Saturday Photo Hunt - What IS That?

Okay, here's my contribution. What do you think it is? (Click to enlarge.)

To see more photos from participants in the Saturday Photo Hunt, see tnchick here. Sorry I may not be able to get around to too many this weekend as it's the last few days of having my visitors from the UK here. They return home on Monday and we're trying to squeeze in as much fun as we can before then. But I hope everyone has a great weekend.

From Wales to Westham Island

My visitors from Wales returned from Vancouver Island last night full of stories about their adventures. I cannot believe having lived here most of my life that I've not spent any time there. I mean, goodness gracious, I live 10 minutes from the ferry to Victoria! Although Cathy and I have had to postpone our trip due to my MRI appointment coming right after we were going to leave, we will get there one day.

So today we thought we'd go to Splashdown Park and have a game of mini golf. I remember playing there years ago when my girls were young and we'd take them there for the day. After getting tired of riding the slides, we'd saunter over to the mini golf area and have a game. So Don, Jane, and I headed down for our own little competition. Alas! They do not have the mini golf there anymore! Just goes to show how often I go there. Oh well, I put Plan B into action.

I drove them all through the farm land area of Ladner and we ended up on Westham Island where we were greeted by a sign stating, "Westham Island is protected by the Rod and Gun Club. Trespassers will be shot." I assured my guests it was a joke! Anyway, we meandered down the road all the way to the Reifel Waterfowl Refuge. This bird sanctuary is famous for the Snow Goose Festival in November when snow geese arrive and stay over for a while on their way south.

We walked along until we found the tower that both Don and Jane climbed. (I've been up several times and as I'd just had massage therapy this morning, decided not to wreck any good that had been done for me.) You can see all the way over to Vancouver Island from there. Here they are on their way down.

There were lots of photo ops and we had a wonderful time strolling along, taking pictures of the ducks, geese, red-winged blackbirds, and other sundry birds. It was so peaceful, not too hot, and few people around.

At one point, a certain duck decided it wanted to follow Don. It kept right behind us and every time another duck appeared to want to join in, this duck would fly at it in a rage and chase it away. They it would quack and waddle quickly to catch up with us. It was hilarious!

Here are Don and Jane reading one of the many signs along the way, explaining the different varieties of birds that can be found in the area.

At one point, I asked them to stop so I could take a proper portrait shot of them. They were more than happy to oblige.

Then, as we were getting close to the entrance again, I noticed that the duck was still with us.

I took lots of photos other than these of my friends and I'll share them with you all another time. But for now, I do want to share with you this one photo of a mother duck and her brood. I was able to sneak up behind them as they sat sunning on a log. At one point, one of the little ones hopped into the water for a swim, but the mother just watched it and stayed with the others on the log. (Be sure to click to enlarge the photo.)

Stay tuned for further adventures of the Welsh! Tomorrow we're off to the fishing village of Steveston, one of the local wineries near my home and to a salmon BBQ at a friend's home. Saturday, Don and Jane are going horseback riding at Campbell Valley Regional Park (I will not be participating in that or else my surgeon will break my neck rather than repair my spine!) and Sunday we're going up Grouse Mountain. They head home on Monday, July 21st. Boo Hoo!!!

What Do You Think?

"I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do. That is character!" -- Theodore Roosevelt

Do you worry what other people think and ignore your own opinion? Do you find yourself trying to work out how other people will feel about a decision rather than considering your own point of view? Of course we all need to be considerate of other people's point of view and be decent and sensitive of such. But if we care too much what other people think, we live by our fears of what others think of us!

To be a truly independent and self-confident person you need to start being more self-directed. What do you think? What do you want? What is your opinion? When you start to care less what others think, you'll start living your life as not a dim reflection of what someone else thinks.

When you care too much what others think, you are open to manipulation because you will tend to go with the herd. When you care less what other people think, you become a more honest and decent person because you don't have to pretend so much.

Read the following quote very carefully:

"If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month." -- Theodore Roosevelt

So if you're worried about what others think of you or your opinions, perhaps it would be a good time to do some internal reflection. First, identify your strengths and weaknesses. Next, learn how you really come across toward other people. Finally, give yourself a reality check and work on some self-improvement.

I started out in life being completely overwhelmed by people in positions of authority. This came as a result of childhood training as I had an extremely controlling father. If I got in trouble at school, I'd get it even worse at home. I wasn't allowed to have an opinion on anything; rather, I was expected to be "seen and not heard." During university years, I learned that if I did NOT have an opinion on something I would quickly sink and fail.

