Flower the Jenny Turkey in a Narrow-leaf Cottonwood Tree coloring page

 Today's free coloring page is a young turkey named Flower.

She is a young female turkey so she is called a Jenny. . . and she is in a tree in this drawing.

This is my free coloring pages blog.  

Flower the Jenny Turkey in a Narrow-leaf Cottonwood Tree

Let's talk turkey... or at least turkey terms.  A full-grown male turkey is called a tom.  So we say Tom Turkey.  Adult male turkeys are also called Gobblers.  A full-grown female turkey is called a hen turkey or turkey hen.  A baby turkey is called a chick or a poult.  Young turkeys, but not very young ones, have other names.  A young male turkey is called a Jake.  A young female turkey is called a Jenny.  

Wild turkeys are the biggest game bird in North America.  They were hunted by the Native Americans and also by early European settlers.  The wild Gobblers or large males can weigh up to 16 lbs. (7.3 kg.). Some REALLY big Toms are even larger!  These large Tom Turkeys can be over 3 feet (around a meter) long.  Females or Hens weigh around 9-10 lbs, (4-4.5 kg.). 

Turkeys first evolved around 23 million years ago in North America.  These were not the same species as the turkeys we have now but they were the ancestors to the modern turkeys.  Now there are 2 species of wild turkeys that sometimes are aggressive towards humans.  This has necessitated people learning to be aggressive towards wild turkeys that come into their yard.  In Brookline, Massachusetts the officials are recommending that people squirt turkeys with their water hose, allow their leashed dogs to bark at the turkeys, bang pots and pans to make loud noises, open umbrellas at them, wave your arms as you shout, and never back down.  Wild Tom Turkeys live with their harem of Hens and there is a pecking order where the big Gobbler is at the top.  The males in Brookline are acting like humans are their subordinates in the pecking order.  

This drawing is based on a turkey that we met and petted today at a Farmers' Market in Logan, Utah.  She and her 2 friends were very friendly.  The other two hen turkeys were named:  Debbie and Trudy.   In this drawing, I drew Flower as a younger version of herself.  Here she is a young female turkey or Jenny up in a Narrow-leaf Cottonwood Tree.  

Narrow-leaf Cottonwood Trees are fairly large trees that are found in the Western part of North America in riparian areas.  Riparian means river or stream areas where the elevation is between 3900 and 7900 feet, (1,200 - 2,400 meters).  We live between these elevations and have seen flocks of wild turkeys several times - even this year.   By the way, I love all the Cottonwood Trees!  The leaves are actually rather waxy in appearance and in the Narrow-leaf Cottonwood the leaves are lightly serrated, long, narrow, pinnate leaves, not the deeper serrated and somewhat heart-shaped leaves of the Fremont Cottonwood.  

The Scientific name for the Narrow-leaf Cottonwood is Populus angustifolia.  The scientific name for the wild turkeys of North America are:   The Wild Turkey found in the USA and Canada and parts of northern Mexico: Meleagris gallopavo.  .  . and . . . found in the Yucatan Penninsula in Guatemala, Belize, and Southern Mexico is Meleagris ocellata. 

If you wonder why I did not draw a male turkey this time... remember that you almost always see the Tom Turkeys or Gobblers because they (like many male birds) have spectacular plumage.  But since it is Mother's Day I decided to give some attention to the females!  I will post a drawing or two below of male turkeys that I drew previously.  I also realized that I had almost never drawn a Jenny or a Hen Turkey.  

NOTE:  This drawing, in printable form, is found by clicking on the button labeled:  Animals.  Then scroll down to the bottom of the printables list.  New drawings are always at the bottom of the list.  Have fun coloring!  And thanks to the farmer who brought his turkeys to the Farmers' Market today for us to see and pet.  Below is a photo I took of Flower. 

Flower the Friendly Hen Turkey

Turkey cartoon to Color

(This was a Thanksgiving Day drawing.)

Tom Turkey in the Wild

Tiger Swallowtail Fairy in a Willow Tree and some other Butterfly Fairies - coloring pages

 Today's new coloring page is of a Tiger Swallowtail Fairy.

She is hanging out with a female Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.  

