Lily Bonanza

       My favorite flowers are  wild flowers. I'm not that crazy about the multitudes of flowers that have been developed by man. Yes, I'm impressed that someone I know developed a tulip that was accepted by Dutch growers.

      I have a lily that is fairly close to the original Western wood lily (tiger lily) (Lilium philadelphicum). It's my favorite flower on my yard. Usually they have a single flower, sometimes two and rarely three.  This year I had one that had seven flowers on the one plant. So here goes my bragging.

Singles below and seven decker above.

About 9:30 but no color

      

More Garden Party

      Our city has a very active arts community. There's all kinds of music from a small symphony orchestra to senior jug bands. Two theatre companies are active and the college puts on many plays in their arts program. And then there's the visual artists. This group has their own center and gallery. They conduct many classes and artists use the facility to do some of their work as in kilns for ceramics. There are several excellent galleries in town.

     It seems to me that there's a quote something like "You can judge a society by the way they support their artists." Our artists are very active. I hope that they are supported. I was part of an art show once and a surprising number of works were sold.

     So at the Mayor's Garden Party the other day there were four artists doing their thing in an effort to publicize the local arts council. The director had forgotten her camera so since I was standing around,

Calligraphy

    I was conscripted to take some photos so that they could be used in their newsletter.

    I know that some of the bloggers I follow are artists. They are all interesting.

Appreciation

      I do things just because they have to be done. I don't look for a pat on the back or even a thank you. 

      Five years ago a friend asked if I would be an emergency house in case his kids needed something on the way to school. My house is between his house and the school so it was very convenient.

     Over the five years I was not called on for any assistance whatsoever. The kids didn't have a problem where they needed to come to my place.

     On the other hand I had quite a few very good visits. If I was out in the yard they would stop for a visit. Conversation was easy with both kids. I usually went away having learned something or having a good laugh .

    The only serious incident turned out to be funny. One day after school I was talking to the little girl. Apparently somebody drove around the block three times to check on the man talking to the little girl. After three times they decided I was okay but reported to her Dad. Their Dad had a big laugh and related the story to me.

    This was the last year for me to watch the kids. They both go to another school next year.

     The other day I answered a knock on the door and the kids were there with a thank you card. I was blown away. I didn't expect anything. They both said how much they appreciated having the security of being able to check in at my house. They promised to check on me and have a visit once in a while.

    Surprise appreciation is the best.

Ya Didn't Need to Know

     I've been cleansed! That's right, I've been cleansed. You may ask,"How have you been cleansed or why have you been cleansed?" I'm glad you asked so that I have a reason to tell you.

    A few weeks ago a doctor  decided that I should have a colonoscopy. Those who've had a colonoscopy will say, "I know it all." Those who haven't had a colonoscopy will cringe with dread.

    The colonoscopy is done when it is decided that a look has to be taken inside the colon.  The scope is a four foot flexible tool about the thickness of a finger. It is inserted through the anus and is slowly moved along while the specialist looks at every nook and cranny. The apparatus can show the condition of the inside of the colon and also take biopsies. The procedure takes about 30 minutes. You are given a sedative which knocks you out and you are not aware of what's going on. This is the easy part.

     The cleansing is the nasty part.

      In order to see anything with the scope the whole system has to be empty. And I mean empty! The term they use is "cleansed". So this afternoon I've been cleansed. Well, what in the world is cleansing? Ya don't wanna know but I'll tell ya. You are given 8 liters of a vile mixture. You drink 250 ml every ten minutes until you've consumed two liters. Shortly after consuming this mixture, you find yourself emptying out violently and quickly! You feel pretty icky drinking this concoction. You drink the other 2 liters the next morning to make sure that you are really cleansed. 

     Now I have to wait 26 hours before I can eat again. I can have clear liquids until midnight. The next day, nothing until the procedure is over. I have to get somebody to drive me home and stay with me for at least 24 hours.
   
    Why go through this procedure? I'd rather know sooner than later if there is a problem. They are usually looking for cancer and colon cancer is quite curable if discovered soon enough.  It's recommended that people over a certain age have a colonoscopy every five years.

   So I hope that after all the cleansing, I'm a much cleaner person!

Happy Canada Day

        Today, July first, is Canada's birthday!  

       We are 148 years old! 

        Our birthday was originally called Dominion Day as we were first known as the Dominion of Canada.

        Most communities have some type of celebration today to mark the occasion. 

        So to all my Canadian followers  HAPPY CANADA DAY! And if anybody else wants to join us in celebration HAPPY CANADA DAY  to you too. We have been known to accept  many people in different circumstances. I hope we continue to make people welcome.

City Hall Park

    I think most city halls are placed in a  well planned park. I would think most people are as proud of their park as I am of our city park. Usually the city hall is in the downtown so parks and in this case it's a garden are very attractive.

    My last post covered the Mayor's Garden Party which was held in City Hall Park. Now I didn't  attend the Garden party. I used my time to take some photos of the park. I also ran onto many people I knew so I had some good visits. Now that I think about it, I should have got some people photos. 

    Our city hall Park make excellent use of shapes, colors and sizes. 

The park is a great combination of trees, shrubs flower beds  , grass and walks.

This was a weird one. I thought I'd take a shot and see what I'd get. When I looked in the view finder there appeared to be words written with the flowers but I could only see it in the camera. This is a small part but the whole thing  says stop and smell the flowers.  I wonder if very many people see this when they visit the park.

Figures emphasized with colors

lots of grassy areas.

The center is a  circle surrounded by flowers and shrubs.

The Mayor's Garden Party

     Every summer our little city, Red Deer , has a Mayor's Garden Party. The Garden party was probably started 25 years ago and has been a popular event. It's meant to celebrate seniors. At one time there were many seniors around who had been the movers and shakers to build the city so it was fitting to celebrate seniors.

     The garden party has great sweet treats, lemonade, coffee and tea. It's themed to the 1890's so the servers, council, Mayor and staff are in period costumes. There's usually great entertainment. It's a fun afternoon.

    The Mayor's Garden Party is one of the Micro Manager's favorite events. She loves all about this event. 25 years ago it was a great event as she would go with her buddies. Now she doesn't have anybody to go with. Many our age have passed on or are no longer active. Some I just don't recognize anymore. I had to twist her arm to attend. I don't do social events of this type so I'm no support. 

    So when I met the Micro Manager after the event she was excited. She'd enjoyed the afternoon , found one of her friends and won a book.

    Now I spent time taking a few photos. I met many people I knew and was conscripted on the spot to take some photos.

And I did meet the Mayor who's the one with the red hat and shoes!