Who-dun-it?

MY GARDEN IS THE SETTING FOR MY BOOK SERIES

This past Monday (8-10-2020) when I arrived home after my follow-up appointment with the surgeon (re the procedure I had on 8-4 -2020), I discovered a portion of the string lights which provide a canopy over my garden, had come down and I knew it wasn't storm related....so my question was Who-dun-it?

Hurricane Irene. New York's Santa Ana?

My blog entry for today is being published much later in the day than usual; and for that, I sincerely apologize — especially because I do not appreciate it when I take the time to go to a blog where a scheduled posting has been promised —  only to find older entries and not the "promised"  post of the given day, one which I had been (in most cases) looking forward to reading. I find a blogger not posting during a committed schedule — unless vacation or hiatus plans have been announced — to be somewhat disrespectful of any readers or followers; and therefore, I do not want to make delayed postings a habit.

Some might say I am being somewhat narcissistic, because the world is not pausing, waiting for my new posting so that they can read my blog; nor is it pausing to learn of my follow-ups to any prior blog entries. I just believe it is courteous to keep your word (which, for me, in this case is sticking to a posting schedule that I laid out in January of 2011, which you may refer to by clicking here) to your valued readerships and followers, a community I truly am grateful to have. So without further ado, here's my post for today, August 27th, 2011.

"My September Baccalaureate": Journey Towards Elegant Lighting

Last week, at this very time, I was preparing for a hurricane who has ben named Hurricane Irene, which I discussed in this past Saturday's post, and in the conclusion of that entry, I reported that, in regards to Irene, I'd return to blogging with "hopefully little damage to report."

Thankfully, that was the case, as I've already indicated earlier this week. I am very grateful to God — though I don't express it nearly as much as I should. In fact, since I sleep on a foam pad — which is directly atop of my floor, I often don't kneel when I say prayers before going to sleep, although I did (as is the standard) kneel at mass yesterday, with thanksgiving that, in terms of Irene, I was unscathed; especially given the damage which Hurricane Irene did cause for many people, including those who live  on or near the Jersey Shore, a place, where I took the photograph (posted above) in late July, of a shore town's resident's garden fence with the affirmation, God Answers Knee-Mail. 

Since the place where I took this photograph is very near the ocean, I hope the folks who own the property as well as their surrounding neighbors did not sustain too much damage, but, whatever the case turned out to be, I am fairly certain they relied on their knee-mail to God to see them through the situation.

And speaking of God; are you, dear reader, familiar with the adage, If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans" ?

Well, what has happened, dear reader, is that I've recently discovered this very same  thing that happens with a muse. If you want to amuse your muse, tell him/her what you intend to write about. 

For as you may recall, dear reader, last Saturday I confessed that I had planed to write about my "journey towards elegant garden lighting", but my preparation for Irene took precedence. I did promise to return to my garden lighting epiphany today, but I admit that (because I have now been writing this entry in my head for over a week) my insights do not seem as poignant as they did last week, and I am tempted to renege on my promise; not out of an unwillingness to fulfill a task — but out of a bit of pride — that I may not sound as prolific in cyberspace as I do in my head, when it comes to the insights which I thought the new lighting system in my urban garden had taught me.

New Arrivals: The Coccinellidae novemnotatas aka THE LADYBUGS

Last week, at this very time, I was preparing for a hurricane who has ben named Hurricane Irene, which I discussed in this past Saturday's post, and in the conclusion of that entry, I reported that, in regards to Irene, I'd return to blogging with "hopefully little damage to report."

Thankfully, that was the case, as I've already indicated earlier this week. I am very grateful to God — though I don't express it nearly as much as I should. In fact, since I sleep on a foam pad — which is directly atop of my floor, I often don't kneel when I say prayers before going to sleep, although I did (as is the standard) kneel at mass yesterday, with thanksgiving that, in terms of Irene, I was unscathed; especially given the damage which Hurricane Irene did cause for many people, including those who live  on or near the Jersey Shore, a place, where I took the photograph (posted above) in late July, of a shore town's resident's garden fence with the affirmation, God Answers Knee-Mail. 

