My Azaleas

Just a few shots of the azaleas in my yard...

These two have practically grown together over the years

This particular azalea puts it's flowers out on stalks...five flowers per stalk

And this one just explodes color everywhere!

Celtic Festival - Part 1

Saturday (05-09-09) was the annual Celtic Festival at nearby Bethabara Park. Our family is Scottish on my mom's side...our ancestors were Nelsons, which are a sept of the Clan Gunn. For those who don't know, a 'sept' basically means a smaller group or family that was part of a larger clan, usually through marriage or such. Anyway, every year we go to the Celtic Festival as a big thing for Mother's Day, and we have a blast spending the day together. This time my aunt Cathy and my cousin Chris met us there, and we all had our dogs with us...over time you'll start to notice that the babies go to all sorts of things with us. Saturday started out beautiful...blue skies and plenty of sunshine, and it was h-o-t! (It stormed in the afternoon, but we'd left by then.) We got to see the pipes & drums, all sorts of booths selling everything from food & drink to clothing, weapons, jewelry, toys, and t-shirts. Personally, I'm the one in the family that is...ummm...shall we say 'outgoing' (?) in the food department. Mom and the rest settled for hotdogs and ice cream, I went for the authentic foods....Scotch Eggs and Shepherd's Pie. I think we all know what Shepherd's Pie is...it's pretty common...but Scotch Eggs are a specialty all their own...hard-boiled eggs wrapped in Irish or Scottish sausage (depending on who's making them) and fried. Yes, it's a heart-attack waiting to happen, but since I only get them once a year, I think I'll be okay. They are sooo good though! No, there was no haggis there. Yes, I would have eaten it if there had been. (If you don't know what haggis is - google it - I won't share it here to protect the weak of stomach.) They also have Sausage Rolls, Meat Pies, Bridies, and Fish & Chips. We had so much fun, and below are a few pictures from the day. Also check out the second post for more pictures...

The pipers...there is no sweeter sound than bagpipes playin' Scottish tunes...

The pipes & drums...

One of the many clothing booths and it's customers...



Some of the Irish Dancers...

Mom & Daisy

Celtic Festival - Part 2

More pictures from the Celtic Festival at Bethabara Park in Winston Salem, NC 05/09/09.

One of the many guys walking around in kilts at the Festival

The 'drums' part of the Pipes & Drums band...

Lillie makes a new friend...my cousin Chris's dog Lillie met a little lab pup while we were there.

Sheep-herding trials...

Sheep-herding trials...