National Lighthouse Day 2020

IMAGE CREDIT

Today is National Lighthouse Day and Snoopy knows how to celebrate as evidenced in the image of a Peanuts comic strip atop this entry).

I'm familiar with receiving that stare from birds visiting my garden when I have yet to fill my bird feeders or share my fruit with them (via plates placed atop an urban hedge (shelving) as well as a table.

Most likely anyone who has been around any animal knows "the lighthouse stare" as does anyone who has ever waited tables.

On another note, re lighthouses themselves, I love visiting them and two of the ones that I've taken pictures of can be seen are featured in the next set of images.

THE FIRE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE VIEW ONE

THE FIRE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE VIEW TWO

THE LITTLE RED LIGHTHOUSE

The Little Red Lighthouse is located in NYC under the George Washington Bridge, a bridge which is referenced in volume one of my three volume book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

NYC Locations Inspire the 2019-2020 NYBG Train Show and my Three Volume Book Series* (*Words In Our Beak)

New York Botanical Gardens's ((NYGB) annual train show opened on November 23rd 2019 and it will be closing before the end of the month on January 26th 2020, which is four weeks from tomorrow.

NYGB's video of the event (posted above) is good but it does not — in my humble opinion — give justice to just how phenomenal their 2019-2020 show truly is.

Thursday's Tandem Tales For 2018: Ride Two

This past Tuesday in honor of the beginning of the month of May for 2018, I posted an entry here on Blogger, reminding readers that this month is Gifts from the Garden Month. 

However the month of May is associated with many holidays and observations, not just gardening, and one of the things recognized in May is that it is National Bike Month. 

On evening of the first of May, but not necessarily in honor of this fact, my bike captain and I took our second tandem ride for 2018. The temperatures were much warmer than when we took our first ride for the year of 2018 (which I wrote about in a prior entry here on Blogger).

In any event, this past Tuesday, we did one of our "standard" rides which is cycling up the westside greenway (it  runs parallel to the Hudson River) to the lighthouse AKA The Little Red Lighthouse).

A partial view of it (with a partial view of The George Washington Bridge) can be seen in the photo atop this entry. I have published many entries here on Blogger that feature a more complete view of these structures and if you'd like to see these particular posts, please click here as well as here.

Usually when we cycle to The Little Red Lighthouse, we have a picnic on the grounds and enjoy the sunset. However, it was rather crowded with boisterous people and there wasn't an available picnic table.

Aside from the loud conditions that were occurring at our usual picnic spot, ZW (my captain) made the smart executive decision to have our picnic in an area known as Hudson River Park.

September evening still can make me feel this way! (Sixth Cycling Trip for 2017)

It is very rare that I let anyone take my picture, let alone pose for one. But this past Thursday, when I was at my foot doctor's (Dr Q) office, I asked his admin person to take a photo (which can be seen atop this entry) of me wearing my boot cast, as it's my fifth week of having to do this. 

Honoring National Lighthouse Day 2017

Today, August the seventh, is the first Monday in 2017's month of August, and it happens to coincide with National Lighthouse Day. Therefore, in honor this unique holiday, I'm offering some thoughts.

According to Wiki, "on this day in 1789, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation allowing the federal government control over the creation and maintenance of lighthouses.  This special holiday evolved out of this event, and in recent years, through efforts to preserve lighthouses as a important historical symbol in America."

Wiki goes on to proclaim that "National Lighthouse Day honors and commemorates a beacon of light that symbolizes safety and security for boats at sea."

And they explain that "throughout maritime history, Lighthouses have shined their powerful, sweeping lights through the fog and storms, allowing ships of all kinds to find their way back to port during inclement weather. With the advent of radar and GPS technology, lighthouses have taken a back seat in guiding ships to port. However, they remain the universal symbol of safe harbor to ships and communities that rely upon the sea for their livelihood."

In bygone years on Blogger, I've written about this holiday, and I've also discussed a few of the lighthouses which I've been able to visit; including The Little Red Lighthouse seen in the image atop this entry. This lighthouse is located on the Hudson River in NYC. I've been to it on many occasions when I've participated in tandem cycling. And the last time that I cycled to it (which was this past July for my fifth ride of the season), I noticed that the light was on, which is something that I don't recall ever seeing at this particular lighthouse.

My only memory of seeing a beacon of light coming from a lighthouse is the one I've seen coming from The Fire Island Lighthouse in the town of Kismet on Fire Island. The following pictures show this particular lighthouse (with its light on) from two vantage points.