This is a free coloring pages blog with over 1200 free-to-print and color coloring pages for you!

Tiger Swallowtail Fairy

Tiger Swallowtail Fairies have wings that are close to appearance to the wings of the Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterly, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, and the Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.  All three species of butterfly are very similar in appearance.  Males are slightly different in appearance than female Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies.  

Notice that the Fairy, whose name is Alondia,  is accompanied by her friend who is a female Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.  We can assume this because Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies lay their eggs in certain types of trees.  Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies like to lay their eggs in Cottonwood Trees, Aspen Trees, and Willow Trees.  This is a willow tree in the drawing.  Willow leaves are delicious to Tiger Swallowtail caterpillars.  

I should mention that Alondia is a type of Fairy with more than one love.  This is common among Fairies.  Alondia loves Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies so much that she uses her flying belt to check in on populations of the different species in the Appalachian Mountains, in the prairies of the Great Planes, in the Rocky Mountains, and really from east coast to east coast including parts of Canada and Mexico.  

But Alondia is also a lover of her favorite Genus of tree... the Salix.  She loves willow trees.  She has been known to use a fire-throwing charm to destroy Russian Olive trees in isolated places where mortals will not see.  This destruction of the non-native plant allows the willows to grow back along banks of rivers and along lakes and reservoirs.  She has to be careful because she does not want to start a general forest fire, she only wants to destroy the "weed plant."  The Russian Olive is an invasive species that is not native to North America so by definition it is a weed.  Of course, it is a nice smelling weed and has beautiful blue-green leaves as well.  But it is driving out native vegetation like the willow trees.  

Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies are large for insects.  Their wingspan can be up to 5.5 inches or 14 cm. wide.  The wings have the "tiger stripes" as well as the extension that makes this butterfly look like a swallow.  Barn Swallows have forked tails... so a flying Swallowtail Butterfly looks a bit like a flying swallow.  Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies are mostly yellow with mostly black and some other colors of markings.  

Willow Tree bark has been an herbal remedy for inflammation and pain for millennia.  (So maybe the Western Tiger Swallowtail is hatched with a terrible headache so it goes to work eating the willow to cure its headache.  The willow leaves have salicin in them too.)    Many cultures have known about this cure or treatment for pain and inflammation... and even used Willow Tree Bark for treating fevers.  The salicin compound in the willow bark is very similar to the chemical found in aspirin. 

The Globe Willow is one of my favorite trees because it grows in a round or spherical shape that looks like a giant green globe on a pedestal.  When I was a little boy I used to play with my cousin under his family's willow tree that took up a bunch of his front yard.  It was a Weeping Willow.  The Weeping Willow Trees have beautiful pendulum branches that hang down clear to the ground.  

I took a college class at Utah Valley University called Field Botany.  The instructor told us that we had to learn the names of 50 native woody plants.  She gave us a pass on most native willow trees because there are several native species and many are very difficult to tell apart.  I do remember having to learn about the Narrow Leaf Willow... or Salix exigua.  It has very narrow and often curly leaves.  The tree in this drawing is NOT a Narrow Leaf Willow.  All willow trees are in the Genus: Salix. The willow trees are often seen here in the western part of the USA along stream banks and around lakes and reservoirs.  There is a quite problem with many native willows here being out-competed and force out by the non-native invasive spences called the Russian Olive Tree.  

NOTE:  This drawing is different from some of my drawings because I colored in the darker parts of the wings.  Feel free to color them in better if there are places where (in your opinion) the dark parts are insufficiently dark.  This drawing, in printable form, can be found by clicking on the button labeled:  "Fantasy, Myths, and Circus."  Then scroll down to the bottom of the printables list and click on the title.  You can then print the drawing for you or your child to color.... or print any of the other drawings you find in the lists.  

