NOTE!!!

For larger view of photos, just click on the photo.

Quote of the Day

"It is an understatement to say that self-esteem, the elusive belief in our intrinsic worth and beauty, makes and saves lives. For many, that journey to survival is mapped on the body's surface--and begins as we extend to our most hated features the first tremblings of compassion."

-- Rebecca Walker --

Weather Report

The most recent temperature available is 9°C (48.2°F) at 12:00am

(0°C = 32°F)

These are the temperatures for May 20

MAX TEMP : 17.3°C (63.14°F)
MIN TEMP : 8.9°C (48.02°F)
PRECIP ACCUMULATION : unavailable (probably because the place they get this information got flooded out)

Clouds and rain today.



All temperatures quoted are copied from the weathernetwork.com unless otherwise stated.
All conversions are done online at http://www.onlineconversion.com/
.

Wordless Wednesday

Check out Wordless Wednesday HQ!!
View More Wordless Wednesday Participants

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - U

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?



UNBELIEVABLE!
This winter I went on a few dates, something I hadn't done in a long time. On our first date he brought me a bouquet of roses, something no one else had ever done. There were only 11 roses, there had been 12 but the head had been cut off one and the stem left in. I think he bought them discount at the grocery store. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.

UNBELIEVABLE!
This is the lift span of the floating bridge in Kelowna. Apparently, lift spans are very rare. I took this photo in Feb. 07. Since then, a new bridge has been built on the other side of this one, and it is about to be opened in the next day or two. This old bridge will be taken out and 'disposed of'.

UNBELIEVABLE!
My friend Dan from time to time he takes me to see the places he is working in, installing all the drywall boards. This is one of them that had a particularly incredible view!!

UNBELIEVABLE!
Last fall I was given this travel trailer. It has no "papers". I've looked into getting some, but have decided not to because it would mean hassle and putting out money to find the last registered owner, then even though they gave it to someone who gave it to some one who... if they decided they wanted it back they could just come and take it away. I was really looking forward to doing some camping in it this summer. That would be so cool. So now, I'm just going to use it in my yard as a 'tack room'... a place to keep my saddles and related stuff.

Have an UNBELIEVABLE! happy and wonderful week!!

Quote of the Day

The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.

-- Julia Cameron --


I must say that today I paid attention... to the many ducks and geese, and the one lone swan in our beautiful park. I paid attention and I had a very delightful afternoon out in the rain.  This delight I am sharing with you in the photos I'm posted tonight... and likely I will post more eventually. After all, I was so delighted I took 180 photographs, though not all turned out by any means.

NOTE!!!

If you are looking for

please

I hope you enjoy the trip.


Alphabet Photo Challenge
posts are all down there too!

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - T

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

Today I give you two photographs of:

Taz

Have a glorious day!!

Weather Report

The most recent temperature available is 13°C (55.4°F) at 2:00am

(0°C = 32°F)

These are the temperatures for May 19

MAX TEMP : 23.3°C (73.94°F)
MIN TEMP : 12.5°C (54.5°F)
PRECIP ACCUMULATION : 0.6mm (0.024 inches)

Clouds and rain today. Even so, I had a great time in the park with my camera. Also went to Canadian Tire and Wal Mart for a few things I needed.

It seemed to rain a lot today, and 0.024 inches sounds like so little.

These are the temperatures for May 18

MAX TEMP : 29.4°C (84.92°F)
MIN TEMP : 14.5°C (58.1°F)
PRECIP ACCUMULATION : 0mm (0 inches)

A mix of sun and cloud, from what I remember just now, lol. I was in and out all day so you'd think I'd remember, but I don't. I was at church, then went to see and photograph the new location we're moving to, then grabbed some eats and went to visit Cyndi. We were in and out at her place and it was very warm so she gave me shorts and a tank top so I could change out of my church clothes. After that, Reba and I went to the dog park with Wendy and Shadow.


All temperatures quoted are copied from the weathernetwork.com unless otherwise stated.
All conversions are done online at http://www.onlineconversion.com/
.

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - S

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

You are going to start thinking I'm in a 'fowl' mood if I keep posting these pictures, but I'm actually in a great mood, enjoying and sharing my memories of a wonderful day.

This 'sleeping swan' fascinated me. I was totally amazed at how close she let me get to her (or him, lol)

I walked so close, and walked most of the way around her, then ended up laying on the wet ground at most 3 feet away from her so I could get shots at a more 'intimate' angle.

