L is for Lounge Chairs

Welcome to L week here at ABC Wednesday!  I thought I'd share with you a few photos I took at Whistler when I was there the last 3 days of August with my daughter.  My camera was in hand all the time, and I spent a lot of time focusing on the perfect shots.  Some of the ones I really like from the mini-vacation are of the chaises longues or lounge chairs that were scattered around the village. I tried sitting in one of them, but because they are made of metal, they weren't very comfortable for my back.  But the chairs were okay.  Most of these chaises longues were around the central lagoon that was surrounded by a beautiful and lush lagoon and greenery.  Following are some shots of the lagoon and loungers.

Hope you like these shots as much as I do.  I had a lovely time at Whistler and found that it had changed a lot since the last time I'd been there.

K is for KIWIS

Welcome to K week at ABC Wednesday! I really had some trouble thinking about anything to show you, but I finally remembered something.

Last year, I visited Westham Island Herb Farm and discovered a kiwi tree.  There were so many kiwis hanging off the branches, I wished that I could pick them.  But instead of "stealing" them, I took a few photos and here's one that turned out quite nicely. You can even see their fuzzy outsides. I had had no idea that kiwis would grow in our climate, but there you have it.  They do! I'm also quite pleased that this photo made it into the middle of the top ten on a challenge in Red Bubble.

Kudos to Melody and her team who have been successful in bringing a new ABC Wednesday to life! There has been a good turnout of contributors, including some new ones.  Keep plugging ABCW to your friends and family and it will become THE best meme on the internet.  Who knows? Someone might end up on Oprah one day.

J is for JAY (bird)

Welcome to ABC Wednesday, Round 21, where this week we celebrate the letter J.  This letter could begin words like jam, jar, jump, jealousy, jonquil, or names like Janet, Jaclyn (or Jacqueline), John, Jason, or James. 

In August of this year, I took my Welsh visitors for a drive to Shannon Falls.  We had a great time strolling upwards towards the stairs leading to the falls. We wandered through forest growths of cedars and beside the creek where the waterfall ends up and people were jumping from rock to rock or just simply cooling their feet in the frigid water.

 JANE

 JUMPS

Then, on our journey back to the car, as we were winding our way through the old forest growth, I just happened to look up - I have no idea why - but there was a bird sitting on a branch immediately above my head!  I quickly and quietly readied my Canon EOS Rebel T4i camera and started shooting.  The bird didn't move.  So I went in for a closer shot - and then closer - the bird didn't move.  It was almost as though this bird was actually posing for me!  I thought it was a blue jay, but on further research after returning home, I discovered it's a Stellar Jay. 

Apparently, the blue jay resides through most of eastern and central USA, although western populations may be migratory. It is predominantly blue with a white chest and underparts, and a blue crest. It has a black, U-shaped collar around its neck and a black border behind the crest.

The stellar jay, however, is native to western North America, and has a black head and upper body. It is also known as the long-crested jay, mountain jay, and pine jay. It is the only crested jay west of the Rocky Mountains.

Here he is in all his glory!

Isn't he gorgeous!

Hope you all have a jolly week and we'll be back next week for the letter L as in Leslie!

I is for IRISH

May the sound of happy music, and the lilt of Irish laughter fill your heart with gladness!

On the last day of my holiday at Whistler, BC, my daughter and I decided to check out the Irish pub located in the Pan Pacific Hotel (Mountainside).  Long story short, I think it would be even better on a snowy winter's late afternoon after a day of skiing.  There is an outside gas fireplace so people can gather around to warm their hands, feet, and cockles.  I bet it would be lots of fun!  We sat at the table on the right side under the green umbrella.  There were no snow skis there - just lots of mountain bikes!

I tried out an Irish cider with a pear flavour, which was excellent!  However, after drinking about 1/2 of it, I could feel the bubbles in my toes, so had to stop before staggering my way back to where we were staying.

This was just a taste of what I have planned for next summer's travel - roughly two weeks in Ireland with my Welsh friend Jane!  I'm so looking forward to it as it is a country that I've not yet visited.  I have a friend who was born and bred there and she has given me lots of ideas of where and what to visit and has promised to pop over once I get a map of Ireland so she can help me plan out the tour. Jane hasn't been there, either, even though she's just a ferry ride away!

Here's a website I found online - check out the very brief video to hear a lilting Irish accent!

http://www.ireland.com/en-ca/ 

Have a great week, everyone!