Tag Archives: British Columbia

nature, Photography

Hello Duckies

There is a large park and a lake with a nice beach near our home in the Okanagan Valley. There are lots of ducks looking for snacks there and they sometimes follow you around. These three were persistent.

I don’t don’t feed them because there is lots of regular duck food available and it’s much healthier for them. So, they were out of luck on the people food.

They are very sweet though and so cutely waddling around as M and I enjoyed an afternoon on the beach.

Hello from the friendly ducks of Skaha Lake. 🙂

musings, nature, Photography

Towering Hibiscus

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The towering hibiscus bushes are in full bloom right now. Many of them are three metres (10 feet) or more tall.

Originally from Korea, and in fact the national flower of Korea, these bushes are now a part of many gardens and parks here in the Okanagan.

In the United States they are known as Rose of Sharon, but they aren’t related to roses at all. Frilly and pretty, they add a lovely blowsy richness to the landscape.

Happy Thursday from the flowering hibiscus of the Okanagan Valley. 🙂

musings, nature, Photography

Cirrus Clouds

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A couple of days ago, I saw these rather spectacular cirrus clouds, or

horsetails, as I called them when I was a child.

Cirrus clouds are usually very high, between 5 and 25 kilometres (3 – 9 miles) above the ground. They often indicate the arrival of a front, or in the tropics, the possibility of a hurricane. Our weather remained steady (and hot), so these cirrus weren’t indicative of a change – they were fair weather cirrus.

What I found particularly interesting about these clouds was the corkscrew in the center of them. It looked like someone had swirled the clouds with a whisk. That corkscrew shape is also a type of cirrus, but they aren’t usually found together.

Cirrus clouds have been documented on Mars and Jupiter and are also responsible for light halos and winter sundogs.

Cheers from cirrus clouds of the Okanagan Valley. 🙂

nature, Photography

Mummy and Twins

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I saw this mummy with twins sauntering across a road to an old apple tree.

Mummy wasn’t bothered by me at all as I stopped to take their pictures.

The little ones were more curious than concerned.

They blend in so well that they are not all that easy to see, but I would be happier if they were more skittish.

Greetings from the adorable deer of the Okanagan Valley. 🙂

musings

Deep Purple

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Lavender is native to the Mediterranean and loves dry, hot temperatures and sandy soils.As a result, it’s a good plant for BC’s Okanagan Valley, and is a highly recommended garden shrub for this drought-prone, desert-like climate.They are hardy, pretty, and the scent is lovely. In fact, science has proven that the scent of lavender is calming and relaxing.Here in the Okanagan, they grow everywhere, in boulevards and around parking lots and in garden plots. Just going for a walk exposes you to a gentle whiff or two.

Greetings from the lovely lavenders of the Okanagan Valley. 🙂

musings, nature, Photography

Okanagan Sunset

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I have left the north and am presently at my home in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Recently, I sipped a glass of wine and watched the sun go down behind a hill.I am happy and grateful for all the wonders in my life. The people (including the bloggers), the work, the food, the time to sit and enjoy a sunset.

Cheers from British Columbia. 🙂

musings, nature, Photography

Meditation XVII

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No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent,

a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of

thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

~ John Donne

Photos of Howe Sound, British Columbia