S/he (I don't know it's gender, and feel it is a she, so will call it she for convenience) would open her eyes and watch me a bit, then close them again. As I had walked over to this area earlier, I'd noticed this swan grooming itself. Notice the 3 feathers on the ground!

My truck wasn't far from here and at one point, Reba saw me laying on the ground and started to bark. The swan sat up and paid attention, looking around to assure itself that all was safe...

then back into the sleep position.

The eyes would be open awhile, then close for a bit, then open again as this beautiful creature napped.

She sat up again for a few minutes to check things out again, then snuggled back in for another swan nap.

Do you remember those 3 feathers I mentioned earlier? As I lay beside her with her looking at me, I asked if it was okay for me to take her feathers off the ground beside her. I felt she was agreeable to this, so I slowly inched closer to her, close enough to reach out and take one beautiful white swan feather at a time until I had all 3 of them.When I walked softly away, she was once again snuggled down to sleep.

I feel deeply blessed to have had the trust of this animal. It felt amazing, and I am honored.

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - R

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

Today, "R" is for a rainy day in the park.
Rain drops kept falling on my head, but that doesn't mean.... ohhh, sorry, didn't mean to break into song... hehehe. Also notice that some of the photos even have reflections in them.

When I saw this lady and her son, I liked the colors, vividness and contrast, so just had to snap a couple of photos of them. I think it's too bad the car was there, but oh well, I still like the picture.
"Walking In The Rain"

Two Mallard Drakes! Need I say more?

"Twimmin' in da wain, just twimmin' in da wain".
Oh gosh, now he/she is singing too. This baby is a Canada Goose.

"Swimming In The Rain"
If you click on this to enlarge it, you can see the rain drops on the geese.

"A Rainy Day At The Pool"

So, as you can see, rainy days can be great days too!!
I wish you a great day!

Heads or Tails & Alphabet Photo Challenge "Q"

This week's theme/prompt is:
HEADS *OR* TAILS - Peace *OR* Piece

My wish for our world is PEACE!!
Therefor, as much as I'd enjoy a good piece (or something sweet), I choose to make todays post on Peace!

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

Today I had a wonderful, peaceful afternoon in the local park. I met with friend Kay to work on what exactly we're going to do for the skit we are preforming at the "Preforming Arts Center" in our city this coming Friday night. When she left I decided to take a few minutes to take a few photos. It turn out to be more than a few minutes, and a lot more... a LOT more than just a few photos. I took, as it turned out 180 mostly fowl photographs! Here are just a few of them for you:

Is there a quota on cute?
These two are Canada Goose goslings (babies). Yes, I got a lot of different shots of them, lol.

Peace and Quiet in the Park!
Pigeon

Canada Goose.

Yes? You look confused. Do you have a question for me?

"That's it! I've had quite enough! I'm out of this pool!"

May PEACE be with you, my blogger friends, as it is with my fowl friends!!

Quote of the Day

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal. 

-- Martin Luther King Jr. --

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - P

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

I was hoping my parrot would be here in time for "P", but it's not... sigh. Oh well, maybe it will be here in time for Wings.... and there are always other options. I got to thinking that photo, photograph, picture are "P" words, so figured "I'll just post some miscellaneous photos", then as I was looking through my files, I found pine cones!! Ahhhhhh... pictures of pine cones!!

Now, a photograph of pine trees. (The flowering bushes are 'Mock Orange')

There you go... now I've "P"ed. What will I post for "Q"?

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - O

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

Ohhhhh, the letter O!! Okay!

May 12, 2007, my older brother got married... again. She's a wonderful gal and they are very happy, but it's not about the wedding I will share with you, because Wedding does not start with "O". They got married near Tofino, on Vancouver Island, BC. Nope, still no "O". Here it comes... in order to get to Vancouver Island, you have to cross the Pacific Ocean! There it is! Ocean's an "O"!

From the mainland to the island, there are only 2 ways to go across the Ocean. 1 - you can fly, or 2 - you can do what the vast majority do, you can take the ferry.

The ferry lands in Nanaimo, then, to get to Tofino, you drive across the island then up it aways. As you drive along the Ocean, it is breath taking beauty. This is Long Beach, and yes, that is the Pacific Ocean. People were actually surfing!!

From one of our hotel rooms, I took this photo. The lawn, wedding guests at the picnic table, the beach, and the Ocean.

Another view from the hotel grounds.

The Mothers of Bride and Groom were given Orchid corsages. This one was Mom's, the mother of the Groom.

Oh Ya.... that's it for this post! Next is "P"!

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - N

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

Again with the Kootenays, lol.

