Summer Field Day at Owens...

As a Master Gardener Intern I get to learn lots of fun stuff, for me anyway, and voluteer for some pretty interesting events. Now you all know that the best part of volunteering is that you can get in for zero dollars. Which in my world is pretty essential. When my gardening buddy Karen told me she was volunteering and that I should too. I called up to add my name to the list of volunteers and there was still room. The girls all went to Tera's house to play...God Bless that woman! They had so much fun and after keeping them all day she fed us dinner too!
I volunteered to be the event photographer. Yeah! That meant I could sneak into all of the classes. I called my dad to let him know about the event. Yeah not so good on the prior planning part for him. Sorry dad! He came and enjoyed himself immensely. Here are couple photos of the day....A lesson that I should really remember about sun protection.

My lunch table friends. The bottom left is Karen....and we discovered that all of the ladies we were with are Master Gardeners from Bowling Green. And who knew that I would be fascinated by the turf class I was supposed to stop in and catch a few photos of. Ohio States Mr. Joseph Rimelspach sure does know how to make grass pathology interesting. I had to run up after the event and let him know...I was that impressed and I was also sorry for sneaking out of class early to take more photos.

Grass blades, Turf and no I can't tell remember everything I learned but I did take the cheat sheet to help me remember. Thanks to Miss Miriam for going to class with me.
Dr. Jim Chatfield is a great teacher. He's been known to throw candy and cookies to especially astute students, which is only one of the reasons people love his classes. The only problem from my point of view is that he ALWAYS has the lights off. He states that he's really a vampire....well this is one of his more entertaining slides with him in profile. I could hear my dad laughing while I was in the hallway outside his class. It made me so happy to see him in his element enjoying himself. I love you dad.

This is Matt Ross from the Toledo Botanical Gardens and he's teaching on proper tree planting techniques. My dad loves his classes which is saying a lot.

This tree has a good root system.
The tree below well it just isn't going to make it. Please check out a tree before you buy it and if you have questions call your local extension office for tips.
The best part of the my day was when I was able to have a few of my gardening friends over to see my dad's garden....which is right down the street from OCC. If you're a gardener you know how fun it is to show off your garden. Sorry to bring home friends without warning you mom! Thanks for being a great hostess. Thanks to Karen, Miriam, and Matt for making my dad's day. Oh and Miss Miriam you absolutely should get a Master's in Horticulture. You really can do it!

Chicks, kittens, and a bucket full o' apples...

My friend Tara called to make sure I wasn't running early! Yeah definitely not a Rappling problem. Why I asked? The Post Office had called to let her know her chicks were in and could she come get them NOW! We got to meet them as soon as they were home.Faith with her chick....Preta, I think? I'll find out for sure soon! Courage....he's incredibly good with the little things.

My favorite girly, Hope....yeah if I didn't know her better that face would scare me!

Justice sweet little guy isn't he.

Sydney being brave enough to actually hold a chick.... six months ago she refused to hold one on a feild trip! Yeah Miss Syd!

Paige smiling while taking pointers from her buddy hope. Look at how cute they are in their new little home.

Okay so Tera also breeds Sphynx cats. These little kittens are going to new homes this weekend so I must document them for Kathryn's Sake. The little one's holding is Fuzzybuns her favorite.

Sydney with her buddy Dude. Yeah I love his name too!

Keemo...the sweetest little kitten.

After all of the excitement we ended up showing up to the Botanicals at 10:30 a.m. Yeah I was LATE. But how often do you get to hold brand new baby chicks?!! I weeded with Karen, Sue and Olga. The girls picked up all of the fallen apples under the trees by the Vegetable Garden. A big old bucketfull!
I managed to snap a shot of all of the girls with Miss Lucy on the left , a TBG intern from Brazil, and Miss Miriam on the right, a TBG intern from BGSU. They are the best and the girls love them. We're glad for our "Garden Friends."

Music Under the Stars with the Glassmen

Another beautiful evening at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheater. I'm always prepared and bring snacks(no shopping on Sunday rule.) Tonight we had apples, green grapes(very important that they are green to Miss Kathryn!), oranges, and LEMONS! Yes my girls LOVEY, LOVE, LOVE lemons. I love that they love lemons. I used to request them whenever I went out with my parents. So a great tradition continues. The elderly couple sitting next to us enjoyed the girls lemony entertainment.We had arrived EARLY. For me this meant we walked into the amphitheater at 6:25 p.m. There were almost no cars in the Zoo parking lot and I was sooooo excited to get an up close seat. But since the Glassmen, an amazing local drum and bugle corp take up half of the amphitheater floor) we got one of the few spots left on the ground. We set up camp, had some snacks and left for the bathroom. I lost Kate.... not REALLY, really lost. I just couldn't find her. So I went down noticed that the crowd was encroaching on our little space. Collecting our chairs to make a strategic move out of the chaos while also trying to locate my missing daughter. One mom, a stroller, two chairs, two kids, a blanket and snacks walking up the amphitheater incline....yeah people thought I was a crazy lady. At that moment they would have been correct. We found Kate and reestablished our camp on top of the Cheetah overlook deck. This is the girls Cheetah "buddy." We could see only half of everything on stage although the sound was great. When The Glassmen started their concert I was so realieved that I'd moved the girls. Paige would have been beyond overwhelmed. The hard part was trying to keep Sydney from climbing the railings...really didn't she notice the long drop, the rocks, and the cheetah?

The Glassmen were AMAZING. Some of you might not know that my dad played the trumpet.... and introduced me to drum and bugle corp competitions on PBS back in the day. I also played the trumpet and boy did I love watching those kids bring down the house. We might have another trumpet player soon.....but I'm thinking Paige loves the drums a little too much!