The Malloys at Home: Fall in the Okanagan

(Before I forget, the Iceland/Greenland Trip has finally been published on malloysatlarge.blogspot.com)

It is fall here, and the harvest is impressive. Grape vines everywhere are drooping with loads of fruit, and some of those grapes are being processed already.

Apple trees are laden, and to me they look like “Apple Christmas Trees”.

Fruit stands are open here, there and everywhere, and since it is hard to tell which one might be the best, we’ve been trying all of them.

While the irrigated areas are flourishing, everywhere else is bone dry. Someone told us in May that that would be the greenest we would see the land, and it was true. We did get 5 mm of rain in September, the first rain since July 11.

We haven’t had much in the way of wildlife sightings, but since we put new batteries in the game camera (duh), we know there are lots of deer around.

One interesting thing about fall is that we have started getting lots of clouds again, and often they are down in the valley rather than above us. Sunsets are now quite spectacular.

The ones that are above are often capricious, leading to rain cells, hail, and even a “Thundersnow”, leading to obscene pictures such as this.

There are fall colours here, despite the predominance of conifers, with yellow aspen poplar and red Saskatoons brightening the landscape.

The end of September features the “Festival of the Grape”, a huge event in Oliver showcasing the wares of many vineyards. We had guests from Gabriola Island to help us do a thorough examination of the possibilities. Like many other events of this ilk, there were a number of organizations displaying at the event, and I couldn’t resist the sign for the Search and Rescue Association.

One tourist attraction here is a Model Railway Museum. To put it mildly, it is unbelievable. It is housed in a small warehouse, and features every kind of terrain and activity you can imagine, while trains of all kinds move through the extensive landscape.

Check out the ski hill...