Tag Archives: Fall

Commentary, nature, Photography

Cranberries

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With Thanksgiving coming up, you could have really fresh cranberry sauce if you lived here. There are lots of them!

But … they are just millimetres above the ground, so picking them is not easy, especially if your back is touchy.

I tasted one, and they are very tart, the way they should taste, and also very crisp, and just … very intensely cranberry.

I think I’ll leave these for the bears and bison, though.

Happy Tuesday. 🙂

Photography

More Autumn Views

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As the Okanagan descends gently into winter, here are a few more views.

On a recent sunny day, M. and I went up to Chute Lake. It almost felt like spring except for that sharp autumn-air quality.

Water-laden clouds arise more suddenly at this time of year.
Water-laden clouds arise more suddenly at this time of year.

While hiking along a back trail, M. and I found this sign.

The sign says, "See the Ponderosa Pine - 4.5 m Circumference."
The sign says, “See the Ponderosa Pine – 4.5 m Circumference.”

If you’re metrically challenged, 4.5 metres is 14.76 feet.

This is a very big tree.
This is  one big tree.

Here’s another view. I had to strain my neck to get this tree in the frame.

There's a formula for figuring out the age of a pine. This one's about the same age as the U.S.
There’s a formula for figuring out the age of a pine. This one’s about the same age as the U.S.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “We are all poets when we are in the pine woods.” There are lots of pine forests in this area.

A couple of days ago, M. and I went to the small mountain town of Rossland, BC. It has produced four Olympian skiers including Nancy Green; two NHL hockey players and a prime minister, John Turner. Pretty good for a town of 4000.

A shrouded valley.
Rossland is under all that mist.

And finally, another yellow tree.

Beautiful.
Beautiful.

I’ve really been enjoying this autumnal bounty. 🙂

What’s fall like where you live?

Commentary, Photography

A Tamarack Forest in Autumn

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Yesterday, M and I went for a hike in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park. It had rained earlier in the day, but when we got started at about one pm, it was bright and sunny with that sharp clarity of fall light.

Inside a big yellow.
Inside a big yellow.

We hadn’t hiked here before and found ourselves in the midst of a spectacularly yellow aspen forest.

Tree Gold.
Tree Gold.

This forest is recovering from a large, ravaging fire that occurred in 2003. It’s amazing to see some surviving giants, seriously scorched at their bases, but still growing.

The new, the old, and the survivors.
The present, the past, and the survivors.

We climbed through the forest and up to a lookout over Lake Okanagan.

What a view!
What a view!

We finished out the day with a drive along an old railway track. This afforded us some impressive views; we were stopping every 10 metres!

 

The city of Kelowna is in the distance.
The city of Kelowna is in the distance.

The old railway tracks have been removed and the remaining trail is used for hiking, biking, or creeping along in a truck, as we did.

Forest that escaped the fire.
Forest that escaped the fire.

M and I have experienced some additional life stuff lately and so a day like yesterday was truly fabulous!

I’ll be coming by to catch up with all of you. 🙂