One of my Favorite people in the world...

Val turns 86 next month. A friend in the neighborhood threw a party for him. Seems like everyone got involved, donating food, beer, cake, money, etc. Val is a very special person to me. He is the gardener at the studio. He has said that he is officially retired, and when you look at the big picture, he probably has. He still does his share of work though. Most of the time I do find him asleep in his chair with a book in hand. I have known Val for 5 years now. He always has something new to tell me about, a new word to teach me, or just a friendly hello and conversation. I will talk more about val some other time. Here are some photos from his party.