Hawaii's State Flower - Hibiscus

This single blooming hibiscus was one of a multitude to be found on Oahu. This rich and colorful blossom adorns even the most bustling of intersections in downtown Honolulu and roadsides of the state.

Secret Places - Hawaii

On a tour up to the North Shore of the island of Oahu, our tour guide took us slightly off the beaten path to enjoy this beautiful view, which essentially formed the backyards of several very ordinary looking city properties. I wouldn't mind if this was what my backyard looked like.

Church in the Concrete Jungle

1st United Church sits nestled among the highrises of downtown Edmonton, Alberta. It is a stately building, strong and unintimidated among the newer styles that surround it.

Filtered Gerber

In a previous post, I talked about how much I love gerber daisies. Here's a closeup of one that was sitting in my kitchen.

Patricia Lake

Near Jasper, is Patricia lake. I kid you not, this is what it really looks like. Even I think it looks fake, but it's not. No touch-ups, nothing.

Blue Velvet

Like I've said before, everyone has their favorite flowers. Pansies are among mine. These happy faced flowers dance in the wind and glow in the sun and they brighten any path along which they might fall. Taken in downtown Jasper, this pansy was particularly rich in color.

Mamma Mia!

Most summers, we make our way to Jasper, Alberta. It is a beautiful and scenic area situated in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. These two were spotted happily foraging in the grass outside Miette Hot Springs.

Raindrops on Roses . . . (or whatever this flower is)

On our tour up to the North Shore of Oahu, we stopped at a Buddhist temple. It was pouring rain, so most of the people on the tour bus stayed put. My husband and I felt the rain was slackening a bit, so we raced out of the bus. We were rewarded with a few very serene moments and beautiful surroundings. This flower seems to want it's picture taken, so I obliged.

Look Up . . . Look WAAYYYY Up!

Those of you who are Canadian might remember a children's program called The Friendly Giant. He was a musician and story teller who would chat with his friends, Rusty the Rooster and Gerome the Giraffe. He would start the show the same way each morning and the last line of the intro was "look up . . . look waaaaayyyyy up, and I'll call Rusty." I'll never understand why he was calling for the rooster when he was telling us to look up for the giraffe. Oh well. This picture looks "way up" into a very ancient tree on the island of Oahu. I thought it was an impressive sight so I snapped a picture.

Shores of Waikiki

Last February, we took our first trip to Hawaii. We toured most of the big island of Oahu and really enjoyed ourselves. A couple of evenings we just walked on the beach. This sunset picture on the beach at Waikiki came out of one of those walks. As a kid growing up in landlocked prairies, Waikiki was nothing more than a word in a Beach Boys song. Little did I know then that I would "walk down the shores of Waikiki."

Glorious Gerber

Many people can single out a particular flower that they find particularly beautiful or meaningful in some way. For me, the gerber daisy is that flower. I love their colors and their size. When they are part of a bouquet they stand out and shout their beauty above all the others. I'm also a fan of black and white photography. Though this picture was taken in color, a little editing with PSP8 and Picassa turned it into an image I'm proud of.

Bridge over Jessie Lake

This wood and iron bridge crosses a span of water at the narrowest part of Jessie Lake, which borders the town in which I live. Jessie Lake is a bird sanctuary and at the end of this bridge, which connects on either end to footpaths, there is a lookout tower people can climb to look for wildlife. Sometimes the towers themselves are subjected to wildlife!

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay

Well, I wasn't REALLY sitting on the dock, or pier, as I like to call it, I was just hanging around the deserted boat lauch trying to enjoy the last of the warm fall weather. This pier is next to a tourist information and meeting centre called Shaw House.

Sunset over Moose Lake

For mid-October, this is a beautiful site. Some years there's snow on the ground. Not today. It was warm and still. Too bad there are no leaves left on the trees.