Happy Memorial Day and Wiffle Char Tournament

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Reinhardt Rose Field

Whipp Stadium

Growing up I play wiffle ball a lot.  Many times it was by myself.  Not everybody could just play      Wiffle Ball forever like I would like to do.  To me the back yard was a very cool stadium with all it's own ground rules, cool quirks, and history.  I used to throw the ball up in the air and hit all by myself.  I made up 2 teams of players and pretended I was each player through the lineup.  It was crazy! I would play all the way until after dark.  The yard really transformed into a real Baseball Stadium in my mind, you know like on the Muppet Babies.  Well for some years I ignored all of this stuff until sometime in 2009.  I was in the backyard with my nephew playing with a bat and a ball and it happened.  Between the shed and the pool wall a stadium appeared before my eyes! This also happened to be the year where my sister's pool was damaged and would not be ready for Memorial Day and some how the Wiffle Char Tournament was born!  I believe my sister thought of the name.  Since there was no pool that year we all played in the big tournament.  I bought several different balls and bats.  I sat at work thinking of fencing and places to go and get different balls and bats.  It was Wiffle Mania!  I had Wiffle Balls, Junk Balls, Blitz Balls, Cheap Generic sets from all over.  Bought some old set that look like it was lost in the warehouse for years.  It's still my favorite bat. I even brought some fencing and setup a center field camera.  I knew that every year we would not have this same tournament, since the pool soon would be fixed, but I will not forget.  Still now when I look at a yard or an open area, I look and think about what kind of wiffle ball field would would that be?  I would like to draw out more sometime, but attached are the 3 fields I actually have mapped out.  I have to spend all this time being a grown man, I don't get the chance. I still enjoy a nice day of hitting all by myself.  I new that everybody is not so in to it as me, so I got myself a cheap little wiffle type ball pitching machine.  Its a Franklin Mlb Pitching Machine and it has some bad reviews, but they just got to set it up right  and have patience.  I bought a sack of cheap balls from Toys R Us that shoot straighter out of the machine.

Raspeburg Post Office

 I will look to hit a few this weekend.  Looking for a Shed Shot or a Splash Down Home Run to the pool would be awesome!  What I will do during this time is think of all of the service men who have and are giving there lives so I can sit her thinking of all of this crap.  Writing this I think how we can afford to work, play, and live our lives thanks to all who continue to die and fight for this country.   I have 3 videos of the very first tournament that are embedded below.  In the second game we were reminded of why we celebrate Memorial Day when you hear the band play down by the VFW, even if Kevo dances like a fool.  Have a great Memorial Day and remember all who have died for this country.

Whats this all have to do exactly with the Rose Garden?  You will see in the diagram of Reinhardt Rose Field, that a ball hit into the Rose Garden is an out if the Rose Bush Happens to make the catch!

Catbird Horror Attack Averted with Bird Bath

Bubba

Ready to Attack!

Last year I heard the mew mew of the cat bird all over the place.  Some times I would be sitting there and I would swear that my cat Bubba was in some trouble or had gotten out of the house.  This year the my friends the catbird arrived just in time for the re discovery of my strawberry garden.   It was no coincidence!  The catbirds ate a complete batch of strawberries before I noticed and covered up the garden.  It appeared as if our relationship was over.  They looked really mad.  They were forming around me like Alfred Hitchcock's  The Birds.  Man it was getting worse and worse they were gathering in the trees looking down at the covered strawberry garden and again at me.  It looked like the end was near!  I managed to avoid them for some weeks, but I was not so sure how long I could hold out! Then, on May 5, I bought a wow only $12 bird bath from Walgreens.  I noticed the were no longer gathering menacingly in the woods staring down at the strawberries.  Later I would find them flying around looking and looking.  I found them walking down the walkway and looking at the birdbath.  And Finally, I think we are friends again , when I discovered the catbirds enjoying the bird bath!  I think I may have seen them smiling.  Below are pictures of the the Catbirds going for a swim and other friends, Mourning Dove and the Sparrow.  I would like to imitate these pictures in my sisters pool this Memorial Day Weekend!

Looking for a fight!

Looking For a Fight?

Rose Flash Photography and Some Other pics

Many times when I was taking picture I felt that the flash was too much.  When it was dark it look phony and when it was bright it was too bright.  I often tried it so that you would see the yellow stuff clearly.  I looked it up and the yellow stuff is anther. I accidentally took a picture a few days ago with a flash and liked what I saw.  So I played around with it and even looked up some stuff about flash photography.  I should really get a better camera.  I even viewed a YouTube video about flash photography.  It mostly dealt with human subjects, but was cool anyway.  I embedded the video at the bottom of this post.  I should look for more related to roses and flowers.  This guy's site,  http://www.steeletraining.com, has a bunch of photography and image editing lessons and videos.  So,  back to my rose pictures.  I found that taking the pictures just before the sun went down and before it got too dark was the perfect time for some flash photography of the roses.  Some turned out and some really sucked.  Below are a couple of my favorites and then a slideshow of the whole thing.

