Tag Archives: countryside

nature, Photography

A Sunny Day

34 Comments

We had sun! A very lovely, crisp day.

Despite the poor weather, we still have some leaves left, even if they are a bit bedraggled.

I was quick to get out and enjoy it since we are about to get yet another wet system coming through.

A favourite walking path. Still beautiful.

It’s being referred to as a “cyclone bomb” (really? who comes up with these names?), which is a low pressure system with a very tight pattern. This means that the pressure towards the centre of it is much lower than at its outer edges.

The snow is in the mountains where it should be.

Essentially, it’s a sort of hurricane (Pacific hurricanes are called cyclones), but because it’s occurring at a cooler time of year, it’s a slow, lumbering storm that’s more prone to dissipation and of course, it’s much less dangerous than the tropical versions. Nevertheless, it will bring very strong winds and buckets of rain to coastal British Columbia; Vancouver and Vancouver Island are about to get another soaking.

I’m enjoying these remaining leaves as much as possible!

Here in the interior we are expected to get some of it in the form of more overcast and rain; we won’t experience the brunt of it.

A lovely lake view.

It was important to get out and enjoy a bit of sun before more overcast arrives, but even clouds have their beauties and I can always dress for the watery deliveries they make!

Happy Tuesday.

nature, Photography

Switch Flip

26 Comments

About ten days ago, we were enjoying a very serene, lovely autumn, even the wind was resting …

… and the ducks were contentedly paddling along …

… the sun was warm but there was also an invigoratingly cool suggestion in the air, like momentarily seeing your breath above a glass of ice water.

Warm, beautiful colours abounded, but then …

… a seasonal switch was flipped and we headed into late autumn or more likely, early winter.

We are turning with the sun while everything rests, but we will be ready when spring arrives again.

Happy Monday.

nature, Photography

It’s Definitely November

30 Comments

Right now we have a major storm blowing through which is certainly not unexpected in November. The best part is that here in the valley bottom we’re only getting rain, no flakes! I was going to post a picture of our very misty and overcast surroundings, but decided otherwise. We’ll be seeing lots of that soon enough! Here’s one from a couple of days ago when the weather was much better.

And just because it’s so beautiful, here’s one of a lace leaf maple, shining in its glorious autumn dress.

And last but not least, since it’s rather chilly, dark and rainy with lots of snow falling in the mountains, I’ll leave you with this tranquil scene.

Happy Sunday and if you’re in the storm zone, stay warm!

nature, Photography

Is It Spring or Autumn?

25 Comments

After our blustery, rainy series of days, the weather cleared up and today we had sun. It in fact felt a bit spring-like …

Okanagan Lake

… except for the autumn colours …

Autumn birch tree
Autumn poplar tree

… and the fact that we apparently have another storm on the way that will probably be making the skiers very happy. There’s supposed to be a lot of snow in the mountains but falling as rain here in the valley which suits me just fine!

Autumn maple tree.

Happy weekend.

nature, Photography

Leaves

25 Comments

There have been lots of leaf pictures around WP as we’ve progressed through autumn. And why not? It’s such a beautiful time of year and many people quite enjoy the colours and cooler temperatures. So herewith are some recent leaf collections.

A leafy park bench.
Honey locust trees.
Bedraggled maple leaves.
A garden bed strewn with colourful cast-offs.

And last but not least, our weather has been rather more wintery than autumny …

A view of a very restless and moody Skaha Lake. I managed to avoid the rain that arrived a bit later.

… so it’s best to enjoy our remaining leaves while we can!

Happy Thursday.

nature, Photography

Windy and Wet

19 Comments

Over the last couple of days it was intermittently windy and raining.

The gulls were huddling near the shore; it wasn’t a great day for flying.
And although it was very grey, this was offset by some great autumn colours.
Orange, red and yellow leaf litter.
A red lace maple next to a green autumn rhododendron.
A transitioning maple tree.
A view from our deck, pretty nice despite the rain and overcast.
And last but not least, another lace maple with its gorgeous fire engine red fronds.

Happy Wednesday.

Reblogs

Reblog: Reddish Rainbow

14 Comments

Reddish Rainbow I thought this was a little unusual for a rainbow … lots of the reds and not so much (if any) blues and greens. This is looking …

Reddish Rainbow

I love this amazing and very unusual rainbow photo from Allan J Jones Photography. To see more of Allan’s beautiful pictures, please click the link above. His site is well worth a visit.

nature, Photography

Above Osoyoos

36 Comments

Osoyoos is a community at the southern end of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, and is directly next to the border with the United States. It’s only 60 km (37 miles) south of us from Penticton. We recently visited and took some photos of it from Anarchist Mountain, which at 1491 metres (4892 ft) above sea level provides some excellent views.

A southwestern view of Osoyoos Lake with the United States in the distance.
A western view of the lake with the Monashee Mountain range in the background.
And another western view but a bit more northerly.
Looking more toward the north.

Osoyoos is at the northernmost tip of the Sonoran Desert and can be extremely hot during the summer; it’s quite arid year-round. It’s known for its fruit orchards and the dry conditions also produce some stellar red wines. It’s a great place for outdoorsy summer holidays with lots of boating, swimming, camping and hiking and is definitely worth a visit if you like those activities – with maybe a nice glass of wine in the evenings!

Happy Sunday.

nature, Photography

November Sunset

33 Comments

The sun starts to go down quite early now. I was out for my regular afternoon ramble and to my surprise – I really shouldn’t have been – saw the sun beginning its sink at 3:22 p.m. Given that we have mountains all around, we are totally dark by about 4:30. My, that really is early!

The sunset felt wintery, too. The thin, veil-like cloud, the slight chill from the wind and the tint of the sunset itself all contributed to that sense.

But it’s November. A little bit of a wait, but I’ll nevertheless soon be counting down to spring!

Happy Saturday.

nature, Photography

Weather Change

45 Comments

We have been getting quite a bit of rain lately, which has been terrific for two reasons. First, we’re gradually climbing out of our drought, and secondly, at the higher elevations it’s coming down as snow, which is a good thing for all the skiers and ski resort operators. Our nearby ski mountain, Apex, is apparently developing a good base layer.

If you look straight down the lake toward the low mountain at the other end, you can see some higher elevation snow.
As a result, the overcast, while not my favourite weather pattern, definitely has some advantages hidden in its silvery clouds.

As long as we continue to get rain down here in the valley, I’m very happy to welcome the mountain snow, even though driving conditions in the passes become demanding.

No one has ever had to shovel rain out of a driveway!

Happy Sunday.