What a Difference!

These pictures were taken exactly one year ago today.

The color was so spectacular,it didn't matter which way

one turned,there was beauty everywhere.

The yellow tree is a Silver Maple,standing in the middle of our yard.

In the background you can see the Chokecherry bushes in red.

Just another picture to show the lovely colors. And again,the same tree. I guess I get a little carried away when I have my camera in hand.

I took this just to the west of Morden,along part of the Trans-Canada trail.

And now I give you today.

I believe in trying to see beauty all around me.

This is my attempt at being creative.

This picture shows the snow/rain drops on my school bus windshield.

The red you see are the lights of the bus standing ahead of mine,

reflected in the snow.

Here is another view through the bus windshield.

This little tree is just across the fence,in front of my bus.

It is probably not a good idea to shoot while driving,

but that is what I did for this picture.

I am on my way to work ,this afternoon.

Did I mention that we have had snow coming down most of the day?

The ground is still not frozen,so the snow melts fairly quickly.

This is part of our Lilac hedge.

You can see the leaves are still nice and green.

Here we are looking at our yard from the back door.

Last year at this time,the leaves seen here were colors of gold and red. I don't exactly want the snow yet,but,it is beautiful.

Today enjoy God's handiwork,

His finger prints and loving touches

that abound in nature.

A Walk Down Memory Lane 11

Welcome to week 11 on our Walk Down Memory Lane.

Today has taken a different format,as I show you more pictures,

but in the form of collages.

The first collage is a series of pictures Jake has taken

of our gardens.I remind you that all these pictures were taken before the digital age.

Jake has scanned the old slides onto the computer,

making them easier to share with others.

Just for fun I decided to do one collage of gophers and squirrels.

Finally to end today's walk,I have chosen fall scenes.

All of these were taken locally.

The ones with the mist in the valley,are taken in the Pembina Valley.

The Pembina Valley is a good place to see fall colors,and in spring it is a Raptor migration point.

I hope you will join us again next week for another walk,

until then ....

Value the beauty of the changing seasons.

A Time for Thanksgiving

I know that for many of you Thanksgiving is still a month away,

but for us here in Canada we are celebrating this weekend.

No matter what happens in my life,I still have so much to be thankful for.

The changing seasons is one of those things.

So far this year our colors are slow in showing up.

I do have a few pictures,especially of the Sumac in our yard.

I used my Macro lens on the Sumac pictures.

These apples are ready to be turned into delicious pies.

Sunlight turns these Foxtails into golden threads.

And I leave you with yet another picture of a Red-tailed Hawk.

The good green earth beneath our feet,

The air we breathe,the food we eat -

All these things and many more

Are things we should be thankful for.

A Walk Down Memory Lane 10

Week 10 of our Walk Down Memory Lane takes us to a variety of scenes,

I remind you that none of these pictures are current,all were taken

by Jake,using slide film.They have been scanned to the computer.

Here is just a pretty sunset picture.

The next three pictures are of carnival rides,taken at our annual Corn and Apple Festival.

Again these were taken years ago,but still look much the same today.

A fireworks display often ends the day on July 1st.

Yes in Canada we celebrate on the 1st instead of the 4th.

This one needs no introduction,the Canada Goose is well known.

I think this is a Yellow Warbler.

An early spring arrival is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Here is the nest of a Red-winged Blackbird.

Another bird which is well known,if not always frequently seen,the Snowy Owl.

I show you now a few birds of a different sort.

Again I will not attempt to identify them,as I would surely get it wrong.

I leave you today with a few fall scenes.

All of them were taken in our area.

This is the Pembina Valley,just west of our place.

Any small body of water gives a lovely picture when framed right.

Trees of gold showing their splendor.

This last picture is the town of Morden as seen from the west.

Since this was taken many years ago,it looks very different by now.

One thing which has not changed,is that this town has a lot of trees.

Value the beauty of the changing seasons.

A Photo Collage

Birds pictured are left to right,starting at the top:

Red-headed Woodpecker,Red-tailed Hawk,Northern Mockingbird

Turkey Vulture,Barn Swallow,Red-breasted Nuthatch

Say's Phoebe,Nashville Warbler,Swainson's Hawk

American White Pelican,Nashville Warbler,Eastern Kingbird.

This is a collection of pictures taken over the last summer.

These are only a few of the many we have.

Value the beauty of the changing seasons.

Me? a School Bus Driver? 2

In this part 2 of my story,I take you to the present.

But first a few more thoughts on my start.

Our son had started Gr.1 in September,this meant that now he and I left home together in

the morning ad came home together in the evening.

We did not need a sitter and I was earning some extra money as well.

That first year I drove a van which had been converted to be a school bus.

I still felt that this would be a temporary job,although

I did enjoy the driving and the extra money.

Well,that was 1979,now at the beginning of October 2009,

I am still a bus driver.

I have upgraded my license several times,and now hold a Class 2.

I have also had countless hours of training through the years.

From a 15 passenger van to today's bus able to carry 72 students.

I have also changed routes several times.

For the last several years i have had the privilege of having an in town route.

After years of navigating muddy,snowy and just plain miserable roads,

this is quite a treat.

Over the course of all these years I have experienced many things,

some funny,some sad,and many just plain frustrating.

Some years ago at the urging of my fellow drivers,

I started putting some of these things on paper.

Since I am not an author it is not super great,but it does tell the story

of the life of school bus drivers.

Maybe some day I will share some of these stories.

For now I give God the Glory for giving me this job,

and allowing me to do it for all these years.

I also Praise Him for keeping me safe on the road and accident free.

The following verse seems to be written just for me.

Before they call I will answer;while they are still speaking I will hear.

Isaiah 65:24

Me? A School Bus Driver?

First off let me say that today the pictures have nothing to do with the rest of the content.

I am just adding some random shots to break up the commentary. The title of this post kind of says it all.

Back in 1979 I had no desire to become a school bus driver.

I had been told by my doctor that I needed to get a job outside of the home.

He felt it would be good for my mental health.

Jake and I were living 8 miles from the nearest town and had only one vehicle,

which Jake needed to get to his work.

Our son was starting school in September,so what was I to do?

I had heard of the need for a bus driver for our rural one room school.

This sounded good,but I was quite sure that I could never do this sort of thing.

I didn't really 'want' this job,but after talking abut this with Jake and also some

of our friends,I thought I might be able to do it for a year or two.

I decided to not apply for the job,but,I do remember one morning

during my devotions,praying about it.

I soon found out that God has a sense of humor.

My prayer had gone something like this,

"Lord, I am not going to call about this job,but,if you want me to have it

let them call me".Amen.

I had no sooner said 'Amen',when the phone rang.

The voice on the other end was the person in charge of hiring a bus driver.

He asked if I would be interested in this job.

I started to hem and haw,and then could almost hear God say,

'What did you just pray?'

At this point I said,'Yes,I would like to have the job.'

I signed some papers that same day and started my training.

Back then training meant to upgrade my license to a higher class.

This was fairly easy and by the middle of October 1979,

I was the official school bus driver for the Mason School.