THOUGHT PATTERNS

Fuchsia in bloom

I've posted a while ago about this fuchsia plant enveloping a lovely house front in our neighborhood...

But, it wasn't in bloom yet then. Here is what it looks like now, several months later...

This is not it's full glory yet, but it's getting there. It looks so lovely and it sure brings pleasure to my eyes.

Oh, and we spotted another hawk in the neighborhood (here is the post about the first one)...

I've noticed that it was quiet on the bird front that day. We usually have a lot of morning doves just hanging around and sea gulls flying about. And the sea gulls that were left were screeching and flying around restlessly. The reason, I'm sure, was this guy.

I think he spotted us too. He gave us the stare...

You can click to expand. He kind of looks cute, although I'm sure he was going more for the scary look.

Hope you all have a lovely day!

xoxoxo

Several appearances, featuring me and a hawk

I'll be live and in person in a couple of shows soon, so if you'll be in the neighborhood, please stop by.

 

The first one is in El Cerrito, at Eclectix Gallery. 10082 San Pablo Ave. Opening night October 16, 7-10 p.m. (that's also when I'll be there)

 

 

(I'm not commenting on the name of the show, or that we are all listed under "demented artists" :) 

 

The second one is Open Studio's at Sweetie's in San Francisco - 475 Francisco St. (that's also where Terry and I got married!), on October 24 & 25, from 2-6 p.m. I will be there on both days, sitting pretty from 2-6, so say hello if you're close by. Not that I'm saying you should not come if you don't live close by and you are for instance in LA or Milwaukee. By any means, please do visit, if you so desire.

 

 

On a different note, we had quite a surprising guest today. A hawk (or was it a falcon?) came for a visit. I've never seen a hawk in the middle of the city, actually I don't think I've ever seen a hawk before. He was really close. And quite beautiful. And magnificent. 

 

I love how his chest feathers got ruffled by the wind.

 

(Btw, sorry about the quality photos, they are quite awful as it was very foggy and dark and I tried lightening them in my computer which didn't turn out so well.)

 

 

We are having Columbus Day air shows (Blue Angels), flying low and causing havoc amongst birds and pets, so maybe he got a bit lost and confused. I know I would. The funny thing is that our porch and the surrounding area is always full of robins, morning doves and even crows, but today it was dead quiet. Blue Angels and hawks, little birdies did not like it!

 

xoxoxo

 

Wild Parrots

One of the most amazing things about Telegraph Hill, our neighborhood in San Francisco, is that we have our own flock of wild parrots.

 

The first time I became aware of them is when I heard this loud maniacal squawking sound above my head, which sounded almost like arguing. I looked up and there was this huge flock of green/red parrots flying above me.

 

Then, my husband took me to their most famous feeding ground on the other side of our hill, Filbert Steps, where they feast off of berry trees. And the entire tree was filled with them, the green tree was even greener, with spots of red where their heads were. 

 

Then in the late September, just like now, they started frequenting our side of Telegraph hill, looking for Elderberries. Suddenly they were all over the place.

 

Waking us up in the morning, whole flocks flying suddenly out of trees, flying around Coit Tower, arguing or chattering endlessly. Wild and free.

 

Most of these parrots are the same species, known as the cherry-headed conure. The flock is growing continuously and there are about 200 of them now. They have mates and are almost always seen in pairs, they continue to mate and produce new babies every fall.

 

Cherry-headed conures come from the west side of the Andes in southern Ecuador and the extreme north of Peru. How they ended up in San Francisco, nobody really knows for sure. They were originally wild birds that it is said were caught in the wild, shipped up here and sold as pets. Then they were either deliberately released or escaped. But, apparrently, the ones we see today were all born here in the city.

 

Whatever the truth is of how they came here, they are a wonderful part of San Francisco now. They enjoy a year-round territory that extends from their waterfront roost in San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza to the eastern edge of the Presidio and Laurel Heights. They are also spotted in Washington Square Park and at Fort Mason.

 

 

They eat a variety of foods: berries, nuts, blackberries, apples, blossoms... One of their favorites is cherry blossoms. As you see, they have good tastes.

