Attn! Peanuts may not be good for squirrels!?! Let them eat corn? (Wednesday's Wisdom)

THIS SQUIRREL IS FEATURED IN MANY BLOG POSTS

THIS SQUIRREL IS FEATURED IN MANY BLOG POSTS

THIS SQUIRREL IS FEATURED IN MANY BLOG POSTS

As those of you who follow this blog probably know, a alone squirrel, has been visiting my rooftop garden since July 8th 2020. He/she can be seen in the photo-ops atop this entry where he/she is spending his/her time at one of my bird feeders that I have to accommodate the needs of various birds who visit my place.

Tuesday's Truths WK 32: The National Month of Peanuts (and other things)

Welcome to Week Thirty-One of my Tuesday's Truths series. Today, March the Seventh, is the first Tuesday of this month for 2017. Because we are already at the seventh day mark for this month of March, I'd like to point out that one of the observances associated with it, causes March to be known as National Peanut Month. And, I dare say one could proclaim peanuts are for the birds!

And Now A Word (Or Two) About Peanuts

This morning I woke up to breaking news that an "Iowa man's knee was shattered after discarded peanut shells caused him to slip onto the floor of a national steakhouse chain's Cedar Falls restaurant." And he subsequently followed a lawsuit seeking thousands upon thousands in damages! Evidently this was not the first time an individual served a restaurant because he/she had slipped on peanut shells. According to the same news source, "In 2008, a woman received $43,000 after she slipped on peanuts and fractured her kneecap at a Texas Roadhouse."

My hearing the breaking new re suing over peanuts came the same time that I was about to post my own breaking news related to peanuts which is this:

The bluejay, pictured above seems to be "showing off" the nourishment that I've provided within a wreath-style whole peanut bird feeder which I've recently hung in my urban (NYC) rooftop garden. His/her actions in procuring peanuts were quite an inspiration to me the other day.

Tuesday's Truths WK 9: It's #NationalPeanutDay, a day that's for the birds! Tuesday's Truths WK 9:

Welcome to the ninth posting of my fairly new blog series known as Tuesday's Truths. Today, September the thirteenth, ] happens to be a holiday known as National Peanut Day! And according to Holiday Insights (HI) this is is the "peanuttiest of days."

National Peanut Month 2021

The month of March arrived the other day and whether this month comes in like a lion or a lamb, it will always be known here in The United States as National Peanut Month.

Peanuts are a legume appreciated by members of the wildlife community including squirrels who over the course of many years, have stopped by my garden on countless occasions to eat them. This is evienced in the picture directly below.

Peanuts are also enjoyed by members of the wild bird community. In fact they are so popular with Northern cardinals, that my visiting cardinal Cam and her husband Mac, named one of their daughters,“Peanut,” in honor of this taste treat. These three cardinals can be seen (respectively) in the next sequence of photographs.

The stories of this cardinal couple along with the stories of an array of bird types are featured in my three volume hardcover book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

The books make a perfect gift for someone who may be in quarantine or lockdown due to consequences of the coronavirus because the stories in them can bring the outdoors into the homes of those who cannot go out and about.

Let them eat unshelled peanuts.

The photographs atop this entry features a blue jay alighting on the twisting branches of one of the shrubs growing in my urban garden which is a Avellana corylus (Contorted Hazelnut). In the image he/she is eyeing a ball-style bird feeder that is nearly empty of the black-oil sunflower seeds which it holds. Blue Jays are known to eat these seeds as evidenced in the photo below, where a blue jay is availing him/herself of black-oil sunflowers seeds which I had placed on a a saucer.

This bird-type also enjoys eating berries, especially blueberries, as evidenced by the next set of images.

And blue jays eat suet, as you can see in the photos directly below.

However (according to WBU-MICH), "if you offered a buffet, their first choice would be peanuts in the shell."

I certainly agree with them on this, for I have offered un-shellled peanuts in a variety of ways, and my efforts have not been lost on this bird type!

Throwback Thursday: N'tl Peanut Day 2017 has come and gone.

