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.

 

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!

September 2022

 

Sorry for the delay, but October has featured a very busy start.

Brian’s progress

Ay the end of September, Brian was starting his 6^th week of recovery from his fall.  It has been tough for him, and September has been a quiet month for the most part until he started riding his bike again about a week ago.  Talk about a morale booster!  He had a follow-up X-ray the last week of September and the news is good—he is healing normally.  The news is bad—he is healing normally.  When the nurse-practitioner went over the results with him, her summary was:  if it hurts, don’t do it.  He came home extremely indignant.  What can I say?!  Oh, by the way, the guidance has been all along for a 6-8 week recovery period....

Campbell River Highlights

Last month’s summary did not include the good things that had happened in Campbell River.  One of the town’s many highlights was that they had a chain-saw carving contest each year.  The winning entries were sold off with the proceeds going to local charities.  The carvings were fascinating. 

Some of this year’s finalists included the following:

 

Previous year’s winners were bought and displayed locally, including some at local hotels and the sea walk.

Campbell River Sea Walk

The Sea Walk was a Rotary Project 8 km trail that extended on one side of the river outlet into the ocean, and featured beautiful natural stretches with sea features, sunsets and bird groupings along one side of the delta.  It was well-appreciated by walkers, cyclers, roller-skaters, boarders at almost any time of day.  It was safe and visitor friendly and a welcome respite from some of the days Brian spent in hospital.

On the home front……

The Bird Bath

The fall has been dry, and I ended up buying a bird-bath to support birds further to my feeders.  It has been an unmitigated success.  I did have pictures from the game camera featuring Stellar Jays, Cassin’s Finches and juvenile Clarke’s Nutcrackers, but heaven knows what I did with them.  However, I started noticing the bird bath was dry when I put up the feeders again next morning.

Hmm, the game camera provided the answer.  The nocturnal birds were also taking advantage of the water.

 The last visit included Mom and 2 juveniles, but unfortunately the game camera card was full of over 4000 pictures of waving grass in front of the bird bath.  Mom had very 2 healthy looking babies.  I had come out late to bring in feeders for the night, and to my horror discovered the family underneath the feeders.  I would do anything to prevent them from getting positive reinforcement by finding the feeders, so I was waving an inflated garbage bag over my head while Brian blew a whistle.  The cubs treed immediately, but Mom did a mock charge.  I got the hose going, and Brian treed Mom with the hose while I rescued the feeders.  Call me stupid, but bears are euthanized here if they get too habituated and I was determined not to be part of the problem.

Weather

As per the local media, summer conditions in British Columbia have prompted a warning that this year's "very unique fire season" in the province is not yet over.

A cool spring of 2022 meant a slow start to the fire season.

“Our first wildfire of note this season was the Nohomin Creek wildfire located west of Lytton, which started on July 14. Compare that to last year, we were seeing wildfires of note pop up as early as mid to late-June. So, a different start to the season, for sure,” said wildfire information officer Aydan Coray.

One of the larger fires in the region was the Keremeos Creek wildfire. At its peak, it covered 7,000 hectares and prompted a weeks-long evacuation of both Olalla and Apex Mountain Resort. It also destroyed one home.

Human-caused fires across BC were at their lowest since the 1950s. Lightning, however, was a more of a challenge.

“Through June, July and August, though, we did see a cumulative 24,600 lightning strikes in the Kamloops Fire Centre region alone,” explained Coray.

Our Rain

This has been a bit of a normal year for us. Our last rain on July 4 produced 13.8 mm of precipitation for a total of 124.4 for the year.  In September, we have had 1 mm rain over 2 days.  We are now in a level 4 drought condition. 

Rock Creek Fall Fair

A local favourite is the Rock Creek Fall Fair.  We missed it in 2018 due to my broken ankle, 2019 because we were away, and 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions.  This year we finally made it!.  A fall fair is so much fun for us because it takes us to the simplicity of rural communities that celebrate so many things.  Of course there were carnival type attractions and face-painting for the kids.

Highlights for us included animal displays from the local 4H clubs.  The poultry displays are always impressive with some bizarre-looking birds.  I found it extremely difficult to get a picture of them, but finally nailed a shot of this impressive-looking rooster,

On a much higher level, the cattle displays were amazing.  Look at this lovely family grouping:

There is a lot more work-up to this than us city slickers imagine.

First of all, display cattle are taken to the cow-wash.

Note the dynamics here:  smart-ass young male supervises from fence while young farm women do all the work.  PS He sprays the women with water when he has a chance...

Next station:  the dryer.

Young women (again) go over the cattle thoroughly with vacuum blower hoses to fluff them up to perfection.  (These beasts look really good when they are done...)

Various and Sundry

With the dryness in September, everyone has been plagued by wasps looking for water.  Many of our neighbours have bought new wasp traps featuring phenomes that attract the wasps—all of them have been full to the brim.

We are also experiencing an influx of Western Conifer Seed Beetles.  These relatively harmless guys are looking for winter housing, to the horror of bug-haters in the area.  We merely send them outside again.

Fall Weather

We are enjoying temperatures as much as 8 degrees above normal, and wake up to cloudless blue skies.  Pre-dinner drinks are still held outside and the occasional morning coffee as well.   Our friends in the Maritimes have not fared as well, and hopefully we can share our good weather with them in the future.  The only thing we have that they don’t are day after day of smoke.  For a while, it was difficult to tell in the morning if the sky was cloudy or smoky, with the second answer being the most common one.  This picture was that of a smoky sky with no clouds.

So, all in all, we are doing well and improving and October looks good.

Thanks for visiting!

