Inspiration From Patrick McDonnnell

Indeed, George Eliot! AND thank you, Patrick McDonnell for publishing another one of your amazing drawings  (a copy is posted directly above) and quotation citing. What a nice way to ring in the first day of fall, in the Northern hemisphere (in states that have Eastern Standard time, it offically begins today at 3:21 PM)!

As many of you may know, I am a huge Mutts fan and I've featured McDonnell's drawings and strips in a number of my blog posts.

On another note, McDonnell and his cast of characters are part of what inspired me to create my photo-comics. They are featured in my digital book, BIRD TALES.

It features a number of birds participating in a variety of activities and is dedicated to all birds and everyone who loves them. An interactive book for people of all ages to enjoy together and is now available via Apple Books.

BIRD TALES is my second book with Apple. The first one, Words In Our Beak, was published in 2015.

Subsequently, Words In Our Beak's iBook version was published as a soft-cover book (with slight variations) by MagCloud. 

Following this, Ingram Spark published a hard-cover version of Words In Our Beak Volume One  (with slight variations), and they also published hard-cover versions of Words In Our Beak, Volume Two and Words In Our Beak, Volume Three. 

All versions of Words In Our Beak have a goal which is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. The setting for my books is my rooftop urban garden in New York City, my stories are 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.

Mourning doves, the bird type featured in  the photograph directly below, where they re sitting on a pumpkin in my garden, are included in this book all my versions of Words In Our Beak as well as in BIRD TALES.

While I believe this bird type likes autumn, I don't think their likely to do the George Eliot thing and fly around in search of other autumns, their interest seems to be invested in sticking around to nosh on seeds during all types of weather, as evidenced in the photograph below.

Earth Day 2021

Earl and Mooch (from Patrick McDonnell's Mutts comic strip) as well as the prolific Mehmet Murat İldan sre spot on, for indeed "Wherever there are birds, there is hope."

For as discouraged as I might feel from time to time, whenever I see birds (such as the ones featured in the next sequence of photographs) in nearby Central Park, I feel more hopeful about most circumstances.

I also feel more hopeful about most circumstances when avian creatures spend time in the courtyard trees.

"Spring is just around the corner?"

Atop this entry is a copy of a Mutts comic strip created by Patrick McDonnell. It was initially emailed to me this morning, February 21, 2021. We are still dealing with a lot of snow here  in NYC and as you can see in the next set of three pictures, Mourning doves, visiting my snowy garden appear unphased to know that spring does not seem to be around the corner.

They are a bird type featured in my book series, series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

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.

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.

Patrick McDonnell has got this! "A little bird seed or a source of water goes a long way for wildlife!" (Wednesday's Wisdom)

I completely agree with this bird featured the Mutts's drawing atop this entry (as anyone who reads this blog I'm a huge fan of Patrick McDonnell (the creator of the Mutts strip and related cartoons). Be that as it may,  it has been beyond bitter cold the past few days (and continues to be). I spent much of this last Saturday pouring hot water over the frozen water in my bird baths (that are in my garden) in order for the ice to melt and allow my visiting wildlife to take a drink or two.

It's Saint Francis's Feast Day

 Today is the Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is the patron saint of animals and environment and many web-sources concur, he could "be viewed as the original Earth Day advocate. Francis' devotion to God was expressed through his love for all of God's creation."

It's Saint Francis's Feast Day!

Today's entry is not part of the regular posting schedule I announced this past Monday, rather it is an extra posting which I mentioned might be something I will do from time to time.

My reason for today's entry is honor Saint Francis of Assisi. Today is his feast day! One of the ways I'm honoring the day is by sharing the cartoon by Patrick McDonnell that is posted atop this entry.

Among many things, Saint Francis is often remembered as the patron saint of animals; especially birds. I have a small statue of Saint Francis above my desk (seen in the image directly below).

His statue the one standing at the far left and serves as an inspiration for me to persevere in my work to help others learn about the needs avian community through my book series, Words In Our Beak.

It's 2019's first day of fall in NYC.

In honor of the onset of Autumn in New York, I'm sharing some comic strips by Patrick McDonnell whose strips (Mutts) almost always warm my heart.

On this first day of fall in NYC, we don't have much fall color and won't for a few weeks, so, on this first day of fall, I'll leave you a poem (Song for Autumn) by Mary Oliver, and with photos of what the leaves on the trees in Riverside Park will look like in the coming months, that as if they repeat what they've done in by gone years.

Song for Autumn
(By Mary Oliver)

In the deep fall

don’t you imagine the leaves think how

comfortable it will be to touch

the earth instead of the

nothingness of air and the endless

freshets of wind? And don’t you think

the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,

warm caves, begin to think

of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep

inside their bodies? And don’t you hear

the goldenrod whispering goodbye,

the everlasting being crowned with the first

tuffets of snow? The pond

vanishes, and the white field over which

the fox runs so quickly brings out

its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its

bellows. And at evening especially,

the piled firewood shifts a little,

longing to be on its way.

