A little break in the rain …

… gives us some lovely December scenes.

Sleeping trees, plants and shrubs accompanied by ever hopeful ducks …

… with a pink-toned sky above a resting lake.
Happy Tuesday. 🎄
A little break in the rain …

… gives us some lovely December scenes.

Sleeping trees, plants and shrubs accompanied by ever hopeful ducks …

… with a pink-toned sky above a resting lake.
Happy Tuesday. 🎄
On the shortest day of the year, I wish you Happy Solstice!

From here on, the days get longer, much longer.

While I find the mist and overcast lustrously beautiful in its own way …

… I much prefer spring.
Happy Sunday; it’s a tiny bit longer this week.
A few days ago we had a very wet snowfall that lasted a couple of hours and then turned to rain. Some of the oak trees were still hanging on to their leaves and as a result they became covered in wet, heavy snow.

A few were still a bit green yet most had dried and were just clinging …

… but the weight of the snow put an end to that. The sidewalks were covered in oak leaves; the last bit of autumn finally found its way to the ground.
Sometimes, even the trees can be stubborn!
Happy weekend.

Season’s Greetings!
We recently had a very wet snowfall that lasted only a couple of hours before melting. During this snowfall, though, the overcast that settled into the valley was extremely thick and low to the ground.

We were seemingly enveloped in grey. But then again, I have a question for you: has the above photo (and those that follow) been photoshopped to appear monochromatic or is it a “colour” picture of a monochromatic environment?



So, what do you think? Have I been playing with Photoshop to produce these monochromatic photos or was Penticton’s environment just rather grey?
The answer will be revealed in the comments.
Happy Wednesday.
We are back home now after a lovely mini-break holiday in Victoria. On the way home we drove through the Cascade Mountains which encompass an incredibly large area from Kamloops in British Columbia all the way down the Pacific coast to northern California.

In Canada, there are a number of subranges of the Cascades, including those on the west side of our home in the Okanagan Valley, the Okanagan Range.

Although some snow had fallen, the trees and shrubs were covered in a layer of frost caused by the cloud and mist which treated us to some very beautiful seasonal scenes.
We arrived home to 5C (41F) and were happy to be back after our little break.

Mt Baker from the Coho Ferry These are a couple images that I took from a trip across to Victoria from Port Angeles on the Coho ferry. The top one is…
Images from the Coho Ferry
A beautiful picture of Mount Baker from Allan J Jones. Please click the link above to see more of Allan’s beautiful photography.
Because we’re in Victoria’s very temperate climate right now, we’re seeing lots of late-flowering plants and shrubs that are absolute December delights.



Happy Friday.
Even though winter isn’t officially here yet, our local Japanese garden has entered its seasonal hiatus.

Despite that, or maybe because of that, it’s still a calming, contemplative place to walk or even to sit for a while.

The carp in the pond have disappeared into various spots to await spring, so the only activity is from a couple of duck pairs who quickly paddle toward anyone who comes by in hope of a handout.

The colours have all softened into their muted winter hues; everything is breathing slowly and restfully.

Happy Wednesday; I hope it’s a good one.
Yesterday I awoke to an intense wind storm that was later accompanied by buckets of pelting rain. Later in the day though, it had cleared sufficiently for a walk.

I expected it to still be quite windy but as my walk progressed, the wind calmed and the clouds began to dissipate.

We even had a minor rise in temperature of 0.5C (that’s a 1° rise in F) for a high of 3.5C (38F). Not fantastic but seriously much better than freezing and without a doubt better than the -15C (-9F) that Yellowknife is experiencing!

I also found these dianthus (also known as sweet william) blooming prettily in a protected spot. Even their lovely scent was still noticeable.
We are supposed to get freezing rain tomorrow, but we’ll see what materialises: nothing, I hope!
Happy Sunday.