Where the
heck did July go? We must have been busy
because that month sure flashed by…
Update
on Brian:
Brian is
certainly better off than he was a month ago.
The radiation burn on his neck has almost healed, although it still is a
source of considerable discomfort. He
started his course of immunotherapy treatment, and has suffered no adverse
reaction to it (despite everything the medical monograph promised…). Although he still has to go to Kelowna once
every two weeks, this is far less debilitating than the daily commute. This treatment will continue once every two
weeks for a year.
The Osoyoos
July 1 Parade:
Of course
we had to go to the parade. Last year we
were participants, so this was the first year that we were able to enjoy
ourselves as spectators. I will only
touch on some highlights.
The first
picture is that of Vince, Osoyoos’s homeless man. The town has taken him to heart, and though
he has had offers of lodging, etc, he is much happier out on the streets. You never know when you will see him with his
shopping cart. He drinks, and is
probably mentally ill, but he is a real character, and very likable. This year, the parade had horses in it, and
who showed up as the cleanup man but Vince!
In a small
town of 5000, you don’t quite know what to expect as floats, and I was greatly
entertained by the local towing company who truly strutted their stuff. I got pictures of two of their rigs, with one
towing a car, and the second one carrying a vehicle on its flatbed. I couldn’t get the third in the picture for
it was a monstrous rig towing a semi-trailer, but you get the idea. Each of the towed vehicles were red in colour to celebrate Canada Day.
And then
there was this float. It had a theme-of
super-heroes, but other than that I wasn’t quite sure what message they were
sending. However, they obviously were
having a lot of fun!
The
Weather and Fire Season:
July
apparently has been normal this year, with even a couple of thundershowers to
provide some limited rain! Monday night,
July 22, changed the course of things.
We had a dry thunderstorm (not enough rain to register) with sufficient
lightening strikes to start 5 spot fires on Anarchist Mountain. Our volunteer fire department had just
returned from 1 ½ hours of fighting a human-caused fire to then deploy in many
directions at once. All fires were
fortunately doused, although they had to return the next day to check for hot
spots. This was a little too close for
comfort.
Then,
Tuesday night surpassed it all. We got
.8 mm rain (woo-hoo) and enough lightening to light up the skies. The following picture as taken over Osoyoos
by a photographer named Greg Reely who used 46 photos in the composite. It says it all. Even without the composite, the skies were
indeed spectacular.
One of the
fires started by that storm was located on Richter Mountain, which could be
easily seen across the valley from us.
Smoke watching becomes a grisly fascination when you live in fire
county. From our place, we had an
excellent view of the water bombers going back and forth, which was fascinating
in itself.
The closest town to the east of us, Rock Creek, had a 37 square mile fire in 2015. Here's what it still looks like this year.
This year has been remarkably
benevolent compared to the last two (knock on cement: it’s not flammable) and we even are able to
see clearly without smoke. That doesn’t
change the urgency to clean up around our property, and we have just finished
sending two large trailer loads of pine branches/cones/needles to a local burn
pit. As you can see from the picture,
there is still a lot to be done.
Remember
how pine cones are so good for starting fires?
These ones are 3-4” long and 2-3” across. These and the pine needles are considered
equal to gasoline on a wildfire! Fortunately, we have 3 acres to rake.....
Summer
on the Mountain:
The last 10
days in July have finally warmed up to get into the 20’s, and we enjoy sitting
out on our coffee deck in the morning.
The gurgler provides considerable entertainment, even when it is not
turned on. This is a Clark’s Nutcracker
enjoying a little pool on top.
Once we
turn it on, there is a steady parade of birds to drink and bathe, and we have
even had the pleasure of watching hummingbirds stand on the side in moving
water to get a true salon experience.
Gardening
(NOT) on the mountain:
Eastern
living has not prepared me for the nuances of gardening here, but I was happy
to water in the landscaped plants, and more of the cacti have been blooming.
Thinking
that the sedums would do well here, I planted five in a small bed in hopes they
would multiply. Unbeknownst to me,
sedums are equal to chipmunks as filet mignon is delicious to us. These poor plants have been nibbled, some to
their early deaths. Wildlife 1, human 0.
Since I
still love flowers, I had 6 large planters on the stone outside, and two
hanging flower baskets. With the warm
temperatures and ample watering, these plants have flourished and bloomed
heartily. I wish I had taken pictures
beforehand, but it was too late. The
deer came into the yard one night and methodically ate the blossoms in every
container, including the hanging ones.
Here are the planters in mid-July.
Wildlife 2, human 0.
Some of
these plants were ostensibly deer-resistant, but it seems the flowers are open
game.
I believe
this is the culprit here. He had been hanging
around the house and we have been watching his antlers start to grow. Even though I am convinced it is not manly to
eat flowers, he now bears the name of “Sir Fleur”.
Music in
the Park
One of the
special things in the summer here is “Music in the Park”. Every Friday evening at 6:30, a group sets up
to entertain in a bandstand in a park bordering the lake. There is no charge, and people bring their
lawn chairs and settle down to enjoy themselves. The groups often have interesting names: here was Taylor Ray with the Back Seat
Drivers (an excellent performance).
As you can
see, the crowd is generous. Last year,
the organizers generally got about 350 people in attendance; for Taylor Ray
they had 900 people in attendance, and are getting big crowds generally.
One of the
most entertaining (and sometimes distracting) aspects is that people get up and
dance in a clearing just by the bandshell.
There are all kinds: senior
ballroom dancers, line dancers, kids just having fun. There is one woman, though, who is an event
all by herself. Her postures are
extravagant, but a bit stilted, to I compare her to a Sandhill Crane on
drugs. She obviously has fun and we refer to her as the "Dancing Queen".
The
Canadian Naval Band will be performing shortly, and that will be a treat.
Walking
In September,
we head out to Wales for a 3-week walking holiday covering 300 kilometers, so
we have started training excursions this month.
A very good one was up an access road on Mount Baldy, a local ski hill
about half an hour from here. It was a
steep climb, but it was worth it for the views and the gorgeous display of
alpine wildflowers.
Wildlife
As a confirmed rodent-lover, I was thrilled to find marmots in our area (although none at our place...rats!) On a road below us, there is a large statue of a falcon pouncing, and to my great delight we drove by one day to see marmots lying on the back of the statue, sunning themselves! No matter how many times I have come back, I haven't been able to catch them in the act, but they can easily be found on the rocks below the statue. This is a hoary marmot--a handsome fellow if I can say so.
I am SO
happy—I have finally seen my rattlesnake.
This was a little guy, only about a foot long, but he had about 5
rattles, so he wasn’t a baby. We weren’t
too fussed about one another, for we had been moving slowly, and essentially
were merely inconvenient rather than disturbing. This was at a house about 100-200 lower in
elevation than us, which is apparently about the highest altitude the snakes will
get to. So, I may never have one of my
own—rats!
We hope the
summer is treating you equally well—thanks for checking in!