These images might look familiar to you, dear reader, as I've included them in my cyber venues when discussing The Fire Island Lighthouse.

But today, what I'm being reminded of (in relation to both The Little Red Lighthouse and The Fire Island Lighthouse having their beacons shine), are Motel Six commercials with Tom Bodett promising that. "We'll leave the light on for you."

Another thing I'm thinking of re lighthouses and their shining beacons is an Anne Lamont quotation: “Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”

There you have it dear reader, some info and asides on lighthouses, should you find yourself in a situation where National Lighthouse Day is being discussed.

Thursday's Tandem-Cycling Tale: A NYC Sunset (Ride 4 for 2017)

The last time I tandem cycled with my captain, ZW, was this past Thursday evening, June 8th. We rode up the greenway from an entrance in the West Village area, to The Little Red Lighthouse and surrounding picnic area. We usually do longer rides, but the air quality was very poor that evening, so we kept it short.

In any event, one of he sightings from our picnic spot was a lone kayaker, making her way south down the Hudson River. She is featured in the images atop this entry.

Because the distance to and from The Little Red Lighthouse, when starting out from the West Village, is a rather short ride for us (see map by clicking here), we finished early enough to park the tandem,

and watch the sunset from the vantage point near to where we began that evening's ride. The following is a set of images of what we saw while the sunset on June 8th, 2017.

Looking southwest (a view that includes The Freedom Tower):

Looking southeast (a view that includes a lone boat on the river and some Jersey buildings):

Looking north (a view that includes a docked-until-an-alarn-rings  FDNY "boat-style fire engine):

Looking west: (a view that included a helicopter making numerous circles and loops around a specific area in New Jersey):

Another view looking west (The Erie Lackawanna Terminal Clock Tower in New Jersey):

And yet another westward view:

And, just incase you in doubt that we were looking westward, a prominent glaring W, acts as a compass:

That's it, dear reader, re my coverage of tandem tales for ride four. Stay tuned.

Thursday's Tandem-Cycling Tale: Inwood Park

The photograph atop this entry features Trudy Hutter, an avid (understatement) cyclist, who is also a coordinator for The Weekday Cyclists in NYC. They meet on Tuesdays to ride in Central Park and on Thursdays, they ride to different locations in NYC and its surrounding areas.

I am not a member of this group, because, due to my visual challenges I am not able to ride a bicycle; unless it is as a stoker on a tandem. Therefore, I'm grateful to say that I have been able to participate in tandem cycling, ever since the opportunity was presented (2009) to persons with vision loss. At that time ZW was assigned to be my captain, and we've been cycling ever since.

It is through ZW that I met Trudy, and she she has joined us on her single bike on occasion, including when we've ridden to Piermont, a popular cycling destination for New Yorkers. The town is north of the hamlet of Palisades, east of Sparkill, and south of Grand View-on-Hudson, on the west bank of the Hudson River.

Thursday's Testimony: Completed Ride Two (Since Being Back in the Saddle)

As I mentioned last week in an entry here on Blogger, the month of May, is National Bike Month. I also discussed the fact that on Tuesday, May 2nd, I went tandem cycling with my captain, ZW, for the first time since I had an accident (not related to bike riding) in May of 2016. And I spoke about the aforementioned bike ride, recalling that ZW and I cycled up the portion of the greenway which runs parallel to the Hudson River and made our way to The Little Red Lighthouse. 

Last evening and into the night, I returned to the saddle for the second time since my accident; and instead of heading north on the greenway, which had become our routine, we cycled through the West Village heading towards the East Village; and then cycled through Soho; as well as the Lower Eastside, before cycling up the ramp of The Manhattan Bridge; in order to head to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. 

It is a route we've done on a number of occasions, including times when we met up with a group of cyclists to cycle through The Lights (Christmas) in the Heights during the cold winter months. We have also taken this route to witness a ceremony of Mayor Bloomberg lighting the menorah; and we've done the course with reasons in mind that were the same as our motivation for last night: to enjoy cycling a loop in Prospect Park, while being serenaded by an array of birds.

After we completed our Tour de Prospect Park last night, ZW parked her tandem, against a lamp post (as seen in the photo atop this entry); and we enjoyed a picnic of May Day Pesto atop a baguette, while a statue stood behind us who seemed to be interested in the tangerines we were having with our meal. 

The statue I am referring to is statue erected in the likeness of James S. T. Stranahan, and it can be seen in the following picture.

