Wildflowers and Deadlines

Things are perhaps a bit unremarkable in the Malloy household the last couple of weeks (painting and fixing continue), but Mother Nature has been putting on a spectacular display for us almost daily.

Our backyard is a wildflower garden.  We have received the bulk of the moisture we will get for the next few months, and wildflowers are progressing rapidly.  It seems that every week, something new appears and then dies away.  Each plant seems to find its own slot where it can bloom without competing with a thousand others for moisture or pollination.  We are just coming into the lupine blooming season (I didn’t expect that in a dry climate), and there are blue blooms everywhere.

An alpine lily called Bear Grass has come into bloom at the same time and dots the yard with yellow flowers.

Sometimes there are familiar plants like strawberry or wild delphiniums, but they are a different variety here, which leads to much looking in wildflower books and online.

And then there are even orchids in an old growth larch forest near us.

Now that the snowpack is gone, the deer are back on a regular basis, and it is not abnormal to see one or two in the yard.  It is a mark of how common that is by the fact we no longer take pictures.  (Yes, the sun is shining today.  So what.)

Fortunately for the communities in the area, the flooding has passed its peak, and waters are receding, albeit slowly.  Sandbagging hit its peak in Osoyoos last week, but then as the risk is lowered they now have to empty the bags and put the stuff away. 

Now we are preparing for fire season, expecting a hot dry summer with lots of wildfire risk; over 200 wildfires have been reported in BC this season so far.  Locals tell us that we are at the greenest time of the year, and things will only get progressively browner as summer progresses.

Everyone told us that once we moved here we could expect lots of visitors, and June is going to be a good example of that.  Nest week we are going to host a couple from Tasmania for a few days (Brian met Rob at Staff College) and then I have a favourite friend coming for a week at the end of the month.  Thus the deadlines—get everything done and put away so we won’t be embarrassed in front of guests.  Oh dear.

It's not spring--it's summer!

Summer snuck in last week!

Temperatures have changed rather dramatically in the last 10 days, and we seem to have gone straight into summer.

First, the cherry blossoms came out, well before their leaves, and the orchards were graced with many colours from white to pink to deep pink.

Then the apple trees came out a week later, with mostly white blossoms, and leaves.

Orchards and vineyards are full of workers (for those of us in the wine clubs, we learned that “bud break” was last week, and the gnarly old vines are actually showing some green shoots.

Wine is becoming everywhere more important, and we can see a number of orchards that have been completely uprooted in order to have vines planted.  You can tell it will be a vineyard by the kinds of poles laid out.  Apparently it will take a minimum of three years before the vines will produce, so this is quite an investment in the future.

The deer came back into the yard after the snow was all gone by the end of April (although there is still snow at higher elevations).

The hummingbirds are back, and we get three kinds here, although I don’t have pictures to boast of yet.  Two more feeders are on order to let them spread themselves out a bit.

All of a sudden, we could sit outside for our pre-dinner drinks, but mornings are still a little cool for outside coffee.

Sunsets are really spectacular.

And then miracles!  The wildflowers have come out.  The first ones were really tiny and close to the ground:  Sagebrush Buttercup, Western Spring Beauty, Mountain Bluebells and today Dwarf Waterleaf.

In the meantime, some bigger plants are blooming, with the yellow Balsamroot showing all over the hills, and Antelope Brush and Currant bushes blooming prolifically.

I can see the leaves of Lupines everywhere, and they should be a real show when they come into bloom.

The downside of this sudden warm weather is the risk of flooding, which is rising considerably.  The snow pack is over 200% of normal, and the quick melting is causing concerns.  Although that doesn’t directly affect us on the mountain, we see the effects in the valley.  On the main drag in Osoyoos, sand and bags are laid out for anyone requiring them, and the pile is diminishing quickly. 

I pass three places where there is flooding, sandbagging, or major culvert implants to try to mitigate against unwanted water as I drive to my volunteer work at the raptor rehab center (SORCO), about a 50 minute drive.  When I stopped to take a picture, the road crew had just done extra sandbagging, and they kindly offered to take my picture.

SORCO had their single day of opening to the public this last weekend, and we have been getting a number of Great Horned Owls in.

Tipsy was an adult GH owl dying from secondary poisoning from eating poisoned mice, and this is a link to the relevant news article.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Penticton/222707/Owl-poisoned-by-dinner

There are a number of GH owl chicks who have fallen from their nests (owls are apparently terrible nest-builders) and are under care until they mature enough to release.  The chicks are HUGE!  They come from eggs that are somewhat smaller than tennis balls, but by the time they are a couple of months old they are over a foot tall.

This is a link to the open house news article, which features a picture of some 2 month-old chicks.

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-225584-21-.htm#225584

Lots is on the go, and now the outside work begins!