Yesterday was National Peanut Day 2017; and because the holiday shared the spotlight with the celebration of Uncle Sam Day, I didn't cover it in my blog post at that time. I focused on reporting facts re Sam's day of honor; and if you'd like to refer to this particular entry, please click here.

Today's post is dedicated to the 2017 National Peanut Holiday, which means I'm not throwing too far back on this Throwback Thursday. Besides Uncle Sam's Day always coincides with the celebration of National Peanut Day.

Last year, on September 13th 2017, I published an entry on National Peanut Day; and on the following day, September 14th 2016, I published a post which discussed Uncle Sam's Day.

Therefore, this year I'm doing the reverse in terms of publishing entries re these two holidays. As I said, Uncle Sam's posting was on his official day which was yesterday, and today, a belated offering to National Peanut Day is being made.

The young cardinal pictured atop this entry can be seen enjoying peanuts from a wreath-style whole peanut bird feeder which hangs in my urban garden.

N'tl Peanut Day 2019

BLUEJAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

BLUEJAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

In addition to it being Friday the Thirteenth, its National Peanut Day, a this national holiday that blue jays would probably like to celebrate everyday, as you might surmise from the photos atop this entry.

It's the Anniversary of the Peanuts Comic Strip

Here's a copy of a Peanuts comic strip that I love. However, many folks felt differently about it. Those in that camp sent the strip's creator, Charles Schultz, accusatory letters! Be that as it may, I love Charles Schultz, as well as his cast of characters. And since today, October the 2nd, marks the anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip, I'm offering a link to a post that I made (re the Peanuts comic strip) here Blogger (on October 2, 2012). 

It's March!

Well, here we are already in the third month for the year 2019, proving time does fly rather one is having fun or not! I hope someone remembers to wake Mooch (who can be seen in the Mutts comic strip posted atop this entry). But, maybe Mooch needs to sleep a bit more... after all, his pillow looks pretty comfortable and plus the weather might not be so great just yet.

As you undoubtedly know the beginning of March is associated with an idiom: "If March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb and if it comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb."

Evidently this is because "March straddles winter and spring in the northern hemisphere, it tends to have very harsh, unpleasant weather in the beginning but typically has milder, more palatable weather by the end." 

Here in NYC, March is beginning with moderate snowfall as seen in the picture below of my rooftop garden taken in the morning.

THE STORIES IN MY BOOKS TAKE PLACE IN MY GARDEN

In any event, according to a number of sources (including Holiday Insights AKA HI), the month of March in the United States is known as Irish American Month, Music in Our Schools Month, National Celery Month, National Craft Month National Frozen Food Month, National Irish American Heritage Month (designated by Congress in 1995), National Nutrition Month, National Peanut Month, National Women's History Month, Red Cross Month and Social Workers Month.

My Rear Window

In less than one month's time, on September 1st 2017, it will be the sixty-third anniversary of the movie, Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film starred Jimmy Stewart. And the synopsis (stated on Wiki, where I got the image atop this entry), states the following:

"After breaking his leg photographing a racetrack accident, a professional photographer, the adventurous L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies (James Stewart), is confined to a wheelchair in his Greenwich Village apartment to recuperate. His rear window looks out onto a courtyard and several other apartments. During a powerful heat wave, he watches his neighbors, who keep their windows open to stay cool."

Like Jefferie, my NYC apartment (with a garden atop a rooftop terrace, something which Jefferies did not have), my rear window, looks into other apartments, as evidenced in the photo below.

The image was taken by Juan V this past Tuesday when he was here to plant some Toad Lilies, pot my Angusitifolum curry, and to help me keep a drainage problem from getting worse.

My Toad Lilies are indicated by the larger of the two arrows affixed to Juan's image. The vantage point of the image, because it was taken from overhead only gives one a sense of where these plants are located within my garden. However, I have published an entry here on Blogger that features these beautiful plants; and if you'd like to reference, dear reader, please click here.