Wednesday's Wisdom: Back in the Saddle (After all, May is National Bike Month)

Last evening I went tandem cycling with my captain, ZW, for the first time since I had an accident (not related to bike riding) in May of 2016. (Incidentally, the photograph atop this entry is of an unknown cyclist who rode in front of me as I was trying to take a picture of last night's sunset!)

In any event, prior to the last time that ZW and I cycled (4-14-2016), she and I had been cycling on a frequent basis since 2009! Much of this has been chronicled in posts on my social media venues. ZW and I have participated in large cycling events that covered between fifty and seventy-five miles; including The Five Boro Bike Tour (five times), The Tour de Bronx (twice), and Twin Lights Ride (once).

Additionally we have participated in smaller group rides in the winter time, including one which took us to The Lights in the Heights (twice). Moreover, we have had persons join us when we cycled to Piermont as well as to the State Park off River Road. And, on our own we have cycled many miles around and outside the city, including a trip to the beach at Coney Island. However, our usual route is to cycle up the greenway (along the Hudson River)

to The Little Red Lighthouse which is in close proximity to The GW (George Washington Bridge).

And our usual route was what we did last evening. I am very grateful that I was able to endure the ride (with energy to spare) after not having cycled for over one year; and near to the time of the anniversary of my accident. What a great way to ring in the month of May, which happens to be National Cycling Month!

Tuesday's Truths WK 39: RETURNING TO TANDEM-CYCLING

Welcome to week forty-second of my Tuesday's Truths series with a post dedicated to my anticipated return to tandem cycling. One of these types of bikes can be seen in the image atop this blog entry.

This photograph was taken (in bygone years) by yours truly, just before I was about to have an evening picnic, very near The Little Red Lighthouse, which I had cycled to with my bike captain, ZW, owner of the tandem, which she stores on her ceiling!

In any event, ZW and I had ridden to The Little Red Lighthouse via the portion of the greenway which runs parallel to the Hudson River in NYC. And, now, I am dedicating a post to cycling because the month of May is National Bike Month. Moreover, weather permitting, I plan to be doing my first tandem cycling since my accident in May of 2016!

Even though the accident I had was nearly one year ago, and was not cycling related, a result of my injuries (and the time needed to recuperate from them), means that I have not cycled since that event occurred.

Therefore, I am more than a little apprehensive to cycle, for my accident has made me aware of my vulnerability. However, because the last time I cycled was April 14, 2016, it's high time I return to my routine of tandem cycling on a frequent basis. I'll leave it here for now, dear reader, and I hope to report good experiences in upcoming posts.

In Honor of National Lighthouse Day (8-7)

Today, August the 7th, there is a holiday known as National Lighthouse Day. Although I've only been to three lighthouses in my lifetime (one near Sandy Hook, New Jersey; one in Manhattan; and one on Fire Island), I really love them! I hope that one day, I'll be able to add other lighthouses to my list of ones I've seen.

The pictures posted atop this entry are of The Little Red Lighthouse and The Fire Island Lighthouse (respectively). I've never been inside The Little Red Lighthouse, but I have been in the vicinity of it on a number of occasions, as it is often a destination and/or rest stop for my tandem cycling trips.

THE SILENT TREATMENT: American Robins ARE Hoppin' & A Bobbin' BUT...

AMERICAN ROBIN

AMERICAN ROBIN

AMERICAN ROBIN

AMERICAN ROBIN

AMERICAN ROBIN

AMERICAN ROBIN

The photographs atop this blog entry are of an American Robin that I came upon when I was walking in Central Park. I've seen a number of members of this bird type during my walks in Central Park, which is a fact I mentioned here on Blogger. I've also seen them when I've cycled (on a tandem) to The Little Red Lighthouse, but on those occasions it is usually too dark to take a decent photograph of this (or any) bird type.

When I first started noticing the presence of robins in both Central Park and near The Little Red Lighthouse, I nearly had a long term case of ohrwurms caused by my recalling the song "Rocking Robin."

Ohrwurms, as you may know, is the term given to the "condition" of having a song stuck in your head and seeing robins on a daily basis as I walked through Central Park, certainly prompted me to sing,"He rocks in the tree tops all day long .... Hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song. All the little birdies on Jaybird street, love to hear the robin go tweet, tweet, tweet... Rockin' robin, rock, rock, Rockin' robin, rock rock...." 

But in reality the robins I saw in Central Park or near The Little Red Lighthouse were not "rockin' in the treetops," but they were "hoppin' and a-boppin" across the ground. And I never heard any of those robin go "tweet, tweet, tweet!" They have all been silent.