Yellow Stuff

More Yellow Stuff

Last Year's Mother's day Rose from Val to Mom

I swear there is the face of a Witch in there somewhere!

Explaining the Different parts of a Rose.

I was taking many pictures and could not tell you what each part of the rose was called.  Specifically, the yellow inside the rose.  Looks like it is anther.  I can stop calling it the yellow stuff now or at least I will know if someone says it.  I Found a couple good illustrations and links.



The Parts of a Rose Flower

Explaining the Different parts of a Rose.

Strawberry Update - Oh No Catbirds!

  Lost a whole batch of strawberries to the Catbird!  Started seeing the Catbirds around and did not realize their true intentions right away.  The birds were eating the strawberries left and right!  Lucky for me I had something I could use to cover the strawberry plants.  I had bought this Outdoor Table Screen from CarolWrightGifts.com that you hang over a patio umbrella.  It works for hanging over umbrella if you have a very small table to go along with it.  But I'm glad I have it now to protect my strawberries.  Now that I have them covered I can eat the strawberries left and right.  That catbirds have moved on to eating insects in in the rose garden.

Outdoor Table Screen Covering Strawberries

Strawberry Eating Catbird 

Strawberry Eating Catbird

Mom Loves Strawberries

Hellena Loves Strawberries

Rain means more Rain Rose Pictures

Was not raining too bad when I arrived home from work, so more Rain Rose pictures.  Could not contain myself!

Vegetable Garden Part 1

After spending some time with mom for mother's day, I started planting my vegetable garden. Mom elected to eat at a bar on Friday night with crab cakes, steak, and Beer for Mother's Day. First we planted 8 corn stalks that I found at Walmart all ready to go. I have had mixed results with corn. The first year was great! We had a big pile of corn and cut off some of the bad parts. Last year however was a disaster! The corn was planted too shallow and too close together. They kept falling over and getting flattened from strong storms. We all so planted too many. Then we left them on too long got a lot of rain and the corn harvest was destroyed. They got real soft and birds and insects ate them. This year I hope we learned some lessons and can have a good corn harvest. The corn is called Silver Queen Corn. After that we planted 4 Better Boy tomatoes. Mom always said that dad liked the big boy so I got these thinking if dad liked the Big Boys then he will really love the Better Boys. Then we added a Husky Cherry Red and a Roma tomato plants. Got to have some Cherry Tomatoes so I can just eat them all the time and Hellena really liked the Roma. They are said to be great for paste and sauce and she likes there Flavor. Later this week, I will be planting 10 pepper plants. This year we stuck with a favorites, almost. I will tell you about them later. I wrote this post and took all of the pictures from my crappy blackberry. I was being lazy after a long Mother's Day Weekend. Happy Mother's Day!

Rose and Bird Pictures from past week

Some of the Bird pictures were taken through a screen .  I just went crazy taking pictures.  When I pull up in the car, walk past, or just sitting outside, I see one Rose that stands out and draws me in and then its on.  I just go crazy.  I see another and another until I have taken 200 pictures!  I get a nice response like how many stupid pictures are you going to take those roses and those Birds!  It's just Hellena's cry for attention.  Happy Mother's Day!  When I have time I will post more detail info on the pictures.

Went out and bought Corn, pepper, and  tomato plants today!

Darcey Bussell Rose National Home Gardening Club

Darcey Bussell Rose National Home Gardening Club

Can't stop rose pics

Rose

More Roses

Neon Rose Angel

Rose Garden Apocalypse?

The roses are very old.

How long will they Hold?

New zombie rose buds scattered red.

Why does the little Sparrow Lay dead?

Fresh dug holes are home to new pest.

Has the catbird left it's nest?

Angels, Saints, Mary, and Jesus uncovered.

Why do so many insects hover?

Dead rose blooms wither.

Where do the snakes slither?

Disease hampers revitalization.

Will there be new fertilization?

Weeds grow like crazy.

How can the gardener be so Lazy!

Transit of Venus observed like an eclipse.

Rose garden Apocalypse?

-cbr

New Bird Bath - Wow Only $12

I went to get some photos at Walgreens and saw this cheap bird bath. It's my first Bird Bath. Hope to see some birds there soon!

Growing and Caring for Roses - www.simplyrosegardening.com

Growing and Caring for Roses - www.simplyrosegardening.com

Submit Photos « American Rose Society

Submit Photos « American Rose Society

American Rose Society

American Rose Society

Growing and Caring for Roses - www.simplyrosegardening.com

Growing and Caring for Roses - www.simplyrosegardening.com

Rose Bush Care Simply Rose Gardening

Rose Bush Care Simply Rose Gardening

Rain Roses

I love taking pictures of my roses in the rain!