 

Instead of building nests they expand previously existing holes in trees. The holes have to face a certain direction and be a certain size and height above the ground. One of their favorite nesting trees is the Canary Island date palm.

 

And, they are unbelievably cute! And feisty!

 

If you'd like to see and learn more about the wild parrots, you should see the documentary called "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill." It's quite amazing.

 

Here's a little about it: "In a celebration of urban wildness, THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL follows formerly homeless street musician Mark Bittner into San Francisco’s avian subculture, where a remarkable flock of wild green-and-red parrots live and work to survive. Dubbed the “Bohemian St. Francis,” Bittner falls in with the flock as he searches for his path through life, unaware that the wild parrots will do more for him than eat his sunflower seeds. The film reveals moving relationships between Bittner and the birds and explores passionate dynamics among the parrots, often linking their antics to human behavior."

 

To Wild Parrots!

 

xoxoxo

 

{photos and info about the parrots from The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill}

Birdwatching, part 2 (Birds Undercover)

I always wondered what happens with the birds after they leave my sight. Where do they go? What kind of lives do they lead?

Are they solely spending their lives flying from tree to tree, chirping, fluffing, sitting on a branch, occasionally grabbing a bite to eat, than fluffing again, chirping and flying off to another branch....

I don't buy it, not for a second, I never did. There's much more going on here, there must be....nobody so interesting to us leads such uninteresting lives, there's no logic to it.

And after I did some serious spinning and dizzying (some call it thinking), it dawned on me.

They must be leading secret double lives! These guys, they're working undercover!

Yes, birds must have secret jobs as government agents. Or, they're fashion & artists models. They pose for magazine spreads and famous Etsy artists....They have high payed corporate jobs, earn much more than Warren Buffet and give even more to charities, bird charities....

And after doing some extensive undercover research myself, I've got pictures to prove it....

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Here's what Mr. Robin, from my previous post, looks like when he's not pretending he's just a bird:

Etsy artist Berkley Illustration

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And these two, they look awfully suspicious to me, can a couple look "too married"? These two sure do, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal:

 

Etsy artist Berkley Illustration

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How about these birds, they are so obviously undercover Zebra Finches:

Etsy artist yumi yumi

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Whoa, look at this guy, he doubles as a prince, and is called Le Prince!

Etsy artist Christiane Desbiens Carver

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My, my, a contemporary Mata Hara, sending off some important info...

Etsy artist Geninne

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And he, he must have access to some brand new spy technology, obviously... frog pig and firefly technology...

Bird And Moon Studio

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"Try To Sing Your Own Song", ah, the integrity of this guy... he's happy with being just a bird. But what a voice he's got! What? He's really an opera singer? At the royal Opera House in London? I should have known...

Etsy artist Natasha Newton

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Now that I've shared with you my suspicions, I hope you will follow up on my scoop and visit all the links above to explore the places these birds are really inhabiting. Have fun and don't look to suspicious!

xoxoxo

P.S.

All photo copyrights belong to each artist respectively.

 

Birdwatching

I worry that I have become a birdwatcher.

If birdwatching is "the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancment device", then that is indeed what I am doing. Most mornings, before I have my coffee, solely for recreational and entertainment reasons.

But I don't find it a hobby. I find that it shortens the time it takes for the kettle to boil. It boils much faster, you know, if you're not watching it. So I watch the birds instead.

And take pictures. Care to see some, right here, right now?

I could really use some coffee....

Let me strech...I mean, ruffle, ahhhhhhhaaaa, nice...

I wonder if I should fly north or south today....

North...

Hmmm...I feel like somebody's watching me...

Hey! Bird voyeur!

..........

xoxoxo

P.S.

There will be more bird pictures soon in my photo album.

For the Love of Crows

I received a special request for a crow papercut a couple of days ago from a great admirer of crows, and had so much fund making the first one that I ended up making two different designs. They both turned out quite handsomely.

One of them even ended up as a featured favorite crow in a weekly post called "Beak of the Week" on the Curious Oddities blog. I must say, I'm quite proud of the fellow.

So, here they are...

 

"The eagle never lost so much time, as when he submitted to learn of the crow."

~ William Blake ~

xoxoxo