I am excited to be sharing my first blog post as part of the Serenity blog circle. The circle is made up of a group of talented women photographers who share their beautiful art together every month.

I recently took a long weekend visit to Vancouver, BC. It's a beautiful, bustling city on the West Coast of BC. A trip to Vancouver wouldn't be complete without time spent in Stanley Park, an urban oasis on the edge of downtown. At 1,000 acres, it's bigger than Central Park in New York City!

I visited the park on a Saturday morning - it was full of people walking, biking or inline skating along the seawall, hanging out in grassy areas, playing cricket or rugby. I decided to take one of the quieter trails into an old growth forest area away from all the people. It was there that I found my serenity!! I thoroughly enjoyed taking my time to absorb nature and its sounds, smells and sights, shooting as I went. I put my Lensbaby Velvet56 on my camera and played to my hearts content!

Please continue through our Serenity blog circle to see what my friends have shared this month. Next in the circle is Eileen in San Antonio http://eileencritchley.com/2018/05/16/exploring-nature-the-serenity-project

Tulips are one of my favourite cut flowers to bring home and display. And especially to photograph. I am regularly grabbing a bunch or two at the grocery store to add some colour to our home. Especially at the end of this long long long winter that never seemed to end!

This bunch was the only one of it's kind when I picked them out last week. They caught my eye because they were white with just a strip of colour and they had a variegated leaf, which I've never seen before.

I was given an extra surprise once the blooms started to open! Last year Canada celebrated it's 150th birthday and in honour of that a special tulip variety was bred in the Netherlands. Once these blooms started to open I began to suspect that these were that special variety.

The flowers were bred to look like our Canadian Flag. What do you think, do you see the Maple Leaf in there?

I think I do!

The Netherlands and Canada have a special history that dates back to World War II. The Canadian forces led the liberation of the Netherlands and, I've read, provided sanctuary for the Dutch royal family during Nazi occupation. In gratitude, the Dutch sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada with a commitment to continue to send thousands more each year.

Here are a few more images of our anniversary tulip!