Morden's Corn and Apple Festival - Part 2

In part 2 of the Festival posts,I will show some of the street displays.

To start with I show you a favourite piece of equipment. Where would I be without my Bosch?

I firmly believe that the purchase of one of these machines has been one of the best purchases I have ever made.I used to bake a lot of bread and my hands were getting tired,but with this machine,I can bake all I want and only handle the dough to form the loaves or buns.

This display has been a feature on the street for very many years.

Just a few houses down from me lives a friend who turns used seat belts into bags of all shapes and sizes.

U.S.E.D. is their label.It stands for Unlimited Supplies from Everyones Discards.

I encourage you to click on the link and check out their site.She does ship out her bags as well.

This gentleman creates works of art for the yard,using steel.For today I will just show this one picture,but at some future date I will show you some close-ups of this.

Of course what is a festival without lots of food.

These curly fries seemed to be a hit,as I saw many a plate full of them as I walked down the street.

For those who may not have seen them before,it is one potato sliced into these curls and then deep fried.

Another attraction to my home town is the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre.

The museum is also within two blocks of where I live.This was their display at the festival. They were giving tours to the dig site and generally trying to get the word out about this place.

Everyone needs a coffee now and then.Some,like myself need it often and fairly strong.

Coffee Culture is our newest coffee shop. They serve some mighty tasty coffee and other goodies as well.

Another staple of our festival is a huge Farmer's Market. This is showing just one side of the market.Here you can find all kinds of garden produce,home baking,handmade soaps and much more.

If you were to visit Morden during Festival time,this is what you would see looking down our main street. The little lady in the green hat,just over the front of the car,is Bessie.Bessie is famous for he shish kabobs.There is usually a long line-up of people waiting to by some of these.She also has been at that same spot for as long as I can remember.

I was minding the fort for Steve,so that he could go with Kai to get a balloon animal made.They were not aware of me taking this shot.

The red brick building which is in the left corner of the picture,houses the local art gallery.

Another picture from at Steve's booth. This small vender has been set up at this spot for many years. They have become like friends and serve very tasty burgers.

Behind them,looking through the seats you can see the white and blue striped canopy of the main stage.

Are you done already with this festival? I hope not,as I have at least one more post to share with you.

Sure wish you could have all joined me in person and we could have enjoyed the festival that way.

Corn and Apple Festival 2012 - Part 1

Hang onto your seats. This week I will be taking you to Morden's Corn and Apple Festival.

Today we will start out by watching the rides.No,I DO NOT set foot on a ride,but don't mind taking pictures of them,so here goes.

I will start by showing you the kiddie rides,although,they would be more than enough for me.

I thought these guys had cute faces.Kind of goofy,yet cute.

Of course the Merry Go Round is a big hit with even the youngest of the children.Watching the faces of the parents who are holding the little ones,I think they enjoy it every bit as much as the kiddies do.

This was a new ride for this year.It was called the Froggy Drop.

It went up slowly in stages and then dropped down,but also fairly slowly. 

The children seemed to love it.

I don't even remember he name of this ride.When I look at it I almost begin feeling dizzy.Again,the older children and perhaps adults seem to love being on it and screaming throughout the whole ride.

The Sizzler is a ride which has been around for a very long time but always draws the crowds.

My granddaughter thinks it is fun. It spins around and while that is happening each seat also turns in different directions.

 Spin-put was new for this year,and In my opinion,crazy.

It starts out quite innocently,then begins to lift up and tilts and spins in all directions.

You should have heard the screaming coming from this ride,but as I watched most stepped off the ride with a smile on their face.

Just another view of the Spin-out in action.

Anybody ready for a ride? I'll be happy to get your pictures while you are on it. LOL.

I loved the look of this colourful sign.

And here is a better look at this ride.It's like a big boat that swings from side to side.

This is the Sky Master.This picture and the next show what it does.

When the arms are straight up and down it comes to a complete halt and the people hang in the air for a moment,before swinging back down.

The last picture is one I took for it's creative worth.I liked the starburst effect from the sun.

 I have many more pictures and will put out another post in a day or two.

Fun With Friends

Last week Wednesday,I had the special privilege of spending the afternoon with two teenage friends of mine.Both of these girls enjoy photography so we wanted to get out and have some fun with our cameras.

The afternoon started out with a light drizzle,but we were determined to have a good day and a little water was not going to stop us.We headed off to A Rocha,hoping for the skies to clear a little.

This shows the valley the way it looked when we got there.The mist made it look like a fog.This had a special beauty to it,but as photographers we would have welcomed a little sunshine.
Not to be deterred we made the best of the situation.

At the house the four Hummingbird feeders were very busy.It seems like they all wanted to feed at the same feeder,so there was constant jousting and bickering among them.
 Momentarily ,these three declared a truce so that they could get some nourishment.

Sydney,Abby and I set out into the woods,looking for photo opportunities,which we found many of.
The raindrops on the leaves caught my attention,while the girls found other sights to capture.

Neither of them had been at A Rocha before so they quite enjoyed nature's beauty.
I loved to see the enthusiasm they had about being out in nature.

We did not go very far down the trails,as we didn't want to get caught in a real rain,but even the short walk yielded many pretty images.It really is beginning to look like fall with those yellow leaves around.

Our day ended with the girls coming to my house for supper. On the way home the talk turned to pancakes.We thought that the rainy weather was perfect for pancakes,so we decided to make crepes at my house.What fun this was!
Unfortunately,we were so hungry that I never took time to get pictures of our supper.
I can only hope that Sydney and Abby enjoyed the day half as much as I did.I would be ready to do it again any time.
Thanks girls for the fun time we had.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

This is a series of four short video clips I put together.I have been learning how to use the video on my new Canon 7D camera.I hope you enjoy watching my little jewel as he is feasting on the sweet nectar.

