Flowers to Enjoy

August 1st,already. I can hardly believe it,but it is so.

I recently spent a few hours at the English Gardens again and have lots of pictures to share.

No,I won't share them all at once,but more are sure to follow.

The Poppies are so bright that it is almost hard to photograph them.

I do love how they look and the paper thin petals on them.

The Gardens have benches like this throughout. I love the way they are nestled among the flowers.

I usually do not take the time to sit down,as there are just too many flowers begging me to capture their beauty.

At the Water Lily pond,there are various colours of flowers.Most often one can capture double the beauty with the perfect reflections.

Did you notice the little Damselfly on the flower? I think that is what it is called.I only saw this once I put the pictures on the computer,A pleasant little surprise.

This is such a pretty colour.So far this year I have not noticed too many bugs on these flowers,so they are still a joy to photograph.

Here is just one of the many sculptures in the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden.This is all within the English Gardens.At another time I will show a few more of these sculptures.

I also love those healthy  Hostas. Wish mine looked like that.

Thought for Today:

Character is one of those qualities that takes time to develop.

I thought this fit into a garden post,because the plants also take time to develop and grow into a thing of beauty.

Flowers at Red Deer

I promise,this is the last post from Red Deer,Alberta.

My cousin,who lives about an hour away from Red Deer,came to spend some time with me on Thursday at noon.First we went out for lunch and then she took me to City Hall and a beautiful flower garden there. She knew I love flowers so this was a great place to spend a few hours. We walked,enjoyed the flowers and enjoyed chatting.

What follows are a few of the beauties I saw.I hope you enjoy them.

I won't make any comments about the individual flowers,except to say that this was a  very lovely place to spend some time.

I leave this song with you. It is my all-time favourite song by my favourite quartet.

Enjoy!

On The Road

I shared with you about my trip to Red Deer,Alberta and the blessings while there.

Today I want to share a few pictures of the first day on the road.

The pictures were taken through the bus windows and are definitely not top quality.

I share them only because this was what I was seeing as we headed west.Sure wish we could have stopped at a few places to get better pictures,but that was not part of the plan,so this is what I had to settle for.

Travelling through Saskatchewan can often be boring,because the area is often dry and brown.

This year,because of the rains,all was vibrant and green.

Just another sight that caught my eye as we were driving down the highway.

I was surprised by the number of fields of Canola. The landscape looked like a patchwork quilt with lots of yellow patches.

You all know that I love watching the sky and being a passenger on the bus did not change that.

I love those sunbeams coming down,blanketing the world with warmth and light.

We pulled into the hotel at Caronport,Saskatchewan for the first night.

It was fairly early so I had time to walk around and capture a few shots.

I will praise the name of God with a song;

I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69:30

Blessings!

Give,and it shall be given to you:good measure,pressed down,shaken together,

and running over will be put into your bosom.

For with the same measure that you use,it will be measured back to you.

Luke 6:38

This verse came to my mind last weekend at Canada's Gospel Music Celebration in Red Deer,Alberta.

I have not given much,if anything to the groups who were performing but God used them to bless me to overflowing.

Here are a few poor quality pictures from that event. All were taken with my iPhone,so not the best quality.

This was the first thing I saw as the bus pulled up.My heart was beating fast with excitement.I would finally be able to attend this event.

Here are two of my traveling companions,relaxing between shows. I was on a Fehr-Way Tours,bus with 27 others,so many new friendships were made.

The show has begun. I have no words to describe how excited I was.The whole event,3 days was filled with the Spirit of God. Many tears were shed,but they came from a heart overflowing with love for my Lord.I felt the blessings washing over me throughout the three days.

These guys are the best!I just had to have one picture with them,to prove I was really there.

Trey,Gus,Matt,Howie and Scott know how to sing,but also know how to minister off the stage.

As with all things,it had to come to an end. I was almost sad to turn that bus east and head for home,but at the same time,since the concerts were over,I was ready to see Steve and Kai again.