Whatcha gonna do when Roses Run Wild on you! Rose Picture Mania!

Over the last few days I have taken many Pictures.  Today I was outside and my girlfriend called.  She asked what are you doing?  I said, what is it that I like to do after work?  Her reply was, taking stupid pictures of the same thing over and over.  So this post is the results of that practice, enjoy.

Charles Benjamin Reinhardt, Jr. - I do remember

White for Dad, Red for Mom, Purple for Dawn, Pink for Val,
and Yellow for all of the Family

On, May 5, 1984, my father died.  Early on your memories are fresh and you have to continue with life.  Over more recent years I have struggled to think back to the time where we were a happy growing family.  I try and do things to remember and think about my father.  I have worked on the rose garden where I pray and think about life and do this in memory of my father.  Shortly before his death my father tore out the roses and a few years later the rose returned.  In many ways I have gotten lost in this garden.  Each year on May 5, I try and buy a small extra garden accessory and I visit my father's grave site.  My dad liked the White roses in the corner of the yard.  They are the only ones that remained untouched through the years.  I place a flower arrangement  of white

Dad's White Roses

Bird Bath added 2012

roses in the center and other colors surrounding  them to represent our family.  I use fake flowers because I want them to stay for awhile.  What happened was I struggled to remember and feel the 9 years that I spent with my father.  I found my self wondering what would life be like if dad were alive?  Where would we all be today?  What things and changes would dad like today?  Writing lists and lists of what I can remember my father liking and disliking.  Concentrating and trying to hear his voice.  I would look and find what happened on May 5, 1984 while my father died?  Always, thinking and hearing how do you even know and remember your father, you were so young.  What happened this weekend has made me stop my struggles and brought back all of my memory of my time with my dad.  My father loved to take pictures and he had hundreds and maybe over 1000 picture slides.  This weekend I pulled out the slides and watched them with my mother, sister, and her family.  I had looked many times before, but it had never been so long and never have I viewed so many at one time.  We also had a converted box of super 8 on DVD.  We watched parts of my fathers life from 1968 - 1983.  I even was able to see early pictures.  I believe for the first time I stopped thinking what if he had lived.  He had lived.  I no longer feel sad or think about all he had missed.  What I think about is how wonderful and great a life my father had with us all.  All of the trips to the Eastern Shore, to Ocean City, birthday parties, Easter, Christmas, playing in the yard, working around the house, New Year's parties, first communions, weddings, family trips, ballet recitals, Halloween, and much much more!  I see my father living life and doing all the same things that our family and everyone does today.  I no longer have to struggle, I can see dad and me and remember.   My father left us a wonderful gift with all of these pictures.  I can never forget.   All the time I feel and hear his voice.  I know that my father loved and lived his life, and what he loved most was his family.  

Why Take So Many Pictures in the Rose Garden?

Me arguing my point and taking pictures.

 I have been taking pictures as much as I can to capture thw garden at different stages of growth and bloom.  The red roses only bloom 1 time a year and I try to spend time each day taking pictures and looking around the garden.  My girlfriend, pictuers in the collage, keeps nagging me anout taking fhe pictures.  Why you always taking pictures of the same thing?  What are you doing that for?  And I tell her, don't you realize that the plats are growing and blooming and these are not the same pictures?  That eventually all the roses will bloom and there will be red everywhere?  Her response is to just wait until then.  Wait until they are all bloomed and then take a picture.  I should wait until full bloom, take a picture, and be done!  Anyway, after knowing me for 15 years, she should know my addiction to taking pictures of Roses, Birds, Sunrise, Sunsets, Sky, Stars, Moon, Light, Dark, Snow, and pretty much anything and everything.  I like to carry camera around and act like Peter Parker.  I use a nice cheap Kodak that I have gotten completely soaked in rain or snow and don't care and it still works.  The drawback is that it sometimes does not focus as you want and no manual adjustment.  Need to get a new camera.  I always like taking the same pictures over and over again of the same thing.  To below is a collage of all the pictures.

I did not observe many birds, just a couple of Mourning Doves and some sparrows, couple of bad pics below.  Most of my bird watching was of the Orioles beating the Yankees 5-0.  Go Orioles! 

Nice possible title images for my blog.  The middle angel has Emma's Raven Collar from back in 2000 when they won the Super Bowl!  Miss you Emma. 

And the rest of the pictures ...

Orange Tropicana getting ready to bloom!  Go O's!

Sister Val's Mothers Day Miniature 

Dad's White Roses

Dad's White Roses

Dad's

This is the one above my head

Strawberries