Colors

     Where I live there are very few rainbows. When there is a rainbow you'd better look fast because it doesn't last long.

     Last week there was a super rainbow. I was in such a hurry to get photos I took them through the window. This rainbow was a complete arc, large and very bright colors. I would say it's one of the best rainbows I have seen. 

    Now I couldn't get to an open area to get the whole arc.

    Maybe next time.

     Now how many songs can you think of with rainbow in them. You can't have Over the  Rainbow because that's mine.

Spray Park Fitness

      Two years ago I bumbled into a spray park in town that was days away from being finished. I didn't know it was a spray park. I had to ask what it was. I had my camera so got photos of the soon to be opened spray park. These photos are all from 2013. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera today.
  

      Today I dropped the Micro Manager off for an appointment and found a parking spot right beside the spray park. Since I had time on my hands I thought , "Why not have a look at the spray park?"

   

     So I found an unoccupied picnic table in the shade and sat down to watch the  sights. I couldn't believe what I saw when I watched the kids. There were all kinds of creative and colorful  devices to spray water around. Some of them could be torqued a bit by the kids. A blue path lead through all the sprayers. Kids were so excited they ran most of the time. A special surface must have been applied as kids didn't slip. I was also amazed to see huge rocks that kids could use to jump from one rock to another. I thought that was a no no for safety reasons. The kids were on their own in the actions. Parents were sitting at tables or chairs looking after the stuff. There were no Mom's screaming to be careful! Don't go there!

   I guess what caught my eye more than anything was that all these kids were slim. I would think that these kids were probably active in all parts of their life. I think the spray park contributed to the fun of them being active and fit.

    So I'm glad I stopped at the spray park for a few minutes. I didn't expect to see any of the things I saw. It was a very positive surprise.

    Now if they'd only let me in the spray park!

Never Too Old to Learn

      There are some common everyday things that I have never learned. Some of these things have been around long before I was born. Somehow or other I missed them. When I learn something like that I have to wonder how I did without that knowledge for 75 years.

     The other day the Micro Manager happened to comment that the cutlery was organized in a set pattern. I had never noticed that there was a special pattern in the cutlery divider. It was further explained to me by, said manager, that when you set a table you are able to get cutlery out of the drawer in the proper order when you set the table. Now how did I live without this information for 75 years? 

There they are. Neatly in order.

     How have I been setting the table? Well, I must admit that many times I set it the wrong way. Sometimes forks and knives are on the wrong side of the plate. Don't even bother thinking about glasses,cups and saucers, soup  bowls or salad plates! But my method is when I take cutlery out of the drawer, to make sure the fork is in my left hand and the knife in my right hand. In that way they get placed on the correct side of the plate. Works for me!

    Now I had never thought that there was a special order in the cutlery drawer. My Mom did not have a divider so all of her cutlery was in one big pile. We had a lot of searching to do before we had the proper ratio of cutlery to go on the table. The first place I lived in on my own was organized the same way. I just had one terribly cluttered cutlery drawer. 

    Am I going to change since I've learned this great truth? I doubt it! In fact, I'm sure I'll never use this information. I will continue using my own method. 

    Does anybody else have their cutlery drawer organized in this fashion?

Eye Examination Day

      Today was the day for my annual eye examination. Seniors here get a yearly eye examination paid for by our health care. The thinking is that if eye problems are caught early enough they will be treatable for less money and better quality of life for the patient.

     Now the most satisfying part of my examination is that my optometrist is a former student. Dr Dean was a great kid in middle school. He excelled at sports and a little bit of competitiveness didn't hurt matters. He enjoyed sports and school. He was all round nice to have in the school. 

     When kids leave Middle School and go to high school it seems like they disappear. Some we meet later on and many we don't see again. So Dr Dean was away to get his optometry degree. He came back and set up a practice. As I had an optometrist I did not go to Dr Dean until I parted company with my old optometrist. 

     I've been happy with Dr Dean. He has a quiet calm but firm manner. He's in control. Of course , we have a great visit during the examination. He's genuinely interested as he wants to know about the person.

     So once again there is no problem with my eyes. I keep the same prescription, but I should wear sunglasses. 

So I can keep on wearing my cool glasses!!!

    I feel very confident and assured that I am getting great care for my eyes.

    I just wish I'd taken my camera this morning,

Natural Playground

     Recently the Kerry Wood Nature Center in Red Deer built a natural playground. What's that you say? It's a playground built using natural materials that have been refined very little. The playground has been set in trees. Slices of logs have been cut and placed in the ground to act act stepping stones. The logs have been given a clear finish so that the patterns of the tree rings show well.  So kids hop from log to log as stepping stones. I good old maple tree has been laid on it's side so that kids have a good time crawling over the limbs.

     

he playground has been heavily used since it was set up. I'm amazed at how hard the kids play in this area.

    Now the other day I was hanging around waiting for the Nature Center to open so I went through the playground. I had not intended to do a blog post or I would have taken different photos.

    I hope you get the idea what a natural playground is.

The camera picked up the light in the background.

Fort Normandeau Part Three

      The setting of fort Normandeau is worth a good look. It's pretty, native habitat has grown in well and there's the river.

      The setting is pleasant and clean. There's a wide open area for picnics and hosting various functions and displays.
  

Size and type of teepee that was used for regular life.

A fancy large tent for larger groups

Old days transportation

Help yourself to some cool water.

      The parking lot is placed among some very healthy native habitat. There are many shrubs such as choke cherries and Saskatoons.

A cairn with a brief history

     There is an open space to the river so that you can see how a crossing could be made with horses and wagon.

The river widens here and becomes shallow

This guy is short and the water is just above his ankles.

This kid was hung up in shallow water.

Ft. Normandeau Part 2

      The second facility at Ft. Normandeau consists mainly of dioramas that give the history of the land and it's people

     This area has recently  been redone and it is bright and airy. Many of these facilities have soft light. You are more or less standing in the dark. This one is very pleasant.

 This is a replica of a trading store.

The buffalo was the main part of the culture and economy.

Surveyors appeared

Police jacket

Police saddle

Police rifle

Where Do I Go?

    I had visitors coming for a few days last week. Quick! I need to find some places to take them .

     One good place here to take visitors is Ft. Normandeau.

     Ft. Normandeau was the first place Europeans lived in this area. Freighters had been going from Calgary to Edmonton, but there were no settlements or settlers on that route. In 1882 someone decided to set up a stopping house on the Red Deer River where the freighters forded the river. This was a place that the aboriginals forded the river. Some Europeans were smart enough too use local guides and used the river crossing. Even today, when the river is low you can wade across it. The river widens at this spot so the water is shallow.

    This location is marked by two different types of museums. One is a regular museum with dioramas and the other one has historical artifacts.  Both are small but well worth visiting.

    So on this post I'll show the rebuilt fort which is close to what the original was.

     A log house was built which was about 20 ft by 24 ft. There was a half story where people slept. It's hard to believe that the bottom story served for a kitchen, living room and work space. They crammed a
lot of stuff in a small space. A palisade was built around the building with wooden towers at the four corners.

    Our European history here is very recent as this building was erected in 1882.

The log house

The work area for washing spinning, sewing and tool storage.

A fancy sleeping area on the bottom floor.

The kitchen

A great dining table.

Now I think this sewing machine is much later than 1882.

Fort walls and tower.

That Dang Camera

      Last fall I bought a new camera. I was so proud of my new possession   that I wrote a post about it.

      As I told you before I wanted some zoom, pixels and a good handle. I got those things and "much more."I don't know if I'll ever use the "much more." I set it up on Easy auto. This setting allows the camera to do most things for you automatically.

     Every once in a while I look at the menu and some of the options. As I'm meddling I sometimes accidentally change settings. 

     Apparently I changed something a while ago. It took me a while to notice the change  so I can't recall what I fiddled with. 

     So I recently noticed that the flash was not working. At first I wondered if there was something wrong with the flash. I went to look for the 216 page manual. I couldn't find it on my computer. I tried everything. Finally, there it was in plain sight all the time. So look up flash. There are two different sets of numbers so It took awhile to find flash. In my first session I discovered that I had probably turned the flash off but I couldn't find out how to turn the flash back on.

     So after a few days of worrying I finally got back to the challenge. It all depends on how you read the book. After half an hour today I finally got the flash turned back on. While puzzling the problem, I learned other things about the camera. So I'm going to have to go through the manual step by step to learn more so that I don't accidentally turn something off that's important.

     Well, it didn't spoil my summer!
   

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.