This was the view from the front of the bus,and no,I was not the driver. Heading home with a heart overflowing with blessings.I still have to smile when I recall the events of this past weekend.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Summer Holidays

As  school bus driver I look forward to summer holidays as much as any student.

In Canada we have summer holidays from July 1st to the beginning of September.

I started my holiday time off by watching the local fireworks on July 1st,Canada Day.

These are my first attempts at photographing fireworks and I have a lot to learn.

I know that a tripod would have helped,but considering these shots are handheld,I think they are acceptable.

While waiting for the sun to set so the fireworks could begin,I took this picture.

The scene was so pretty,but I once again was lazy photographer and took this through the windshield of my car.

 At home on my yard,this Grey Catbird has been hanging out around the house.I am pretty sure he has or had a nest somewhere close,but have never found it.

Flowers have been few on my yard,especially on the perennials.

I had to capture this Day Lily while it was there.I hope this plant continues to grow and give me more flowers next year.

I will be away from Blogland for a while,so if I don't leave comments on your blog,that is the reason.

I will be back before long,hopefully with more pictures to share.

He Hideth My Soul

I took you through the Pembina Valley in very early spring,so now its time to take another drive.

Everything is lush and green.Just past this curve is where a lot of the spring Hawk Watch takes place.

By now,I am sure that many smaller birds are busy feeding their young.

We make a short stop at the Pembina River.It is still quite full,since we have had so much rain this year.

Apparently there are even fish in this river,but since that is not something I pursue,I cannot verify that.

As we leave the river we head in a northward direction and follow the road up and out of the valley.

In another part of this valley stands this old,falling down barn.SInce I first became aware of it about three years ago,it has really deteriorated.I think it still makes a great picture.

The Pembina River snakes it's way through this area,and at another spot where the road crosses the river,I stopped to see what I could find.

I saw an old tree at the edge of the river and thought it might make a good picture.

Well,when I looked through the camera,I noticed that a small plant was sheltered in the knot of this tree.

 When I saw this,I immediately thought about the old song,written by Fanny Crosby,He Hideth My Soul. I know this is not a rock but it is still a sheltered spot.

Here are the words to the first verse and the chorus of this song.

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,

A wonderful Savior to me;

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,

Where rivers of pleasure I see.

Chorus:

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,

That shadows a dry thirsty land;

He hideth my life in the depths of His love,

And covers me there with His hand,

And covers me there with His hand.

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For You My Friend

A flower for you,just because I count you as a friend.

This is a Macro of a Fuchsia blossom.

Friends are God's way of taking care of us.

Thanks to all my friends for the encouraging comments you leave for me.

Spring Blooms To Brighten the Day

It is a cloudy day,with a forecast for rain and possibly some storms.

I need something to brighten my day.How about you,can you stand some images that brighten and give hope?

I thought you might say yes,so here we go.

What is better to bring some light into the day,than the apple blossoms ready to open.Apple blossoms may not have bright colour,but they  hold the promise of things to come.

Yes,these pictures were taken a few weeks ago,but the beauty remains the same. 

I love the soft blush of these buds.When I look at these I can imagine the delicious apples that will follow.

Not only the apples are blooming,but the cherry tree also sports pretty blossoms.

I already know that I will likely not get to enjoy too many of these cherries,but the birds will love them and that's ok with me.

The maple seeds are sporting pretty colour. I am always drawn to the soft and pretty colours of spring.

I love seeing the details in these seeds.

All of these pictures were taken with the Canon SX50 camera.

Thought for Today:

A beautiful garden with fruit trees in attendance,

is like nature's royal court in session.

It practically begs, "Come commune with God!"

Pink and Orange

Flowers and raindrops are made for each other.

The flowers are Geraniums in one of my planters.

I will let them speak for themselves.

Finally a beautiful male Baltimore Oriole.I have had more Orioles this year than I have had for many years.I so enjoy seeing and hearing them.I still hear an occasional one,but they must be busy nesting because I don't get to see them now.

