Flora & Fauna

Musings from the Past Month...

It seems like just last week I was still grouching about a distinct lack of Spring in our neck of the woods, and suddenly, it's more or less summer! The south Cariboo has a short but sweet spring which gives way to summer (quit looking at the calendar and pointing out that it's not June 21st) in almost a heartbeat.

Things are happening...we have a nifty new chicken house (thanks, Bernie) and when Mike comes home, we will have a nifty chicken run to go with it. We don't yet have chickens...I need to be certain we can properly contain them before getting any. I'm not well versed in the art of chicken procurement, and I'm not certain what the chick and pullet availability season looks like either. I'll add that to my must find out list.

We need to do some fencing to contain the dogs a little better...Rudy should be renamed Houdini...he gets through the fence at will and every once in a while takes it upon himself to visit various neighbours. Jasper needs to be kept out of the pastures because he has become enormously obese from dining on an endless supply of horse and donkey deposits...anyway, to make a long story short, we contacted someone to pound some fence posts for us...he promised to show up at the beginning of the week but we have not yet seen hide nor hair of him. He may eventually turn up...a classic case of operating on "Cariboo Time".

Cariboo Time is very elastic...we're still waiting for an electrician who promised to show up over a year ago (actually we gave up on him after six months). And speak of the devil...a guy who was going to come by a week ago last Sunday to quote on some work for us actually just called as I started on this paragraph...

2009 is shaping up to be a worrisome year in the local forests. There have been two large local wildfires in the past month. Mike and I toured the 70 Mile destruction a couple of weeks ago; the fire followed a very irregular, haphazard path, consuming some homes, but skirting others entirely. Several of my coworkers missed work this past weekend, being on evacuation alert from the Buffalo Creek fire. Yesterday morning when I first let the dogs out I could smell very faint smoke, probably from the Tyaughton Lake fire west of Lillooet...much of our wind blows from the southwest. Dry lightning is forecast for Friday. Every area seems to have its threats...some have to think about earthquakes, or hurricanes, or tornados, or floods; our risk is fire.

I seem to be more caught up in living the life Mike and I have made together than writing about it these days, but that's probably how it should be.

I will post some photos before the weekend, complete with doggy pics for my friend RIV!

Great Gray Owl

I meant to get this photo posted before we went away, but better late than never. As is customary on my birthday in early April, Mike and I took a leisurely drive. We came across this magnificent windswept owl near Bridge Lake. Although Grey Gray Owls are one of the largest owl species, their plumage makes them look larger than they actually are. They are year round inhabitants, and they are actually able to hear their prey under the snow and break through crusted snow to find their meal. Click on the photo to see this beautiful creature in better detail.

And Snow It Goes!

We are back from Hawaii, and had a wonderful relaxing time! Jen did a great job of "minding the farm", and we were delighted to see that the six inches of snow that was on the ground when we left is all gone...just a tiny patch of the white stuff remains beside a big shaded log pile.

Many birds are back from warmer climes, and we have a pair of mountain bluebirds hanging around!

Here are a few photos from our vacation:


A bird-of-paradise. They are everywhere in Maui...people sell huge bunches of them at the end of their driveways for three dollars.


The view looking east from the lanai at our condo. We stayed at Ka'anapali, just north of Lahaina.


Sunset over the ocean, looking west from our lanai.


Hana Bay. We went to Hana twice, despite its legendary tortuous narrow highway with 617 curves and 50-something one lane bridges. The surroundings more than made up for the harrowing drive. The seascapes are breathtaking, and the tropical rainforest wonderous.


We went on an early morning whalewatching trip, and were treated to some fantastic sights. Here you can see the tail of a mother humpback whale. If you look below the right side of her tail fluke, you can see her calf. Humpbacks feed in the waters off Alaska during the summer, and migrate to Hawaii during the winter months to breed and give birth. We were able to hear a male singing with the aid of a hydrophone lowered into the water.

Counting...

A colleague and I had to take a work related trip up to Williams Lake on Thursday...it turned out to be a wildlife viewing extravaganza: 3 mountain bluebirds (at Lac La Hache), several bald eagles, about twenty trumpeter swans at the 130 Mile wetlands and 44 deer! (We only counted on the way home to avoid duplication.) The deer were gathered in small herds, munching last year's grass in the pastures alongside the road. I thought that was pretty impressive!

Gillis

My dear old Gillis is getting up there in years.  He's at least thirteen, possibly older, and getting frail & demented.  He's been my faithful friend for twelve years, and is one of the greatest loves of my life.

A Little Piece of Spring

Winter is finally giving way to Spring, which arrived both figuratively and literally on Thursday.  The melt has begun, and the snow is starting to recede, though it will still be several weeks till we are snow free.  The south side of our roof is now bare, but the north side still has about a foot of ice on it.  We see few birds still, just the odd chickadee, raven or woodpecker.  The Canada geese have arrived in the lower, warmer, less snowy areas.  I feel sorry for them at this time; there seems to be little for them to forage on.

We are all well...just biding our time until we can get busy outdoors again.  

In my last post, I told you I'd be heading off in April for a two week trucking adventure with Mike.  We have altered our plans drastically, and three weeks from now, we will be airborne heading for Maui!  After five months of snow, I'm more than ready for some warmth and sunshine.