May the Fifth

A somewhat strange assembly of events and anniversaries for today around the world. The 35th anniversary of Star Wars; the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo in Mexico in connection with the Battle of Puebla; the moon is to be 150,000 miles closer today ( that is a long way- about four equators long): and it was Hanne's parents' wedding anniversary. Today is a big day at 350.org, it is the day to connect the dots around the world in connection with global climate change.
Yesterday the last cent was stamped in the Canadian Mint; it will go out of currency in the Fall of 2012; It is strange to think that the first Canadian Penny was minted in UK around 1858, and then a "Penny" meant two cents! Also the first penny minted in Canada was not until 1909. Before 1858 Canada used pounds shillings and pence, after that date it switched to the decimal system.

Tree Bark Patterns Yesterday

"Hello! What happened Here? Must be due to Global Warming!"
Okanagan Lake.

Mr and Mrs Common Merganser. 

Finally, this is the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Denmark and the Netherlands from Nazi rule. Candles are lit in the windows to celebrate the end of the war and the "blackout."
Oh Yes! One more : Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 for the FA Cup!

Thomas Nuttall 1786-1859

Johann and Vera's Wisteria, photographed in the Rain....

....Growing on their House in Penticton

?Wisteria sinensis. Similar to Laburnum Spp.

A famous Yorkshireman Thomas Nuttall is supposed to have named Wisteria after his friend Mr Charles Jones Wister, or was it in memory of his grandfather John Casper Wister the famous American Horticulturist? The latter lived in a house named Grumblethorpe (in Germantown, Philadelphia) What a wonderfully strange name for a house! But we digress. At any rate, Thomas Nuttall was born in Long Preston near Settle in West Yorkshire, then went to Philadelphia where he became an expert botanist and ornithologist, his name being now attached to various plants and birds. So from Yorkshire we end up in our friends' garden, to look at their lovely Wisteria. We had better warn them however that they had better prune it well, as the largest Wisteria in the world is in California, planted in 1894, and covers one acre and weighs 250 tons. I wonder how they weighed it?

Grumblethorpe in 1960 before its restoration. Photo Thanks to Wikipedia.

It is amazing how one can find connections on the internet! As you know I come from Yorkshire too!

Expensive Art

Just for the record, Edvard Munch's painting " The Scream" sold yesterday in New York for about $120 million, this is the most ever. Did you know that Barcelona soccer players earn over $5 million a year? It would take 60 of them to club together and buy it after one whole year! Wow that is a lot! and Barcelona FC is the richest sports club in the whole world. (The lowest paid professional sportsmen in the world get about $100,000 or less.)

Penticton Dogwood Tree

Thanks to Indigo/Getty images for these colourful Chelsea Pensioners on parade

 It is a grey day here today, so here are a few colourful images to brighten us up.... They are also free!

Country Lanes

I have always had a fascination for country lanes, ever since I was introduced to them at the age of eight in Lincolnshire. I lived with my grandparents in Clayworth for a while, and took next door's terrier for long rambling walks along them. I think it was the hedgerows full of wild flowers and birds that made them interesting, along with the absence of traffic.

Countryside with Dandelions

Country Lane, Oliver BC

Wandering with a Friend in the Country on a Sunday Aftrnoon

I wish I could write about the countryside like this chap. Look at the last sentence....
I love the photo of the Blackbird in the rain!

The Best

How does one decide the best? It must be quite difficult. What do Copenhagen, several places in Spain, New York, Italy and London have in common? You've guessed it, the best ten restaurants in the world are there. For three years in a row, Noma in Copenhagen came out top. One in London came ninth, one in Spain second....

Hillside Winery Catering Department

The Best Winery Bistro in town? Hillside Winery with Cherry Blossom

Flowers outside the best restaurant in Penticton- Athens Creek Lodge!

Sign welcoming visitors to Oliver

Well May is here, and May Day riots are almost over, a few more suicide bombers have blown themselves up, and the French Presidency is up in the air. Some new month. At least the flowers are in order.... I wonder which is the best flower? A Bird of Paradise?
Oh by the way, if you like taking photos in the North Yorkshire Moors you simply have to watch these crazy Brits.

Not another post about Water!

Turbulence at the Weir

Calm Water Reflections

Undrcurrents

Happiness is Cycling by the River

Water is huge. Over 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by it. 96.5% of all the water is found in the sea. Only 2.5% of the world's water is fresh, and most of that is in the form of ice. Only 0.3% is in rivers, lakes, and in the atmosphere. And, note this, 70% of that is used for agriculture. How can we possibly survive? Probably because most folk in the world don't have showers, baths or water closets!
Here are a few photos of the water in the Okanagan River.
 The thing is, water is made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen, held together by a covalent bond. This brings me to the final picture of two happy people cycling by the river. I wonder what kind of bond is holding them together? Somehow I don't think it is covalent.

Soccer

Young Couple with Future Soccer Player on Board

Practice makes Perfect

Little Tykes have Little Goals

Orange Team V. Red Team

Soccer (Association Football) is played by about 250 million people world-wide, in 200 countries, making it the most popular sport. Some version of it was played in China in the 3rd Century, but the first game was played in modern times in the mid-19th Century, according to the "Cambridge Rules" drawn up at Trinity College, about 1848. The first proper game was played in Canada near Toronto in 1859. We are approaching the climax of the season now in Europe and the UK. Here in Penticton the season is starting for outdoor games, and seems to be very popular. Here are a few images.