Imagine our delight!  We came around the bend on a back road to find this waterway unfolding before and around us... full of water lilies in bloom!
It was a hazy day, so we were lucky to find so many open blooms (they open for only a few hours a day).  The species (Fragrant Water Lily :: Nymphaea odorata, also known as 'Beaver Root') is native to this part (and most of) Canada but apparently has become an invasive species in the western parts of the continent ~ and one can see how when you consider how completely these lily pads cover this water way.
They love shallow water and provide shade for fish and frogs.  They are great at absorbing toxins from the water and producing oxygen.  Apparently, in the middle ages, followers of the monastic movement (in Europe) commonly used ground water lily root in wine as an anaphrodisiac (that's right, to help keep them chaste!). How's that for a trivial fact? 
We enjoyed stopping to photograph and 'consider the lilies'.