Then I started to become a bit too aggressive and that, too, got me in trouble. It has taken many years of conscious work to learn how to be assertive without being aggressive. Sometimes it's easier to just simply give in to others' ideas and go with the flow, but after their ideas have failed, I admit I've secretly and gleefully relished in their failure. That isn't right, either.

I do try to listen with an open mind to what others think. Sometimes they can sway my opinion. Sometimes they cannot. But as long as I truly believe in what I state as my opinion and state it in an assertive manner, I cannot let others allow me to become less independent and self-confident in my being.

What are your thoughts?

Be nice....*wink*

Z is for ZOO

I cannot believe that it's been 20 years since we took our daughters to the San Diego Wild Animal Park! For today's purposes, I'm referring to it as a zoo. However, it is a zoo with a huge difference. Here, one can observe, touch and photograph wild free roaming animals in their natural habitats within its 1800 acres. I checked online and this place has been improved vastly in the past 20 years. It now has Nairobi Village, a Condor Ridge, a Hidden Jungle, Kupanda Falls Botanical Center, and the Kilimanjaro Safari Walk. And new is the Lion Camp, Elephant Overlook, and Heart of Africa. When we were there - 20 years ago - we went on the train that goes around the perimeter of the zoo and we enjoyed it immensely. I'd love to go back one day and see all that's new and use a better camera this time. Here are a few photos from our visit. I apologize for the quality, but remember they're scanned 20-year-old photos. And they will enlarge if you click on them. Enjoy!

The terrain of the zoo varies greatly. On the left is a landscape shot with some sort of animals roaming on the hillside and on the right, is an island oasis in the middle of the drier area. It's hard to tell, but the black at the bottom is a bright blue pool of water.

And here we have some shots of some of the animals we saw. On the left is an elephant and on the right is a rhinoceros.

The camels looked magnificent and regal as they posed on this hillside.

And the flamingos were everywhere!

Then we spotted these two varieties of primates. We decided we liked the cute ones without hair, except on their heads, so took them home as a souvenir. I still have them to this day, but they have increased in size! lol

Hope you enjoyed the photos and that you all have a great week. I'm looking forward to next week when we start all over again. Well, actually, I started at the letter B last time....Denise has challenged herself (see her blog) and I think I will challenge myself to come up with some sort of story to go along with my photos. I enjoy both writing and photography, so it will be a real challenge to make them work together.

To see other participants in ABC Wednesday, click on our hostess's site (Mrs. Nesbitt's place) and sign in to Mr. Linky. If you haven't participated yet, join in next week with the letter A and see how much you'll enjoy it! My thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt for hosting this! Thanks Denise!!! I've loved every moment of doing ABC Wednesday.

Creative Photography

As my regular readers will know, I am getting in photography and love to click away trying to get just the right shot. So when I read on Daryl's site that Roger at Creative Photography has a regular contest going (just for fun, of course!) I thought I'd join in. I took this photo from the car as I was travelling home from Centennial Beach last March just at sunset. I played around with the contrast to make the colours more bold. You can still see the outline of trees and a house on the horizon. Hope you like it. Be sure to click on the photo to enlarge it. If you're interested in participating, click here at Creative Photography to see how to enter a photograph and how to vote for your favourite.

Some Sunday Humour

A pastor's wife was expecting a baby, so he stood before the congregation and asked for a raise. After much discussion, they passed a rule that whenever the preacher's family expanded, so would his paycheck. After 6 children, this started to get expensive and the congregation decided to hold another meeting to discuss the preacher's expanding salary. A great deal of yelling and inner bickering ensued, as to how much the clergyman's additional children were costing the church, and how much more it could potentially cost. After listening to them for about an hour, the pastor rose from his chair and spoke, "Children are a gift from God, and we will take as many gifts as He gives us."

Silence fell on the congregation.

In the back pew, a little old lady struggled to stand, and finally said in her frail voice, "Rain is also a gift from God, but when we get too much of it, we wear rubbers."

The entire congregation said, "Amen!"

______________________________________________________________________

The Veterinarian

One Sunday, in counting the money in the weekly offering, the Pastor of a small church found a pink envelope containing $1,000. It happened again the next week!

The following Sunday, he watched as the offering was collected and saw an elderly woman put the distinctive pink envelope on the plate. This went on for weeks until the pastor, overcome bycuriosity, approached her.

"Ma'am, I couldn't help but notice that you put $1,000 a week in the collection plate," he stated.

"Why yes,' she replied, "every week my son sends me money and I give some of it to the church."

