Despite everything Mother Nature
tried to do in April, summer finally snuck in in the last week of May. Our back yard is absolutely full of native
lupines, along with massive yellow flowers from the arrow-leafed balsamroot.
The first
weekend in May featured a Saturday event called the Anarchist Mountain Community
Society Wildfire Preparedness Day. We
had speakers on how to build sprinkler systems for the outside of your house,
forest health, invasive weeds and the biology of the environment. A pine cone cleanup was mandatory (they are everywhere this year) followed by a BBQ to reward the hardy workers.
The biologist had a very good reference guide
on building climate resilience in areas vulnerable to floods and
fires. It can be found at the following
site:
Interestingly enough, it was spearheaded by the local real
estate board, with significant participation from a variety of sources. (One of our speakers was a principal author,
and another was a contributing author, so we had some good talent available.
One of things homeowners are encouraged to do here is to cut
lower dead limbs off the Ponderosa/Yellow pine trees to prevent wildfire from
the grass climbing up the tree (“ladder fuels”). Brian has started work on our property, but
much has to be done yet.
There is an excellent 4-day festival on the long weekend in
May, called the Meadowlark Nature Festival.
There were over 100 events offered, and I signed up for a birding bike
ride along part of the Kettle Valley Railroad.
We met in a place called Naramata, a little north of Penticton, and then
were driven up a long hill to a lodge at Chute Lake. The lodge was the original center for the
steam railway build, and had a main chalet as well as little worker’s
cabins. New owners took over last fall,
and are breathing new life into what had become a tired historical site. All of the original buildings were log ones,
of course, since the train line was developed to carry lumber along to other
destinations.
Fortunately, the ride was all downhill from there, and
although it rained for a while, the conditions were good. Our birder guide was not only an experienced
ornithologist but is also our Member of Parliament, and we had occasion to
present to him last month on FireSmart initiatives in our community. (Richard is on the left.)
The downhill track route involved a number of tunnels
through rock, which seemed pretty narrow to us at times.
The views made it all worthwhile, and we even got some good
bird sightings despite the rain.
The next day, Brian and I went on a hike on what are called
the McIntyre Bluffs, just at the narrowest point of the Okanagan Valley. Our guides came from the local BC Nature
Trust, who manage the land, and were knowledgeable about much of the flora and
fauna of the area. The weather was
beautiful, and the views were spectacular.
On May 13, a wildfire started about 12 km west of Osoyoos,
across the valley off of Highway 3 (the Crowsnest Highway) which is a major
route to and from Vancouver. We could
easily see the smoke in the afternoon, which then became even more noticeable
at sunset. Once the sun was down, we
could see the flames in the distance. I
underestimated how troubling it could be to be able to watch something
nearby. We were in absolutely no danger,
but everyone is well aware it could happen to them. The fire was subsequently contained a few days later due to backburning efforts.
I am please to announce that the Eagle Point Maternity Ward
is booming. Phoebes built a nest on one
of our outside awnings on the balcony.
We figured the eggs hatched May 18, because from then on the parents
were constantly on the go. The nest is
beginning to look extremely crowded now.
I have learned quickly that being a wildlife photographer is
challenging, because it sure took a lot of pictures to get one or two good
ones. Once the babies are fed, it is too much effort to hold those big heads up anymore.
A wren has a nest on a beam outside our coffee deck, and we
hear the parents singing on the post telling everyone that this is their
territory. We can’t hear the young yet,
but last year we heard terrible squawking when the parents flew in with food.
In the meantime, Mountain Bluebirds are nesting on the
property as well and flit by with brilliant flashes of blue.
The funniest thing happened a couple of days ago, when I
looked out and saw some interesting chipmunk activity. It appeared that Mom was running a “jump school”. She loved the planter pot because she could jump
in and readily hide from bad things. Mom
would demonstrate by jumping up into the planter, and wait for the babies to
follow. However, the babies were way too
small to get to the top, and despite repeated tries, were unsuccessful. After a while, they tired of this, and
started wrestling while Mom patiently tried again to show what should be
done. Western Chipmunks are smaller than Eastern ones: these little guys were at best 3"long, without tail.
Now I was primed! The next time I was at the front door, I had
a camera. I looked out, and now saw 4
babies running after Mom! I opened the
door a little to step out. The babies
were so new they were merely curious, and came running up to see what was
what. Boom! In two seconds I now had two baby chipmunks
in the house, and the next 15 minutes involved chases and (gentle) capture and
releases, much to all of our exhaustion.
The next day, everything was quiet—Brian and I think there was just too
much going on for the first day outside the burrow. They won’t stay there long, we suspect.
Brian has finished 19 of his 30 days of radiation therapy. He is doing well, although the 5 hour
round-trip drive is very tiring, as might be expected. When he gets the radiation, they strap him
into this “mask” that holds everything strictly in place while the beam is
directed. He claims he can’t even blink
when this is on.
His neck looks like he has had a bad sunburn, and is just
starting to blister, so this can’t be over too soon. His skin reacts very painfully to sunlight
despite his best efforts to shield the area, so it may be a quiet non-outdoors
month. After that, he hopefully will be
on the mend.
Who can believe June is here already? What is going on?
Hope you are all well and prospering!
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