More Flowers

I am still working on pictures taken at the end of July.

Here is another set taken at the Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg.

One of the attractions in this park is a Conservatory.Many tropical plants are grown in this place and also beautiful flowers.I found this lovely Begonia and knew that I had to get a picture of it.

Those colours are so vibrant,almost like a sunset.

One room in the Conservatory has a variety of uses. The day I was there it looked like they were set up for a wedding celebration. Now that would be the place to get married.I love the lovely greenery all around.It is quite an intimate setting,with room for only a few people.

In another area of the park,of course are the English Gardens,and you all know I love visiting them.

My Purple Coneflowers did not do well this year,but the ones in the Gardens are gorgeous.

The Butterflies seemed to agree with me and were busy feeding among them.

A few steps from the above picture,I saw these Hydrangeas.The sun illuminated  them just right.It doesn't seem to matter how often I visit these Gardens,I always find some more beauty to photograph.

The thought I have for today is as much directed to me as anyone else,perhaps more so.

When you choose to worry,you are choosing not to trust God.

A Bouquet of Flowers

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago.but the beauty of flowers is timeless,so I hope you will enjoy them.

This first picture was taken at St. Vital Park in Winnipeg,for those of you who are familiar with the area.

I was impressed with the beauty of this scene.The yellow flowers were so bright and then to have the soft pastels in the background.I thought it was perfect.

All the rest of the pictures are from a place you will all recognize,at least by name,The English Gardens.I had gone there with a friend and we were a little disappointed to see them watering the gardens. This kind of restricted us as to where we could safely walk.

I spied this plant surrounded by water droplets and thought it was worthy of a picture.

This single Zinnia was wet from the watering and when I saw it on my computer,I thought it almost looked like it was made of glass.Those petals have a lovely shine to them.

In a corner of the garden sits this bench.It would appear as though not many people use it to sit on,so the plants are using it to rest on.

I was struck by the unusual combination of colours in this Zinnia.

I had never seen one like this before,but it sure was pretty in its own peculiar way.

Looking at this Zinnia reminds me that each one of us,no matter how unusual or unique,has been created to show beauty and to bring Glory to God.

Recent Birds

Permit me to share some exciting photos with you.

OK,they may not be all that special,but I was excited to get these shots,especially one,which I will point out later.

 On Tuesday,August the 7,my sister Becky and I drove to Winnipeg. I wanted to see if I could find some more birds to photograph.I did indeed find some birds and came home quite happy with the days events.

Of course, no trip to the city for photography is complete without a visit to the English Gardens.

Here the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are beginning to feed in preparation for their journey south.

In this first shot the bird looks like an angel to me.Those wings have that angelic look.

I am quite pleased with how this picture turned out,yet I know I need to go back there soon. There are always more pictures which need to be captured.

In another part of the garden the American Goldfinches were feasting on the seeds of these flowers.

He was so busy eating that I could get fairly close.

In yet another area I found this Clearwing Moth.

He seemed very small to me,but pretty non the less.

My prize of the day came as we were approaching the city limits. I spotted a hawk on a pole and could not identify it.So I did what any photographer would do,I stopped,backed up,got out of the car and started shooting.

As I was slowly walking closer I began noticing some facial markings.

I was not sure about the ID of this bird until a professional birder confirmed that it is indeed a juvenile Peregrine Falcon.To say that I was excited about this is an understatement. This is my first picture of a Peregrine. The setting is not perfect and it is a young bird,so the markings are not very distinct,but I will take it.

Yes,I had seen a Peregrine before,but only in flight and I did try for a picture then,but all I got was a blurry blob in the sky.

It was my lucky day on Tuesday and I am still smiling about this.

I just had to share this with all my blogging friends.

Have a wonderful weekend and find beauty wherever you are.

Garden Beauty

Come with me as we wander through some beauty in Winnipeg,Manitoba.

The first thing we see is this large and unique planter. 

Here we see it with only a few plants in it.This shows the design of the planter very well.

This is the same design,but filled to the top with plants.

I like this look as well,now if only I could get a couple of these to stand in front of my deck.

 I don't know what kind of plant this is but I love the colour and the impact it gives.

Throughout the gardens I saw patches of plants like this and they sure gave a lot of colour.

I love grasses,whether growing wild in a ditch or ornamental,like these,growing in a carefully planned garden.They add a striking texture to any garden.

Last,but not least is this seed head.It reminded me of fireworks shooting out in all directions.

I guess this proves that not only are the flowers pretty to look at,but the resulting seed heads also provide beauty and interest.

Walking through a lovely garden is refreshing and relaxing. It has a way of melting away all the worries of life.

Thought for today:

Worry is a burden God never intended for us to bear.

The Prettiest Flowers

I may not have the most beautiful flowers in my garden,but I do know where to find some lovely ones.

Today we will take a look at a few flowers seen in the English Gardens in Winnipeg,Manitoba.

At the entrance to the gardens stands this little boy. His boot has been leaking water for a very long time.At least the water is allowed to run back into the little pond there.

Because I don't have proper names for these flowers,all I can say is that they are growing tall and healthy under the tender care they receive. 

I was amazed at the many lilies in full bloom at the end of July.It seemed as though each plant was trying to out do the others.

Of course no visit to this garden is complete without at least one rose picture. Oh,I took many more than one but will only share this one today.

You will notice that the gardens were being watered and some of the drops were still clinging to the petals.

The large beds of day lilies were vibrant. I love this dark red one.The sun shining on it gave a beautiful warm glow.

The thought for today is in the form of a song.
Legacy Five sings The Prettiest Flowers.
That will be a wonderful day when we get to experience this.
I should add that this is from several years ago,but the words still are so true.