Dayton Celtic Festival 2011

Emily and Lydia danced at the 10th annual Dayton Celtic Festival this weekend. Here is a video of Emily:



And here is Lydia:

Garden Updates

Before I post the photos from the garden, let me share the wisest words one might find in an about.com article:

Privacy fences work in both directions. Firstly, they screen out unpleasant external sights and sounds that would otherwise impinge upon the senses. Secondly, privacy fences screen your movements from the prying eyes of neighbors.

It isn't a question of needing to "hide" anything behind privacy fences. It's just that few of us want to live under a microscope. Even good neighbors don't enjoy feeling obligated to wave "Hello" every time they step outside, as if needing permission before continuing on their business.

Precisely! As I watch my shrubs fill in, I know that one day I shall have a more private backyard. At the moment, I'm planning for evergreens: what kinds and where to put them. I have nice neighbors, but I also long for an outdoor sanctuary!

Enough of that. The following photos are a couple of weeks old, but I'm just getting around to sharing.

Here is Clare, showing off our first tomato. We've had a number of them in the last week or so. If I could grow only one thing in a vegetable (okay, or fruit) garden, it would be the tomato.



Usually, our feathered visitors are robins, sparrows, cardinals, finches and the like. Here is a photo of some more exotic visitors. Woodpeckers! They poked a hole in the poor maple, but it appears to be mending well.



Speaking of more exotic birds, the following two photos were taken from our backyard, through our neighbor's yard. (A sight we would have missed, if our neighbors had privacy shrubs. I know!) We could hear the birds in the wooded area making lots of agitated sounds. John investigated and noticed a hawk! That would make smaller birds nervous. It was sitting on the ground for the longest time. Steve got out his binoculars and learned that it was eating a rabbit. Well, the circle of life.



Here's a close-up.



We've heard the hawk, from time to time. It makes an awful, wheezing sort of sound. However, it is a beautiful bird. It is marvelous to watch, as it flies over our own garden.

Fathers' Day

Steve and John went to the Reds game at Great American Ball Park, then played catch on the field! Here is a photo of them on the field.

John the All-Star

John played in the Huber Heights Youth Baseball League Minors All-Star Game yesterday.

So far this season, John is batting 0.500 with 14 walks, 2 doubles, and 12 RBIs. He is also doing a very good job pitching and catching. Congratulations, John!

Emily & Lydia Dancing at Dayton's World A'Fair

This past weekend, Emily and Lydia danced with Celtic Academy at Dayton's World A'Fair at the Dayton Convention Center. Here are some video's of Lydia Dancing:







And here is Lydia "backstage":



Here are some videos of Emily dancing:







Enjoy!

Fruit in the Garden

Our garden has been successful in feeding birds and bees. We've also done well for humans with peppers, tomatoes, lettuce and herbs. This season, it is time to branch out (gardening pun) into fruit.

Raspberries! Just one shrub, so far. It lived in a container on the porch for a few weeks because the weather was too rainy to do the kind of digging needed. As soon as that plant got into the ground, it started growing like crazy. Very exciting news: flowers have begun to grow! It seems there will be a small crop this first year!

Look carefully and you'll see the little flower buds have formed on the end of the branch:


Here, a flower is ready to open:



We cannot wait!!!

Burnt Burger Incident

Just over one year after the could-have-been disaster with the Lawn Mower Incident, I almost set fire to the house, again.

For those who know the story, here are photos. But, not every blog visitor knows the hamburger story. The short version: I tried to grill burgers, somehow the whole thing started shooting flames out of the bottom of the grill, black clouds of smoke were flying up as high as the house. It might have ended in disaster, but I did think to turn off the burners; this slowed and eventually stopped the fire.

It was fairly horrifying when it happened, but I can laugh at myself now. And I vow to leave anything to do with gasoline, propane, natural gas, etc., to others. Well, except for refilling the cars. Nothing bad has happened there, if you don't count causing engine lights to go on for not closing the cap properly.

