Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Murray Head’

The Common Grackle – Uncommonly Colorful

Posted in BY THE WAY, Ha-P 2 B in OG, New York Speaks, tagged , , , , , , , on March 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I love to watch birds hopping on and off my feeder in the backyard.  I also love the sound of their manic early morning chirping as dawn breaks and they descend upon the feeder for breakfast.  Mostly we get Sparrows and Chickadees, Morning Doves, sometimes a pair of Cardinals.  I have a couple of Blue Jays who periodically visit, not to eat from the feeder but rather to steal some of the peanuts left out on the table for the squirrels.  The jays do not have a pleasant voice at all but they are beautiful to look out and bold enough to land on the table or porch rail even though we are present.  Soon, as Spring overcomes winter, there will come a day when all of sudden I hear a lilting song and I know that the Red-Winged Blackbird has arrived!

Over the years we’ve been visited by Grossbeaks, Woodpeckers, Yellow Finches, House Finches, Cowbirds, Starlings, Robins as well as Blackbirds, and of course pigeons (those I chase away).  AND we get Grackles, those iridescent beauties.  They are part of the Starling family and by many, not considered to be an exciting siting.

I disagree! Their luminous feathers literally reflect sunlight, they gleam in the sunshine and as they move around (they are ground feeders) their colors shimmer as their shading goes from blue to purple to green.

Sapphire Blue

Sapphire Blue

Purple Wings

Purple Wings

Sitting Pretty

Touches of Teal Blue

Aquamarine Throat

Aquamarine Throat

Nature's Gradient Colors

Nature’s Gradient Colors

All photos courtesy Murray Head

Related articles

 

Read Full Post »

BIRDS of a Different Feather – All Together in the Park

Posted in Fab Fotos, New York Speaks, Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 1, 2012| 1 Comment »

Today is the last day of my photo week, however not the end of my photo posts!  It’s just been a great week for me as Murray has been sending me shots every other day or so.  So even though I did feature a magnificent owl yesterday, today is devoted to birds of a different feather altogether.  Nice play on words don’tcha think?

A Young Red Tail Hawk

A Young Red Tail Hawk

A Slate Junco Sitting Pretty

A Slate Junco Sitting Pretty

Mallard Triplets

Mallard Triplets

Cardinal Triplets

Cardinal Triplets

Hey how did you get in the picture?

Hey how did you get in the picture?

Blue Jays Are Known Thieves!

Blue Jays Are Known Thieves!

He's Really A Beauty!

He’s Really A Beauty!

HE

HE

SHE

SHE

All photos by Murray Head

Some people think New York is an ugly city, dirty and without beauty.  They are SO wrong- There’s so much beauty in The City, it’s all around us.  Central Park alone is replete with beautiful flowers and wildlife;  The birds are wonderful, the ponds full of turtles, frogs and visited by egrets and herons alike.  If outside art is not your thing, we have amazing museums and art galleries filled with every genre and period of art and sculpture.  AND of course not to brag too much, MANY of the most famous artists original work hangs here.  

Related articles

Read Full Post »

Yellow Is The Color Of My True Love’s …

Posted in Fab Fotos, New York Speaks, Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I said this was a photo week and it does seem to be shaping up that way!  Look at these bursts of color and then tell me, is it true that the color yellow is uplifting and illuminating?  In world of color psychology, the color yellow denotes intellect. It is optimistic and cheerful and yet also associated with criticism, impatience and cowardice.

What do you feel when you see these photos?

Gorgeous tree is a glowing yellow against the cornflower blue sky

This IS a burst of color!

Peek A Boo – Whoooo

Just a touch of yellow!

Yellow is the center of this world.

Shakin’ Up The Yellow

Yellow Berries

Bee coated in pollen and oh so yellow!

All photos courtesy of Murray Head

Related articles

 

Read Full Post »

AIWYFI-The Art of the Jersey Shore

Posted in Fab Fotos, Ha-P 2 B in OG, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 14, 2012| 3 Comments »

If you are a follower of this blog, then you know we spend time on the Jersey Shore  and I have a category known as Art is Where You Find It.  Art is everywhere IF you have the eye to seek it out, the time to look for it and it helps if you have the ability to capture the sight on film or in this case, digitally.  Murray spent some of Columbus Day weekend with us and he disappeared for hours at at time, camera in hand.  Oh yes, and it really helps if you have an artistic eye for form, color and perspective.

This is the art that surrounds us;  It’s not hanging in a gallery in SoHo, we don’t have   the name of the artist but we do have the ART!

