Riverside Park over the years when I've encountered various types including Cinnamon Variant squirrels, Black squirrels and Eastern gray squirrels.

On July 8th 2020, shortly after NYC started to begin easing up on lockdown restrictions (many of which were subsequently put back in place) which had been in effect since March due  to the devastating consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, I had the chance to watch squirrels from my window for they began to visit the Ailanthus Trees in my buildings courtyard and as you might surmise from the photo-ops atop this entry, their antics gave me many reaons to smile during those isolating times.

Severe Weather Did Not Stop Session 19 (Tuesday's Truths WK 171)

MY ROOFTOP GARDEN IS THE SETTING FOR "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

A massive storm pounded New York City Monday (April 13 2020) morning and afternoon with heavy rain and speedy gales that caused flooding and power outages across the five boroughs.

Because my crabapple tree toppled over this past Friday and no one can come to help me tie it to the railing until our lockdown is over, I secured it by placing a couple of my garden chairs around it (as seen in the image atop this entry).

Draw A Bird Day 2020

MOCKINGBIRDS ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME3

Today, April the 8th, is an official time to celebrate an unofficial holiday, which dates back to the 1940's and is known as "Draw A Bird Day" and because drawing is not part of my skill set, I honored the day by taking pictures of a Northern mockingbird (one of my photos is posted directly above) who stopped by my garden for a snack.

Finding Joy During the Coronavirus Pandemic (Tuesday's Truths WK 169)

A #ClapBecauseWeCare Participant

Last night was the fifth night of the 7PM clapping/cheering nightly event (that has been dubbed #ClapBecauseWeCare) in NYC that is taking place to honor first responders and health care workers who are keeping New Yorkers as safe as possible during the coronavirus pandemic.

Many people participated but I only took one picture (featured atop this entry) as I can't clap and take pictures at the same time.

Engaging Conversations

An engaging phone conversation is something yours truly has always appreciated, as evidenced by this photo of yours truly taken in bygone (way bygone years).

In a recent FB post on my personal FB Page,  I mentioned how grateful I was that Jenny from Santa Barbara had phoned me to see how I was faring in the lockdowns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic while still dealing with the aftermath of my broken greater tuberosity.

As I stated in that entry, it was such a blessing to speak with someone who didn't set their phone down and walk away from it while still talking to me, making it so difficult for me to hear.

I am mortified at myself for wasting precious moments of life struggling to hear someone who is doing so many things while talking to me.

I guess that's the point. People who do this are talking TO me NOT talking WITH me and I've gotten so used to it I hadn't realized how it made me feel...

Until....

Until I had A REAL conversation with Jenny last week.

AND MUCH TO MY DELIGHT, IT HAPPENED AGAIN!

This past Friday, I had a real and wonderful conversation with an out of NY state a woman named MH, who I only know through Facebook and she phoned me for the same reason that Jenny had: To see how I was faring in the lockdowns brought on by the pandemic while still dealing with the aftermath of my broken greater tuberosity.

I have often phoned people who I know are alone to see how they are doing and I hope it means as much to them as it does to me.

In any event, in the aftermath of my loving with conversation MH, I felt a sense of mourning for all the time lost straining to hear those who are talking away from afar while I hang on their every word and I could not even sleep.

SO...

Rather than fight the tossing and turning, I got up, and for the first time since living in my place, I went into my garden when it was still dark and uttered my own types of prayers while birds waking from their slumber chirped away, engaging with each other in their lyric conversation.

Eventually I went back inside to work on my column submission and heard a bird singing at the top of his/her beak and was thrilled (understatement) to see an American robin had stopped by!

AMERICAN ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

I was not the only one to enjoy the red-breasted songster.

Another Surprise Visit Tuesday's Truths WK 167

MOCKINGBIRDS ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME THREE

Yesterday as part of due diligence re the authorities request for folks to stay in as much as possible in order to minimize the amount of people outside during this frightening Coronavirus spread, I was rewarded for my efforts as my garden was visited by a few bird varieties whom I could observe from my windows.

It's February!

As you may recall last year on February's first day, I mentioned (here on Blogger) that this month is known as National Bird Feeding Month. Holiday Insights (HI) points out the reason for this, "Mid winter is a tough time for backyard birds. Snow often covers their food source, while at the same time food supplies are dwindling. A reliable high energy supply of bird seed is essential, to provide the energy your backyard birds need to survive the long lasting extreme cold in February."

The photograph atop this entry where house sparrows are eating from a feeder in my garden was taken three years ago in February of 2017. As you can see HI is correct in pointing out that weather conditions in February (in certain parts of the world) can result in food sources being covered — even feeders!

MEMORIAL DAY 2019

A BRAMHALL CARTOON

I have written about Memorial Day many times here on Blogger; but none of my musings come close to Bramhall's (seen above) and on this Memorial lDay for 2019, l am thinking of how those who lost their lives through war made it possible for me to enjoy the simple pleasures and so-called “little things” in life.