One Year Ago, September 1

One year ago today,I made my first tentative blog post.

I was not sure if I really wanted to do this or even how to do it.

My desire from the very start of this blog has been to point towards God,

by showing the beauty of His handiwork.

If even one person has been drawn to see God through nature

I am satisfied that this blog has been successful.

I never for one minute thought that blogging would result in finding friends.

Boy,was I wrong.I now feel like I have friends all over the world.

I may not have met you in person,but feel a connection to you.

It has been a privilege to pray for many of you who have been or are going

through difficult times.

Thank-you to each one who visits regularly,

your comments brighten my day.

I am looking forward to many more visits to your blogs and hope to do more posts for quite awhile.

This is too much fun to quit any time soon.

Thanks again for your friendship,it means a lot to me.

A Walk Down Memory Lane 5

Today,as we walk down Memory Lane let's take a look at butterflies and insects.

This year has been very quiet in the butterfly world,but in years past that was not the case.

Here are slide scans of Jake's pictures,featuring a variety of insects.

The first three pictures show the beautiful Monarch Butterfly.

Here,as most of you know is the Monarch caterpillar.

It is seen on Milkweed,a favorite host plant. The next picture may need to be enlarged to see all the yellow butterflies or moths. There were hundreds of them all over this field.

Below a White Admiral.

An insect of a different sort.The spider although not beautiful is a busy worker.

It has created this perfect web.

Here is a swarm of bees.

I don't know much about bees except that this is called swarming.

Up close and personal with a dragonfly.

And a face to face encounter.

A pretty fuzzy caterpillar.

Jake caught this spider against a full moon.

Here are a few more dragonflies.

I think these may be Sulphers.

These are the same butterflies in the earlier picture with so many of them.

Take a closer look at the swarming bees.

Be careful,don't get stung.

Another look at the Monarch Butterfly and in the next picture a caterpillar.

This picture also shows the Milkweed flowers.

Last but not least a lovely Yellow Tiger Swallowtail

Enjoy happiness,treasure joy.

Some Flowers for You

Since I showed flowers on our last Walk Down Memory Lane

I decided to show some of my earliest pictures of flowers.

I got my first digital camera just to be able to take pictures

of my soon to arrive grandchild. As I was playing with my new camera I took a few flower pictures. As the saying goes,"the rest is history". I found out that I really enjoyed photography.

Soon I was trying a variety of shots,and the bug had bitten.

Before I had become a Grandma,I had become a photographer.

Now two cameras later,this is my primary hobby.

I hope you have enjoyed my walk through the flower garden.

Enjoy happiness,treasure joy.

A Walk Down Memory Lane 4

On today's Walk Down Memory Lane I invite you to join me in the flower garden.

These are once again pictures taken from Jake's collection of old slides.

I will not comment except to identify those flowers which I know.

The well known Sunflower.

These are Daisy like flowers common in many gardens.

A wild fruit blossom,possibly cherry. Lupins,putting on a grand display. Another common,yet beautiful flower,the rose.

I don't have a name for this one.

An Iris standing tall.

This is a creative shot,zooming out while depressing the shutter button.

This is Delphinium in bud.

A close-up of a Columbine.

Lilacs in spring.

A delicate Tulip.

Another Tulip,with a totally different shape.

More Lupins.

Some more of the Daisy like flowers.

This is a wild flower,the Closed Gentian.

These flowers do not open more than this.

Some delicate wild flowers.

Springtime blossoms

A grass seed head.

Another un-named wild flower.

Enjoy happiness,treasure joy. And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies(or any flowers) of the field grow.

They do not labor or spin.

....

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,...

will He not much more clothe you? Matthew 6:28 + 30 Small print in the verse above is my words.

Corn and Apple Festival

Today I want to take you downtown to our local festival.

Every year on the third weekend in August Morden puts on

an event called The Corn and Apple Festival.

This draws large numbers of people from the surrounding area.

Tour buses come from Winnipeg,about an hours drive.

Let's start at the east end of town.

Looking east here is the entrance to the Research Station.

The gardens and lawns draw many people every summer.

As we turn to look west,this is the main street in town.

Officially it is called Stephen Street,but locally is known as Main Street.

A closer look shows the rides waiting for riders.

No rides or vendors are allowed to open until noon on Sunday.

This festival starts on Friday and goes through to Sunday evening. Throughout the weekend there is entertainment on the main stage as well as at some smaller stages.

All my pictures were taken today,Sunday,so the rides are motionless.

Just to show some of the pretty things around,

the lamp posts all have these lovely baskets of flowers.

Here is an old building,which for many years was the local post office.

The Art Gallery now occupies this building.

Just another view of the clock tower.

This was the scene this morning before the church service began.

On stage to open the morning service was a local group called Glorybound.

A peek at the sound booth.

The following three pictures show the Sunday morning crowd.

I had to take this in segments in order to show all of it.

Here is a close-up view the clock.

Some more decorative displays on the old buildings.

This is the Sunday morning crowd as seen from the stage area.

It is good to see most of the local churches participating in this service.

After the church service is over the street begins to fill up.

We have about six blocks of the main street filled with vendors of every kind.

Some of the side streets are also used.

For the three days of the festival the town gives out free corn on the cob and apple cider.

Here are two line ups of people waiting to get their free corn.

And finally,I have to show my favorite street display.

This is our son,Steve,showing some of his photography work,

and hoping to generate more business.

Good luck,Steve.