Back Yard Birds

 

Item #267 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles



Hi Puzzlers,

April is such a wonderful month, the days get longer and warmer and the backyard springs to life.  We encourage the local chipmunks to take residence in our yard by feeding them.  When they see us coming with the can of seed they line up to greet us like long lost friends.  These little furry creatures even engage our dog Mario in a well-timed game of chase.  This is a very funny sight to see as the chipmunks always get the best of Mario.  The chipmunks appear to work in tandem; one gets Mario’s attention and the chase begins and just when it looks like Mario is going to catch the little guy he juts into one of his many holes.  Then across the yard at another hole, a fellow chipmunk chirps to divert Mario’s attention.  Then the chipmunk starts running across the yard knowing Mario will be in hot pursuit.  This game continues until Mario gets tuckered out.  At this point an exhausted Mario is content to lie across the deck, with his face resting in his paws, watching the birds of our backyard at their feeders.

Among Mario’s favorites are the Chickadees.  Okay, these little black, white and grey birds are just about everyone’s favorite backyard bird.  They are considered to be “the cheerful darlings” of the backyard bird feeders.  Chickadees generally feed one at a time at the feeder.  They carefully select the heaviest seed, then fly away to eat it, but, not before they have called out to their mate to announce they have found food.   How sweet is that!

Hummingbirds also rank at the top of Mario’s list.  He has learned that in order to see these little beauties he must remain very still.  Hummingbirds can reach speeds of 25-30 miles per hour and some species up to 60 miles-per-hour!   Twenty-five to thirty percent of a Hummingbirds total weight comes from their wings, which can flap up to 80 beats per second.  Ancient Spanish explorers called these tiny wonders Flying Jewels but it was the American colonist who first referred to them as Hummingbirds.

Next on our list of backyard birds is the Wild Turkey.  I know this is not the typical backyard bird but if you live in Northern New Hampshire it is.  During colonial times these amazing creatures were forced to find a new habitat due to over hunting.  Luckily the 1940’s Wild turkey reintroduction program worked so well that the turkey can now be found in 49 states.  (The only U.S. state without turkeys is Alaska.)  Benjamin Franklin so revered the turkey that it was his choice for our Nations national bird. 

So here is a toast of Cheers to the birds of the backyard for bringing us such pleasure and joy!

Happy Puzzling!

Tapestry Cats

Hi Puzzlers,

It happened again! I must have hit the wrong button or icon on my computer and ended up at a site I didn’t intend on visiting. But to be honest, I do not think I hit the wrong key or button, I think my computer is possessed! In any case, this unintended site visit was a pleasant experience; I ended up at a tapestry web site. It was loaded with tapestries from all over the world and from every time period! It got me thinking about tapestries and how they are like snapshots of history, each portraying and capturing a moment in time and preserving it for future generations.

The art of tapestry weaving is centuries old and can be traced to many diverse cultures throughout the world. The Greek Empire covered the walls of Parthenon and other significant civic buildings with tapestries. Burial garments, woven with tapestry designs were used by the ancient Egyptians and Incas. But, it would be the Medieval French who would solidify the tapestries place in history.

Many of the earliest tapestries were commissioned in the 13th and 14th century by the Catholic Church. They were used to depict Bible stories to the churches many illiterate parishioners. The Apocalypse of St John is the oldest existing set of church tapestries. It was woven in Paris from 1375 to 1379 and contains six hangings, each 18 feet high, totaling 471 feet in length!
Only church monarchs and the most affluent had tapestries during the Middle Ages, and as such, the tapestry became a status symbol for wealthy aristocrats. Kings and nobleman would often take their tapestries with them for comfort and prestige when traveling. Tapestries were used to insulate large rooms from the damp and cold weather, to cover formal walls of big castles and to provide privacy around a bed.

During the 15th century an estimated 15,000 people were employed in the tapestry craft. Weaving skills would be passed down from father to son. A skilled father and son team could weave just one square foot of tapestry in two months. Many of the most famous tapestries, including the “Lady with the Unicorn” series were woven in Loire Valley in the 15th century.

Tapestries are time machines of woven art that are meant to be shared with future generations.

Happy Puzzling!