The pastor replied, "That's wonderful. But $1000 is a lot; are you sure you can afford this? How much does he send you?"

The elderly woman answered, "$10,000 a week."

The pastor was amazed. "Your son is very successful; what does he do for a living?"

"He is a veterinarian," she answered.

"That's an honorable profession, but I had no idea they made that much money," the pastor said. "Where does he practice?"

The woman answered proudly, "In Nevada. He has two cat houses, one in Las Vegas, and one in Reno."

Photohunt: SUPPORT

This week, tnchick has given us the topic "support." Now at first, I thought of support as being an architectural feature, as in bridge supports. I have some good photos that I took at Granville Island of pylons covered with mussels that hold up a section of the boardwalk, as well as photos of the Burrard Street Bridge and parts of the Granville Street Bridge that show their support systems. Since Vancouver lies at the mouth of the Fraser River systems, we have lots of major bridges that join parts of the city and its surrounding areas to each other.

However, I decided to take a different approach to the word "support." I thought of it as an emotional connection among people who care for each other. The ultimate support is that of friends and family members for one another. My parents supported me as I was growing up and were there for me even as an adult when I was faced with some terrible life experiences. Secondly, my sisters and I have been there for each other in times of need. Next, I was (and still am) there for my children and grandchildren and have been blessed with the ability to help them out financially and emotionally. They, in turn, are there for me when I need a shoulder to cry on and I know they'll be there for me when I have to go through back surgery. Then, I see my daughter and my son-in-law supporting each other and their wonderful children. Finally, I'm glad that I've had lots of friends who have stuck by me through many years of grief after losing my husband, my mother, and my father. So without further ado, here is a sampling of those I love and who love me. We know we can always count on each other for support whenever it's needed.

Dad supports me as I walk down the aisle to marry Brian.

Just as I supported my husband in life, so do my daughter Jamie and her husband Jason support each other.

Son-in-law Jason supports his son Noah as he goes skating for the first time.

Grandson Noah supports his Mommy by helping out with feeding his baby sister Eden.

I love these children so much I'd do anything necessary to help support them.

My friend Cathy and I support each other all the time during our lives' crises.

Everyone supports younger daughter Jaclyn as she works to find her place in life. We were all there on opening night of the "Frames Of Mind II" art show. See post here.

For early participants, you can click on carver's site here. Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Learning Macros

After owning my Samsung Digimax V700 for two years, I finally pulled out the manual to go over all the special functions. Yes, I know that's a long time, but the camera is so easy to use that I usually just set it to "automatic" and click away. It takes fabulous photos but I think it's time to try something new, don't you?

So I studied up on macros and attempted to shoot some. My daughter is a whiz at all things technological so since she was here for dinner, she took some as well. She showed me little things to do and watch for. We were all over the back yard and in the garden, including down on our hands and knees in the dirt and on the grass. Here are some samples of some of the shots we got

Jaclyn took the photos of the mosquito, the white flower with yellow coming out of the top, and the center of the clematis. I did the leaves, the pinecone, and the daisy. So...what do you think? Any hope for us?

Be sure to click on the photos to enlarge as they look much more magnificent (lol) that way. And tell me if you have a favourite.

Speaking of Youth(age)

You will never guess what my girl friend sent me via email tonight! Three photos from our high school graduation - 1965!!! Just for a hoot, I thought I'd share mine. Looking back, I think we were both kinda cute, even though at the time I thought I was fat, homely, and too tall for the boys. Talk about perspective. Anyhoo...here I am in all my glory at age 17. I would love to put her photo in, too, but she'd kill me! lol

ABC Wednesday - Y is for....

When I was YOUNG, I had no worries. My Daddy helped me ride my toy train and when I got older, he taught me how to play softball and basketball. I remember playing with YO-Yos (they were very popular in the 50s) and these days, I try to teach my grandson how to use them.

YOUTH is a wonderful thing, something that we tend to squander at the time. Looking back now, I wish I’d had the wisdom that comes with age and experience. There were many happy times, though, and this was one of them. Every summer, my parents would take us camping - until we all got to the age when it wasn't "cool" anymore. This is one of the last times we went and took my little cousin John with us. Check out those "beanies!"

I fell in love with my husband at the Royal Vancouver YACHT Club when he’d asked me to accompany him to a party. We'd already been dating for a few months, but that was a very special night.

During a slow dance, we looked into each other’s eyes and Cupid hit us both at the same time. It seems like only YESTERDAY that we exchanged vows to love each other "until death do us part." That love continued past that time. However, it seems to me lately that it’s time to move past YESTERDAY into the imminent future and open myself up to the possibility of one more love.

