Today is International Plastic Bag Free Day (Friday's Fact)

AVAILABLE VIA FAA

After my having been sheltering in place since the evening of March 21st 2020 through the morning of May 11, 2020 (at the urging of our governor and mayor as a means to remain safe during the coronavirus pandemic and also to help prevent its spread), returning to my activities before the onset of the pandemic has been a bit precarious.

However, I'm getting there; in fact, a business meeting that I had yesterday served as a reminder to point me back to where I left off re one of my projects; for it was at yesterday's appointment that the person (who is an essential worker and did not shelter in place) I was meeting with, told me she had been enjoying using a tote/pouch (seen in the picture atop this entry) that she got from my collection on Fine Art America (FAA).

Upon my seeing it, I was instantly reminded this past March pre-lockdown (which was the last time I saw my colleague), I busied myself with many endeavors, including spreading the word about the totes/pouches (one can be seen in the image atop this entry) which I designed as an alternative to single-use plastic bags that were in the process of being eliminated in many places, including NYC. 

NATIONAL READ A BOOK DAY 2020

IMAGE CREDIT

According to a number of sources, September 6th is Read a Book Day, a web-page has this to say re the holiday:

"Break out your reading glasses and favorite mug of hot coffee, because it’s National Read a Book Day! Some people just can’t stop reading, but most of us tend to put reading on the back burner with other 'maybe later' activities like hitting the gym or cleaning the oven. Life can definitely get in the way of our reading time, but National Read a Book Day is the perfect opportunity to make some time in your life to read. Whether you’re a sci-fi fanatic, a non-fiction buff, or a not-so-often reader, there is a book out there just for you. This holiday literately reminds us that entertainment isn’t limited to what you can watch on a screen or hear through your speakers. Books can bring whole new worlds to life, not to mention shed light on world events and share perspectives on the human experience in a way that other mediums just can’t. In a world of increasing technology and screen-based communication, National Read a Book Day encourages us to switch off and turn the pages for a while."

Please let me add to what the aforementioned web-page says re today's holiday by saying, if you buy one to celebrate the event .....well, I suppose you should get something you’ve had your eye on for a certain amount of time...that's another story...

But, if you buy two or more books to honor the occasion. might I recommend one of them be a celebration of nature via stories (set in an extraordinary rooftop garden in New York City) that are told from the perspective of a female cardinal as is the case with my three volume book series, Words In Our Beak.

Totes Reproduced by FAA are High Quality (Thursday's Testimony)

TOTE AVAILABLE VIA FAA

TOTE AVAILABLE VIA FAA

TOTE  AVAILABLE VIA FAA

Q: What do the boy and the young woman seen in the images atop this post have in common?

Soon it Will Be Halloween (27 Days)

In just a a little under one month's time, 2020's Halloween will be here. Last year on that holiday I was on the UES heading west when I encountered a woman wearing a panda bear mask. She can be seen in the image atop this entry.

Who could have known that less than one year's time, most every one throughout the United States and other parts of the world be (or should be) wearing face-masks to prevent the spread of a pandemic known as COVID-19 (the cornavirus).

My FAA Tote Bags

MY MANDARIN DUCK TOTES ARE ON FAA

Someone bought one of my tote bags from FAA (Fine Art America) that feature an image of the now famous Mandarin duck swimming in The Pond located in Central Park. She got it as a gift for her son and emailed me a photo of him "carrying" it. The picture she sent me is featured atop this entry (with her permission).

Moreover, she followed up with a lovely email stating, "The pouch with your photography really is absolutely beautiful. Great quality material and photo.  They absolutely make spectacular gifts.  My son loves his and we have it hanging on our kitchen chair to see every day..."

Short Notice: Fine Art America is offering my tote bags (pouches) at a 25% discount but only for today (11-21-2019)!

This past March, Joan Budilovsky sent me the picture that is atop this entry. It features her son with a tote bag (or pouch) bearing one of my images of the Mandarin duck who wowed a number of people in Central Park from the fall of 2017 through March of 2018, after which he left without a trace.

Halloween Figurines Return to Reread Vol 2 from the "Words In Our Beak Series"

Halloween Visitors Re Read Volume Two

My Halloween visitors are back again and a few of them are rereading volume two of my book series, Words In Our Beak  (as seen in the photo atop this entry), because it has a section  that discusses safe outdoor decor for this holiday, as certain decorations can often be detrimental to birds. 

This holiday is ten days away (counting today) and it will be celebrated quite difffently because of the coronavirus pandemic safety regulations.

One very safe way to celebrate it with the family is to read together and Words In Our Beak Voume Two is the perfect choice.

BOOK JACKET FRONT

A picture of the pages that discuss Halloween (in relation to birds) can be seen directly below.

PAGES 44 AND 45 WIOB V2

Moreover, two images from that segement of the book have been rendred on to greeting cards (a photo of each of the cards I am referring to can be seen in the next sequence of images...

JACK-O-LANTERN BIRDWATCHING

THE PUMPKIN CHOIR NOTE-CARD

..and these cards are (along with other selections) available via Fine Art America (FAA).

Additionally, one image from this section ("The Pumpkin Choir") of voume two has been rendred on to a tote bag (also by FAA) which is available in three sizes.

THE PUMPKIN CHOIR TOTE

If these items interest you, don't delay too much dear reader, nine days will pass quickly!

National Bird Day 2020

Cardinal Feeds Fledgling (Info in my "Words In Our Beak" Book Series)

Today, January 5th, is a holiday known as National Bird Day, which is an occasion I've written about in bygone years;  and will continue to do going forward, as this holiday has great personal importance.

Sunday's Sentiments

A SUPPORTER OF "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

This past Friday night (5-22-2020), I received an email from PG (her picture can be seen in the picture atop this entry) where she is posing a book-themed tote bag I created for my three volume book series, Words In Our Beak.

