FAKE NEWS is FOR THE BIRDS!

"Fake News is  FOR THE BIRDS!," claimed this American Robin, when he/she paid a visit to my rooftop garden (in NYC) yesterday. For as you can see, he/she is very puffed up! This what birds do to keep warm. It seems this particular guy/gal, took NYC's groundhog's prediction of an early spring literally (the prediction was real; but the reality could prove to be fake news); and this robin traveled here in anticipation of warmer temps! However, it was quite chilly yesterday!

He/she is fortunate to be a bird in that he/she can puff up; and does not have to pack winter wear when flying!

Imagine the cost he/she saves by not taking an airline that would charge extra fees for him/her to bring an extra coat on board!

"Come again?"

"Come again?," asked a male duck, as he put his foot up near to his ear, while swimming in one of Central Park's lakes. He is well aware that this expression takes the literal meaning of the phrase-return-to ask someone to repeat a statement, either because it wasn't heard clearly or because its truth is being questioned.

Wednesday's Wisdom: MEMO To all creatures! There's life after Valentines Day!

It's the day after Valentines Day; and this morning I noticed that the expression on the face of one of my figurines was less than happy. He'd been fishing for love and did not "catch" anyone to share the day with him.

Someone who really could identify with this little fisherman, is the lone American Robin who has been visiting my urban garden. I have never seen him/her with a mate; and yesterday, he/she seemed a bit wistful (as evidenced in the following pictures) re the prospect of being alone on Valentines Day.

And when he/she wasn't indulging in wistful thinking, he/she flapped his/her wings,

in apparent frustration. When birds exhibit this behavior, I'm reminded what Cam explained about it in her book, Words In Our Beak Volume One,

which is this: "... the male house finch bird type and I, share a behavior which I’ve observed in humans. They might throw their arms up as a gesture to indicate they are frustrated, or giving up, and our bird types both flap our wings in a similar manner, when we want to indicate these emotions or feelings!"

Tuesday's Truths WK 29: It's Valentines Day!

On this twenty-eighth week of my Tuesday's Truths series, I'd like to remind you, dear reader, that today is Valentines Day!

According to Wikipedia, "this holiday first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers "as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart", as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline [an example of this can be seen in the picture of one of my figurines — wearing a heart-shaped halo — that is atop this entry], doves, [an example of this can be seen in the picture below, which is of the real ones, albeit mourning doves, who are spending time in the Ailanthus Trees in the courtyard adjacent to the building where I live],

and the figure of the winged Cupid. [an example of this can be seen in the picture of another one of my figurines which is posted directly below].

Wiki also states that "Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards."

"To-morrow is Saint Valentine's Day!" (REPRISED)

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day; and the text-image posted above features what Shakespeare's Ophelia had to say re the eve of this holiday. I discussed her speech in a prior post here on Blogger, back in 2010! And, now, with the soon to be 2017 Valentine holiday, I am thinking of Charles Schultz and his cast of characters re this event.

Perhaps this is on my mind because, yesterday, here on Blogger, I posted an entry as a way of paying homage to Charles Schultz, who died seventeen years ago on February 12, 2000. After all, this is a holiday that he embraced in many a poignant manner! One of the ways can be seen in the following picture;

and another way can be seen in the following image of Schultz's comic strip,

which is from the Facebook Page for The Charles M. Schultz Museum. Moreover, Schultz's Valentine's Day scenarios have been depicted in video format, and a number of them, including the one posted below,

can be seen on You Tube. This particular one makes me think of my figurine (pictured below),

that is rendered in the likeness of a mailman delivering valentines. Knowing how saddened and disappointed Charlie Brown was at his not receiving Valentines Day wishes, causes me to want to stress the importance of folks reaching out to the one, or the ones, that they love, by sending a gift or a card.

In terms of Valentines Day cards, I have designed three (postcard style) that would be very appropriate to give to love birds who love birds. My cards can be seen in the following pictures.

All of the images on the cards are from Cam's book, Words In Our Beak, Volume One.

This book makes a great Valentines Day gift! And, because it is available in iBook and ePub format, the book can be given to one you love immediately; which is a good thing, since, to quote Ophelia,  "To-morrow is Saint Valentine's Day!"

ADDENDUM FALL 2018: 

The non-hardcover version (or versions)  of Volume One within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can now be found wherever books are sold. Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books.

MY BOOK SERIES

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.

GOOD GRIEF! It's February 12th Again!

Last year, on February 12th 2016, my post here on Blogger featured the very same photograph seen here (above), atop that particular entry. The image is of a Macy's Ballon rendered in the likeness of Charlie Brown for one of The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades. On last year's blog post, this image was followed by pictures of other balloons featured in Macy's Parades. The ones I am referring to were designed in the likeness of Snoopy and Woodstock. And in that entry I stated: "The pictures posted atop today's entry, February the 12th of 2016 are in honor of Charles Schultz who lived on this earth between the years 11/26/1922—2/12/2000, but, to this day, lives on in the hearts and minds of countless people."

A year has passed since the aforementioned blog post; and the legacy of Schultz, as well as the cast of characters he created, continue to inspire and delight innumerable people! Moreover, the ballon rendered to look like Charlie Brown recently got a make-over; and, it was the leader in this past Macy's Thanksgiving Parade! The following pictures feature Charlie Brown's new "balloon look."

As you can see, he now carries his beloved kite. Charlie Brown's efforts to fly a kite were so heart wrenching! This is a topic, I covered in a post on Go Fly a Kite Day, which was February the eighth. 

Be that as it may, in terms of Charlie Brown's latest role in The Macy's Parade, he came close to side-swiping a lamp post (as seen below).

Now that's what I call a Good Grief moment! However, Charlie Brown did not give into his usual rhetoric of putting himself down! Instead he joked about giving those whom he was leading down the parade's route, a green light!

It was great to see him persevering in his role of parade leader. Often Snoopy and Woodstock bring up the rear when participating in the parade, but at this past November's event, they were no where in sight!