LEGAL NOTE:  Anyone has permission to print these drawings that I made and posted if they are printing them for kids or adults to color.  They should not be printed for commercial purposes but I give my permission to any educational institution (schools-colleges-preschools-etc.)... to print and use my drawings for kids to color or for other educational purposes like classroom decoration or instruction.  I also give permission to after-school programs, parents and guardians of kids or disabled adults, etc. to print and color my drawings for people to color.  Senior living centers of any kind may use my drawings.  This permission goes to businesses that have coloring pages out for kids to color in their waiting rooms etc.  Daycares also can use my pictures.  I have given my card with this blog address to cruise ship children's program directors and to children's programs directors at several museums so that type of institution or company or business has permission to use my drawings as well. . . for educational purposes.  Any teacher that wants to use my drawings for educational purposes is free to do so.  Church or religious groups may use my drawings as well.  There is a "Religious" button that has many Old Testament and New Testament drawings along with drawings for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  My drawings should NOT be used for anyone or any business to make money.  That is not what they were created for.  They were created to spread joy.  

I took this photo a few years ago at Shenandoah National Park in the Appalachian Mountains.  

I think it is an Applalcian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.  

But it might be an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. 

It is a female, not a male.  It has a longer extension off the back end of the wing. . . 

at least I think the females have a longer extension or "swallowtail."

Below are a few of my other Butterfly Fairy and Butterfly coloring pages and another photo.  

These older drawings will be found in printable form by looking further up the list of printable 

drawings. . . and you may to click on the "Animals" button to get to the Butterly drawings... 

...if there is no Fairy in the picture. 

African Butterfly Fairy

Mavina the Butterfly Fairy

Butterflies from Shenandoah National Park

Another version of the photo that I took of butterflies at 

Shenandoah National Park. This is the full photo.

Batalla de Puebla - Cinco De Mayo 2021 - página para colorear

La Batalla de Puebla

English Readers, scroll down for the English version of today's post! 

 Batalla de Puebla

Mucha gente piensa que el Cinco de Mayo es el día de la independencia de México. No lo es. Es una celebración de una gran victoria del Ejército Mexicano sobre las tropas francesas invasoras. El emperador Napoleón III de Francia estaba tratando de obligar a México a pagar sus deudas y también vio el incumplimiento mexicano de los préstamos como una oportunidad para extender su imperio al Nuevo Mundo. Esto no pudo haber sucedido debido a la Doctrina Monroe de no interferencia de los Estados Unidos. . . sin embargo, los Estados Unidos estaban bastante ocupados con nuestra propia guerra civil en 1862.

El ejército mexicano estaba comandado por un general de 33 años llamado Ignacio Zaragoza. Su general de caballería se llamaba Porfirio Díaz. El comandante francés fue el general Charles Lorentz.

El ejército de Lorentz de 6.000 soldados franceses atacó una pequeña fuerza esencialmente miliciana compuesta de entre 2.000 y 4.500 soldados ciudadanos mexicanos. La mayoría del ejército mexicano eran probablemente agricultores. Los franceses eran soldados profesionales de mucha experiencia en guerras europeas. También estaban bien equipados con mosquetes y bayonetas de última generación. El Ejército mexicano tenía algunas armas de fuego, pero muchos de los agricultores estaban armados solo con machetes. Eso es bastante asombroso.

La batalla comenzó al amanecer y duró hasta el anochecer. Los franceses cargaron dos veces con apoyo de artillería. Para su tercera carga, la artillería francesa estaba sin municiones, por lo que la infantería cargó sin apoyo de artillería. El ejército francés fue rechazado las tres veces. Una carga de caballería del General Díaz fue la gota que colmó el vaso y el ejército francés se retiró.

Napoleón III debe haber considerado esto una afrenta a sus aspiraciones de extender su imperio y por lo que envió 30.000 refuerzos a México y, finalmente, tomaron Puebla y la Ciudad de México. Pero la Primera Batalla de Puebla había dado a los mexicanos la confianza de que podían luchar contra los franceses. Aunque Napoleón III puso a su primo Maxamiliano en el trono en México, no duró. Después de solo unos pocos años los mexicanos lo depusieron y lo ejecutaron a través de un pelotón de fusilamiento. Así que el pueblo mexicano recuperó el dominio de su propio país.

Algunos piensan que para entonces la Guerra Civil Americana había terminado por lo que Napoleón III no quería enfrentarse contra un altamente armado y movilizado Estados Unidos de América. De hecho, creo que el embajador de Estados Unidos le dijo a Napoleón III que mejor se fuera de México. Así que retiró su apoyo a Maxamiliano, lo que llevó a Maxamiliano a perder su trono y su vida.