If this tote bag was looks familiar to you, dear reader, included in a prior post, when soon after it became available via Fine Art America (FAA).

TOTE  AVAILABLE VIA FAA

In any event, the aforementioned, PG, has read and reviewed all three books (seen in the image below) and you can read her reviews for each one via Amazon (the links are available within "my book information" blog entry).

MY BOOK SERIES

And to reiterate what I've been saying here on Blogger, "During this time where many people are confined to their homes due to lockdown restrictions (re the coronavirus pandemic), these books (whose stories are set in my rooftop garden) are great to have around as a reminder that there is still so much beauty in our fallen world."

As you can see in PG's image, she is wearing a face-mask designed by yours truly (which is featured in close-up view in the next photograph.

NORTHERN CARDINAL MASK AVAILABLE VIA FAA

I designed the masks in response to the need for folks to wear face-masks during the pandemic which is mentioned in a press-release describing them.

Take Note of Gift Ideas ETC

Take Note, peeps who love seeing and/or hearing about the Mandarin duck who has been visiting NYC: I developed a collection of 10 spiral notebooks (one through three can be seen in the images atop this entry).

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.

Beautiful Alternatives to Plastic Bags

AVAILABLE ON FINE ART AMERICA

Grateful to report I've received a notification from Fine Art America (FAA) that I've sold another tote from my dragonfly image collection (which can be seen in the screenshot from FAA which is posted directly above) to someone living in NYC.

The plastic bag ban will go into affect in our city on March 1st (in 2 days) and while a number of NYC-ers are already carrying totes, they can probably use another and this one is a beauty!

Friday's Fact: It may be too early for some boo-shit but not all....

There are six more days left in September and then Halloween will not be celebrated until the thirty-first of October… So, yes, on many levels, it’s too early for boo-shit!

BUT if you want to send cards for the occasion and/or give a gift such as a Halloween-themed tote, now might be the time to start thinking about this because while it’s too early for boo-shit, it’s not too late to order products since shipping tends to take time (unless you have Amazon prime).

I have created items (totes and greeting cards) for celebrating Halloween and they can be purchased from FAA (Fine Art America). Samples can be seen here (in the collage posted directly above). To see details my Halloween card, click here, and to see details re my Halloween tote, click here.

To see more of my Halloween selections visit me on FAA by clicking here.

Moreover, some of my Halloween-Themed products are based on images included in volume two of my book series, Words In Our Beak.

Its is available on Amazon or by giving the ISBN number 0996378537 to wherever books are sold; it makes a great gift at anytime, including Halloween!

All versions of Words In Our Beak have a goal which is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. The setting for my books is my rooftop urban garden in New York City, my stories are 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.

Friday's Follow-up to a Follow-up

"SUNSET IN RIVERSIDE PARK"  IN AN EXHIBITION

This past Friday I made this announcement in my entry here on Blogger:"Chris Deatherage, the man who edited and formatted my 'Words In Our Beak* " book series uploaded some of my photographs, including a few of my kaleidoscopic images (that are also within one of The Color Gallery pages on my web-site, which he also designed) to the web-site for Fine Art America (FAA). He has now recently uploaded more of my kaleidoscopic works to FAA..."

In today's entry I'd like to talk about one of the prints, Sunset In Riverside Park, which is one of my images that he recently uploaded to FAA. It can be seen in the photograph atop this entry, which I also included in the aforementioned blog post. This picture shows one view of how Sunset In Riverside Park looked in an exhibition that I had at the Manhattan Borough President's office.

BIG deal, but SHORT notice...

I've JUST received an email from Fine Art America reminding me that the tote bags they produce are being sold at a 25% discount!

Attention! The American coot is NOT a duck! (Friday's Fact)

The other day Wednesday (11-14-2018), the "cat and mouse" Mandarin duck who has been making headlines in NYC, returned to the pond near 59th Street in Central Park.

In the image atop this entry, he can be swimming with a Wood duck as a pair of "birding" Mallards gaze at them.

An Encounter with Central Park Visitors

CANADIAN GEESE ARE FEATURED IN VOL 2

Kaitlin, the one limbed Canadian goose featured in the image atop today's post is a bird I met her last Saturday when I was in Central Park and discussed her particulars in last Sunday's blog entry. I saw her again yesterday when I was walking through the park on my way to the Eastside.

Her survival skills of coping with a missing limb are to be applauded and I'm thankful she is still around to enjoy the lawn near Turtle Pond which is the same place that I saw her last week.

Take Advantage of Black Friday Savings (Without Going to a Mall)

It's Black Friday, a day known for specials and savings in the shopping malls, a place that Snoopy seems to think is pretty good, as evidenced in the PEANUTS Comic Strip atop this entry. BUT, here's a savings you can take take advantage without leaving your home, all you need is access to the Internet!

Turtle Pond Trivia & Sighting Turtle Trees

This past Saturday, I published a post re the numerous turtles I had encountered while at Turtle Pond (which is in Central Park) on that day. The aforementioned entry includes an array of photos of this creature basking in the sun on one of the "walls" surrounding this body of water.

Monday was unseasonably warm and when I returned to this place, a large array of this creature type was there and one of them allowed me to take pictures of the inside of his/her shell; as evidenced in the images atop this entry.

International Skeptics Day 2019 ETC

I am featuring this October 2018 image of a turtle in Central Park as it seems to me that the turtle featured in it (where he/she is lounging upon a rock alongside the lake in Central Park) may have been feeling a little skeptical, which would have been apropos for this day of January 13th, as this is one of two days that a holiday known as International Skeptics Day is celebrated. I guess there are so many creatures as well as humans are skeptical that it requires two separate holidays!