Since the place where I took this photograph is very near the ocean, I hope the folks who own the property as well as their surrounding neighbors did not sustain too much damage, but, whatever the case turned out to be, I am fairly certain they relied on their knee-mail to God to see them through the situation.

And speaking of God; are you, dear reader, familiar with the adage, If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans" ?

Well, what has happened, dear reader, is that I've recently discovered this very same  thing that happens with a muse. If you want to amuse your muse, tell him/her what you intend to write about. 

For as you may recall, dear reader, last Saturday I confessed that I had planed to write about my "journey towards elegant garden lighting", but my preparation for Irene took precedence. I did promise to return to my garden lighting epiphany today, but I admit that (because I have now been writing this entry in my head for over a week) my insights do not seem as poignant as they did last week, and I am tempted to renege on my promise; not out of an unwillingness to fulfill a task — but out of a bit of pride — that I may not sound as prolific in cyberspace as I do in my head, when it comes to the insights which I thought the new lighting system in my urban garden had taught me.

Friday Follow Up: "the celebration of Festivus"

Today, Friday, is the weekday I reserve for follow-up: hence Friday Follow Up. However, today, December 23rd, is also known as Festivus Day. According to Wiki, "Festivus Day is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as a way to celebrate the holiday without participating in its pressures, the religious aspects, and commercialism. It was created by writer Dan O'Keefe and introduced into popular culture by his son Daniel, a screenwriter for the TV show, Seinfeld."

Because I have not had a television for quite a number of years, what I know about Seinfeld is minimal, and I certainly — until today — knew nothing about the celebration of Festivus. My Larix Kaempferi (Japanese Larch) which grows in my urban (NYC) garden is the one who told me about it.

Identifying with Pigeons who are Marginalized

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

Thanks to the long lens of my DSLR, I was able to observe the eyelids of a pigeon who stopped by my rooftop garden and sat on a pole which supports my string lights. Yes, I said that this bird sat on a pole supporting my string lights.

Stanley Tate (in a column) proclaims,"Pigeons sit on top of something rather than grip a perch. Their feet are fatter and shorter and their toenails are less curved."

This seems to be the case with the pigeon who visited my place the other day as evidenced in the photograph directly above as well as in the one directly below.

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

However, I wouldn't say that my visitor didn't "grip," for he/she seemed to do some gripping as evidenced in the next series of photographs.

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

The way in which this pigeon alighted on my pole was not the only action that caused me to be curious re his/her behavior, as states in my introduction, I initially noticed his/her lids were nearly closed; as seen in the first picture included within this entry, and the one directly below, my first thought was that he/she was about to take a nap.

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

However, since I couldn't be certain this pigeon's eyelids indicated he/she was about to snooze, I did some research re the eyelids of pigeons and discovered some interesting facts. According to an unnamed general web-page in my Google search, "Pigeons, like humans, can see in colour, but unlike humans they can also see ultraviolet light, a part of the spectrum that humans cannot see. As a result, pigeons are often used in search and rescue missions at sea because of this unique sense combined with excellent all-round vision." 

It's hard for me (and it seems Stanley Tate feels the same way) to comprehend why pigeons are so marginalized. Tate proclaims, "Although there is no objective dividing line between the two, people tend to separate them in their thoughts and attitudes. Doves are seen as clean in feather and in heart, gentle, peaceful, calming; and they have pretty blue eyelids. Pigeons are viewed as grimy, poopy, pestilential, and they are utterly common. But the birds we call doves are no cleaner than the ones we call pigeons — even the most urban pigeon is scrupulously well groomed, iridescent, and tidy. Tar on its coralred feet, perhaps, but no dirtier than a country mourning dove."

Perhaps I identify with pigeons being marginalized because of the way I've been sidelined as a result of my physical appearance as a result of having been born with Neurofibromatosis as well as four eye ailments (Keratoconus, Monocular vision, Optic atrophy and Staphyloma).

Influenced by NNM's Autumn Clematis!

It has been eight months since my last post here on Blogger and that entry was just to let folks know my web-designer, Chris Deatherage, had made changes to my website. 

Prior to that posting I had become very sporadic in publishing my blog posts which was out of characer for me. For after years of being very dedicated to regularly offering excellent written content that was accompanied by my photographs and or videos — I even received an award for my endeavors and an image of it can be found on my right sidebar — circumstances, upon circumstances beyond my control, interfered with my being able to produce content for this venue.

