Miss Marina had lots of new drawings to show me. Is there another art show in her near future?

Miss Marina and I had peppermint tea and New York style cheese cake at Gecko’s grill . The best place in town to watch Grandma go by.

Photographer – Dawn Reid, owner, operator, chief cook and bottle washer at Gecko’s Grill

Bill Reid the Chef and Dawn Reid, all of the above, thought they were just going to have a nice little chat, but no, suddenly Dawn’s a photog and then they are models. Ahhhhhh The life of restauranteurs, all glamour! Come on down to Main Street for some great food and people watching!

The Farmer’s Market is tonight at the Oliver Parks and Rec! Stop by to see the Queen Beans.

Joanna Lynn and Boone, he is the one styling in the “Boone Band”, specialize in growing beans and other things like egg plant and zucchini.

My garden sucks this year so I am one of the sad people who has to buy veggies. Got all my fixings for Ratatouille from the Queen Bean.

It is what they are up to in the future with the dried beans! Check them out Thursday nights at the Farmer’s Market for their chilli and soup packs.

Wow! Amazing shot!

Photo by Colleen Misner.

If we don’t eat we can’t think. I’m thinking, farmers have the most important job on the planet! 

Nimmi has been growing and selling food in Oliver for over 20 years! She loves it! You can see that by the smile she always has for you! Nimmi appreciates the people from Oliver and the visitors who buy her fruits and vegetables. She says God Bless You, from My Heart!

Love the watermelon at the Oliver Supermarket, 3 road on the highway south of town.

A beautiful red, very sweet, crisp, refreshing watermelon, is a summer food group. They are perfect at Nimmi’s. Sprinkle it with dried peppermint . . . tasty!

Lots of  good fresh veggies and fruits and honey – great honey, tomatoes too! Just get a smile from Nimmi and buying veggies is more fun than ever!

We grow lots of food here! Commercially and in backyard gardens. However not me, my garden sucks this year!

Therefore, I am going to learn more about this farming stuff here in Oliver. Stay tuned!

Oliver Author Jim Bowering has a few words to say about groups of animals, known as Collective Nouns.

Covey of Quail

Birds have long held a special place in the imagination of humans. How many of us have seen birds in flight and never wondered what it would be like to fly? We associate flight, and therefore birds, with freedom. Flying free. Free as a bird.

We use birds to describe character traits in our fellow humans. Someone might be an odd bird or a funny duck, a chicken or a pigeon. If someone is aggressive we might call them a hawk, if they’re conciliatory, a dove. It should come as no surprise that we also use human-centered language when talking about birds.

Collective nouns are used to describe groups of similar things. We talk about a pod of orcas, a bank of elevators or a herd of cows. Most of the collective nouns are so commonplace that they are standard parts of the language. They are more likely to be used than even the most general term, group. We don’t often refer to a herd of cows as a group of cows, or a pride of lions as a group of lions.

Collective nouns for groups of animals are called “terms of venery” if they are specific to the kind of animal, such as pride for lions. You don’t get a pride of dogs or gnus. Venery is defined in the Collaborative International Dictionary of English as the art, act or practice of hunting. The practice of using terms of venery was begun by English hunting gentlemen at least as far back as the 1400s. It was part of their education and was used to set themselves apart from everyone who wasn’t an educated gentleman.

Some of the most interesting collective nouns belong to birds. Swans get a lot of attention here. They come in herds, bevies, banks, drifts and squadrons, as well as the more romantic ballet of swans. My favorite for the big white birds is a grace of swans.

On the ground there is a gaggle of geese. Flying, a skein. Rising on an updraft of warm air, you’ll see a kettle of hawks. Swimming on the pond, a paddle of ducks. Chattering in the rainforest, a prattle of parrots. There will be a stand of flamingos, a mustering of storks and a wake of buzzards.

Owls get some respect. A group of them is called a parliament. Attractive birds get flattered, as in a radiance of cardinals. Being beautiful singers, here’s an exaltation of larks.

The corvids are singled out for slander. For crows it’s a mob of crows or even a murder of crows. Ravens also come in murders but there is also a conspiracy of ravens and an unkindness of ravens. Magpies are associated with omens and portents so we call a group of them a tiding of magpies.

And there you have it, a whole flock of collective nouns.

rjb

Take a peek at his webpage for other opinions from him.

Magician Leif David performing before a large crowd at the Oliver Public Library tonight.

Photo by Cathryn Pidduck

Found this beauty in the parking lot. A 2013 Spyder.

Valerie, visitor from Okotoks, had never ridden a motorcycle before. Now she rides her hubby around on the back. Valerie likes the looks, the comfort and as we know with the enclosed design your gowns will not get caught in the engine. A girls perfect accessory.

The Can-Am Spyder is a three-wheeled motorcycle manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products. The vehicle has a single rear drive wheel and two wheels in front for steering, similar in layout to a modern snowmobile. Wikipedia.

I like them so much I have done a few drawings of them.

And we do have a couple of nasty ones in town. Love a good design!

Special guests in the valley this week are Victor Spencer and his beautiful wife Andrea. Celebrating 29 years of marriage (who deserves the medal I wonder?) and Mrs Spencer ‘s 50th birthday. Wow 50 looks fabulous on her.

They have been pampered at The Del Ray B&B, situated on a knoll in a fuji apple orchard, surrounded by beautiful gardens, orchards, and vineyards, the del Ray overlooks Osoyoos Lake. Their hosts Phyl (Philomena) and Robert Schepens serve up a two course breaky. The french toast is to die for I hear!

Jan Nelson, The Gossip columnist, Andrea and Victor

We do more than wine taste here, really. We actually go for lunch!  Today we enjoyed the fabulous Miradoro Room, recommend the cauliflower soup and pizza of the day. Then we go wine tasting . . again. It is a rough life!

Found a young friend at Tinhorn Creek, sales and marketing manager Jan Nelson. I use to be taller than him and have the photos to prove it. Jan has been educated and worked all over the world and now is back in his home town to add his expertise to the Tinhorn Creek crew.

Tinhorn Creek gives a lot to our community, great wines, support to children’s art, the Canadian Concert Series in their own amphitheatre, however the true star of Tinhorn is the President, Sandra Oldfield. That girl is one of Canada’s Top 100 2016 Most Powerful Women and a great role model for the young ladies in the valley! And then there is that story about the shot gun! It is a great story! You’ll have to look that one up for yourselves!