The smaller arrow is referencing my Angusitifolum curry, which I will write about in the coming days. And the square is highlighting a new centerpiece that's been added to my place. It can be seen in close-up format below.

I am likely to include in a separate blog entry, but the center-piece's photo is here now for purposes of reader known as Sara, for she was instrumental in my having it, and I'd like her to see it, as she lives too far away to travel here.

And with that info, I've digressed enough, for I was speaking about my rear window view being much like Jefferies' except for the garden. The Rear Window character of Jefferie is on my mind today as I have been somewhat confined to my home with a foot injury. I'm not confined to a wheelchair as he was, but I am much more limited in going about my usual routine.

The reason for this being that I have to wear a boot cast which makes it difficult to go up and down the seventy stairs that lead to my place. Going up is actually much better than down in terms of my agility when wearing this cast.

Therefore, I've been attentive to what's going out from the vantage point of my rear window, and have been most fascinated by my view of the array of birds who visit here (as always), especially in relation to "their" wreath-shaped bird feeder that holds the unshelled peanuts that they enjoy eating.

In the following picture, the feeder I'm referring to is indicated with a circle.

In any event, A couple of weeks ago (July 25th), I wrote about a Northern cardinal availing himself of whole peanuts from this feeder. He can be seeing doing this in the next set of pictures.

If you'd like to read about this cardinal's antics and see different images, please click here.

The beaks of a cardinal are designed for un-shelling nuts and seeds which is one topic that is  discussed in the book, Words In Our Beak Volume One. The soft-cover version of this book is  available on MagCloud and it's written in the voice of the female cardinal whose picture is featured on the cover, as evidenced below.

But getting back to my wreath-style bird feeder and the birds who dine from it, sparrows are a bird variety that take pleasure there too, but the task of them eating an unshelled peanut is difficult as their beaks are not designed to open shells!

I suspect this bird type observes other birds eating from the wreath-style feeder and want to get in on the action, even though it is much easier for them to eat black-oil sunflower seeds from my house style feeder that contains their favorite seeds (as seen below).

But maybe house sparrows are like some people, I'm not naming names, in that they like to have what they see others having! For surely it is much easier for a sparrow to eat something other than a  peanut in the shell! However, it was a sparrow attempting to asses the possible ins and outs of getting some peanut crumbs that kept me watching from my rear window. Take a look (the photos have very subtle differences in order for you to see the time and attentiveness this sparrow put into procuring his food choice).

Sparrows are the most ubiquitous of birds! (Tuesday's Truths Episode 222)

Yesterday my country celebrated National Peanut Day and my blog post re it featured a male House finch, taking the oportunity to enjoy peanuts that are in a feeder which is in my garden. That bird type is hardly the only avian creature who comes to nosh on the peanuts which I offer, House sparrows nibble on peanuts when they grow older as evidenced in the image of one of my comic strips.

Photo-comics, as I've mentioned here on Blogger, are a means of sequential storytelling that use photographs rather than illustrations. The inspiration comes from photo-novels, also known as fumetti. They are popular in Italy and Latin America.

This aforementioned strip is included in my recently released book titled BIRD TALES.

It features a number of birds participating in a variety of activities and is dedicated to all birds and everyone who loves them. An interactive book for people of all ages to enjoy together and is now available via Apple Books.

Since I've titled this 22nd episode of my Tuesday's Truths series, "Birds are ubiquitous," let me share with you the fact that they live all over the world, throughout Northern Africa, Europe, the Americas and much of Asia. There are many more sparrows than humans — wherever humans go, House sparrows live!

This is because they feed on scraps that people leave behind! You can find them on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building and have even 2,000 feet underground in a mine.

These birds are also included in my three volume book series, Words In Our Beak.

The goal of these books is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden (mine) 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.

An Inspiration from The Great Pumpkin

BOOK COVER FOR GREAT PUMPKIN CAROLS

According to a FB Pagefor the Charles M. Schultz Museum, "Following the success of the 1966 TV special 'It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!,' Hallmark published a whimsical booklet of Peanuts Pumpkin Carols." (A copy of the booklet cover is seen in the image to the left, or the first picture in time-line view).