Those circumstances were mostly due to new and severe consequences of my battles with Neurofibromatosis (NF) a medical condition I've had since birth, which is discussed in one of my first blog posts as well as in many posts thereafter. (NF is also the subject of my book project, Imperfect Strangers.) A short video introducing the book can be viewed on Vimeo and/or You Tube.

In any event, I won't go into details of my forced hiatus from blogging (at least not within this post) for it was my seeing Nancy Nelson Mancini's photograph of her Sweet Autumn Clematis (a copy of it is posted atop this posting) that brought back bittersweet memories of my own beloved Sweet Autumn Clematis vines that I got in either 2004 or 2005, and ultimately blogged about in 2010 in an entry where I described their back story, (which I encourage you to read it and check out the pictures included in that post). 

Moreover, my Autumn Clematis vines were subsequently featured in my first garden-themed movie, The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame... almost, which can be viewed on Vimeo and/or You Tube.

These vines ultimately survived being in two major garden upheavals (due to a couple of renovations ordered by my landlord) and one of those upheavls is discussed in volume two of my three hardcover book series, Words In Our Beak.

But getting back to NNM's image of her Autumn Clematis and my saying that seeing it evoked bittersweet memories, the reason for this is, as is that now, approximantely eighteen years of having these vines in my garden, they are gone.

I hadn't relized what a loss this has been for me until I saw NNM's image, and recalled my memories of having Autumn Clematis vines which never did well again after being hacked by my lanlord in 2021.

He had hacked the Autumn Clematis while standing on the building's rooftop and leaning over it to chop away my vines, This was not a safe action for him to take with my vines or with himself as he could've fallen off the building's rooftop.

Moreover, he had assaulted my Beech Tree, ruining her shape. 

The results of these violent actions are indicated in the red-bordered shapes which I've attached to the image directly above. It is also included in a post here on Blogger that I published at the time of the incident. It will still take quite sometime for the Beech Tree to regain her shape which she probably will, but the fate of my Autumn Clematis has not been good.

Initally, Juan V was able to redirect the vines' path and nudge them to grow on a custom built trellis as seen in the two pictures directly below.

But unfortunately they were begining to pull on the string lights that provide a "canopy" over my garden. I was concerned that the vines, given their strength, could yank down my string lights... 

... (which might cause a fire) and that fact, coupled with the truth that vines can harm brick and mortar, convinced me to have my Autumn Clematis vines (I had two) removed. 

For now in their place, a Clematis tangutica (she is indicated by an arrow affixed to the next photo) has been planted. She is a much less aggressive vine, but I feel she looks swallowed up by the big container and it will be quite some time before she eases into it. 

A couple of Amsonia plants have been placed there to keep the new vine company (as also seen in the next picture where a circle has been drawn around them)...

... but I don't like the look of their foliage, so I may need to plant something else there.

Not having my Autumn clematis is a big loss, yet I realize that is what happens when one gardens. Over the years, I've learned it's best to appreciate the flora when they are around as I certainly do, by meeting their needs for water and fertilizer, as well as by helping them to tell their stories through  my blog posts, my movies and my books.

However, given my new battle with NF and the limitations this brings, it may be quite a while before I can tell my flora's stories. Plus I need to concentrate on raising awareness about NF which I hope to do through my book project, Imperfect Strangers.

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART TWO-H-2 (Oct 11th — Oct 24th 2012)

Today's entry here on Blogger is part two-H-2 of a series of posts pertaining to a year-end review for special occurrences in my urban garden for the year 2012 (the schedule for this series is described in part one as well as part two-A of this topic) and, as I've said, because October 2012 was the month Hurricane Sandy hit the area near to where I live, my garden went through another upheaval, so I will be posting the review for October in three parts.

Actinida kolomikta RETURNS TO THE SPOTLIGHT! (Courtesy of a Neighbor's Window!)

