My Gather Icon

Before I say anything, could you make a guess on what type of place it is in my icon photo?



Yes, you are right. It is a winery. Actually it is the Summerhill Pyramid Winery (see the little white pyramid?) in Kelowna, BC, Canada. Want to know more? Check out their website http://www.summerhill.bc.ca

Kelowna locates in Okanagan Valley, on the shores of Okanagan Lake, about 240 miles east of Vancouver. Its summer is long and sunny and winter short and mild. There are many wineries in the area and I only got to visit one. For the first time in my life, I tasted ice wine. It was so good. A little bit of research told me that ice wine was invented in Germany in 1794 and made by leaving grapes on the vine through a frost, after which they are promptly picked and pressed. Water, in the form of ice granules, stays in the press and what goes into the fermenter is the sweet essence of grape. Optimal weather conditions can never be assured, so true ice wine is a real treat and pretty expensive. I bought three bottles nonetheless. :)

In addition to reminding me of this wonderful experience, the photo is also a perfect illustration of Psalms 23:5 - My cup overflows with blessings (NLT), and that is the ultimate reason of why I chose it to be my Gather icon. The champagne bottle from above pours out victory and celebration and overflows my cup... Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life... ...

P.S. Kelowna was the first stop of my 12-day-2500-mile road trip of Western Canada after flying to Vancouver in the summer of 2006, during which I visited Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Calgary, Edmonton, Whistler and Victoria. My breath was taken away so many times that I lost counts, but my camera did remember them all.