My eyes are on the House sparrows...

HOUSE SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN WIOB

HOUSE SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN WIOB

I came across the photos (which are posted directly above) just the other day when organizing my photo-library. They were taken on October 24th 2015, which happens to be the day my dear friend, Donna DeSolis (DD) might've been celebrating her birthday with me had she not died a few months prior (in June of 2015). As readers of this blog may recall, I created at the request of DD's son a video commemorating her life and it may be viewed on Vimeo and/or You Tube.

As for these two pictures I am which I am now referencing they feature House sparrows enjoying a meal from a bird feeder in my rooftop garden. The sparrow with dark features an a black "bib" is a male. In a recent entry here on Blogger, I discussed this characteristic (bib) which is a feature of male House sparrows in a recent entry here on Blogger. However, my seeing these photos at this time caused me to think of a poem by Mary Oliver, which is posted below.

In the song sparrow's nest the nestlings,

those who would sing eventually, must listen

carefully to the father bird as he sings

and make their own song in imitation of his.

I don't know if any other bird does this (in

nature's way has to do this). But I know a 

child doesn't have to. Doesn't have to.

Doesn't have to. And I didn't.

Ms. Oliver is referring to a song sparrow in this particular poem, "Blue Horses" (from "To Be Human is to Sing Your Own Song"). I have pictures of that bird type too within my photo collection, an example of one whom I saw in Central Park is featured in the next image.

SONG SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN OTHER BLOG POSTS

However, it the House sparrow whom I've included in my three volume hardcover book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

Saturday's Sequel: I've met my 14th bird!

This past Saturday while walking in Central Park and being memorized by the antics of a cinnamon colored squirrel (which I wrote about in Monday's post here in Blogger) I also encountered a bird type unfamiliar to me, making this my fourteenth new acquaintance in this Year of the Bird. I have since learned the creature who I noticed is a Song Sparrow and the little one can be seen in the image atop this entry where he/she is ignoring the fact that a fence had a padlock (although there seemed to be no reason for the lock — it wasn't securing anything).

Wednesday's Wisdom: Ask Robert DeCandido

Last evening while walking home through Central Park, I stopped by the deck near the Delacorte  Theatre in hopes of seeing a Great Egret whom I've noticed at this location often (which I've blogged about in prior entries) but he/she was not there.

However, thanks to the long lens of my camera, I was able to notice a male Red-Winged Blackbird alighting on the dense foliage (as evidenced in the photo atop this entry) so I decided to head in that direction to see if I could get a closer look at him.

By the time I got to where I had seen this creature, he was not there, but I did hear a bird singing within that dense foliage and was able to take pictures of the songster. My images can be seen directly below.

As I was heading down a path I noticed a man looking through binoculars and I assumed he was observing birds so I showed him the pictures I had just taken in hopes that he might help me ID the creature I'd just seen.

The Red-Winged Blackbird

Yesterday (here on Blogger) I mentioned that it was Look Up In The Sky Day (LUITSD) and discussed the importance of noticing nature's details which is part for the basis for LUITSD.

However, as you undoubtedly know, dear reader, one doesn't have to look up at the sky to observe aspects of nature. The other day when I was in Central Park, I saw a male Red-Winged Blackbird (in breeding plumage these birds are solid black, with red wing-patches). 

He was among leaves that were on the ground, munching on a peanut, and can be seen in the photograph atop this entry...

IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY

The photo featured atop this entry is of a tufted titmouse who is taking in the sights of Central Park. I took the image this past Saturday, April 15th 2017. I have posted a very similar one here on Blogger, in a recent blog post, where I wrote about this sweet bird type.

In any event, on the day that I witnessed this bird, watching, I had come to the park to distract my mind, from the sadness I was feeing over having been blown off by someone who had planned to meet with me (which I subsequently blogged about this past Monday).

Therefore, I was honored and humbled to see this tufted titmouse, as well as to meet another bird type; who can be seen in the pictures below.