Con su conocimiento de que realmente podían enfrentarse a los franceses, los mexicanos recuperaron su país. Creo que la Batalla de Puebla es como la Batalla de Lexington y Concord y la Batalla de Bunker Hill en la Guerra Revolucionaria Americana. Esas batallas mostraron a los colonos estadounidenses que podían enfrentarse al Ejército británico. Al igual que los mexicanos, los estadounidenses perdimos muchas batallas antes de ganar algunas. Nosotros los americanos no ganamos el gobierno independiente hasta que pasaron muchos años de guerra y derrotamos a los británicos en la Batalla de Yorktown. Curiosamente, fuimos ayudados por los franceses.

NOTA:  El dibujo representa al general Zaragoza y parte de su ejército al comienzo de la batalla.   El dibujo, en forma imprimible, se puede encontrar haciendo clic en el botón etiquetado . . . . . Holidays.

Battle of Puebla - Cinco de Mayo 2021 - coloring page

 Cinco De Mayo means May the Fifth.  It is a celebration of a great victory by Mexican amateur soldiers against the well-trained and battled hardened French troops.  I have posted this before... on every 5th of May since I first drew this picture.  Since this took place in Mexico I also will post it in Spanish.  

Battle of Puebla

Many people think that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's independence day.  It is not.  It is a celebration of a great Mexican Army victory over invading French troops.  Emperor Napoleon III of France was trying to force Mexico to pay their debts and he also saw the Mexican default on loans as a chance to spread his empire into the New World.  This could not have happened due to the USA non-interference Monroe Doctrine. . . however, the United States was rather busy with our own civil war in 1862.

The Mexican army was commanded by a 33-year-old general named Ignacio Zaragoza.  His cavalry general was named Porfirio Diaz.   The French commander was General Charles Lorentz.
Lorentz's army of 6,000 crack French troops attacked a small essentially militia force made up of somewhere between 2,000 and 4,500  Mexican citizen soldiers.  Most of the Mexican army were probably farmers.  The French were professional soldiers just from much experience in European wars.  They were also well equipped with state-of-the-art muskets and bayonets.  The Mexican Army had some firearms but many of the farmers were armed only with machetes.  That is rather amazing.

The battle started at dawn and went until dusk.  The French charged twice with artillery support.  For their third charge, the French artillery was out of ammunition so the infantry charged without artillery support.  The French army was driven back all three times.  A cavalry charge by General Diaz was the last straw and the French army withdrew.

Napoleon III must have considered this an affront to his aspirations for spreading his empire and so he sent 30,000 reinforcements to Mexico and eventually they took Puebla and Mexico City.  But the First Battle of Puebla had given the Mexicans the confidence that they could fight the French.  Although Napoleon III put his cousin Maxamillian on the throne in Mexico, it did not last.  After only a few years the Mexicans deposed him and executed him via firing squad.   So the Mexican people got the rule of their own country back.

Some think that by then the American Civil War was over so Napoleon III did not want to face off against a highly armed and mobilized United States of America.  In fact, I think the US ambassador told Napoleon III that he better get out of Mexico.   So he withdrew his support of Maxamillian, which led to Maxamillian losing his throne and his life.

With their knowledge that they really could stand up to the French, the Mexicans took their country back.   I think the Battle of Puebla is sort of like the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War.  Those battles showed the American colonists that they could stand up to the British Army.  Like the Mexicans, we Americans lost a lot of battles before we won a few.   We Americans did not win independent rule until many years of war went by and we defeated the British at the Battle of Yorktown.  Interestingly enough, we were aided by the French. 

The drawing depicts General Zaragoza and some of his army at the start of the battle.  The drawing, in printable form, can be found by clicking on the button labeled . . . . . Holidays. 

Star Wars - May the Fourth Be With You! & May the Force Be With You -- coloring pages and movies' reviews

 MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!

