Another Orchid

Here is another photo of a pretty taken at Bloomers Flowers at the market here in our fair burg. I am compelled to wish everyone in the reading audience a happy belated Valentines Day!

Kindly, a friend had prepared a dinner to celebrate the day, so that was the reason for my visit to the flower vendor. The staff don't object to a non-paying person taking photos of their stock, so of course, it is not an issue for a paying customer to take some images, which I did with their permission anyway. That is a very regular occurence, according to the staff, to have people walk by and stop to take photos of their stock without purchasing. Hopefully the daisies that became $4.00 more expensive on the 14th, will resort to the normal price the day after!

We enjoyed a supper of roast lamb, rice, salad and a dessert. The dessert was a chocolate cake with pudding in the center. All in all a delicious meal, shared with good conversation and, more importantly, good company!

Out of all the commercial holidays we have in the year, I am able to tolerate Valentines Day with the least amount of distaste. I think that if we, as a society, were truly concerned about the "importance" of "traditional" holidays, some new ground rules are in order.

First rule: no gift shall be valued at more than $20.00.

Second rule: All businesses and workplaces to be closed for one day prior to the day and one day after as well as the day itself.

I think that these two conditions would ensure that the focus on the holiday would be on the traditional values and concepts that led to the holiday being established in the first place. I think the economics should be removed from the holidays.

The second rule would ensure that there is time to be spent with people, away from the workplace, to reflect on and enjoy the meaning of the day. As it stands right now most of our holidays have become crass, commercial adventures. An economic orgy.

Nonetheless, the February day devoted to crass, commercial adventures and economic orgies was enjoyable in it's own right.

Here in south western Ontario the weather is mild for another day, to be followed by some -8 weather. Either way, it's really mild for this area, at this time of the year.

To see the larger version of the orchid, click on the image, or click on the URL below to see it at Flickr.
http://flickr.com/photos/mike_55/99897729/.

Choun haru daeseyo. Have a good day.