As the first photo makes clear, this is the City of Nelson.

Like Kaslo, Nelson has a lot of 'heritage' buildings and homes. Here are just a few of Nelson's charms.

Reba and I really enjoyed our walk along here with Claire. I met Claire over the blogesphere. She lives in Scotland, and was coming to visit friends in Nelson, so I made sure my trip over there was at the same time as Claire would be there, otherwise I would have put it off another month or so.

This rock garden on the hillside just out of Nelson really intrigued me. I think it's really beautiful.

I'm really loving all these memories. Meeting Claire, her friends Deborah Ann & Peter, and Kai, as well as visiting my long time friend Cam all were very special to me. I am so blessed to have a good camera to capture and hold my memories.

This rock wall would have been great for R... but I have other plans for that letter, haha.

Quote of the Day

Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.

-- Gail Devers --

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - M

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

I had thought I'd use these photos of Hannah for H, or for P - Piano, Pianist. However, I will use them instead for M.

Our pianist, Hannah, is a professional musician and is very skilled on the 'ivories'. Note also the sheet music on the piano. Too bad you can't actually hear the music she is playing.

Hazelnut cake and hand would have been great for H, but I forgot about them and used something else, lol. So.... MUNCHIES!

Hope you all enjoyed M. I am a bit behind, but not for long.... Have laptop will post!!

Happy weekend to all.

Weather Report

The most recent temperature available is 19°C (55.4°F) at 11:00pm

(0°C = 32°F)

These are the temperatures for May 17

MAX TEMP : 27.4°C (86.18°F)
MIN TEMP : 11.4°C (48.38°F)
PRECIP ACCUMULATION : 0mm (0 inches)

A mix of sun and cloud today... well, from what I saw anyway. I was awake all night, finally went to sleep about 5:30am, was waken by the phone about 8:30 and had company for a short while. Went back to sleep and the phone rang again. Then I went back to sleep and didn't wake again until about 4pm, so rather missed a lot of what the weather was like.



All temperatures quoted are copied from the weathernetwork.com unless otherwise stated.
All conversions are done online at http://www.onlineconversion.com/
.

Alphabet Photo Challenge - - L

Alphabet Photo Challenge
originated at Quilly's Pacific Paradise, and runs for the first 26 days of May. Each day you post photos that you took, that have to do with that days letter.
Are you interested in viewing my earlier letters?

For the letter L, I have chosen to show you some lakes. There are several lakes around the small city I live on the outskirts of, but as this is my 'memory tour' of the Kootenays this week, I am going to show you some from 'over that way'.

In October, 2006, my Mom & I took a day and a half 'tour' during which we covered a lot of ground and had a great time. We went up to near Revelstoke, then down to Shelter Bay to catch the ferry across Upper Arrow Lake to Galena Bay near Nakusp.

This is the ferry coming in.

I took this as we were making the crossing.

We ate dinner at Nakusp, then drove to New Denver where we spent the night is a great little place. Next morning we drove to and through the historic town of Sandon. The tourist attraction stuff was closed for the season, and we wouldn't have had time to look more than we did anyway, but we enjoyed what we saw from the car as I drove and snapped photos out my window. Then to Kaslo for breakfast (my first time there and I fell in love) and off to Ainsworth Hot Springs for a fabulous soak. Back to Kaslo for pie and tea, then off home.

I took this when we were waiting at Galena Bay for the ferry to take us back across Upper Arrow Lake to Shelter Bay so we could continue our drive home.

In 2007 when I made the trip back in my truck with Reba, we went another way. We drove over the Monashee Mountains and crossed Lower Arrow Lake on that ferry, then drove up to Nakusp etc etc.

This is after we were off and Reba was getting some 'out time'. The ferry is going back across for the next load.

This one I took right in Kaslo. It's Kootenay Lake, a very large and beautiful lake it is the largest natural lake in southern British Columbia, over 100 km (62 mi) long.

For more information on Kootenay Lake, click here or here. Of course, you can always Google for even more interesting reading on these lakes.

Weather Report

The most recent temperature available is 13°C (55.4°F) at 4:00am

(0°C = 32°F)

These are the temperatures for May 16

MAX TEMP : 30.1°C (86.18°F)
MIN TEMP : 9.1°C (48.38°F)
PRECIP ACCUMULATION : 0mm (0 inches)

Sunshine and blue sky today. BX Creek at the Dog Park is really high and running fast and furious.



All temperatures quoted are copied from the weathernetwork.com unless otherwise stated.
All conversions are done online at http://www.onlineconversion.com/
.