AND

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

May 4, 2021

Starship Battle

Today is Star Wars Day!  I love the franchise.  Today's new drawing is of a starship battle.  This first drawing... right above this writing... is more like the kind of doodling I did in my school notebooks when I was a teenager.  This type of drawing was inspired by the Star Wars movies.  There are two comets, an irregular-shaped asteroid, at least two planets, and several stars.  Notice that the tail of each comet faces away from the light source... which would be the local sun.  The other two drawings down below this writing are more similar... but not exactly like the images from the awesome Star Wars movies.  

The Star Wars movies... the first three, got me through some tough times while I was growing up with the side effects of birth defects.  The movies inspired me and gave me hope.  I equated The Force with some kind of power of divinity. . . in other words The Force was the Power of God.  I don't know if that is how George Lucas meant it, but that is how I saw it.  

As a junior high science teacher, I ran a Sci-Fi club that included a yearly Lightsaber Tournament with trophies or medals every year.  We used modified and simplified fencing rules and participants had to wear eye and hand protection.  It was a lot of fun and the kids really loved it.  Often the championship match featured students who had studied martial arts. 

I think that Episodes IV, V, and VI are the best movies.  Return of the Jedi is my all-time favorite movie.  However, I think that the prequel trilogy was also good in how it depicted the Jedi in their heyday and how (to quote Queen Amadala) "freedom dies."  I used to point this out to my club members and I took them to all the prequel trilogy movies. 

I read from a Star Wars fan magazine way back in 1978 or so about how Darth Vader was injured. So I liked how George Lucas was a man of his word in how Anakin (AKA Darth Vader) was burned by a volcano in a lightsaber duel with Obi Wan Kenobi.  It also explained Darth's dependence on a respirator. This was portrayed in Episode III Revenge of the Sith.   Of course, my own loud breathing was and is a good imitation of Darth Vader's breathing.  I am surprised that I did not get "Darth" as a nickname when I was teaching junior high.  Quite honestly it would not have bothered me.  

I think the Star Wars movies done by Disney are pretty true to the Star Wars universe and I have no complaints.  I enjoyed them but I will probably never love a movie series as much as I love those first three Star Wars movies that were made.  (Although the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter movies come close.)  Tonight we celebrated by popping popcorn and watching Star Wars A New Hope Episode IV with our daughter and her husband and kids.  

I want to mention that the movie Star Wars Rogue One was exceptional.  It depicted how some people have to make that ultimate sacrifice in war.  This is necessary to rid the world (or the galaxy) of evil.  Of course, being religious I believe that those who give their lives for the benefit or the freedom others will or are enjoying will be greatly blessed in the next life by God.  

These drawings seen on today's blog are found in printable form by clicking on the button labeled "Fantasy, Myths, and Circus."  There is not a Sci-Fi category on this blog, but if you think about it... Science Fiction or Sci-Fi is a type of Fantasy.  I plan to post and re-post all three drawings there at the bottom of the list.  Then you can easily click on them to get printable pages.  I also posted the printable drawings on my "Vehicles" button.  So you can also look there.  After all, spaceships ARE vehicles. 

Star Destroyer by a Gas Giant

Imperial Walker in the Snow

Mother's Day Tribute - Mother Fairy sings to her Child and a Duet version of the song: Lavender's Blue - with coloring page

 Welcome to my free coloring pages blog!  

We are one week away from Mother's Day so I drew a Mother's Day Tribute

of a Mother Fairy singing to her Child.  

Mother's Day Tribute - Mother Fairy sings to her Child

Mothers are very I wanted to draw a tribute to the musical mothers.  My own daughter is one of them.  She will often sing to her children.  She almost always sings to them at bedtime.  The kids will ask for a song or several songs when they get into bed.  This touches my heart.  My daughter sings with a beautiful voice.  I think that the singing she does for her children is as important as any singing ever done on Earth.  

When she was a certified nursing assistant and an activities director at an assisted living center my daughter sang to and with the residents.  She even sang to them as she helped them with their daily personal needs.  THIS kind of singing is also very important.  My wife and I go to an assisted living center where I play harmonica and she sings with the residents.  WE feel that singing and music is a very important part of most people's quality of life.  