It appears the burgers on the sides of the grill weren't as charred as the ones in the middle, as evidenced by the photo below:


Here is a close-up.




I shall stick to indoor cooking and leave the grilling to Steve.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

Need a handkerchief?

A friend sent this link to me.

The baby isn't too sure about mother's nose blowing. Given all the respiratory illness we have had around here for the last three-and-a-half months, it is good to have a laugh at it!

Celtic Movements

Emily, John, and Lydia danced brilliantly at Celtic Movements this weekend!

Here is a video of John and Lydia in the first dance of the show, "Reel Line Up":



Here is Emily dancing in "Celtic Pyramid":



All three had a good time and did a great job!

First Signs of Spring

Please, do not remind me of how many times it could snow or get icy between now and spring. I know! It won't stop me from celebrating the first stirrings of the garden. Look carefully at the following photos and you'll see the little tips of daffodils.



This bulb has a number of little green bits coming out of it:



We will reach 60 degrees today! Rejoice!

Phase II Done?

I'll have to do this quickly, in case we lose the internet, again. The electricity has never gone off (hurrah!) but the phone and internet have been off and on today a few times today. It seems that Phase II of the storm is winding down, with just a bit of snow on the radar. There's a lot of cleaning up to do, before life can resume as normal.

Last night, the ice began to build up as it rained, rained, rained. As soon as the rain hit the existing ice, it froze. We could see the ice building up quite a bit, before we went to bed. During the night, the wind grew very strong and, consequently, it blew any dangling ice from houses, trees and shrubs, cars, etc. This morning, it began to snow, so the snow covered the thick layer of ice that still covers the ground and all flat surfaces.

I am glad that I got outside yesterday, to take some photos around the house, since a lot of that ice is gone today.

This first photo shows how the ice was covering branches of trees and shrubs. Our neighbor has a magnolia that was shielded from the wind, so its ice covering is quite thick today.



This photo gives an idea of how the ice covered individual blades of grass.



This last photo is of the stalk of a hosta. I never got around to trimming those down when I put the garden to bed last autumn, and now I'm glad I didn't! It's very pretty.



Steve spent a lot of time at various points of the day, working away at the ice on the driveway. The last time he scraped, he brought in a chunk that was about 7/8 of an inch thick.

Well, as pretty a display as we have with the snow and ice, it is good to know that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning.

Phase I Done

The first phase of the winter storm has finished. We could get out of the driveway if we wanted to skid down the ice, but we'd never get back up the gentle slope. Everything is covered with ice and it is quite beautiful. Not all that many people in the area are without power.

Everything has been closed down today. Even though we live on a quiet street that doesn't see a lot of traffic, I find it very strange to see absolutely no traffic or people out.

I haven't taken any of my own photos, so the following have been shamelessly lifted from the newspaper:

Yes, it is cold today:



These trees are not in my garden, but they are a faithful representation of how my garden looks:





The second phase of the winter storm is due to hit in a few hours. It is meant to be worse than last night's ice, so I imagine that we'll all be house-bound tomorrow, as well. I hope to make it outside before the next wave of ice arrives, to take my own photos.

Winter Weather

Last week, the kids and I went sledding. It was fun. After a brief search of my memories, I recalled that I haven't been sledding down a hill since 1981.

In the days that followed, the snow got mushy under the direct rays of the sun. But, winter is not over, yet.

Tonight, we're facing a winter storm. An ice storm! We're told to prepare for "extensive and prolonged power outages." That's not fun. Farther north, closer to the Great Lakes, they'll be getting lots of snow. I'd prefer snow to ice!

That's all to report, at the moment.

Nutcracker Clip

When a local radio personality was chosen to be play the part of Mother Ginger in "The Nutcracker," a family member of his filmed it from side stage. Watch it here.

Those who have seen this performance should recognize the "first dude out of the dress," as the "dude" herself put it. You can also catch glimpses of that "dude" at various points throughout her dance number.