November 2022

Since I am Canadian, it seems only natural that I should begin by talking about the weather.  After a glorious and warm October (warmest and driest on record), we felt entitled to start November in the same vein. 

My bird feeders were still inside, away from the bears, but I was putting out some cracked corn to the delight of the Stellar Jays.

A friend and I went hiking on a favourite trail, with a couple of viewpoints such as one overlooking our house (!) and this one looking at some mountains to the north. 

This picture is not so important until you look at the scars on the mountain across the way.  The scarred parts are where the Nk’Mip fire burned last year and the subsequent roads created to get heavy equipment into burning places.

Within a couple of days, the temperatures started dropping.

On November 4, we got 9 ½” of snow overnight.  This was confirmed by the Snow Measurement Specialist.

We got another 7 inches of snow on November 7, followed by 5 inches of snow on November 8.  As you might expect, Brian was busy with the snowblower.

The Town of Osoyoos has some inexplicable activities at times.  For all summer, the fountain in the downtown park was idle. Tourists came and went with no refreshing spray to mitigate against the heat.  However, the Town decided to start the fountain again in November.  This was the result.

Temperatures have remained colder than normal during the rest of the month, leading to the fact that November was the third coldest one on record for Penticton (north of us) and the fourth coldest for Kelowna (more north of us).

Oh, and on November 30, we got another 5 inches of snow.

We do get some spectacular winter scenes before our eyes.

When the sun shines, we get some beautiful views and beautiful sunsets.

If we are wrapped in fog from the valley, we get some beautiful hoar frost on the grasses and trees.

 

Neighbours below us took a picture of our house, and we think we are looking pretty darn good with the new stucco job done in the spring.

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To get a break from the cold, we decided to go back to Campbell River for a quick trip for some warmer temperatures and a chance for Brian to see some of the scenery I enjoyed so much while he was in hospital.

We hit the first objective immediately, but for two days the sightseeing was considerably limited given some all-encompassing fog that even the locals were complaining about. 

We did go along the scenic path that ran along the shore for 8 kilometers, but many of the sights were somewhat shrouded.  Still, we saw more chainsaw carvings and wall murals and other bits of art

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The third day was completely different.  The sun was bright and the scenery was fabulous.  We only had a couple of hours there before having to drive down to Nanaimo, but we made up for it with some better sightseeing.

 

As you can see above, one of the things I like most about Campbell River is showing Aboriginal art alongside non-aboriginal offerings.  The local Walmart Store has some wonderful bas-relief original symbols on the front of the building.

Locals told us about a new driftwood statue erected on the beach this fall:  it was a life-size statue of a humpback whale.  The work was really impressive.

 

Then we discovered a driftwood dinosaur nearby, done by the same artist.  I don’t think it was life-size but it still was notable.

 

An then there was a little driftwood raccoon.  It doesn’t get any better than that in my mind.

 

When I saw this the first time, I didn't recognize it as a raccoon since someone had put a daisy chain around its neck.  All-season decorations seem important here.

At the last minute, we decided to take a whale watching trip ie the Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay Ferry.  As we just pulling away from Nanaimo there were three or 4 humpback whales in the surrounding waters, blowing away.  And just as we were pulling into Horseshoe Bay another couple showed up in the waters to make their presence known.  Both times the ferries were near to tilting as passengers ran from one side to the other to watch.

On our way back, we stopped at a local attraction just west of Osoyoos, called Spotted Lake.  It has great significance to the local native community.  There are some unique minerals in the water that configure into spots during the summer.  To my surprise and delight, this phenomena continues into the winter.

For the bird lovers…(the rest of you can ignore this)

As soon as we had snow, the bird feeders went up again, to very receptive crowds.  The jays continue to visit in droves (I’ve seen as many as 8 at once), but we also get Clark’s Nutcrackers, Black-billed Magpies, and a Northern Flicker.

 

Then, to my shock, I got a picture of not one, but two chipmunks out trying for a last-minute buildup of their larder.  They make them tough out here…..

 

Thanks for visiting.  We hope that December is a happy season for you and that you can enjoy times with family, friends, and neighbours.