Devonian Botanic Garden Luminaria

For years I have wanted to see this event.  It was either too cold, no snow or bad highways.  Yesterday was perfect.  A little cold (minus 17 Celsius) but no wind so I spent the evening at the Devonian Botanic Gardens with my two photo buddies.  Both of them being so polite, neither would tell me it might be a tad too cold for this.

First a stop at an Indian restaurant for a fabulous meal.

Ice cold water was served in beautiful hammered copper cups.

We had the most delicious mango milkshake with dinner.

After dinner back to the truck and the drive to Devon.  At the Devonian Botanic Gardens we were greeted with thousands of luminarias leading the way to the Japanese Garden.

Lanterns and luminarias adorned the trees.

During the summer a large pond and bridge are the focal point of the garden.  Seeing this in the winter I sure want to make a trip back in the summer.

Ice sculptures along the paths were plentiful.

Looking back at the end of the trail through the five acres, it was a beautiful sight to see and certainly worth the frozen fingers and camera.

Joinging up with

April 17th Aurora Borealis

These were taken last night when the Aurora Borealis unexpectedly appeared in the skies.  My email alerts haven't been working lately, so it was a case of going outside at the right time. When I saw the lights through our trees, I too quickly jumped in the car and headed a few miles from the house.  In my haste I forgot mittens, a hat and most importantly, my flashlight.  Without the flashlight, I didn't venture through the mud too far.  It's quite amazing the sounds you can hear when you're alone on a dark road.  Needless to say I didn't stay out too long, but did manage to get a couple of shots.  The orange glow is the lights of Edmonton, 20 miles away.