"As declared by Linus, and according to the front cover, 'Halloween is becoming a forgotten holiday. We dedicated followers of the Great Pumpkin must do something to rekindle the Halloween spirit. Let us not rest until the universe resounds with pumpkin carols.'

⁠

"🎼 The booklet includes eight pumpkin carols, set to well-known Christmas tunes, of course. Carols include: Great Pumpkin is Coming to Town, Pumpkin Wonderland, I’m Dreaming of the Great Pumpkin, Pumpkin Bells, The Twelve Days of Halloween, I Heard the Bells on Halloween, and O Pumpkin Cards." (Image and text are taken from the aforementioned FB Page for Peanuts @).

Upon my seeing a copy of the 1966 booklet, "THE PEANUTS BOOK OF PUMPKIN CAROLS," I thought of one of my 2020 Halloween-themed products titled. "The Pumpkin Choir" (totes as well as a note-card). They can be seen in the next two images to the right (respectively).

THE PUMPKIN CHOIR TOTE

THE PUMPKIN CHOIR NOTE-CARD

For your information, my photo of pumpkins caroling or ("The Pumpkin Choir") is included in volume two of my book series...

BOOK JACKET (FRONT) WIOB V2

PAGES 44 AND 45 WIOB V2

Words In Our Beak, in a section that describes how Halloween decor impacts the lives of wild birds. Information re the entire series (jackets pictured below) can be found by clicking here.

MY BOOK SERIES

I realize Halloween is twenty-one days from now and I don't like to rush the entrance of the holiday, but due to time needed for shipping (in the event you'd like to purchase items mentioned here), I thought it best to give a heads up now.

Tuesday's Truths WK 46: Eudora's debut & exit from PEANUTS

Earlier today, in an entry for my Tuesday's Truths series here on Blogger, I posted an entry which included a You Tube Clip dedicated to the memory of Matthew Garber. He died exactly forty years ago today: June 13, 1977.

Eudora first appeared in PEANUTS in a strip published thirty-nine years ago today on June 13, 1978 (a copy of the strip is posted atop this entry).

You never know when this might come up in conversation, and, now, in the event that it does, you'll know the non-fake news re this beloved PEANUTS character. For your information, dear reader, Eudora's last appearance was exactly nine years after her debut on June 13, 1987.

It's Squirrel Awareness Month — Learn about these creatures! (Wednesday's Wisdom)

I took a long walk after I published my entry for Tuesday's Truths yesterday. I needed to get the disappointment of what happened to volume three of my book series (Words In Our Beak) off my mind, so I took a long walk in Central Park to pay homage to squirrels since this is Squirrel Awareness Month.

The Month of March is N'tl Peanut Month (Tuesday's Truths WK 77)

 CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

Hello, and welcome to the seventy-seventh week of my Tuesday's Truths series. Today happens to be the last Tuesday in the month of March, and I've been reminded by Cam and Mac's daughter, Peanut (seen in the image atop this entry), that the month of March will end soon. March coming to a close is of great concern to Peanut!

This is because in the United States, March is known as National Peanut Month, and Peanut fears that with the month ending, peanuts may not be available. But I assured her that she need not worry about peanuts being unavailable in my rooftop garden!

Tuesday's Truths (WK 70) are from The Spruce: "Fun Facts About Woodpeckers — Bird Trivia"

DOWNY WOODPECKERS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

As I write this blog post for Tuesday, it's Sunday, and the temperature outside is six degrees, but it's going up to nineteen degrees, which will be up seven degrees from Saturday.

The bitter cold temperatures that we've had for a quite a number of days in a row, here in NYC, has caused the snow on the surface of my rooftop garden to freeze, which will make it difficult for me to gain access to my wreath-style bird feeder in order to replenish it with peanuts. And, as you can see from the images atop this entry, where a lone downy woodpecker is dining from it, I need to refill the wreath because my supply of peanuts has dwindled.