PICTURE ONE FOR 5-19-13's POST

Today's post is being co-authored by my very prolific Actinida kolomikta, who, as you may recall, is the one (of my kiwi vine "couple") that starred (as the narrator) in my first garden themed Virtual Story (mini-movie) titled The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame . . . almost, which can still be viewed in my Vimeo Library by clicking here.

My Actinida kolomikta has been somewhat disgruntled lately as he was looking forward to appearing in a sequel to that movie! However, I have had one delay after another in terms of producing it, and, therefore, I'm "allowing" my media savvy vine to assist me in this entry; which has been inspired by my recent visit to a neighbor's home, a neighbor who lives in a building five doors west of me, where her kitchen window looks onto a portion of my rooftop garden, a "view" that can be seen in the image at the top of today's entry.

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART TWO-G-2 (Sept. 12th — Sept. 20th 2012)

Today's entry here on Blogger is part two-G-2 of a series of posts pertaining to a year-end review for special occurrences in my urban garden for the year 2012 (the schedule for this series is described in part one as well as part two-A of this topic) and, because September 2012 was the month when my garden went through so much upheaval, I will be posting the review for that month in two parts. The first part of September (September 1st — September 11th) was discussed in yesterday's post.

In today's entry I will be reviewing events that took place in the month of September during the time period of September 12th through September 20th for the year 2012, and I will begin by referencing the photograph above which illustrates the fact that in spite of the various losses in my garden, my bling wearing (ankle bracelet or a branding bracelet) house finch was continuing to come back to my garden.

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART TWO-H-1 (Oct 1st — Oct 10th 2012)

Today's entry here on Blogger is part two-H-1 of a series of posts pertaining to a year-end review for special occurrences in my urban garden for the year 2012 (the schedule for this series is described in part one as well as part two-A of this topic) and, because October 2012 was the month Hurricane Sandy hit the area near to where I live, my garden went through another upheaval, so I will be posting the review for October in three parts.

Another 2020 Snow Day

MY GARDEN IS THE SETTING FOR MY BOOK SERIES

In my last posting here on Blogger, which was last Thursday, December 10th, 2020, I mentioned that we were having a snow day. That incident was a wet snowfall and the accumulation was not much, nor did snow stick on the ground. 

Yesterday, December 16th 2020, six days after the aforementioned event, we had another snowfall in NYC. According to news repors, including NY1, "This is the biggest December snowfall since 2009, when we [NYC] recieved 10.9 inches that year.  It also doubled New York's total winter snowfall from last year, with 10.5 inches at Central Park." 

Most of the snowfall has ended as of this blog post.

The atmosphere it created in my garden was truly magical as you might surmise from the photograph atop this entry which I took late last night. In the next image you can see how my garden looked in relation to the buildings in close proximity.

MY GARDEN IS THE SETTING FOR MY BOOK SERIES

Unfortunately, the weight of the snow caused a portion of my string lights to detatch from the pole which as evidenced in the follwing photo.

MY GARDEN IS THE SETTING FOR MY BOOK SERIES

Hopefully once things melt, Juan V can stop by and reattach them.

ADDENDUM:

On 12-23-2020, Juan V was able to stop by and fix the broken zip tie (as seen in the next image)....

JV MAKING A REPAIR IN MY GARDEN
(THE PLACE WHERE WIOB* IS SET)

...which had caused the lights to come down.

Once he fixed that, he added lights to my a portion of the branches of my kiwi vines (as seen on the lefthand side in the next picture).

MY GARDEN IS THE SETTING FOR WIOB*

*WIOB is the abbreviation for the title of my book series, Words In Our Beak where the stories are set in y rooftop garden.

MY BOOK SERIES

My rescue tree was fit to be tied (sort of). Wednesday's Wisdom

Yesterday was Boxing Day and a woman who lives in the building directly across the courtyard from me came over to my place with her friend who has traveled to NYC for the Christmas holidays. They helped me string lights on the Christmas tree which I have in my rooftop garden. (This tree is a rescue as I mentioned in a recent entry here on Blogger.)

The results of their welcome labor can be seen in the photo atop this entry. I've affixed a red arrow (left) to the image to indicate a plug (right) that leads to a power source which will accommodate the lights on my tree topper. I hope to put it up in the coming days, but first I need to find a way to secure it to the tree because it gets very windy in my garden.