 

August 2022

 

The plan for this blog was to gather as many little details as possible to create a sufficiently interesting narrative for this month.  Brian fixed all that with much more drama than we ever bargained for.

The Trip to Vancouver Island

We decided on the spur of the moment to go out to Vancouver Island for a few days to escape the heat here and have a change of scenery.  It started out well, with 3 nights in Victoria where we could re-experience city life, go to a variety of restaurants and do some walking around/exploring in the area.

From there we went to Nanaimo to spend a night with good friends on Gabriola Island.  The next day we headed north to explore the Comox-Courtney area; I had worked on the base at Comox for four months one summer, and there reportedly was a great air museum at the base that Brian wanted to see.

Accommodation was impossible to find, so we drove another 45 minutes up to Campbell River and parked there to do a little looking around.

Brian’s Drama

Campbell River has a lot of walking available, and we chose to do the Ripple Rock Trail—a famous trail just over 4 km. leading to a viewpoint over a channel.  Off we set.  It was a beautiful day, and the trail was well set out, although narrow.  This was the essence of the problem that unfolded.

Brian stepped aside to let some people going the other way to pass—he lost his footing and tumbled over and over, landing about 15 feet down from the trail.  We all rushed to retrieve him, and the fellow who had been stepped aside for identified himself as a retired GP.   Brian mentioned his right arm hurt and the GP manipulated it gently to determine nothing was broken.  He then eventually walked on, probably thinking that Brian was shaken up and just needed a little time to gather himself.

Not!  Brian broke 5 of his right ribs (#’s 7-11), broke 3 wings off his lowest vertebrae and had experienced a collapsed lung which occurred as he fell.  He was also scraped, scratched and bruised all over. 

Here is where the incredible luck started.  Another couple, a Swiss pair travelling in Canada, stayed with us and eventually helped Brian a little way along a path where we discovered a little cove with boat access.  Once we were there, I called 911 and Search and Rescue (SAR) was deployed to come pick him up.

Unfortunately, this was not without some technical difficulties.  Phone signal was intermittent; with the Swiss guy and I each calling, we got enough information to dispatch to get help.  Still, they were not entirely sure of our location, and efforts to get a fix on my phone failed because I had run out of data for the month.  (This has never happened before, of course.).

More incredible luck happened.  We had passed another couple on the trail and chatted with them for a few minutes before they continued on.  They hit the summit, and then returned, keeping an eye out for us.  They started getting concerned when they couldn’t see us, and Markus went on a mission to find us.  He eventually did, and he completed the communication to SAR with a GPS fix that made things much easier.  (It was funny—when he finally found us, he gave us a good scolding for leaving the trail!!  Obviously, he had been very concerned.)

SAR picked up Brian and I in a zodiac, and took him to an ambulance on the closest wharf, while another volunteer drove me back to the trail parking lot to retrieve our car.  The boat then made a second pass back to the cove, and picked up Markus and his friend so they could be driven back to their car.  Apparently, a helicopter was ready if needed. Still, it took two hours from the accident to the rescue, and Brian was in terrible pain.

Campbell River Hospital is a gem.  The building is only about 5 years old, and like other places the hospital is understaffed, overcrowded and challenged to the max.  Having said that, I can’t believe the quality of care Brian received from the emergency team, the surgeons, the doctors, the nurses, the cleaning staff and the kitchen workers who would come up to check his meal preferences for the next day.  They were cheerful, positive and tremendously supportive.

His roommate was a different issue.  Harvey was deaf, suffering from blood poisoning, diabetes and low kidney function.  He was also exhibiting some signs of dementia.  He was disruptive at night, with the highlight being the night he called 911 to report the traffic accident.  Fortunately, the dispatcher clued in fairly quickly, but when the nurse came to take away his phone, he refused to cooperate.  Finally, after a week of this, Harvey was transferred to another room and a more easy-going roommate was transferred in.  Lyle had a broken pelvis but was quiet, pleasant and had nice company.  The possibility of nighttime sleep opened up for Brian. 

Without going into details ad nauseum, when Brian got sprung 10 days later, all he could think of was getting home to his own bed.  I drove for an hour to near Nanaimo, whereupon he took over and got us to the ferry (one missed sailing) and then drove back to Osoyoos, arriving at about 11 pm. August 31.  Sitting was not too uncomfortable for him, and I think he relished being back in control after 10 days of willy-nilly unpleasant experiences.  Still, I was so impressed by his determination and perseverance.

Ribs take 6-8 weeks to heal, and with the number broken he will have to take it easy.  Our priorities over the next week will be to get back to a regular sleep pattern, regular tasty meals, and some walking to get him back to moving more naturally.  He does heal quickly, and he keeps himself in good shape, which works in his favour.

We have been blessed with ongoing concern and support from a large number of family, friends, neighbours and new friends.  Thank you for all of your good wishes, calls and support.  You have no idea of how those contacts made a difference to someone facing days that seemed 100 years long in the hospital.

The Scene of the Crime

 

So, this has been too long and boring but everyone has wanted to hear the details about Brian. I will save some of this month's highlights for the September report.  I have some lovely pictures taken from Campbell River (they will keep) and of the fruit being harvested here (the same happens every year but it is always good….).

 

Just a few factoids:

This August has been the warmest on record for the whole of BC, with a number of cities/towns/villages breaking records.  Our wet June held off a potentially horrendous fire season, and we have not been threatened.  A number of dry thunderstorms with lightening strikes threatened our area but few spot fires were created.  The stats for the lightening strikes were impressive:

Aug 10:  2617 strikes

Aug 11:  2665 strikes

Aug 12:  2665 strikes

Cheers, guys!  Thanks for visiting.