Red and White

White Rose

Red Roses in the Sunset

Fireworks for Canada Day

Red and White prevailed on Canada Day yesterday. Even Duchess Catherine wore a red hat with maple leaves and a white dress. We refrained from painting our faces with flags but did wave one! In the evening we visited Penticton's Rose Garden, peaceful in the evening light; the crowds were elsewhere, eating maple leaf sausages, dancing to the cavorting musicians, and popping balloons. We retired early, but were awoken by the fireworks. Never mind, we found our own in the rose garden....

Twisted Trees

Twisted Tree One: Ponderosa Pine at Linden Gardens

Twisted Tree Two with Flowers

Twisted trees make good Art. At least that's what I think. But then I'm only a male. It seems all the latest studies show females are superior. But I'm sure all you nice ladies out there knew that ages ago without any studies. They are also superior at Art, Twisted Trees, everything. Even clothes. Just look at what the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing on her trip to Canada. Designer Clothes. Usually put on by a personal dresser. Her husband just wears suits. If you don't believe me, just check out Robert Genn's latest letter. Anyway, to conclude, this is a good joke. From a male. "My neighbor knocked on my door at 2.30 a.m. Can you believe it? 2.30.a.m.! Luckily for him I was still up playing my bagpipes...."

Skaha Bluffs

http://www.skaharockclimbing.com/ for more details about Skaha Bluffs

Checking the Route

Hiking Trails on the Bluffs, with names of Rock Climbs.

Hanne Hiking at 27 degrees Celsius.

Lots to choose from here. Many hiking trails of varying lengths and difficulty, same with rock climbs. We saw a few people setting out for a climb with all their gear dangling, but mostly it was groups of people going for a day hike. Lovely wild country, lots of wild flowers out and different birds singing; some people still using their i-Pods though...One of the "Sport-Climbs" that caught my attention is called "Doctor's Wall".
I wonder about the name. Is it where the doctors climb or attend casualties?

Islands

Typical Island Shoreline on BC's West Coast

Islands in the Mist (Digital Painting)

Summer is coming, and thoughts could turn to escape to ? an Island. Robinson Crusoe fired our imaginations once. A Desert Island would not fit the bill as it is defined as uninhabited! Unless of course you are thoroughly independent like Crusoe! These are images from Islands we have enjoyed at the West Coast here in Canada.

I discovered an Australian magazine called "Island" you might like to explore whilst relaxing on your favorite one somewhere. Its subsidiary is called "Islet".
Lastly I continue to be impressed by modern technology. This morning I was intrigued by a sad but strangely melodic piece of music by Guiseppe Tartini (1692-1770) I was listening to on TV. I was able to share it with Hanne on You-Tube via the i-Pad  as she was still in bed.

Pender Island BC

Then I discovered why he was sad. The Cardinal had eyes on Guiseppe's wife and charged him with abduction so he had to flee the country for his life...
Thought for the day from Libya: War does not determine who is right- only who is left.

Flowers at the end of June

Clematis with Swallowtail Butterfly ( one of 550 species! )

These are typical flowers for the last week in June here in Penticton as Maria Sharapova battles for a place in the semi-finals at Wimbledon. She did win and now plays Sabine Lisicki from Germany for a place in the final. Tennis is so hard on the body and the brain at this level only the young need apply....

Books

Who would have known that these two photographs can be connected in a very special way? We all love books, but I never knew before that the word is derived from the Old English and German word for a Beech Tree! A Bok is a block of wood then, because this is how maybe the first writing was set down, by carving in wood. The pages of the first book were wood, later wax, then papyrus, parchment, paper, finally electronic....
There are also magazines, journals, periodicals, and newspapers: these are not books. The technical word for a book is Monograph. A book lover is a Bibliophilist, or if you like it backwards, a Philobiblist. Talking about writing backwards, I discovered that some books are printed with alternate lines of text going in opposite directions. Boy! that would sure screw me up! Oh, by the way, someone said that there are 130 million unique books in the world! Is that all?

A "Beach" Tree ( Ha Ha! )

Our Famous Penticton Book Shop Sign

To sum up, writing started about five million years ago, scrolls switched to books (codex) somewhere between the third and fourth centuries A.D., and nowadays a new form of publishing called "On Demand" has started, to avoid the cost of warehousing large numbers of books awaiting sale, and also to enable "out of print" books to continue in existence longer. Happy Reading!

Linden Gardens

We visited our favorite garden again yesterday, this time we were able to sample some cherries as they were just ripening. Unfortunately there had been a big wind so a lot of flowers were looking sorry for themselves, the Peonies and Daisies in particular. However, there are always new ones coming. The Roses are terrific. The Weeping Butterfly bush is looking and smelling particularly nice just now. Swallowtail butterflies are chasing each other everywhere.

Would You Like One?

 Our Garden Guardian, Hanne Picking Cherries in the Background

Reflections in the Lilly Pond

California Quail