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART TWO-F (August 2012)

Today's entry here on Blogger is part two-F of a series of posts pertaining to a year-end review for special occurrences in my urban garden for the year 2012 (the schedule for this series is described in part one as well as part two-A of this topic) and in today's entry I will be reviewing the month of August for the year 2012.

O Mio Babbino Caro

On Tuesday, August 7th 2012, when Juan V came to work with me in my garden (he comes every 10-12 days), he said, "we've got a real problem." 

The problem he spoke of was an infestation of spider mites on my beloved Actinida kolomikta and Actimida (Kiwi Vines), and, as many of my readers know my Actinida kolomikta has been busy peparing for the sequel to my first garden themed movie (which he narrated), titled The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame . . . almost! 

As most gardeners know, by the time one can see spider mites, the infestation is already problematic. And since I'm visually challenged, by the time I would notice them, it would probably be too late. Even when Juan V showed them to me, I still couldn't detect them, especially on the back side of foliage.

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART TWO-E (July 2012)

Today's entry here on Blogger is part two-E of a series of posts pertaining to a year-end review for special occurrences in my rooftop garden for the year 2012 (the schedule for this series is described in part one as well as part two-A of this topic) and in today's entry I will be reviewing the month of July for the year 2012.

Meanwhile, in my review for the "events" which occurred in my garden for the month of April 2012 , I brought up the fact that T.S. Eliot was known to have said, "April is the cruelest month . . . " 

And although April 2012 had been far from being the "cruelest month" in my garden this year, the month of July 2012, whilst it was exceptional because it marked the beginning of an array of birds (such as the one seen in the image atop today's blog entry) coming to visit my garden; was filled with weather related conditions that resulted in the death of some of the things as well as causing an extreme "sickness" in others, which I grow, and you will see that as I proceed with this review.

As for the image atop today's entry, it shows a mourning dove making him/herself at home in the container which houses my Acer shirasawanum's (Aka Autumn Moon tree).

In bygone years, I had heard the "voices" of mourning doves singing in my garden when alighting on this tree's container; hence I took the picture at a vantage point through the window of my door in an effort to not startle the bird.

Monday's Musings: Continuing to find JOY and PEACE when Visited by a Mourning Dove

MOURNING DOVES HAVE A BACKSTORY IN VOLUME ONE

A few days ago (July 3rd 2020), a lone young Mourning dove stopped by my place and stared into my window before taking in a view of my garden from the vantage point of the string lights that I have hanging over it (evidenced in the photograph atop this entry).

My Jumping Squirrel (Tuesday's Truths WK 189)

THIS SHRUB IS FEATURED IN VOL 1

In recent blog posts (including one published on 7-8-2020) and one published on 7-19-2020), I've been discussing my observations of a lone squirrel who has been spending a lot of his/her time in my rooftop garden.

One thing I've noticed is his/her's incredible ability to jump. She/he often enters my place by jumping from the trees in an adjacent courtyard on to one of the pole that supports my string lights and from there she jumps on to a stake in the container of my Japanese Larch (Larix Kaempferi) as seen in the photo atop this entry.

Teens Are Running Across NYC Rooftops and Up To No Good (Tueday's Truths WK 202)

The photo atop this entry was featured in my December 17, 2020 blog post where I mentioned the atmosphere that a then recent snowfall and readers could "see how my garden [It is under the string lights seen in this picture] looked in relation to the buildings in close proximity."

That magical atmosphere became creepy this past Sunday when a group of teens were on the rooftop and tossed a substance on to my garden's floor.

Another Suspect...

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOK SERIES

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOK SERIES

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOK SERIES

In yesterday's (8-12-2020) post here on Blogger, I spoke about what creature might have been responsible for bringing down the string lights which provide a canopy over my rooftop garden.

During this morning's thunderstorm, I saw someone (and I'm not naming names but he is pictured in the images directly above and below) who can now be added to the list of suspects.

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOK SERIES 

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOK SERIES 

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOK SERIES

For your inquiring mind's satisfaction, this particular bird type (a male Northern cardinal) is featured in all three volumes of my book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

All of the stories are set in my garden and told from the perspective of Cam, a FEMALE Northern  cardinal.