The song Lavender's Blue is an old English folk song.  It is a cute song that I personally love.  (It is pretty easy to play on harmonica too.)  I did not hear Lavender's Blue until my 5th decade of life.  There are several versions of the verses of this song because that is what happens with old folk songs. (People make up their own versions.)   In fact, there are over 30 verses to the song.  Most are beautiful and some are actually a bit racy.  This song was included in a nursery songbook in the 1800s but the song dates to at least the 1670s.  There have been many pop versions of this song that have been recorded and were big hits in the USA and in the UK.  

In this drawing, the mother Fairy is singing Lavender's Blue to her baby boy.  The baby boy Fairy DOES have wings but you can't see them unless you look closely.  The dark dots on the wings of both mother and child can be filled in by you.  Some of the dots on the wings are not as dark as they could be.  Notice that even though she is at home the mother Fairy still is wearing her flying belt.  This is in case of an emergency she can get her child to help faster.  A Balteum Volantes or flying belt helps Fairies fly faster and further.  

Notice that the mother Fairy is wearing plant-based clothing and her baby is partially wrapped in a striped cotton baby blanket. The baby is being placed on a changing table as his (or her if you prefer) mother sings Lavender's Blue as a lullaby.  If you look closely you will see the baby Fairy's wings.  Baby Fairies have very soft wings to make lying down and sleeping more comfortable.  Surprisingly though, a baby Fairy can fly with its mother only a few hours after its birth.  These Fairies are in their diminutive form with the mother around 5 or so inches tall.  That is 12.7 cm. tall. . . or cm. short.

This drawing could be printed and used as a Mother's Day Card if you wish. 

I will post below some of the verses to the song Lavender's Blue that I like... but I will not post all the verses but feel free to look them up and to find an audio version of the song.  It is one of the songs on my "Lullabies" playlist.  I put one version of one of the verses in the drawing.  Here is another arrangement of more of the verses that I did.  I also slightly rearranged some words in a few of these verses.  It is a duet:    

            Lavender's Blue - a Duet Arrangement by Robin Lyman

Boy sings:  

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,

When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen:

Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so?

'Twas mine own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so.

Girl sings: 

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,

When you are king, dilly dilly, I shall be queen

Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so?

'Twas mine own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so.

Call up your men, dilly dilly, set them to work,

Some with a rake, dilly dilly, some with a fork;

Some to make hay, dilly dilly, some to thresh corn,

Whilst you and I, dilly dilly, keep ourselves warm.

      Both sing: 

           Roses are red dilly, dilly violets are blue

           'Cause you will love me, dilly, dilly I will love you

           Roses are red dilly, dilly violets are blue

          'Cause you will love me, dilly, dilly I will love you

               

                        Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly
                        And the lambs play
                        We shall be safe, dilly, dilly
                        Out of harm's way

                     

                            Girl sings: 

                               I love to dance, dilly, dilly

                               I love to sing
                               When I am queen, dilly, dilly
                               You'll be my king:
                                

                                    Boy sings:

                                   Who told you so, dilly, dilly
                                   Who told you so?

                                      

                                          Girls sings:
                                               

                                                I told myself, dilly, dilly
                                                I told me so

                                                Both sing:

                                                    

                                                    Lavender's green dilly, dilly

                                                    Lavender's blue

                                                    Always love me dilly, dilly

                                                    And-I'll always love you

NOTE:  This drawing, in printable form, can be found by clicking on the buttons labeled:  . . . . . . . . . Holidays . . . . or . . . . . Fantasy, Myths, and Circus.   Then scroll down to the bottom of the corrected part of the list.  New drawings are at the bottom of the correct list.  There is a Mother's Day section in the Holidays list.  

May Day Fairy with Tulips and a Bee Hummingbird (re-posting in English) coloring page

 Welcome to my free Coloring Pages Blog and Happy May Day!  I already posted this once in English.

Since it is May Day, today's new drawing is of a May Day Fairy.   

English Readers, I posted this in Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Turkish, and Chinese.

Those countries were the non-English speaking countries mentioned in the post today.

