A Moose and Fruitland in Winter

We have been in the midst of a cold snap the last couple of weeks (gasp!  temperatures were -14 or -15 at night!), but things seem to be gradually warming.  We have 22" of snow on the ground, so we are certain it is winter here.

We have a very active community with a website, and to our delight, pictures of a moose were posted recently.  Where it was seen?  On Bull Moose Road of course!

In the meantime, the major wildlife activity on our property seems to be driven by voles.  In a sheltered area on the patio, they have been making tunnels and chewing grass--I have seen as many as 3 at once.

One thing that occurred to me this weekend is that the Okanagan is well known for its fruit orchards and vineyards, but nobody pays attention to them in the winter.  The winter offers a rather fascinating landscape of bare trees and vines.

These rather austere landscapes are actually sites of busy activity in the winter.  In the last four weeks, it is not uncommon to see pruners busy with the plants.

Grapes can be pruned in a number of ways, depending on the age of the vinstock, and the theories of the vintner.  I won't pretend to be an expert, but will show you some of the different pruning and different ages of the grape vines.

Apple trees are rigorously pruned and often are no taller than I am.

Many vineyards and orchards burn off these prunings in January and February when it is less hazardous to burn, and the air often smells with the sweet scents of applewood burning.  The smoke is also an interesting contrast to the monochromatic scenes of winter.

After the pruning, you can see the red colours of young branches.

I can recognize apple trees but am not so certain of others yet, but many of them have their own original shapes.

The Globe and Mail featured a story this week about Canada inventing a new cherry, and I didn't pay much attention to it until after checking out orchards this weekend.  There is an agricultural research station in Summerland, just north of here, and apparently they have been working on cherries for years.  The Okanagan cherry crop is grown on 4500 acres compared to the 75,000 acres that Washington has planted.  The new cherry, named "Staccato" matures about 4 weeks after the Washington cherries, which means it comes onto the market with no competitors.  First selected in 1982, it became known enough to be planted over the years, with 2013 being a turning point for its success.

When we were driving around the back roads of Osoyoos to take these pictures, it took no time at all to come to the US border.  However, on the back roads, this is merely a T-intersection with the border marked off in broken barbed wire.

As you can see, there are buildings on each side of this narrow alley, and on the right are Americans and on the left Canadians.  It is amazingly arbitrary.

Final note:  with the cold snap this week, both sides of Lake Osoyoos have frozen over.  Up until now, it has just been the south side.

To remind you, we go up a winding road with 6 hairpin turns, and the views continue to be spectacular.

On the other hand, as we face south, we go from vineyards to ranchland and a whole different perspective on agriculture.

There is so much to learn here.

House painting continues, but there will be no before and after pictures until some "after" has been completed.

In the meantime, we go to Vernon for 3 days to goof off skiing.