Penticton’s rose garden was still blooming just before we left for our holiday.
Not long after I took these photos, the gardeners did an autumn trim on all the other flowers and then followed up with the roses.
It’s lovely to have such gorgeous flowers blooming so late in the season, but they eventually had to be bedded down for their winter rest.
They will soon be back.
Happy Saturday.
A water garden …
… is lovely to behold during the day …
… but a few lights make an exotic and dramatic difference at night.
Happy Friday.
A yearling peacock, learning to strut.
A monolithic cruise ship, passing the beach where I’ve parked myself. 😎
And, a lovely specimen from the orchid garden.
Happy Thursday.
The sky here in the Caribbean is bright blue and contrasts intensely with the lush green of the trees.
Night descends quickly and firmly; twilight doesn’t last long.
Sometimes it catches a fritillary butterfly unawares, seized in the efficient arrival of a confusing artificial light.
I carefully moved this sleepy little one to a nearby tree that was in the shadows.
Happy Wednesday.
M and I are in the sunny Caribbean where we are enjoying ocean beaches, warm weather and relaxation.
Lots of swimming and walking beckon.
Happy Tuesday.
I stopped at the ducks’ favourite spot to provide them with a nutritious treat: cooked quinoa. They loved it and me too as long as I was scattering it on the ground. I was expecting more loyalty but as it turns out they’re rather fickle!
I was quite mobbed and one duck grabbed my pant leg and hung on, definitely wanting me to single him out, but how he was going eat and hold on, I’m not sure.
I wasn’t too concerned about making sure everyone got some, although I did try to do that. These ducks are quite well fed: just as I was finishing up, someone else was arriving with a big bag of veggies cut into duck-sized bites.
These birds are definitely the town pets – make no wonder they stay year round!
The city of Kelowna …
… glows against the evening overcast at the north end of Okanagan Lake.
Clouds are beautiful too.
Happy Monday.
The ducks go for a last swim of the day as evening falls over Okanagan Lake.
We had a lovely walk along the strand.
Happy Thursday.
This is from a recent walk on a city trail. It was very relaxing and serene; a beautifully windless autumn day with sun and crisp air.
Happy Wednesday.
Penticton sits between two lakes: Okanagan Lake at the north end and Skaha Lake at the south end.
Okanagan Lake is the much larger one; it’s 135 km (84 miles) long, from 4 to 5 kilometres (two to three miles) wide, and is as much as 230 metres (760 ft) deep in some spots. Technically, it is a fjord lake as it was created through glaciation.
For many years Okanagan Lake has been a hub of recreation, transportation, sustenance and employment; its 10,000 year cultural importance to the Syilx/Okanagan Nation cannot be overstated.
Penticton is built on the result of an ancient landslide that split Okanagan Lake into two, with the smaller one in the south becoming known as Skaha in Okanagan or horse lake in English.
Skaha Lake is 12 kilometres (seven miles) long and two to three kilometres (two miles) wide. Its average depth is 27 metres (87 ft), making it ideal for canoeing, swimming, dragonboating, windsurfing, kite surfing and sailing, and especially for learning these activities.
This relatively shallow lake warms up in the spring and summer and by August is like a big bathtub. It retains this heat well into October; we saw people swimming last week before the arrival of this week’s cold snap.
Much recreational life revolves around these lakes, even if only to sit on one of the beaches to relax or just to enjoy the view.
Happy Friday.
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 