Two WKS Ago Today

Anyone who has worked on a waitstaff, eaten in a restaurant, owned a cat, or owned a dog will surely appreciate this strip by the talented Patrick McDonnell. It appeared in my in-box two weeks ago and I'm overdue in sharing!

"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.

Friday in the Octave of Easter & Arbor Day

Today is Friday in The Octave of Easter; and because it is the last Friday in April, it is also Arbor Day. I've always appreciated Patrick McDonnell's (creator of the Mutts comic strip) "take" re this event and have posted a copy of it atop this entry. As you can see, McDonnell's characters Earl and Mooch seem to know how much birds appreciate trees as evidenced in their planting one, which is appreciated by an avian creature.

I have also planted trees in containers that are in my rooftop garden and have not only been blessed by the beauty they bring to my place; as well as by their often unspoken help to our environment; many birds have come to visit because of them...

Saturday's Sentiment Birds Watching

As you can see, The Mutts comic strip seen directly above, is created by Patrick McDonnell, whose strips have been discussed in many of my blog posts.

In fact, I've referenced this particular one in prior entries and it came to my mind again today as I was culling  photos that I've taken in bygone years in order to prepare for a new opportunity.

Results are in...

Results are in (an update on this morning's post): NYC's spokes-groundhog did not see his shadow, nor did Phil, the spokes-groundhog for Pennsylvania. This supposedly means we are in for an early spring in the northeastern portion of the USA. My update comes with another comic strip from the amazing Patrick McDonnell.

These groundhogs are probably much more reliable than humans when it comes to weather (and most likely other matters); but do remember this wisdom from Bill Vaughn: "The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears."

Groundhog Day 2019 Let the ceremony Begin!

It's Ground Hog Day 2019! The Staten Island Zoo at 614 Broadway in West Brighton, opened at six o'clock this morning and the Groundhog Day ceremony began at 7:00 a.m.

At 7:30 AM, NYC will find out the results of our rodent's prediction. Meanwhile, in other parts of the country folks are awaiting their spokes-groundhog to weigh in...

In honor of this pre-celebration excitement I've posted one of Patrick McDonnell's comic strips atop this entry. Stay tuned for the outcome of the groundhog's prediction.

February First

I confess that I feel that I don't have much to offer re the onset of February in this year of 2019 except to reiterate what Snoopy has to say re the date of 2-1 (in the comic strip that I've posted atop this blog entry). What I can do, dear reader, is to remind you that February is National Bird-Feeding Month.

It's usually not about me (or Earl) .... Wednesday's Wisdom

Earl,* I know the feeling! But it's probably not something you said! I felt the same way when birds stopped coming to my garden for a prolonged time, but then I realized a Red-Tailed hawk was close at hand!

RED-TAILED HAWKS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

RED-TAILED HAWKS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

RED-TAILED HAWKS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

RED-TAILED HAWKS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

THAT was most likely reason I hadn't seen birds in my garden OR in the Ailanthus Trees which are in my courtyard. *

As for the reason Earl (the dog featured in the comic strip atop this entry), not seeing birds, you'll have to ask Patrick McDonnell, his creator.

The Inspiration of Saint Francis

Saint Francis of Assisi's works are the inspiration for the cartoon created by Patrick McDonnell that can be seen in the image posted atop this entry.

The caption of McDonnell's (creator of the Mutts comic strip) cartoon comes from a hymn about this saint which you can hear @ https://bit.ly/1OyEDyX

As many of you probably know, Saint Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals; particularly birds.

Identifying With a Pup

Normally I publish a blog post much earlier in the day than I'm doing now, but there was a Verizon power outage in my area and the Internet was completely down. Not a big deal in the scheme of things, but I work from home and am in a very precarious situation, which made the circumstances more frustrating! Therefore, I'm identifying with the pup in the comic strip (by Patrick McDonnell) posted above this blog post. Please tune in again tomorrow, I STILL have some barking to do!

Time to Celebrate National Candy Corn Day (But Keep Honoring Black Cats Too)!

A few days ago, in honor of Black Cat Awareness Month, which is October, Patrick McDonnell, the creator of Mutts, posted the image seen atop this entry on the Facebook Page for that comic strip.

But it seems that black cats steal more than hearts, it appears they steal candy corn too, as evidenced in the next image.

And who could blame a black cat for wanting a piece of candy corn, a sweet treat that has it's own holiday, known as National Corn Day, which is today.

Wednesday's Wisdom: Cherish All Beings

The Mutts comic strip which is posted above was released one year go today, September 27, 2015. In honor of the anniversary of Patrick McDonnell's publishing this, I'm offering it as this week's WW (Wednesday's Wisdom).

And, as you may know, dear reader, especially if you follow this blog, where I've featured a number of Mutts strips within my entries, many of McDonnell's comic strips are full of insight and inspiration.