Sand Castle

SAND CASTLE

Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, Jersey Shore, sunset at sea

Sunset at Sea-The Golden Hour

Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, Jersey shore, sea gull

Sea Gull and Street Lamp

jersey shore, ocean grove, asbury park

Boogie Board Art

art deco, Asbury Park, casino

Art Deco Craftsmanship-Casino Asbury Park

driftwood, solitary man

Solitary Man

Ocean Grove, Jersey shore, Canadian geese

Following the Leader

All photos courtesy of Murray Head

Read Full Post »

Home At Last!

Posted in Friends, Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 10, 2012| 2 Comments »

It all started this summer….quite often I would find Nicky leaning into a window, staring intensely.   He was looking at a cat, an intruder in his mind!  Sometimes there would be two;  A black female and a gray and white male who was NOT neutered.  There would be yowling and howling and Nicky would run from window to window to keep track of their whereabouts.  I would dash out and shoo them away, sometimes even throwing water on them!  I know that sounds terrible especially coming from an animal-lover BUT my own cats are my first concern and Nicky always got visibly upset over this invasion.

Fast forward to mid-September – the gray and white cat has disappeared but the black cat keeps coming back.  She would come up on the porch and look in through the screen doors or she would be on the back steps earnestly looking at the door, perhaps to see if it would open and let her in.

Please Ma’am may I come in!

She showed up one day when Peter was out in the yard and of course he petted her.  And she kept coming back….  It wasn’t long before it was apparent she was spending most of her days and nights on our porch so of course we started giving her small amounts of food.  However as a week went by and we knew we would be heading back to NYC, we got concerned as to who would feed her?   Would she have to resort to scavenging and/or hunting for mice or worse, birds?  

We had already started asking everybody we knew if they wanted a cat.  I begged our neighbor (who loves cats) to take as she had been visiting their doorstep also.  He wanted her but alas, his wife did not and besides they often took care of their son’s dog.  What to do?  We called all the rescue groups we could  find and it was always the same story;  There are so many abandoned and stray cats in the county that the rescue groups are overwhelmed and the shelters are full.   We gave our neighbor some food and asked him to feed her while we were gone.

Another week went by, we posted a plea on the town blog, put up Free Adoption posters in a couple of places and the temperature was starting to drop.  Finally a rescue group agreed to take her and find a foster home for her.  Peter delivered her to them, the next day she was taken to a Vet who confirmed she was spayed, no microchip, healthy and he updated all vaccinations and said “This cat is well-fed and healthy, she must belong to someone, you can’t give her away”  AND SO THEY DROPPED HER OFF AGAIN AT OUR HOUSE!  When we returned from NYC a day later, Peter thought he was seeing things when this little black cat came up to him and rubbed herself against his legs. OMG!

NOW the push to find a home for her was getting desperate!  And I was getting obsessive!  I couldn’t stand the fact that she spent night after lonely night sleeping on a chair on our porch.  It was getting colder each night. 

Our friend Murray came to visit over Columbus Day weekend and the little sweet cat captured his heart BUT he proclaimed he just didn’t want a cat at this point.  He sent photos of her to our mutual friend, Rosemarie,  a true lover of all wildlife AND…she said she would take Annie (I named this little orphan on the day of Finley’s Orphan Annie birthday party).  Rosemarie has never owned a cat but she was willing and eager to take on her new charge and planned on naming her Belle.  AHhhhh a sigh of relief, gratitude and happiness.  Belle was going to have a new home! 

We kept Annie/Belle with us in the house for the next two days hoping that we would see signs of a past domestic life return to this cat who seemingly had been living outside (but we weren’t entirely sure about that) albeit she does weigh 13 lb. and always wanted to come in the house.  That night she sat on my lap and then when we went to bed, up the stairs came the cat and plopped herself in the middle of the bed where she stayed all night much to the dismay of Nicky and Nora.

This fairy tale came true and has a very happy ending.  We delivered Belle to her new home yesterday.  She spent the afternoon exploring her new digs and ate dinner out of her new dish and lapped up lots of water.   A picture is worth a 1000 words so the following should tell the whole story!

stray cat, black cat, rescue cat

Belle Is Beautiful

new mommy, Belle Bria

Me and My Mommy

terrace, Belle, black panther

Just Looking…,

All photos courtesy of Murray Head

Related articles

Read Full Post »

AND They Can Fly Backwards!!!!!

Posted in Fab Fotos, Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna, tagged , on September 17, 2012| 2 Comments »

Hummingbirds are among the most spectacular of bird species.  They are highly specialized and equipped to survive in this world.  I watched a PBS special a while ago about the various varieties of hummingbirds and how they and the plants they feed upon actually have co-evolutionized (not sure that’s really a word)!  Most of the hummingbird species have long fairly straight bills – all the better to suck up that sweet nectar, however, there is a hummingbird with a crooked bill specifically and anatomically adapted to feed from a  certain flower.