The Three Stooges

Hi Puzzlers,

The new Three Stooges movie is scheduled to hit theaters Friday April 13th! I can’t wait! Like many of you I have been watching the Three Stooges my whole life and am very happy that their legacy is continuing on. The Three Stooges have been entertaining us for over 80 years! How many acts/shows can make that claim! N’yuk, N’yuk, N’yuk! So I thought it would be fun to take a quick look at how it all began.

The “Godfathers of Comedy” got their start in 1921with an act known as Ted Healy and the Southern Gentleman. In the beginning it only had two of the three stooges, Moe and Shemp. WOW! That factoid supersized me too, I always thought Curly came before Shemp. The shows premise was based around lead comedian Healy attempting to tell a joke or to sing, while his cohorts would keep interrupting him. Healy would counter these antics with verbal and physical assaults known as slapstick comedy. Violinist Larry Fine was added to the trio in 1925 and success was quick to follow.

After a few years Larry and Moe decided to take a two year hiatus from the group in order to be closer to their families, as luck would have it, they returned in the knick of time to join Healy and Shemp for the Broadway revue of A Night in Venice. This extremely popular act became a permanent show, and after 175 performances finally closed due to the Great Depression.

Immediately following the closing of the show a scout from Fox signed Healy, Moe, Larry, and Shemp to star in the movie Soup to Nuts. Healy and the trio parted ways in 1931 due to financial discrepancies but reconciled in 1932. Shemp fed up with all the drama decided to leave the trio to pursue a solo career. This is when Shemp and Moe’s brother Jerome Howard, AKA, Curly joined the group.

Healy and the new trio signed a movie contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1933. They would go on to appear in feature films, short subjects and musical comedy shorts, either together, individually, or with other actors. The contract with MGM ended in 1934 and so did the Stooge’s association with Ted Healy.

In 1934 Moe, Larry and Curly sign with Columbia Pictures to appear in two comedy shorts. This is when they officially became “The Three Stooges” and their popularity soared worldwide. The Stooges would remain with Columbia for 23 years and appear in 190 film shorts and feature films.

Shemp returned to the Stooges in 1947, after Curly suffers a stroke. He continued performing with Moe and Larry until his sudden death in 1955. Joe Besser joined the group in 1956 and remained until 1958 when Columbia Pictures cancels the comedy shorts.

The next Stooge to join Moe and Larry was Joe DeRita. DeRita played Curly Joe from 1958-1971. Along with Moe and Larry, Joe created Comedy III Productions, a company that still owns all the copyrights, trademarks and merchandising of the Three Stooges!

The Three Stooges were one of America’s greatest talents and I’m happy I got to witness part of their journey.

See you April 13th at the opening of the new Three Stooges movie!

Happy Puzzling!

National Parks

Hi Puzzlers,

With spring finally here many are turning their attention to summer and the family vacation. For many, that vacation includes a trip to one of our National Parks. I for one am grateful that our Nations leaders had the foresight to protect and preserve these areas for future generations. Can you image the planet without the great Sequoia trees? How sad it would have been to only have heard the tales of the enormous trees and not seen them.

The National Park concept derived from a quote from artist George Catlin. Catlin was a self-taught artist, whom had a keen interest in Native American life. He wanted to preserve its heritage before it was lost with the westward expansion. Catlin wrote, “They might be preserved, "by some great protecting policy of government . . . in a magnificent park . . . . A nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!”

By 1864 Catlin’s idea had gained enough approval and Congress donated Yosemite Valley to California for preservation as a state park. In 1872 an act of Congress authorized the establishment of Yellowstone National Park; it was the first time our nation had set aside land "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." Ah! But wait! That little piece of history has been rewritten.

Our National Park Service was established on August 25, 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act which created the National Park Service. The NPS was in charge of protecting the 40 national parks and monuments already in existence.

The first recorded piece of land set aside by our government for the peoples use, was the Hot Springs Arkansas Reservation. It was established on April 20, 1832 and renamed Hot Springs National Park in 1921. Congressional documents from 1872 list Yellowstone as our Nations second national park, not our first. So why the re-write? Many speculate that someone in the park service in 1930 changed the listing to Yellowstone because it was a “better” personification of what a “park” should be.

Well it doesn’t matter to me if it was the first or last National Park. They are all amazing in their own unique way and I will remain forever grateful for their preservation.

Happy Puzzling!