Anna

Please welcome the newest member of the Sollinger family, Anna Teresa!

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!!!