Tiny Rose

A couple of years ago I was given a miniature rose in a pot.  After it had bloomed nicely indoors I tried to figure out what to do with it.  My indoor space for plants is limited, so I tried it outdoors.  It has been uprooted and replanted a couple of times in trying for just the right space, but this year it has seemed happier and has produced several pretty little roses.  I thought the season was over, but Monday morning I went out to get the paper and found another one.  It had been raining and the rose still had raindrops, so I took a picture to share.  Here is a rose for you.

It's a cute little thing--only about two inches across, fully opened.

Back to the Renaissance Festival

How can you resist "seniors-get-in-free" day at the Renaissance Festival if you are a senior, live close to the happenings, and the day is glorious and pleasantly cool?  You'd have to be a stronger person than I to resist, and I didn't!

Each festival day begins with the entrance of Henry VIII and his entourage:

He is followed closely by the necessary clean-up crew.

Once he has gone inside the gates, the merriment begins.  This year one of the characters dons a variety of costumes representing animals (and in some cases the rider).  This one is is a dragon named Wasabi, I suppose because of his color.  Some kids loved it and would come up to pet it.  Some little ones had a screaming fit to get away.  It just didn't compute in their memory banks of acceptable creatures.

Later s/he changed into a caterpillar with a butterfly floating above his head.  Talk about something difficult to photograph!  Again some children came up to shake one of its "hands" and some wanted NOTHING to do with it!  The butterfly was referred to as "Mother" by the caterpillar.  Three photos--complete outfit, top, and bottom of the costume.

The willingness of the royalty to associate with and engage children is impressive.  I seriously doubt the real Henry VIII would have gotten down to this level to talk to a child.

Mimi and her children are most often found parading around in white costumes, walking on stilts and connected to one another by long white strands of cloth or ribbons, but occasionally they come down to earth.  Here she and what I presume is her eldest, Zizi, are blowing soap bubbles using their hands to form the soapy globes.
















Obviously I was having WAY too much fun with taking way too many pictures, so I'll stop here, and if you are interested in more of the photos, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2/RenaissanceFestivalSeptember6#

EOS--End of Summer

Summer may not end on the calendar until later this month, but Labor Day weekend is, for all intents and purposes, the end of summer around here.  After a year when we have broken the record for the most 90+ degree days, this past weekend cruised in comfortably in the 70s and low 80s.  Perfect weather for outdoor fun.

On Sunday the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra gave a free concert in Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis.  It's a beautiful setting, with a bandshell at the bottom of a nice slope, making viewing easy. The ASO is a top-notch regional orchestra and gets better and better each year under the firm hand of music director Jose-Luis Novo.

I love those concerts. Kids get up and dance to the music, adults kick back with blankets or chairs and enjoy picnics and great music.

One really cute number featured percussionist Donald Spinelli as "soloist" playing cellphone ringtones on cue, which means he had to be ringing at just the right time to come in perfectly in the piece (which incorporated old familiar ringtones as part of the music).  Donald is quite the showman and obviously enjoyed himself.

It was a lovely way to end the summer.

Bombay Hook in Late August

Traditionally I make a one-day trek to Bombay Hook NWR in August to see migrating shorebirds.  It occurred to me the other day that August was essentially gone, and I hadn't yet made that jaunt, so I closed out the month with a trip to see the shorebirds.  The birds were there, and I saw most of what I hoped to see, but the birds were out of range for my camera.  For closer photos of birds I have to go to Chincoteague, and even there most of the little stuff is just beyond camera range.  Some of the wildflowers, however, were showing off for me.

Even if I didn't have a calendar, I would know fall was on the way when certain wildflowers show up.  The goldenrod is a prime example.

Thistle is another one.  There are a number of thistle species, some native and others not, and they are the curse of some naturalists, but the goldfinches love them when they go to seed.  The seeds feed their young, and the down from the seeds line their nests.  Butterflies seem to like them, too.

When milkweed goes to seed, it has wonderful seed pods.