Since Sunday,June 16,is Father's day,may I wish any fathers who read this a very Happy Father's Day.

I had a wonderful father to guide me as I was growing up and I have many great memories of him.

When my son came along I had the privilege to watch as Jake was a good father to him.Jake and Steve were more than just father and son,they were very good friends and for that I am thankful.Along came a granddaughter,Kai, and Jake once again was a wonderful Grandpa and loved every minute of his role. Today I watch as Steve does a great job of being a Dad and friend to his daughter and so the cycle continues.I have been blessed to have many good men in my life who guided with love and tenderness.

The Old Wagon

On Monday I had the opportunity to take a bus load of Kindergarten children to a petting farm.

The children had a great time with the animals.I did not take pictures of many of the animals this year,because I had been to the same place last year.

One thing that caught my attention was an old wagon,sitting at the side of the lawn.

These pictures were taken with the iPhone and also edited on the phone.

Here is the 'mostly 'original shot. I did tweak the colours a little,because it looked kind of washed out.

Just because I can,I added a frame to the picture.

And then,once again,just because I can,I turned the picture into a sepia tone.

I thought this seemed fitting for this scene.

Do you have a favourite from these shots. Let me know,I would love to hear you likes and dislikes.

Flood Waters In Morden

OK,as promised here are two collages of the scenes around town on May 31,2013.

We had received a lot of rain and because of previous rains the ground was saturated and so we had some flooding.  I know this is not severe as it is in some places,but many people went out taking in the sights.I was one of them.

I did not want to overwhelm anyone with picture so I put them together like this.

The centre shot happens to be my son driving down a street filled with water.Let me tell,he was laughing all the way,I am sure.

On either side of this picture are pictures taken at the campground.Notice the tent and picnic tables in the water.I'm sure the campers found a dryer place to be.

The bottom picture is on the beautiful Minniwasta Golf course.No one was out golfing.I wonder why. LOL

Another set of pictures.

The top scene is another angle of part of the campground.

Center picture is part of the lot at Tim Horton's. To the left is a scene from on the hill,looking into town.

The bottom shot is one of the intersections which has a natural dip in it.I would not have wanted to drive through there with a car,but it worked well with a four-wheel drive truck.Notice the bridge on the left side of the picture.This is a walking bridge,but for at least one day was not accessible.

By now the water has receded and most things are back to normal. One intersection is closed because of a washout and will be closed until the town has time to repair it.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour around my home town and that your feet stayed dry through it all.

Flowers For June

On this first day of June,I want to share some of my early flowers with you.

We have recently had a lot of rain and some fairly severe flooding in my town,but those pictures will wait for another day.No one has been injured as far as I know and since we live in an area where the water can run off quickly,we will be just fine.

In between rainy days,I took some time to capture some beauty on my yard.

The Marigolds always add a splash of colour.

New leaves hold a special attraction to me.I love the delicate beauty they have and the range of colours that show up on an otherwise green leaf. This is one of the Mountain Ash leaves,isn't it pretty?

Ok,this is not on my yard,but on Jake's Uncle's yard.This sweet couple had invited me to come photograph the birds in their plum tree.The best picture I got that day was of this female Baltimore Oriole. The tree was loaded with flowers,but I think all the rain we have had since that day may have kept the fruit from setting.I guess we will see as the summer progresses.

Back on my yard,my potted plants are beginning to show signs of growth.

This is a small flower,no larger than half an inch across.The tailing vine is called Bacopa and in summer it is covered with these white flowers.Now all I can do is hope that mine will perform like that.I will be sure to keep you posted.

Finally,here is a macro of one of the Geranium flowers.I really like the two-toned colours of this one.

With all the rain we have had,my plants are definitely wet enough,now all they need is some heat to really begin growing well.

The Oriole shot was taken with the Canon 7D,100-400mm lens,all others were taken using the Canon SX50,on macro setting.

Thought for today:

Ten thousand leaves on every tree,and yet there be men who question God.

Joaquin Miller