Veterans Day 2013

Today, 11-11-13 — in honor of Veterans Day — there are a number of parades in the USA, including NYC where I live. Moreover, a few of my characters are having a parade in my succulent garden to honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces.

hAlLoWeEn 2013 (ETC)

Today is October the thirty-first and it has been one month since I've posted an entry here on Blogger. I'm obviously not adhering to a schedule I had hoped to keep in this particular cyber venue when I announced my plans for my posting on Blogger in October of 2011.

However, if you follow TLLG's web activity you most likely know that I've been diligent in keeping up with content on TLLG's Facebook Page as well as on my Pinterest Boards, and to some extent tumblr, which are good places to find me if you don't see a posting on Blogger.

Moreover, since June of 2013, I've been posting entries on hometalk, which is a place that reached out to me upon reading an entry I published re bird feeders here on Blogger. And in addition to this, as of August 2013, I am a regular contributor to Cornell's FB Page.

Having said all this, I'd like to get back to posting more frequently here on Blogger and am rethinking a viable schedule for doing so. I hope to come up with an itinerary before the distraction of November and December holidays set in.

For now, let me confess that juggling these venues has been a challenge, and unlike the character pictured at the top of today's entry (who has come to visit my succulent garden for Halloween) I am not a master at juggling activities nor am I good at most types of multi-tasking. The biggest reason for this is I put all my energy into the task at hand and if I can't be as thorough as I want to be with a particular task I put it off until I can.

Be that as it may, I am back here on Blogger today, October 31st 2013, which also happens to be Halloween, a holiday I've written about a number of times on this venue in bygone years.

Often when I've written about Halloween I've included info on how I've decorated my indoor succulent garden for Halloween. This year's decor was enhanced by four groups of visitors who came to visit me for the festivities, including the juggler whose image is at the top of today's entry. The juggler is one of the visitors from GROUP D and he can be seen with his comrades in the image below.

Details about these characters are in a post on hometalk.

Another month over . . .

Thirty days hath September, and by the end of this day, the month of September will have ended for 2013. It has passed slowly for me on a certain level for I have spent the month recovering from an accident I had one month and one day ago on August 29th 2013. 

Additionally, I was knocked out of commission by a nasty virus/cold for nearly twelve days beginning on September 15th 2013 (two days after my last posting here on Blogger) until this past Tuesday, September 24th when Juan V came to work in my garden and ultimately took the image atop today's entry.

Honoring & Remembering the Service of Others Heartfelt Thanks to Ms. Susan Grimstead of WBU-NJ (as well as Sarah, D. William, Robert and Chris)

This past Wednesday was the twelfth anniversary of the 9-11-11 attacks and in bygone years I have dedicated blog posts (including ones here on Blogger) to those who lost lives in the attacks as well as to those who mourn losses as a result of that tragedy.

This year I acknowledged the anniversary on TLLG's FB Page as well as in an entry on hometalk. Both of the aforementioned posts included the photograph atop today's blogger entry. The image is of One World Trade Center (formerly known as The Freedom Tower), and it was taken by yours truly from a vantage point on the greenway along Manhattan's westside, slightly north of the Christopher Street entrance.

It is hard for me to believe that so much time has passed since that horrific day, but indeed time has passed and the construction taking place at the WTC site (including the building of One World Trade Center) is a physical indication of this fact.

During this year's 9-11-01 coverage, I heard the tail-end of a radio interview where the guests on the program were two brothers, who had lost someone in the attacks, and who were focusing their energy on efforts to promote the idea of September Eleventh being dedicated as a day to SERVE OTHERS, in memory of those both living and deceased, who served (by giving of their time and talents) to others on that fateful day and in the aftermath.

The position of these brothers is that while we still mourn the dead, and while we still feel for those who now have illnesses related to 9-11, a road to true healing is to also focus on how folks came together to help others in their time of need. 

One of the examples they cited was that of a man who came to NYC from Michigan — on a bus — to honor this year's 9-11 by helping folks (who were strangers to him) rebuild their homes (in Staten Island) which had been damaged as a result of a hurricane named Super Storm Sandy.

During the interview it was also brought up how service to others should not be limited to a one day dedication, nor does "service" need to always be in the form of a large gesture. Small gestures of service are essential too; and it is important to offer them as well as to honor them.

In my lifetime, I have been blessed by my interactions with a number of folks, and in today's entry, I'd like to acknowledge how my recent encounters with others have helped me to resolve (hopefully) an issue I am having feeding birds in my urban (NYC) garden; hence, my title for today's post: Heartfelt Thanks to Ms. Susan Grimstead of WBU-NJ (as well as Sarah, D. William, Robert and Chris).

Following Up (On a 8-2-13 Blogger Post)

LONG BEACH NEW YORK

LONG BEACH NEW YORK

ROBERT MOSES BEACH NEW YORK

ROBERT MOSES BEACH NEW YORK

The last time that I posted here on Blogger I mentioned that it was my fascination with the array of wild birds which visit my rooftop garden, that prompted me to be more observant than I had been in bygone years of the seagulls that I saw when I visited a couple of beaches last week with my sister. (A few photo-ops of these seagulls can be seen atop this entry.)

I am home now, and at the moment my "fascination with the array of wild birds which visit my garden," has turned into a mission: a mission as to what I can do to deter mourning doves and pigeons from interfering with my bird-feeders!

I understand these birds need to eat too, and I am happy to provide nourishment for them, but no matter what I do, the mourning doves as well as pigeons gravitate towards the feeders which are not intended for them!

A Few ANTICS of LONG ISLAND SEAGULLS

I have been away from Blogger to focus on my sister's annual visit, and now I'm focusing on a behavior of the mourning doves that visit my garden, a behavior in which they alight on one of my bird feeders in such a manner (as indicated in the image posted above) that it causes seeds to fall to the ground, "inviting" mice and pigeons into my garden, a problem I am continuing to have, and a problem that I will now be aggressive about finding a solution to resolve it now that my sister has left.

Prior to her arrival, I did procure a mini vacuum cleaner (the hand-held variety) to collect the fallen seeds, which will help to some extent, but some of the creatures that are ground feeders are ones that I want to have around, such as Cam and Mac, my visiting cardinal couple, seen in the image below.

My cardinal couple does not like to perch on any of the feeders that I have, so I am thinking of installing a pole system to secure my feeders, which may encourage Cam — as well as Mac — to perch on feeders that will have trays to collect falling seeds. By eliminating falling seeds I hope to deter the pigeons and mice who now visit far too often!

Meanwhile it is the behaviors and antics of the array of wild birds which visit my garden, that caused me to observe the seagulls I saw at two different beaches on the Atlantic Ocean (during my sister's visit) from another perspective than I had when I'd seen them in bygone years.