Welcome to our World

European visitor and friend, Harald got to experience a little bit of  the 'other side' of 'our world' on May 28th, 2012, when he decided to go into town with us for a shopping trip. I say 'a little bit' because he decided to go as far as Quesnel -- while we went on to Prince George for restaurant supplies. He was a little bit 'aghast' when we told him to be ready to leave by 5:30am. I think he thought we were 'pulling his leg' because he checked the time with us three times before heading off to his cabin shaking his head.... but when one must travel over 130 miles to stock up... one must start EARLY!! In a nutshell, here is how our day went.

5:00am, up and at em, and out of the house by 5:30am. Harald peeked out his door 'just in case'... and found us ready to go. Too early to eat, the belly rebels, so we plan to pick something up on the road. We arrived in Quesnel at 7am, dumped Harald off at Robins Donuts, grabbed an A&W 'Sausage n' Egger' and headed for Prince George. We arrived in P.G. by 8:30 just in time to shop, shop, shop! Whirlwind trips to Home Depot, Canadian Tire, COSTCO and Shoppers Wholesale. Somewhere in there we grabbed a quick bowl of soup for lunch. This pretty near took care of all of the restaurant supplies, and we turn the wheels south by 1:00pm.

We had arranged to meet Harald at Tim Hortons around 2pm... we were running late... but the dogs can't  stand it anymore, so we took 20 mins. to let them run around at a roadside rest stop. We arrived back in Q around 2:30pm... one/half hour late, pretty good by our standards! Harald is waiting patiently in the parking lot... no doubt completely coffee'd out! We hit the bank, then head off to shop for some stock to fill up the empty store shelves.... but we are bagging out, Harald is looking awfully worried (he peeked at my Quesnel list and just about had a heart attack), and Jenny phoned to report troubles with her car.... an unplanned, but common occurance. Seems we never manage to leave Quesnel without having to look after some kind of 'new' calamity. So I cut my list down to the bare neccessities, Dick spent about an hour on Jen's car.... and we all go out for dinner.

It is 7:00 pm before we are finally homeward bound, at 8:30pm we pull up to the house. This is actually quite early, hey, it was still daylight out! Harald grabbed his meager belongings and watched in awe as we unloaded the back of the truck... which is bursting at the seams. It is another hour and a half before everything is unloaded; parishables are safely stored in the fridges and freezers; canned and dry goods are piled high in the middle of the floor waiting for morning; and we call it a day.

Yes, everyday, we may get to watch the beauty of a crystalline lake from our windows; listen to blackbirds and loons from our porch; watch the deer and bears play from our doorway; hike into the bush at the drop of a hat.... but living in paradise does have it's downfalls.... Harald got to live one of them for himself... the dreaded SHOPPING DAY.... welcome to our world!  

Paddling Season Opens Again!

This year the ice went off FAST!! Within the span of two weeks we went from trapsing over a solid two feet of ice, to breaking thro rotten candle ice, to watching large ice floes break off, collide and crumble, and finally to wind-blown waves on a ice-free lake. The ice-off date for Bowron Lake was May 6th, 2012, pretty near two weeks earlier then 2011. Isaac Lake followed suit and cleared around May 15th... according to the paddlers who ended up waiting on Issac for two days before they could continue around the chain. The earliest paddlers, who attempted the chain on May 5th, had to turn around as Isaac was, at that time, still impassable.... without snowshoes.

Now the chain is open of the season. As of the last report received by paddlers...on May 16th, there was still a good three feet of snow on the shady, closed-in portage along Isaac River, but that should be pretty near gone by now. The Park Facility Operators are out on the chain, opening up their cabins, cleaning up the winters debris, cutting firewood and fighting with reluctant boat motors... seems not everything is excited about getting back to work! 

January Cold Snap!!

I get a real giggle from the news casts on the Radio. Vancouver folk don't know what a real 'Cold Snap' is. They are complaining about minus 10 while we are enjoying our minus 35 (and that is thermometer temps, not including wind chill!!) Yeah I know, even by their accounts they agree that they are somewhat whimpy, but CBC radio had a talk show this morning inviting the public to share.... what they are doing differently to get along during this cold snap? That got me to thinking.... what are WE doing differently during this cold snap??? Well....

Besides his regular clothing, Dick is adding a snowsuit to his outdoor attire, so that he can continue to do his outdoor work, which he hasn't stopped doing all week. Me I'm pretty much dressed the same... snow pants, parka, and insulated boots... my normal winter attire all winter long... except right now I wear my BIG two-layer parka instead of my regular one.