A Consequence of Getting Caught Up in #Twitter Trends

This past Friday, one of the things that was trending on Twitter was #WhoisthetrueNewYorker. I think one answer to that question can be found in the following video clip by Bill Cunningham.




I suppose Cunningham's "wisdom" came to my mind because the night before the #WhoisthetrueNewYorker Twitter trend, I had gone for my first tandem bike ride of 2016. Readers of this blog, may recall that in addition to my being a writer, a photo-artist, an advocate for birds, as well as an urban gardener; I am a stoker.

A stoker in the cycling community is one who cycles on the back seat of a tandem (bicycle built for two). I usually cycle with my tandem captain once a week, weather permitting. Because weather has not been too permitting for a few months, my first ride for 2016 did not occur until this past Thursday, April 14th, which was the night before #WhoisthetrueNewYorker was trending on Twitter. In any event, over the years, my captain and I have made a number of long distance rides. However, if we are cycling on a weeknight, we usually only cycle about eighteen miles, ending up at The Little Red Lighthouse, which can be seen in the picture (below) that I took of it this past Thursday.

Most of the times when we are on the grounds near the lighthouse, we are joined by robins and last Thursday was no exception. The following is a picture that a robin allowed me to take of him/her.

There are also a number of robins in Central Park, and as you may recall I featured them in an entry here on Blogger when I wrote about the recent terror attacks in Belgium. I've seen many more robins since that time, including ones that appear to enjoy congregating near the entrance to the IMAGINE Circle (as seen below).

But getting back to my mentioning the #WhoisthetrueNewYorker Twitter trend, I must confess that sometimes when I see what is trending on that platform, I get caught up and lose track of the content I want to share. 

Be that as it may, prior to my getting caught up in what was trending on Twitter this past week, I had intended to post something in honor of Tiny Tim, who would've been eighty four years old this past week! (He was born April 12th 1932.)

However, it was not until I went to meet my cycling captain, and saw tulips blooming in a community garden (as seen below), that I remembered my intent to pay homage to Tiny Tim, by posting a link to a mini-movie that I created in his honor in 2012.

And my seeing the tulips in the community garden also reminded me that I had intended to post something about this flower type. I currently have an array of tulip varities growing in containers that are on my rooftop garden, including the Parrot Blumex variety which can be seen in the following pictures.

The Parrot Blumex tulip variety, is one of many tulip types Cam (the cardinal who visited me and let me become her co-author), discusses in her digital book, "Words In Our Beak Volume One."

But getting to my being in the West Village to meet my bike captain: not only did I see tulips in the community garden that is hear to her home, I saw some tulips in window boxes on the street where she lives.

Seeing these window-box-tulips was yet another reminder that I had intended to post something related to Tiny Tim as well as this flower type. But these flowers also caused me to recall that I had not lost track of my intent of what I hoped to write; rather, my problem may have more to do with my ambivalence in expressing an idea that is not trending. 

E.B. White, an author I've referred to a number of times in my cyber-venues (especially here on Blogger), had the following to say about the type of ambivalence that I am prone to experience. (This insight of White's is something I included in a prior post here on Blogger when I wrote about the lighting scheme in my garden, in September of 2011.)

UNWRITTEN, by E.B. White

"Sometimes we regret our failure to write about things that really interest us. The reason we fail is probably because to write about them would prove embarrassing. The things that interested us during the past week, for example, and that we were unable or unwilling to write about (things that stand out clear as pictures in our head) were: the look in the eye of a man whose overcoat, with velvet collar was held together by a bit of string; the appearance of an officer after the building had shut down for the night; the obvious futility of the litter; . . . a man on a bicycle on Fifth Avenue; a short eulogy of John James Audubon, who spent his life loafing around, painting birds; an entry in Art Young's diary about a sick farmer who didn't know what was the matter with himself but thought it was biliousness; and the sudden impulse that we had (and very nearly gratified) to upend a large desk for the satisfaction of seeing everything on it slide off slowly on to the floor." 

I haven't upended my desk, as it's far too heavy. Besides any satisfaction in seeing everything on it slide to the floor would quickly be replaced by frustration at the task of putting it back together! Therefore to avoid giving into any temptation to upend my desk, I'll try to avoid the temptation of believing what's trending on Twitter is more important than what I have to say.... and give into my muse and write about what really interests my co-author the cardinal Cam and I.

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...

WORDS IN OUR BEAK 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.