This is the re-posting of today's May Day post in English

May Day Fairy with Tulips and a Bee Hummingbird

Today is May Day!  So I hope you had a happy May Day!  May Day is celebrated in many parts of the world.  In some countries, it is a national holiday.  May Day celebrates the change of seasons from winter into Spring.  It was the most important holiday of the year for the ancient Celts.  It has also, in modern times, become a celebration of workers in some parts of the world.  Today's drawing includes a Bee Hummingbird and this bird is only found on the island of Cuba and Cuba celebrates May Day (today) as a national holiday.  So it is appropriate that the tiny Bee Hummingbird is honored today in this picture of a May Day Fairy.  

Bee Hummingbirds are the smallest bird in the world.  So, since birds evolved from Theropod Dinosaurs some scientists call birds "Avian Dinosaurs" ... and since this is the smallest bird ever we could also say that it is the smallest of all Dinosaurs!  Bee Hummingbirds are only about 2 - 2.4 inches long.  That is 5.5 - 6.1 centimeters long.  The males are smaller than the females.  The female Bee Hummingbird weighs up to .092 ounces or a mass of  2.6 grams.  The smaller males weigh only .069 ounces or a mass of 1.95 grams.  Compared to the larger females, the male Bee Hummingbird have more colorful feathers on the top of their head, their throat, and on the top of their body.  I recommend that you look them up on the internet to know how to best color this drawing.    

Hummingbirds are only found in the Western Hemisphere.  Paleontologists  HAVE recently found fossilized skeletons of hummingbirds in Germany.  The fossils are 30 million years old so once upon a time hummingbirds did live and probably originally evolved in what is now Europe.  

Tulips seem to have evolved between China and Europe.  They were cultivated in the Ottoman Empire and imported to Holland, (The Netherlands).  Tulips that have been imported to the New World or Western Hemisphere are actually popular with some hummingbirds. Hummingbirds can be found from the southern part of Alaska to the most southern part of Chile in South America.  There are around 340 species of hummingbirds!  Hummingbirds have been raised in captivity in at least one area of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.  I should also mention that hummingbirds are all over the Caribbean Islands. . . . . including the Bee Humminbird, that is only found in Cuba. 

The Netherlands are known for their Tulip Festival.  It is located in a place called Keukenhof in a town called Lisse.  Lisse is about 35 kilometers south of Amsterdam.  It is spectacular.  Here where we live we have the Ashton Gardens Tulip Festival this time of year at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, USA.

I need to also mention that this Fairy in the drawing is a May Day Fairy.  A May Day Fairy loves flowers and is happiest in the spring when the flowers come out.  Since these Fairies love flowers it is not a surprise that they often have an affinity for pollinators.  A hummingbird is a pollinator.  So in essence a May Day Fairy could also be a Hummingbird Fairy and a Flower Fairy.  This May Day Fairy obviously lives in Cuba and her name is Silvana. Silvana is a popular girl name in Cuba and it means "from the forest."  This name makes sense because Bee Hummingbirds live in dense forests and along the edges of the forests on the Caribbean island of Cuba.  

NON-ENGLISH READERS, THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH MIGHT NOT TRANSLATE WELL.         An interesting fact is that the term "Mayday"  is very different from the holiday we call "May Day."   "Mayday" is what is said by a pilot, or ship's captain, or anyone to report a severe situation over the radio.  This is worldwide.  It is traditional to say "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!"  So you say it three times.  So, like I said before, the word Mayday is not the same word as the May Day holiday.  The May Day holiday has been around since the 1200s.  The emergency call of "Mayday" comes from the French word "M'aidez" which means "help me" in French.  During the early days of air travel between England and France, it was found that the S.O.S signal that was used by ships that had the use of Morse Code via wireless telegraph was not very viable for verbal calls of distress over the radio of planes.  So the word "Mayday: was adopted instead.  So, "Mayday" does not equal "May Day." 

NOTE:  This drawing was partially based on my granddaughter's toy Fairy. So I will post a photo of her toy below this paragraph.  The drawing, in printable form, can be found by clicking on the correct button and scrolling down to the bottom of the list.  Click on the title and you get the printable drawing.  So, first, click on the button labeled . . . . . Fantasy, Myths, and Circus.... and scroll down.