Hummingbirds are aeronautical wonders;  They can hover like a helicopter, they can fly as fast as 34mph and best of all they can fly backwards!  Their wings flap anywhere from 12 to 80 times per second (depending on species) and when food is scarce or they are sleeping, they are able to lower than metabolism significantly in order to conserve energy.  We usually spot a hummingbird when it is rapidly flitting around some flower but in reality they spend most of their time sitting and digesting.  Sounds like my kind of bird!

Yesterday I included one of Murray’s photos of these ingenious little mighty-mouse birds.  Today I want to share a few more close-ups of the tiny green hummingbirds inhabiting Central Park.

hummingbird, central park

“Ahhhh so sweet…”

hummingbird, central Park, Murray Head

“That looks like a good one”

Teeny Tiny and Green

hummingbird

A Look of Determination

hummingbird, Murray Head, central park

And Flexible TOO!

All photos courtesy of Murray Head

Related articles

Read Full Post »

Birds Of A Feather Flock Together in Central Park

Posted in Fab Fotos, Obscure Origins of Common and Not So Common Phrases, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The origin of this proverb dates back to the mid-16th Century.  In 1545 Martin Turner used a version of this phrase in his papist satire, The Rescuing of Romish Fox; “Byrdes of on kynde and color flok and flye allwayes together.”   

In nature, birds of the same species often do flock and fly together.  Ornithologists explain  this behavior as a “safety”  in numbers tactic to reduce their risk of predation.

Well the only person shooting these birds is Murray and he’s using a lens, not a gun.  See for yourself this marvelous flock of birds.

Central Park

American Goldfinch

Murray Head, Central Park

Hermit Thrush

Murray Head, Central Park

Cedar Waxwing

Murray Head, Central Park

American Redstaart (femaile)

Murray Head, Central Park

Black and White Warbler

Murray Head, Central Park

Red Tailed Hawk

All photos courtesy of Murray Head

Read Full Post »

“I Walk The Line” – The High Line That Is….

Posted in BY THE WAY, Fab Fotos, New York Speaks, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

And actually it was Murray who was walking along the High Line and snapping photos of just what you see as you stroll along.  There are two schools of thought when it comes to the High Line;  For years this piece of real estate lay fallow, weeds and wildflowers flourished in this vacant narrow strip of land.  For sure there is a history of the High Line to be told:  In 1847 the City allows street-level railroad tracks on the West Side. Between 1851 and 1921 there were so many deaths due to this train traffic that 10th Avenue was nicknamed Death Avenue. By 1929 after many years of public debate, the City and State of New York and the New York Central Railroad agree on an improvement project which includes the High Line and adds 32 acres of parkland to Riverside Drive and costs over 150 million 1930 dollars – equivalent to about 2 billion today. In 1934 the High Line opens to trains running from 34th Street to St. John’s Terminal on Spring Street.  By the 1950’s the growth of interstate trucking leads to a decrease in railway hauling nationally and on the High Line.  In the 1960’s the southernmost section of the High Line is demolished.  In 1980 the last train ran through the High Line carrying 3 carloads of frozen turkeys.  In the mid-19080’s a group of residents who owned land beneath the structure lobbied to have the High Line torn down.  In 1999 The Friends of the High Line, a preservation group was formed.  From that point on, they worked with various City and State commissions to have the High Line preserved and turned into a public use space.  This was the first school of thought; that this unique piece of real estate should be open to the public, preserved to be enjoyed by the masses. It took years to explore all the possibilities, secure permission from various regulatory commissions, to hold design competitions, to get approvals for every aspect of design and construction and on and on through miles and miles of red tape until finally in 2009 a section of park was opened from Gansevoort Street to West 20th.  That was then and now in 2012, the High Line has become a major tourist attraction.  And that brings us to the other school of thought about what has progress wrought upon us?   A few days ago in the New York Times there was an Op-Ed article entitled Disney on the Hudson.  Here are the first two paragraphs although from the title itself, I’m sure you know where this is going! “WHEN the first segment of the High Line, the now-famous park built atop an old elevated railway on the West Side of Manhattan, opened in 2009, I experienced a moment of excitement. I had often wondered what it would be like to climb that graffiti-marked trestle with its wild urban meadow. Of course, I’d seen the architectural renderings and knew not to expect a wilderness. Still, the idea was enticing: a public park above the hubbub, a contemplative space where nature softens the city’s abrasiveness. Today it’s difficult to remember that initial feeling. The High Line has become a tourist-clogged catwalk and a catalyst for some of the most rapid gentrification in the city’s history.”Sadly, that’s how I feel about most of what was at one time, a unique place or event in our great City.  I really don’t like enormous crowds anywhere and long lines are distressing, not to mention the weariness of dodging slow-moving gawkers. Oh well now I sound like a cranky curmudgeon New Yorker!   Anyway here is the link to the entire piece: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/opinion/in-the-shadows And now that brings us a couple of days ago when Murray took these photos:

High Line NYC, graffiti

“I Wonder Who’s Kissing You Now”

View From My Window

Broken Dreams

Rec-reate-Advocate-Procreate

ONE WAY

KEEP OUT

All photos courtesy of Murray Head

Read Full Post »

The Exquisite Art of Mother Nature

Posted in Fab Fotos, New York Speaks, Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , on August 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Every season brings us proof of a higher power, a creator more talented than ourselves.  Some of us refer to this master artist as God, some as Mother Nature and others, well I can’t really speak for those who don’t acknowledge or appreciate the fact that the beauty around us was NOT put here by us.  I, for one, marvel at the beauty God has created BUT I’m quite happy to credit Mother Nature here in my blog for the endless seasons of exquisite art.  AND OF COURSE, I have to credit Murray Head for his unbelievable artistic eye and steady lens, for if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t get a glimpse of any of these wonders of the world.   I live 5 blocks from Central Park, but I can’t tell you the last time I was there.  So thank you Murray for bringing Mother Nature’s Art Show to us all.

lotus, pink water lilly, Central Park

Pink Perfection

water lilly, Central Park

Wonderful White Water Lilly

dragon flies, water lilly

Serene Summer Scene

Reflection

turtle, Central Park pond, mallard duck

Harmony

All photos courtesy of Murray Head

Read Full Post »

Wowie Zowie, Look At Me!

Posted in BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , on July 26, 2012| 1 Comment »

Oh my that’s quite an arrogant headline, now isn’t it?  Well I just felt the desire to shout from the cyber rooftop that I just received an award!  The Liebster Award actually…

I’ve been nominated!

Of course it certainly helps to have wonderful friends in the blogosphere – and YES I do have a friend in the cyber world, Lora, who is an expat living in Germany with her husband.  Lora nominated my blog along with a few others.  I love and follow her blog as she explores her new home, her new life and how she is adapting day by day.  I’ve learned a lot about German customs, something I am keenly interested in as I am half-German.  But that’s only part of what Lora has done with her blog, http://liferealities.wordpress.com/ ; She loves to cook and create wonderful meals and with that love and talent, she started a group called “What sha Cooking“.  It is a group of men and women who love to cook and each month there’s a theme for your creation.  Photos are posted on the Facebook page and we all vote.

This award is along the lines of Pass it forward!  Now that I’ve received the honor, I will pass it along to some bloggers who I follow and who I think deserve some recognition for their efforts.

1. Spinny Liberal http://spinnyliberal.com/  Spinny was writing daily about local, regional and especially national politics.  She has a sharp wit, and sometimes a sharper tongue when she explores issues that light fire in the hearts of many liberals and conservatives also.  Last I knew Spinny was taken a hiatus from blogging due to some medical reasons.  However, check the website often, she is brilliant.

2. Photo Nature Blog http://photonatureblog.com/ I don’t remember how I came across this blog, probably through Freshly Pressed.  His photographs are just amazing.  He  takes photos of birds, flowers, clouds, bugs and his style reminds me of pbenjay’s own photographer, Murray Head.  Everything becomes the thing of beauty it is through his camera lens.

3. Devastating The Obvious http://josiahblacksblog.wordpress.com/ So Josiah Black a/k/a Captain Obvious is one very bright young man.  He is clever, sardonic and  I am continually amazed at his subject matter.  Actually I’m a bit in awe of his talent, not to mention envious!

4. Texana’s Kitchen  http://texanaskitchen.com/ What’s not to like here?  I’m going to quote her heading here because  it truly says it all;  Yummy recipes, Pretty pictures, Pithy commentary.  There are hundreds, nay thousands of food-related blogs.  Some are full of extraordinary time-consuming recipes and some are devoted to making thrifting with food an art form and neither of them are for me.  Probably what really endeared Texana to me was her blog on ice cream, need I say more?

5. A Detailed House http://adetailedhouse.com/ I do love design, I have been in real estate for over 40 years, I love the color pink, I have built 2 houses, decorated 4, am a certified Home Stager ergo – I love this site!  Amazingly, they’re doing it themselves for the most part.  The home is magnificent.  Go to and take a visual tour.

Well there you have it, I have passed it forward.  Congratulations to one and all, you have been nominated for a Liebster Blog Award.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »