The Mosaic...part 3

You could feel the excitement in the school before we even entered the gymnasium.

The mood was festive.

The lineups long.

The smell of cupcakes filled the air.

Today was Poirer's 10th birthday and we were part of the celebration.

The completion of the mosaic, ready for unveiling!

But first, let's find our seats...

Nope, not amongst the sea of smaller ones, but here!

Reserved seating!

Wow! How impressive!

Next it was time for the Principal to speak...

She talked of all the wonderful and crazy things that have happened since the dawn of the school.

From construction site to bear sightings.

From a sea of chaos to the beautiful atmosphere which thrives there today.

Playgrounds that were built and the award winning recycling and composting program around.

How even though the school didn't have much,

they gave to the community and to the children in less fortunate countries.

The kids got up and bravely spoke of why they love their school...

Then the grade 5 class, who worked with us on the mosaic, got up to tell their story...

Then the moment they'd all worked so hard for...

The unveiling of the mosaic!!

The crowd cheered and "oooohhhs" and "aaaahhhhs"were heard throughout the school.

Flowers and cards were handed out to thank us for helping...

...and monstrous amounts of cupcakes of all kinds of flavours were eaten with joy!

But the pleasure was all Norene's and mine.

The class was the greatest bunch of kids.

So enthusiastic, and interested and helpful AND so creative!

Merci  Mrs Campbell and all your kids of the grade 5 French class!

Song for Friday...for all the sweetness...

Thanks, honeybees...

Have a sweet weekend all!

Bee Thankful...

 Sunday afternoon, there was a celebration and the sun came out for the guests of honor.

 Yes, once again, it was...

 This year, with all the cool weather, it was even more important for people to 

come and learn about the importance of the humble honey bee.

First we had a look inside an empty hive box...

This is something you can't see when it's full of bees, unless you're in full bee armor.

Then we had a look inside a plexi glass display hive which was where the queen was...

she's the one dawning blue nail polish...

Every year, beekeeper Bob, paints a dot of colour on the queen to keep track of her and 

how old she is. The colour determines the year...this queen was decked out in a lovely shade of blue.

Bees are in serious trouble and you may know from reading my blog that 1/3 of every bite

of food you take is because of the honeybee.

They live to pollinate.

We survive because of them.

If bees die off, we will too.

Bob held a captive audience while he explained the life of bees...

He's been at it for over 40 years and works tirelessly to ensure the survival

of our most important insect friend.

Some of the hives, overlooking the ocean at Gordons beach.

One of his lovely sheep, overlooking the humans at Tugwell Creek honey farm...

Curly, Larry and Moe being VERY vocal about us coming too close!

Next it was off to test the wares...

Liquid Love!

Yum!

Not only does Bob and Dana make marvelous honey, but they make some

wicked Mead, an ancient wine like beverage made from honey...

 two of my favorites came home with me...

There was face painting for the kids...

Bees on the walls...

Bees in the trees...

Bees on Bob...

Trying on bee hats...

This one was almost a bee suit for the littlest one...

Here's some tips for  bee friendly living...

The hives at our place are slow going but hopefully once the weather warms up, food will 

be plenty and the soft drone of buzzing will fill the air.

Bee humble.

Bee careful.

Bee thankful.

Visit the farms website here...

http://tugwellcreekfarm.com/

The basics...

Last night I watched a documentary on Ansel Adams.

I was so inspired, that today I went out and looked at the world differently...

Instead of colour, there was texture...

How I long for a camera like this...

It's like the one used in the film "Everlasting Moments".
Of course my camera is modern.
It's digital.
It's nothing like what Ansel Adams carried around in the hills and valley's of Yosemite during
a critical part of Americas environmental movement.
Anyway, like I said, I wanted to look through the view finder through different eyes.

I also thought of his love and his need to preserve and protect wild places.
He saw that they were disappearing and needed to record pictures of
these places so that people would know the grandeur, the fragility, the beauty.

 I was clicking away on my walk today, where it's quiet and wild...

Griffin was looking very 'bear' like...

And I remembered that I had seen a beautiful, big, bear paw print the other day,
which I thought would make a good snap...
As we walked around the corner, there was a rustle, a loud grunt and
a mama bear with 2 cubs took off into the bush...of course too quick for a picture.
But the print was still there...

I don't know if Ansel Adams had a dog, and I wondered how many bears he encountered
on his hikes through the wilderness.
We hung around for a while, but the bears didn't come back.
So off into the daisy field we went, looking for inspiration...

Up through the alder grove trail, that we've carved out from 7 years of walking here...

Light, shadow, dark, grey, silver and white...
the colours of Ansel Adams passion...

Someday, I'll find my Contessa camera and learn to develop pictures the
old fashioned way.
Tom asked me what I thought Ansel would have thought of 'photo shop'?
I think he would have had fun with it!
He liked to play with different filters.
Maybe digital is easier and saves time and money but I don't think you will
ever get results like this...
one of Ansel Adams masterpieces...