If you have been following me here on Blogger and or on Facebook, you probably know that after some research, I had thought the creature was a Savannah sparrow.

And, you may also know, that I have recently learned that this creature is a White-throated sparrow, which I discussed in one of yesterday's entries here on Blogger.

In any event, last Saturday when I encountered the tufted titmouse as well as the White-throated sparrow, I saw a number of bird types, including an American robin, who can be seen in the next set of pictures.

As you can see, this creature is doing some flora-ing (what birds call the act of observing flowers, a habit which is discussed in the book Words In Our Beak Volume One.)

Tuesday's Truths WK 37-A: Savannah Sparrows Telltale Sign

Welcome to week thirty-seven of my Tuesday's Truths series. This post is dedicated to the bird type known as the Savannah sparrow, and the creature can be seen in the photo atop this entry. I took the picture this past Saturday when I was in Central Park. I had never seen this bird variety before, so I researched a number of sources, including The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who states the following info re the Savannah sparrow:

"... take a closer look at this one and you’ll see an understated but distinctive sparrow with a short tail, small head, and telltale yellow spot before the eye. Savannah Sparrows are one of the most numerous songbirds in North America, and while sometimes overlooked, are likely visitors across the continent. In summer, they don’t hesitate to advertise their location, belting out a loud, insect-like song from farm fields and grasslands."

What an honor it was for me to encounter this creature on a "Saturday in the Park" (which was not The Fourth of July).

Welcoming a New Visitor: Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

A few days ago, April 18th 2013, I heard a wonderful voice singing in my garden, and as it happens, the voice belongs to the handsome guy featured in the image above today's blog entry. This little fellow is a rose-breasted grosbeak; although I did not know that at the time, and at first I mistook him for a hairy woodpecker because that type of bird has been an occasional visitor to my garden (which I've discussed in my other on-line venues, including a post here on Blogger which you may refer to by clicking on this link).

In any event, I was so awestruck to see this creature that I immediately posted a photo-op (different from the one seen here) on TLLG's Pinterest Boards as well as on TLLG's Facebook Page, where one of my followers, Evelyn E, someone I've never met, pointed out to me that this uncanny little fellow may not be the hairy woodpecker as I had initially thought.

Oh, Avellana corylus! Oh, Avellana corylus! How lovely are your branches!

Seeing the leaves of my Avellana corylus AKA Contorted Hazelnut (a shrub which grows in my rooftop garden) all covered with snow (as evidenced in the photo atop this entry) and clinging to their branches, caused me to think of the song, On Top of Spaghetti, which is associated with a nursery rhyme.

But, fortunately, unlike the doomed meatball in that nursery rhyme, I didn't lose any my shrub's leaves that were covered in snow, because NOBODY sneezed!

Édith Piaf + "La Vie En Rose" Insights (Wednesday's Wisdom)

One hundred and three years ago on this day in 1915, Édith Piaf was born. Followers of this blog may recall that her singing was a a favorite of my dearly departed friend, Donna De Solis, and that Piaf's rendition of La Vie En Rose, which  she is singing in the video atop this entry is one that I used in a memorial DVD which I created in honor of Donna's memory at the request of her son.

I've just learned via a comment (by Joshua F) on this You Tube video that "La vie en rose literally means life in pink. It's a French expression roughly equal to 'rose-colored glasses', but without the negative connotation of the English expression. It's about seeing the world in a brighter and more idealistic way- directly in the context of the song, this is because of a lover, but because it was released in 1945, it served to soothe and inspire a France still recovering from the horror of Nazi occupation."

Prior to my reading the comment I had read in a Google search "La vie en rose literally translates to Life in pink and it would be better translated to life through rosy (pink) glasses. The idea is to depict a state where everything appears rosy and cheerful to you. It's about a state of bliss when everything around you is a source of joy..." 

And in that search I also read, "Ah, la vie en rose! The quintessential French phrase for non-French speakers, popularized by Édith Piaf's love song. It comes from a very common and popular expression ''voir la vie en rose' which literally means ''seeing life in pink.' In English, it's often translated as ''wearing rose-colored glasses..."

