Today Nolemana and I drove to Canby to see the dahlias at Swan Island Dahlias. We look forward to going every year…last year, we missed being able to go into the fields by just one day. This was a perfect day weather-wise. Sunny skies and about 72°.

Before we left, I took a daily pīpī photo.

I also took a photo of the aspen trees across the road, which are beginning to change color.

We stopped by Willamette Falls on Highway 99 on the way down.

I tried my hand at a panorama shot.

And then we were there! It’s a lot bigger than it used to be; there are food trucks, seating areas, and live music. It used to be just the dahlia foods.

We took choke photos, and I don’t have time to caption them all, so will just show you the photos without comments. The flowers speak for themselves, anyway. However, I will comment on this first one…I wanted to take a photo of Nolemana in the flower da kine, and a wahine nearby insisted that I get over there, too, so she could take one of us together. She was so sweet about it and understood that it would be uncomfortable for me to get down on my knees.

I love love love this!!! Actually, I got pretty teary-eyed about it, so grateful that colorblind people would be able to see the glorious colors of the flowers, all for free.

K’den…to the photos:

We got to talk to the owner of this fabulous pickup. It’s a 1946 GMC beauty.

There was the most wonderful koi pond there! We sat down and watched them for a long time.

And of course, I had to take a video.

And then I had to take another one. It was so wonderfully peaceful there.

We then drove around to the other side of the fields and took more photos.

It was a wonderful afternoon, and what I especially loved, aside from the beauty of the flowers, the sunshine, and the perfect temperature, was the happiness on everyone’s faces at being there. Everyone was friendly; we got to pet a couple of doggies and chat with their owners, and to exchange smiles and words with other visitors about the beauty around us. It was such a welcome relief from the verbal strife going around these days to be able to enjoy being around calm, joyful, people who were glad to be out on this beautiful day. That was the best part of all.