I must confess that all these were taken from the car window.  I'd focus, lower the window, take the shots, and quickly raise the window again.  The mosquitoes and "bitey" flies (horseflies?) were rampant, and the temperature was around 95.  I saw what I wanted to see and left for home!

The Renaissance Festival Starts

The Maryland Renaissance Festival opened its season on Saturday, and the weather was beautiful--lots of sun but not too hot and not yet too dusty.  I find that it's a great place to go and people-watch.  There are some very entertaining performances, lots of old favorites and some new ones.  The food is different--fast food but with a twist.  You can munch on a turkey leg, have steak-on-a-stake, enjoy meat pies and spinach pies, and all manner of other goodies.  I draw the line at fried pickles and fried macaroni and cheese. 

There is usually a sort of acrobatic act with a young lady doing things using two very long lengths of cloth, wrapping herself in them, twisting and turning and stretching.  In previous years the act was in an area where photography was a pain!  Too much background noise and poor light whatever the time of day.  This year they moved her near the entrance and the setting is much better.

Among the acts we enjoy (I often go with Dave and John) are Pyrates Royale and the O'Danny Girls. Both are singing groups, and both can come up with some rather bawdy numbers (bawdy by innuendo more than words).  Both are very funny.  Here's one of the pirates.

The O'Danny Girls have one member who is perhaps not as pretty as the other two, but it doesn't matter.  She has other features that the men in the audience find very attractive.  (She's the one in the middle.)  I suspect you can tell what they are.

There is a glass blower who makes beautiful things.  I stopped by to watch him at work.

To my great amusement, O (a mime who has his own shows throughout the day), was there in the booth visiting.  While he was there, he took advantage of the glass blower's furnace to toast marshmallows!  He did this with the air of a connoisseur, carefully turning his marshmallow this way and that until it was just so.  With a "ta-da" kind of motion, he quickly and carefully made a smore and gave it to an eager youngster in the audience.  I don't know whether the glass blower minded being upstaged, but he was laughing along with the rest of us.

One can get one's face painted or hair braided, and many children (and some adults) chose to do one of them.  Here are a couple examples:

There are a number of artisans at work including the woman who creates chain mail items.  Note that she wears her own work.  The second picture is of some of the wares for sale at the booth.  I will tell you that even if I were bold enough to wear that uplift bra, I would not do it on a day when the temperature was due to be close to 90 degrees!

For other photos of the event, you may check out my Picasa album http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2/RenaissanceFestivalAugust28#

A Birthday Celebration

I'm in NC to help my mother celebrate her 91st birthday.  She had a cake and opened gifts and seemed to enjoy the celebration.  We are so fortunate to still have her with us and to have her still able to take pleasure in occasions like this one.

A Weekend with the Clan

It isn't often that my sister Pat and her husband Bob can get their entire family together in one place. This past weekend was one of those times. The contingent from Maine came down for a long weekend, and I was privileged to be able to join all of them for part of it.  When we can get the whole crew together, we try to catch everyone reasonably still for a family picture.  Inevitably someone has closed eyes or is in full squirm (kids), but we do try.  Here's the whole crew.  Left to right: Todd holding Jack, Jody with Kaylan in front of her, Jen holding Jake, Len with Ava and Elizabeth, Bob and Pat, Robin, and Ben with Emily.  Click on the photo for an enlarged view.

We also try to capture the smaller family units.  Here are Todd and Jody with Jack and Kaylan.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jen and Len with their three:  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Robin and Ben with Emily:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And Pat and Bob:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
There were all kinds of activities going on.  The children had a splashing good time in the pool.  At one point Elizabeth and Kaylan decided to hold hands and jump in the pool together.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jack had a neat version of  "swimmy arms", a flotation device that supported both his middle and his arms in one unit.  He was absolutely at ease in the water.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On a rainy afternoon when the pool was off-limits, the older girls put on a play. Elizabeth was in her glory as director of the scarf-draped princesses. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Family folks interested in more of this kind of thing may check out the album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2