Once I’m finished with back surgery and the months of recovery, I’ll be back on the exercise bike and the treadmill training for my tour of Wales. My friend and I plan on using the coaches and trains along with our own two feet to travel from place to place. And one place we want to visit again is YORK and YORKSHIRE so we can meet Denise (aka Mrs. Nesbitt, our ABCW hostess) and her friends. Hopefully, we’ll also meet Anne, Sally, and Ellee who all live fairly nearby (at least in Canadian terms!).

In 1998, I took my daughter Jamie on a tour of England and Scotland. On the left, we're at Hadrian's Wall and on the right is Jamie in The Shambles of York.

So watch out world! Original YOUTH may be done with, but I intend to make every minute count in my YOUTHAGE! (as opposed to dotage)

Grammar

Most people would shudder at the word "grammar." However, I love it. I love learning and teaching all about nouns, pronouns, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, independent and subordinate clauses, the royal order of adjectives, ad nauseum. I know - I'm weird.

I have a student coming this summer to improve her grammar skills after asking her mother if she could get some help. This girl is the girl of my dreams! She actually WANTS to improve her writing skills and went out of her way to spend some of her precious summer vacation working on it - with me!

Today, I went online to see if there might be any updated material that would be useful to us. I've found so much that it became necessary to choose carefully, considering my student's age and grade level and what would keep her interest high. Most ESL exercises will work well, and I've found all sorts of explanations of the various parts of speech.

My plan is to go over the basic parts of speech and then focus on the more difficult aspects like the order of adjectives (when using more than one to describe something/one), adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions. Then we'll go on to sentence structure and combining sentences to make compound and complex sentences. I'll also throw in comma usage. Finally, we'll focus on a few styles of paragraphs: expository, descriptive, and narrative.

By the time summer is over, I expect my student to feel confidant in her ability to write strong, well-constructed paragraphs and essays. I can't believe I'm getting paid for all this fun!

Saturday Photo Hunt Theme - POINTED

The theme this week is "pointed" so I took a look through my digital photos and came up with a few that I thought would fit. Be sure to click on the photos to see the details.

First up is this church spire that I photographed as I was going past on the train to Cardiff. We don't see a lot of churches like this in western Canada, although there are some in the East. I really love the villages in the UK as you can always orient yourself according to the location of the local church. Its spire rises above everything else.

Next, I decided to show you a shot of a sailboat with its masts proudly erect. There are loads of people with sailboats in and around Vancouver and on almost any day you can see sailboats floating around Burrard Inlet in amongst the ships that sit waiting to be loaded. This shot was taken in north-west Italy, but it's quite typical of scenes here, too.

The next two shots are of wrought iron fencing I saw in Italy. I discovered a book online called "The Italian Masters of Wrought Iron" or in Italian "I Maestri Italiani Del Ferro Battuto" by Giuseppe Ciscato. It states: This book is in fact a portfolio of sixty-four Italian Master Smiths. Every photo is a professional catalog or portfolio quality image of work that is outstanding. The images are rich with details to inspire architects, decorators and other smiths. There are numerous pages showing how something is forged step by step. These are not detailed forging instructions but are designed to educate those unfamiliar with the the processes of forged ironwork and how it gets from a plain lump of iron to a work of art. Other than the supplement the entire book is in Italian except the biographies of the artists, which are in both Itialian and English. Being a book primarily of beautiful images there is no language barrier.

Here we have the obelisk located at the Vatican. In 1586, the Italian engineer Domenico Fontana moved it to its present site in front of the Vatican in St. Peter's Square. "Fontana's plan for moving the obelisk was chosen from among hundreds of others. It relied heavily on pulleys, some as large as five feet in length, to lift the obelisk off its base and then lower it to a horizontal position by pivoting it on its lower end. Five huge levers, each 51 feet long, were used to help lift the shaft off the base. A variety of pulley blocks were required to work in conjunction with the 40 winches, each of which were powered with horses and men to supply the main lifting force. It took Fontana one year to complete the task. On September 28, 1586, the

scaffolding and tower had been removed. The obelisk appeared in full view, in the same position as it appears today more than 400 years later. "

Finally, closer to home, we have the ultimate pointed object, the most treasured and valuable teacher's tool - the lead pencil and its sharpener. Notice I have my personal pencils so that the kids can't use them.

I'll be around to see other participants' photos and for anyone else who would like to view them or join in the fun, please check out tnchick's site here. Also, for early entries you can check carver's site here.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!