Sunday August 27 Update

Warning:  Boredom Ahead

There is absolutely nothing to report about this week.  We have now gone through about 180 real estate listings, with none to our taste.  Places have too many horses, are too old, are ill-kept, have at least two outbuildings (especially large shops), or are 600 miles from the nearest services.  We are starting to get concerned because time is running on.  We are hoping more listings come on the market after the September long weekend, but in the meantime are pretty frustrated.

So, just to keep some spark of interest in this otherwise boring blog, I have chosen to show you a little geology and a little wildlife.

In regards to geology, we had occasion to hike the Enderby Cliffs trail, a rather gruesome ascent of 2000 ft in about 7 km, which meant it was perpetually going up.  I was looking at the rocks, and was perplexed to find what I thought was lava.  Well, apparently I was right.  These cliff formations came from lava-built mountains that were subsequently ground down by glaciation to the rounded hills they are today.

Here’s an example of the big lava boulders as well as small rocks showing signs of the gas pockets you find in explosive lava.  These were all interlarded with rounded glaciated boulders of Canadian shield granite, brought down from the north.

I will show you pictures from the lookout point at 2.3 km compared to the lookout point at 7 km.        

                                                                

If you look carefully at this picture of the Enderby Cliffs, and see the shrub on the right, at the topmost of the red leaves there is a small yellow band where we stood getting the second lookout picture.  Needless to say, I did not stand close to the edge.

The forest varied as we climbed, including damper cedar areas as well as dryer ones.  (All the grass is dormant because of the heat and dryness.)  One of the prevailing species is Ponderosa Pine, which grows to huge heights and diameters.

For the brief wildlife bonus, welcome to our front door chipmunks, which are Western Striped Chipmunks.  They are only a third to a half the size of the eastern ones, and are more stripey.  Also, they don’t seem to understand the use of cheek pouches—most of the time they eat the peanuts offered or carry them away one at a time for stashing.  We have two juveniles sharing the same area because they are siblings.

The red squirrels here are a more greyed brown version of the eastern ones, but are equally bodacious (no picture yet). 

And finally, I have to show you an unique sign that I have never seen before, just to the east outside of Vernon.

If anything becomes more interesting, I will post!  In the meantime, back to snoozing…………..

Weekly Update Sun August 20

Again, nothing on the housing front.  We did a couple of drive-by's and had a showing, but nothing is attractive yet.  All the pundits expect more listings after the Labour Day weekend.  In the meantime, our landlords have already promised to accommodate us over the winter if required--they are lovely people.

Our routine is as follows:  we go to the gym (Iron Heart Gym!) for 4 days a week.  It is an extremely well-equipped gym, with a clientele of seriously fit people, including some of us old farts.  It is actually quite inspiring.  I go for two yoga sessions and two workouts a week, while Brian is pushing weights 4 times a week.

One or two days a week, we go hiking.  (Or Brian goes cycling...)

This week, we went to Kalamalka Park, which is a major park in the south part of Vernon.  Unfortunately, it was smoky, which prevented us from getting great scenic views.

The forest was interesting, because it was predominantly Ponderosa pine on one side (with grasslands) and Douglas fir stands on the shady side.

Today, we went to the Enderby Cliffs.  This forest was cedar and hemlock, and the views were a little bit better.

All I can say is that all trails are steep.  And sometimes the downhills are even tougher than the uphills.  One day I will show you a picture of me on the trail, but not yet.

A side note--BC trucks can be very impressive.  And huge.  They look like mobile homes without the home part.  The only thing they seem to be missing is mud.

Our last rainfall since June 20 was .8mm of rain.  Today, we had a few dots on the sidewalk, but nothing greater.  BC is now in the midst of its worst wildfire season ever, and there is still much time to go.

Next weekend will be much more exciting because we plan to attend the 118th Interprovincial Exhibition in Armstrong BC.  IE--the rodeo!  Stay tuned for the excitement, the drama, the people!  Our engulfment in BC societal norms will be tuned up to a new level!

Weekly Update Sun Aug 13

There is absolutely no developments on the househunting side, so I will have to focus on other topics.  (Apparently, market supply is very low.  Vancouverites are selling their little houses for a cabagazillion dollars, and come up here with loads of money to buy anything they want.  Vernon is popular both for summer homes and winter homes, and locals are afraid to list their houses for sale because they can't afford to buy something else.)

The days have continued to be hot and hazy, and things are tinder dry.  All the grasses have gone into dormancy, and the only green things on the landscape are the conifer trees.  Poplar trees are losing their leaves to drought stress and it is unlike that fall will have any colour here at all.

Given the lack of other topics, I will now talk about birds.

It turns out that the hummingbirds have not all deserted yet.  After three days of marked absence, the females started to returning, and looking for the feeder.  I immediately caved.
This is a female Calliope hummingbird sitting in the holly bushes in front of our patio.

In the meantime, I have been doing a little bit of volunteering at a nature centre here, and one of their big draws is falconry displays.

One of the regular displays is a flying display.  People gather in an outdoor seating area and birds are flown from post to post in front of the audience. They fly red-tailed hawks (below) as well as turkey vultures, and peregrine falcons. 

A prime event is the Raptor Encounter, where people pay about $70 a person to get a chance to hold a raptor on their arm.  A couple of birds were featured, including an American Kestrel and a Spectacled Owl (South/Central America).

People come away enchanted.

We had our first visitors here, our friends Doug and Gisella Cavill, from Gabriola Island.  We were forced to explore a couple of pubs together.  Overnight, miracles of miracles, we had a brief rainfall, which cleared the air and cooled the temperatures.  This morning we could actually smell the vegetation.  However, as the day progressed, the winds picked up, the smoke returned, and it is unlikely that much headway was made against the forest fires.  Hopefully more rain will come soon.

I'll keep tuned!

Sunday, Aug 6 Update

All of the talk is about the wildfires in BC, and we are seeing more smoke all the time.

Our view from the front door when we arrived……..

Our view from the front door this afternoon……..

The fire hazard is extreme because this area has had no rain since June 20.  The first level of water rationing has been set in effect, which so far limits when people can water their lawns.

Our tiny patio is wonderful—we sit out every morning and then late afternoon—to be entertained by baby chipmunks and hummingbirds.

There are several kinds of hummingbirds here—Black-chinned, Calliope, Rufous and Anna’s.

When we arrived, there was furious activity at our hosts’ two large feeders.  I eventually got a little one of my own, but by that time, all of the males had disappeared to go south.  

Nonetheless, I got a decent picture of a female black-chinned, who was subsequently joined by a female calliope.

Five days ago, the females and youngsters emptied my little feeder in one day.  Two days later, they all disappeared.  Rats!

No luck in finding the dream home yet, after going through 128 listings, visiting two more places and driving by 3.  However, our landlords have just assured us that we can have our little apartment for September, which helps take off the pressure.  Bells will ring and whistles will sound when the right place comes along.