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Friday, July 13, 2012

Friggatriskaidekaphobia (Fear of Being Born on Friday the 13th) REPRISED

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
Magical Moments
Today is Friday the Thirteenth, and as you may recall, dear reader, there are some folks who suffer from a case of Friggatriskaidekaphobia on this day. I discussed this in a blog entry in May of 2011, where I pointed out that my H.F. Clematis vine, which grows in my urban (NYC) terrace garden, had no such qualms. And, if you want to refresh your memory on this fact, please click here to refer to that particular entry here on Blogger.

Meanwhile, as you can see from the image posted above, my visiting finches are also fearless on this day. In fact, they always just take life as it comes, as evidenced in a few photo-ops posted below:


Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
Who goes there?
Here we go round the little bird feeder, the little bird feeder, early in the evening.
Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
WHAT???? NOT ANOTHER PHOTO-OP! 
Truly my visiting finches live in the moment and live out the parable described in Matthew, which surmises, Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns. . . "  

Of course you could argue that my visiting finches do not have to toil, reap or sow, because I feed them, and I must be the one to toil, reap and sow in order to be able to provide for them. The fact is my visiting finches provide so much more for me than I could ever give them as evidenced by the images included in today's blog post as well as ones on tumblr and Pinterest

Moreover, I certainly hope to include a documentation of my visiting finches' amazing antics in the Virtual Stories (mini movies) which I plan to produce for my "giving voice to gardens" project that I have recently launched on indiegogo, and which you may review by clicking here.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

"If it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr . . . " Week No. 26

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

In yesterday's entry here on Blogger, I promised that, even though today is is a Tuesday, which on TLLG's Blogger means it must be tumblr, I would start off with an update on the fate of my mini Japanese Larch (Larix Kaempferi), after Juan V came over to evaluate my sweet larch's fate. I was so devastated yesterday that I did not have the heart to publish a photograph of her revealing how she looks in a sad state because I respect my wonderful Larch, and I do not like to showcase her when she is feeling down. 

But it's important, I think, for people who are learning about gardening to know some of the back stories, and that even though one may be the most attentive of gardeners, there is no guarantee that the fate of what one grows will always be positive.

Monday, July 9, 2012

My Sweet Larix Kaempferi


Douglas William Jerrold, the English dramatist and writer, is reported to have said, "He was so benevolent, so merciful a man that, in his mistaken passion, he would have held an umbrella over a duck in a shower of rain."

I thought of this quote when I came across one of my favorite strips from Mutts, which I've posted above today's blog entry. As you may recall, dear reader, I am a Mutts fan, and if you want to refer to Blogger entries where I've referenced this fantastic strip, please click here, and you may also click here to "catch" my tumblr post which includes yet another Mutts strip.

My sensibility towards the 80+ things which I grow in my urban (NYC) terrace garden can be quite similar to Jerrold and Mutts; as there are moments when I want to hold an umbrella over some of the things I grow; especially when they are suffering from too much rain; as they did this past May. Too much rain, however, was hardly the issue this past week, as NYC was under a very oppressive heart wave for a number of days, and I wanted to stand in my garden with my umbrella, to give a few of the less heat tolerant things that I grow some shade, as there is nowhere to prop one up, and there is little, if any, shade in my garden.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Hip! Hip! HOORAY!

Patricia Youngquist uses words and images to tell stories about her passions. Based in New York, she currently is authoring a series of nature books on birds of the city. Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

It is a verrrrrrrrrry noisy Sunday morning as the 80+ things I grow in my urban (NYC) terrace garden can hear many folks cheering. This is because the Triathlon is occurring near to where we live. The periwinkle-colored flowers from my "spent" salad greens and the crimson-colored leaves from my 'Tamukeyama' — both pictured here — have been practicing their own cheers since yesterday morning, as evidenced by the image posted above this entry.

I have written about my salad greens and my 'Tamukeyama' on a number of occasions on tumblr, as well as here on Blogger; including ones which you may refer to by clicking here and here respectively. 

Moreover, my salad greens and my 'Tamukeyama's' leaves are also excited as they anticipate their roles in my "giving voice to gardens" project, which you may view by clicking here.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Finches, they just wanna have fun!

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
VERRRRRRRY INTERESTING
Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
Whad-cha sayin' to me?
Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11
WHEEE!
It's MY turn to nosh!

The are at it again! Their antics in my urban (NYC) garden are SO entertaining that I'm doing this other unscheduled post featuring some of their photo-ops. Additionally, you can find more entertaining images of them on tumblr, Pinterest and TLLG's Facebook Page. Moreover, I hope to be including these quirky birds in my indiegogo project where I am giving voice to gardens!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Finches Want to Catch a Glimpse of the Fireworks!

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden 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 book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.  Now in Apple’s iBooks store @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-in-our-beak/id1010889086?mt=11

Some visiting finches who have recently come to my urban (NYC) garden (and were recently featured on TLLG's tumblr Pages) and I are now sneaking in this off-schedule blog post, dear reader, as we are taking the opportunity to wish you a meaningful July 4th. It is very hot where I live, and tonight's Macy's Fireworks are sure to be one of those hot-time-summer-in-the-city CROWDED events! 

As it was last year, the Macy's Fireworks will be on the Hudson River, near to where I live, and the river is the direction that the visiting finches are facing in the image at the top of this entry. Their "stance" leads me to believe they have the best seats in the house for this annual fireworks event. Moreover, the finches knew it was "protocol" to arrive early in the morning to guarantee seeing the fireworks — even though they don't start until sundown!