Fruit!

A fruit update!

How pleased I was to discover tiny, little apples on one of the apple trees. I know the harsh realities of getting apples started; I should be cautious in my enthusiasm. But I don't care, just this moment. Because there were a few frosts after the trees had already blossomed in the early spring, I didn't think I'd see anything this year, so I am thrilled to have even this.

Tiny apples, about the size of plump grapes.

This is the red apple tree. I guess they start out green?

The raspberries are looking good, too.  We ended up with only about a pint of raspberries last year, but it was the plant's first year in the garden, after all.  It seems we already have that much on the plant this year, now that it's more mature.

Such a leafy plant! And I do love raspberry leaf tea!

A whole cluster of immature raspberries.

The plant has sent out shoots of new baby plants all around it.  Even though it spreads, I think I'll still put in another plant or two, 'cuz there's no such thing as too many raspberries.  We want that to become our raspberry patch. 

I know from last year that the birds love to pick at raspberries; we caught the robins at it more than once.  So goes my gardening theory: if you plant more than you think you'll need, you don't have to begrudge the birds when they come for a snack.

Cardinal Nest

A few weeks ago, I went to trim this butterfly bush:

As I started hacking away at the branches that should have been removed weeks earlier, I noticed a bird's nest, hidden amidst the leaves.  It was about the size of a cereal bowl and it was woven with long grasses into a beautiful swirly pattern.  I stopped trimming the bush!

A few days later, I wanted to show the nest to the kids, as well as take some photos to share, when a cardinal came flying furiously out of the bush.  We backed away and left it alone.  Every so often, whenever we approached the bush, mama bird would flutter angrily away from the nest.

This morning, I went to have another look.  This time I was not greeted by any birds.  Nest empty.

Very well hidden, indeed!

The beautiful swirly pattern can (sort of) be seen here.

 Such a joy to discover this!  All spring, we've had both a robin pair and a cardinal pair taking small bits of debris out of the gardens and flying away.  It's nice to know that they weren't going very far.

Dayton Dragons

Field Trip Day! We were able to go behind-the-scenes at Fifth Third Field, home of the Dayton Dragons.


This first photo is the walkway between the dugout and the clubhouse.  The view is a bit more dramatic from the other perspective, but I don't want to put friends' children on the blog without their permission, so you'll have to settle for this view.

Standing at the dugout.  Many of the Reds' current stars sat on this bench, back when they were young Low A guys.
 

This next photo is for my fellow Sox fans. Look who got his start in Dayton.

Here's a view of where the broadcaster sits when the game is aired on TV.

More than just a tour, there was a bit of career advice offered for anyone interested in working the Front Office jobs!