But Charts Garden (gee thanks, Spellcheck)

It's a Friday worth raising a glass - the end of my first week, one-third in the bank, five down and eleven to go (but who's counting)?  This morning I was finished my treatment before it technically began, back in the car and on my way to the gym for a sedate workout by 8 a.m.   The gang at BCCA are either highly efficient or extremely anxious to see me leave.  Maybe both.

It is a picture perfect day here and I decided to celebrate by taking my faithful sidekick, Cyclops the Canon with me to Butcharts.   I think the last time I was there I was around 15 years old and it was raining.  I remember being shown a lot of gardens that "are going to be just exquisite in a month or two."  I  was about as impressed as the average petulant teenager could be.

Today - oh my! - today, I was pretty much gobsmacked.   I spent a long time behind the lens, trying to capture the overwhelming beauty of the gardens while savoring their sweet perfume.   My lucky timing caught them at their springtime peak, and the million or so tulips were standing stately and rich in color and design, not a faded bloom or bruised petal among them.  After a long and tranquil stroll I invited myself out to lunch and enjoyed a bowl of creamy seafood chowder and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, seated at a table set below a lush draping of pink and blue.  There is something so soul-satisfying about relaxing at a sun-drenched table while sipping a glass of wine and admiring great beauty.  If this could only be bottled, it would surely be the cure of all things evil.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!



Lunch with a view