October 2022

 

Welcome, everyone!  I hope you had as beautiful an October as we have had.  Temperatures were consistently warmer than average the first 3 weeks:  on October 2, 25 heat records were broken in BC; on October 6, another 21 heat records were broken; on the Thanksgiving weekend, 37 heat records were broken.  We continued to wear shorts, have our pre-dinner drinks out on the balcony, and pretended this would never end.

Naturally the last 10 days of the month disabused us of our fantasies—we woke up to snow on October 24 which melted away during the day.  The mountains across the valley have snow on them again (the norm for about 11 months of the year).  Snow tires have been reinstalled, flu shots have been received, and the living fire is set for whenever it might be needed.

Bug of the Month

It seems we get a new influx of something every few weeks; this month we have been host to many praying mantises.  Apparently, they mate in the fall, so this may be why they seem so obvious.

We get both green and brown ones.

The Bird Bath

The bird bath continues to be a source of much amusement, especially when checking it each morning. 

Nocturnal visitors are varied.

Mom bear and her two juveniles continue to frequent the bath, and I have a lovely picture of bear butts.

My favourite, though, is a picture of one of the juveniles on their own.

Mr. Coyote has wandered through now and then.

 

The jays continue to dominate during the daytime.

 

The Quilt Project

BC has had a program for community grants, where up to $500 can be given to support an activity that creates a sense of community. A couple of neighbours got together to apply for a grant to buy materials for a quilt to be made by anyone interested in participating.  With $400 to spend, we got 16 of us together at the beginning of July, with skills ranging from 0 (I am here to help iron things) to 10/10. 

As a group, we decided on a pattern and on the colours we wished to use.  We chose colours of our natural environment (deep blue skies with bright stars, and colours of our trees, bark, grass and wildflowers).  We have met weekly until early October when the project was completed, and machine-quilted so you can tell where I have been spending my time.  Our finished result turned out to be a rather spectacular queen-sized quilt, and even the back had its own pattern.

We are selling tickets for a draw to be made in early December, and the net proceeds will go to our local Fire Rescue Society.

Brian’s Progress

Brian is back to almost normal again (guess who did the snow tires).  He was given a brace to help provide back support which seems to help and, other than swearing never to go hiking again, he is over this unwelcome interlude.

 Covid

It seems like everyone on the mountain has been exposed to Covid this month, for I can count a handful of neighbours that have been down for the count.  Everyone in this group had had vaccinations, so the attacks were on the mild side, but it has been a stark reminder of how contagious the newest variants are.  It will be interesting to see how the winter proceeds.  Some people still wear masks at the grocery store, etc but it is certainly not universal.

In doing some volunteer work, I met a rabid anti-vaxxer who amazed me with his view on things.  (Probably supported the Ottawa convoy….)  He also turned out to be a conspiracy theorist, and blames all our ills on the World Economic Forum.    I was astonished to find such a malevolent body present on this planet, but am not quite sure of the connection!

 

I hope winter comes gently this month for all of us—thank you for visiting!