Tag Archives: sunsets

nature, Photography

Smoke Scene

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We have had extremely smoky conditions since Wednesday with a nearby forest fire contributing a lot of the smoke while more has been heading from those brutal fires 2200 km (1367 miles) to the north of us in the Northwest Territories.

This image courtesy of the B.C. Fire Service shows the smoke billowing from a huge fire about an hour north of us.

After a hazy evening on Wednesday we soon became absolutely choked with smoke and hit a “10” on the air quality index, which means that people really should stay inside unless wearing a mask.

Smoke blanketing the valley at sunset.

Looks rather awful, doesn’t it?

We are thankfully expecting several days of rain within the next 24 hours though, so I hope we will soon be looking more like the above picture very soon!

nature, Photography

August Retrospective

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August is usually very hot at its start and becomes cooler towards its end. Not so this year, here at least. Our opening temperatures were somewhat lower than usual but as the month progressed, we became consistently hotter, especially over the last couple of weeks. Nevertheless, as summer winds down – it officially ends on September 22, just over three weeks from now – here’s a look back.

August 2’s lovely rain-pink hydrangea.
August 4’s gingko biloba …
… and frolicking fish.
The Snowbirds, the Canadian military’s aerobatic demonstration team …
… put on a terrific show …
… while later summer flowers – like anemones – began to put on their own show …
… including sunflowers …
… and mountain hydrangeas.
Wine grapes began to hit their stride …
… as the days became hotter and hotter …
… somnolent and slow.

We’re still in slo-mo as it remains very hot, so our summer may linger past its official end date.

Happy Sunday.