Hibiscus Heaven

Being outside with Cyrus has allowed me to enjoy our flowers more. As I hold his hand while he gets in and out of the pool 500 times I glance around to appreciate the beautiful flowers four inches away.

Twins

Another closeup

White with magenta center

Surprise visitor... see it?

Collecting pollen for the hive.

The Squirrel Saga Continues

One look at the first pic tells all.

The squirrels have our bird feeders figured out.

Initially Saeed tried to prevent them from eating the bird food. This proves to be difficult as squirrels are cunning acrobats with very sharp teeth. Somehow they always got to the bird food and Saeed gave up; if you can't beat them, feed them.

But like teenage boys these squirrels are eating the food faster than we can buy it, so my yard boy is back at his task of trying to prevent them from eating it quite so quickly with some "squirrel baffles."

The little bubsy was on the deck completely fixated with what his Grandpa was doing in the backyard.

When Saeed came closer Cyrus tried to open the gate, but alas, it was shut tight.

Like animals at the zoo, these two had to interact through the wires of the cage.

Somebody even got his fingers kissed.

Shirin went down to help Saeed hold the pole straight and I noticed...

... that the Granny Smith apples on our apple tree are starting to look really nice! I guess the squirrels will punish Saeed by eating his apples instead of the bird food. Sigh... nature always wins.

Deck Time Before Bed Time

After watching his Grandpa fight the squirrels Cyrus plays on the deck one last time before going to bed.

The two of us swimming laps in the pool. :-)

This is a beach wagon for beach toys, but Cyrus is determined to get a ride in it.

Sorry Shirin, I didn't mean to cut off your head.

Everything looks so different upside down!

Ok little bubsy, it's time for bed.. sweet dreams.

Fun At Cherry Park

The last time I went to Cherry Park Cyrus pretty much just wanted to sit on my lap and watch the other kids. This time Saeed came with me and although Cyrus still wanted to watch some kids at first from the safety of Saeed's lap it wasn't long before he joined in the fun.

Cyrus people watching while Saeed enjoys a motionless Cyrus on his lap.

Getting a little help on the slide.

Wheee!

Do it again please.

Cyrus rode the toucan for a while...

... then played with the giant abacus.

This little girl was fascinated by Cyrus.

I think the feeling was mutual.

Apparently she didn't mind sharing Cyrus with her cute friend.

Cyrus made all sorts of friends.

Before going home Cyrus got to swing next to some silly burping boys:

Everything's Growing Like Crazy

In May I posted an entry about going to the farmer's market and buying three tomato plants. It is now about five weeks later and not only have they grown tall and lush, I have blossoms! In this picture you see the plant on the deck, but because Cyrus would love to pluck those yellow blossoms off...

...we moved them up to the deck railing. See the pretty orange hibiscus flower on the lower left? Further below are closeups of it.

Monday I noticed I had more than just flowers.

Whoa - this branch has gone crazy!
Will each of those blossoms turn into a tomato?

Beautiful.

the hibiscus flower below my tomatoes

closeup

I saw something white in the hibiscus pot...

... not unexpectedly, a mushroom has sprung up. It's been very tropical here lately, raining every afternoon or evening, so lovely.

Hopefully soon I will be able to take pictures of red tomatoes. Better yet, hopefully soon we will be eating red tomatoes!

Our 31st Wedding Anniversary

Last month we celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. Last year we had "loose" plans (planned but no reservations made) to celebrate "big" (big for us - a weekend in Asheville) but that trip got swallowed up in all the excitement of Cyrus' birth. This year we celebrated in the manner to which we have grown accustomed and truly enjoy the best - a simple picnic meal at Winthrop Lake and a stroll near the lake.

The anniversary couple sitting on a bench.

Our view from the bench. The weather was gorgeous but a bit cool and windy. By the time we were finished eating, the bench was in the shade and we headed toward the lake where it was still sunny and (hopefully) a bit warmer.

I never get tired of taking pictures at Winthrop Lake. The scenes are so idyllic that I can't resist snapping the same basic shots each time I go.

First a mallard trio swam by.

Then we noticed a beautiful Canadian Goose family swim our way.

As they neared we noticed the two separate families, one with older goslings and one with only one gosling. The single younger gosling must have been the sole survivor of his brood.

The older goslings have already become less yellow, less fluffy than...

... Mr. Fluffypants.

They seemed to be swimming away from us but soon swam back towards the bank we occupied in order to begin their evening baths.

I think anytime I need to relax I will just watch these three videos.


Stay with this shaky, unclear video; you'll get to see Mr. Fluffypants' cute little stubby wings.


Everything you wanted to know about how to take a bath in a lake:


Three lessons learned:
1) hold the camera steady when shooting video (duh)
2) zooming results in unclear images (double duh)
3) don't plan big anniversary celebrations; the low key celebrations always turn out the best, especially if they're at Winthrop Lake.

Trip To The Library

Since Shirin, Gabriel and Cyrus are visiting friends in Raleigh this weekend I have the time to put up the last batch of pics from last week. It's become clear to me that my perception of time is a bit off. I always think I will be able to get more done (such as doing blog entries) in a day than I do. I also thought Cyrus would be ready for a trip to the library. Oh he liked it alright, but I think the lady behind the desk was happy we didn't stay too long. Evidently my perception of time in terms of child development is also a bit off! It was fun though, and we had Grandpa with us today for the first time.

Kitty-watching while waiting for Grandma to get dressed.

Look at all these books for me to pull off the shelf!

Reading upside down.

Be quiet? What does THAT mean?


The girl that walked by gave us a dirty look as Saeed shushed Cyrus but he thought she was beautiful anyway and watched her walk by. He's a real people watcher!


Leaving the library for now, but we'll be back when he's ready.


Grandpa feeds Sniffy Joe some yogurt before his nap. Notice that "all done" is pronounced "da da" which is not unlike Shirin's "doh doni" when she first tried to say "all done."