"Whistler of the North"

I took the photo of a White-throated Sparrow atop that is atop this entry when I was giving a "tour" of the Hallett Nature Sanctuary (in Central Park) to JS, the woman who allowed me to exchange copies of my book series (Words In Our Beak)...

MY BOOK SERIES

... for a  Douglas Fir Christmas Tree from Canada, where she lives.

At the time I did not realize that the song this bird sings is associated with Canada, and is often called "Whistler of the North," but this past Saturday, I came upon a you Tube video featuring this creature and his/her Canadian ties.

The White-throated sparrow has visited my rooftop garden in bygone years and is featured in volume three of my book series. If you are interested in my books, here's the purchase info:


Volume One: ISBN: 9780996378529
Book Seller Info: http://bit.ly/2AFZDCz
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zxVujM
Barnes & Noble On-Line: http://bit.ly/2AAnB26
book culture On Columbus (a bookstore on the UWS in NYC): http://bit.ly/2FsC1Uf

Volume Two: ISBN: 9780996378536
Book Seller Info: http://bit.ly/2q75g8e
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2DY0mz0
Barnes & Noble On-Line: http://bit.ly/2G65m6H

Volume Three: ISBN: 978099637853

Book Seller Info: http://bit.ly/2IzH2iu

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IYkmpA
Barnes & Noble On-Line: http://bit.ly/2vedQot

EACH OF THESE BOOKS CAN BE ORDERED FROM ANY PLACE SELLING BOOKS BY GIVING THEM THE TITLE, OR ISBN, OR MY NAME, PATRICIA YOUNGQUIST.

Engaging Conversations

An engaging phone conversation is something yours truly has always appreciated, as evidenced by this photo of yours truly taken in bygone (way bygone years).

In a recent FB post on my personal FB Page,  I mentioned how grateful I was that Jenny from Santa Barbara had phoned me to see how I was faring in the lockdowns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic while still dealing with the aftermath of my broken greater tuberosity.

As I stated in that entry, it was such a blessing to speak with someone who didn't set their phone down and walk away from it while still talking to me, making it so difficult for me to hear.

I am mortified at myself for wasting precious moments of life struggling to hear someone who is doing so many things while talking to me.

I guess that's the point. People who do this are talking TO me NOT talking WITH me and I've gotten so used to it I hadn't realized how it made me feel...

Until....

Until I had A REAL conversation with Jenny last week.

AND MUCH TO MY DELIGHT, IT HAPPENED AGAIN!

This past Friday, I had a real and wonderful conversation with an out of NY state a woman named MH, who I only know through Facebook and she phoned me for the same reason that Jenny had: To see how I was faring in the lockdowns brought on by the pandemic while still dealing with the aftermath of my broken greater tuberosity.

I have often phoned people who I know are alone to see how they are doing and I hope it means as much to them as it does to me.

In any event, in the aftermath of my loving with conversation MH, I felt a sense of mourning for all the time lost straining to hear those who are talking away from afar while I hang on their every word and I could not even sleep.

SO...

Rather than fight the tossing and turning, I got up, and for the first time since living in my place, I went into my garden when it was still dark and uttered my own types of prayers while birds waking from their slumber chirped away, engaging with each other in their lyric conversation.

Eventually I went back inside to work on my column submission and heard a bird singing at the top of his/her beak and was thrilled (understatement) to see an American robin had stopped by!

AMERICAN ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

I was not the only one to enjoy the red-breasted songster.

Wednesday's Wisdom: Listen to the Birds!

I live near to Central Park, which can be seen in the photograph (from a web-page) atop this entry. 

During the dozens upon dozens of years in my travels to work places or medical facilities, I have gone to and from my destinations by walking on several different paths within the park. Yet, it is only over the past couple of years, that I’ve heard any of the numerous birds who visit there, in the act of singing.

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).