October 2021

I will confess to a little bit of performance pressure each month…the last one was so interesting, how can I possibly make the next one better?

I think the answer lies in the fact we live in a rich environment, and we are lucky to be aware of things happening around us.

So, here is the boredom for this month….

 

Fall Colours

              I have mentioned there is little colour here because of the predominance of conifers, but now I must admit I was mistaken.

              The cherry orchards, showing all kinds of blossom colours in the spring, now show different leaf colours in the fall.

              And, we have larch here, providing a beautiful contrast to the conifers.  Brian and I ended up transplanting some seedlings from the roadside, hoping they will now give us colour at home.

Orchards

September and October are apple months, and it is impressive to see how much a trimmed tree can carry.  There are special fruit crates everyone uses, but I didn’t get a chance to photograph them for you.  All the grapes have been harvested and the crushers at the wineries are now fully occupied.  Like last year, Covid has prevented many of the Mexican and Jamaican pickers from coming in, thus leading to a lot of work on the part of owners, or just plain loss of harvest.

Fall Skies

              With the advent of fall, we start getting much more interesting skies, with many variations of clouds, and some great colour for sunrises and sunsets.

Precipitation

              October was a “wet” month with 43.4 mm rain, or 32% of the year’s total to date of 136.6 mm.  The deer have been on a diet, and every plant that might even have nutrition has been eaten to death.  I think I mentioned the planters last month, but in October the deer have come back to further finish the job.

 

Snow

It wouldn’t be October without an early snow, which occurred overnight on October 13. 

The cacti were not amused.

Across the valley, the snow line is clear on the mountaintops, and has persisted to date.

 

The driveway markers are in, and we are prepared.   (Whine….)

Halloween

              Of course the best things happen near the end of the month!!

                    Our favourite coffee place in town, Junction 3, went all out to celebrate with                             pumpkins.

This year we have a number of children on the mountain as younger people move in, and one enterprising couple has found magnificent ways to get everyone involved.  With Covid still on everyone’s minds, they invoked a “Trunk Party” where vehicles met in a common parking lot.  It was impressive.  Adults decorated the trunks of their cars, and gave out candy.  (They also had some darn good costumes…)  Kids were dressed up and had lighted loot collectors.  Someone got a safe fire burning in the middle of the parking lot (very popular on a chilly night) with cooked hot dogs on tap.  For the parents, it was a safe and fun night while the kids got treats in a relatively simple way.

 

The ultimate event for us on October 31 was “Witches on Water”.  If you live near a lake, this is apparently a popular thing.  For Brian and I, it was certainly new and impressive.  As you might expect from the name, it features witches going out on the lake on various unmotorized watercraft, from canoes to kayaks to paddleboards to whatever.  The costumes were inventive, and the cackling over the water was impressive.

 

As it was winding up, we went to the local microbrewery near the beach, only to find the coven started to congregate there.  The lady on the left had the best cackle I have ever heard.  It doesn’t get better than this.

 

Thank you for visiting!  Let November continue to be a safe and healthy time for you while we all can widen our horizons a bit.