Glenn poses for a 46th birthday portrait with our Fall Season statue on July 1. There is a certain family resemblance there. Photo by Glenn.
The First marked not only Glenn's birthday, but it was the first anniversary of the arrival of Katy and Rio at our home. Katy celebrates with a piece of ribbon... Photo by Glenn.
...While Rio seems duly impressed with the momentous occasion. Photo by Glenn.
It's time for some cake. We didn't exactly have 46 candles, but all the better to prevent setting off the smoke detector. Photo by Roni.
Chocolate pudding birthday cake. Mmmmmmmmmm. You know you want some. Photo by Roni.
This isn't exactly one of Glenn's birthday gifts. Actually, he's blowing up a 48-inch beachball for Roni to use in a booth at the upcoming Oakley Cityhood Celebration. Photo by Roni.
Glenn has a little fun with the beachball. He's easily entertained. Photo by Roni.
Inflated, the beachballs barely fit in the back of Roni's car as she prepares to take them to the park on Saturday, July 2. Photo by Glenn.
Roni and her helpers Janess and Linda work to set up the Delta Science Center booth at the cityhood celebration. Photo by Glenn.
A tank of small perch caught in the Delta that morning was a big hit with the kids who stopped by the DSC booth. Photo by Glenn.
Ben and Lea joined us for the cityhood celebration, but they spent most of the afternoon hanging out together (or is that all over each other?). Photo by Glenn.
Just before sundown the park is a sea of people who have staked out their spots for the fireworks show. Photo by Glenn.
Let the show begin! The crowd oohs and aahs as the bombs burst midair over Freedom High School. Photo by Glenn.
It's the "Fourth" of July, so we'll enjoy the fireworks awhile longer. Photo by Glenn.
Here comes the grand finale, a multicolored salute to our country's 235th birthday. Photo by Glenn.
July 3, the morning following the fireworks show, Roni thanks the perch for their service and returns them to the Delta at Lauritzen Yacht Harbor. Photo by Glenn.
It's a gorgeous Sunday on the Delta and folks seem to be enjoying the hot weather. This boater does a doughnut for us while we shoot photos from the levee. Photo by Roni.
The summer hot streak is good news for the blackberries, which are just starting to ripen along the riverbank. Photo by Glenn.
At home, we've got the backyard ready for Independence Day. These flag banners were a buck each, so we bought three to decorate the BAP pergola. Photo by Glenn.
The flags are backlit by the late afternoon sunlight, creating a lovely glow inside the pergola. Photo by Glenn.
We spent a lot of time during our vacation fixing up the patio. Among the things we did was to add strings of lights to the inside of the pergola. Photo by Glenn.
Roni relaxes on the patio as we test out the lights for the first time the evening of July 3. Photo by Glenn.
A ceramic cat appears to be watching intently the flame of a citronella candle on our patio table. Unfortunately, the bugs seemed equally attracted. Photo by Glenn.
July 4 finds us on a Delta roadtrip. We stopped for some pictures of one of the huge wind farms west of Rio Vista. Photo by Glenn.
This is what we were looking for. A huge field of sunflowers near Davis, Calif., makes quite an impression when viewed up close. Photo by Glenn.
Last year we hunted for sunflowers in late August and came away disappointed. Not so this year. Photo by Glenn.
The sunflowers are mostly taller than Roni, who tries her best to blend in. Photo by Glenn.
Some people go to picnics on the Fourth. Others watch fireworks. We get our kicks taking pictures of giant flower fields. Photo by Glenn.
Our Delta journey included a stop at the Walnut Grove Iron Works where we picked up some new metal art for our pergola. This scene has a cat, bird, tree and flowers, so how could we not like it? Photo by Glenn.
It just wouldn't be Independence Day without a barbecue. Bring on the hamburgers. Photo by Glenn.
One of our vacation projects got us around finally to building Roni's patio pond. We will transform this unused barrel half into a water garden with the help of some black sheeting fabric. Photo by Glenn.
Glenn wrestles with the pond liner as he tucks it into the barrel. Photo by Roni.
With the excess fabric trimmed the pond is filled with water. Photo by Glenn.
Time to add the plants. Roni transferred her canna lily and parrot's feather from a plastic tub to the barrel. Photo by Glenn.
We purchased a water hyacinth from Orchard Supply Hardware. It started blooming in the car on the drive home. Photo by Roni.
Ben decided his old bed wasn't comfortable anymore, so we chucked it in favor of a futon, which we set up July 6. Photo by Glenn.
Ben likes the futon, especially the fact that it can fold up into a sofa and provides him with more space in his room. Photo by Roni.
Back to business following the cityhood event, Roni is hard at work in her Delta Science Center office July 8. The office is in space donated to the DSC by the Ironhouse Sanitary District. Photo by Glenn.
Hopefully this won't be the last shot Glenn gets to take on his Canon PowerShot S3 camera, which died moments after the shutter snapped on this picture of Roni reading her iPad on the patio. Photo by Roni.
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