Charly is spending alot of time very contently laying on the couch.... he isn't all that interested in going out for walks, which he usually insists on.... 100 times a day. We did try to put one of Jennys sweaters on him... what a hoot that was! Even though I rolled up the sleeves he kept getting one leg pulled out into the main body.... and falling over on his head! Guess you can't dress up a country dog!!

With that introduction I guess a big difference is that our walks are not very long.... 15 minutes or so.... to the bridge and back.... by then Charly is trying to walk home on one foot at a time. Sweater or no sweater, he is very good at falling on his head!

We put blankets on the horses... and Cataline (the gelding) is trying his best to chew them off. Guess you can't dress up a country horse either? We are also giving them extra grain to keep them 'heated' up.

We are keeping the up-stairs wood heater going as well as the regular wood furnace in the basement... keeps the whole building nice and cozy, but doubles the wood runs.

We had to open UP the cold room door to let some of the mainfloor warmth in.... to stop the food from freezing. But with this.... we haven't had to start the meat freezer at all... self freezing... how handy!

Last but not least... I am able to spend all the time I want on the big computer... the power hungry one that connects to the internet.... because along with this cold snap we are getting sunshine out the ying yang and the solar system is doing GRRRREAT!!

Hope you are all finding ways to manage this cold snap too ;)

Recharging the Soul

I once read, a long time ago, in some obscure magazine, that walking by the shore line was healthy for you. Apparently where the water laps at the shore, can be found a fine nebulous mist of magnetically charged water vapour that recharges the body at a molecular level.

I go for walks along the shoreline almost daily, tho in the winter time one has to wonder how much water vapour can actually form, what with the calm inky blackness of the river and the frozen white expanse of the lake, but the calm, peaceful, solitude is enough to soothe anyone.

Walking along listening to the zsinging of the sugar snow as I swish my boots thro it. Watching Quick and Quark, the resident ravens, swoop and swerve as they divebomb Charly, the wind whistling thro their wings. I'll often sit, close my eyes and listen to the world... which is far from silent. I hear a soft knockeling as the wind plays it's music thro knuckle bone branches, the faint crackling of a leaf still caught in a tree, the sharp zipper crack of the ice as it relives it's stresses, the gentle smackeling of the water lapping underneath the ice, a far off squirrel chittering it's objection to some kind of intrusion. I even hear the soft ticking of the snow as it lands gently onto my shoulders... now that is enough to recharge anyones soul!

Bleeting

I tried this Blogging thing.... but I just don't have that much 'free' time to gossip on the computer?!? I don't even gossip that much in real time !?! So I am going to try something new... I am going to 'BLEET'... that's a cross between Blogging and some new fangled thing they call Tweeting, which is just as foreign but I think it has to be posted in 40 words or less! That might suit me better!! This is for you George... as you asked me so nicely not to quit!

Bleet #1
Dec. 3rd, 2011... where did the time go???? The lake is trying to freeze up.... for the third time so far. Charly can't wait, he is already running out as far as he can before starting a crack. An otter, or martin, or maybe an eagle has been enjoying a riverside meal for the past two mornings... the bloodspots don't really tell us much, can't make out the tracks.... just vivid red spots in the clean white snow. Wind strewn trees smashing over the horse fence are keeping Dick busy. But no wind today... beautiful sun shining, and temps falling, the two seem to go hand in hand. This is more then 40 words.... but hey... no limit to a BLEET!! I made up the word so I get to make up the rules too.....

Winter Starts with a Vengeance

November 23, minus 28 degrees celsius -- Dick has taken refuge in the house, that is definately a rarity!! Even more telling, Charley won't go out!! Charley is currently laying on his sunny chair sopping up the heat through the window, Dick is nearby at the table going through old pictures. Nice past times for a cold day. Not that it is by no means 'too' cold to be outside, just that the biting wind makes it a bit more sensible to stay in. Our morning walks have been 'put off' until mid-noon, we haven't started the truck in a week, the mail is probably piling up in the postal box, we are out of milk (got lots of powder) -- but even so, we have lots of fire wood, the house is warm and the sun is shining sooooo bright that we have lots of power too!! That means more time on the computer so I'm busy playing with internet searches, area research and blogs.

Bowron Lake is trying to freeze up. It started three days ago. Each day the ice in the northern bays reach further into the lake. We took our first walk on the ice two days ago, sticking real close to shore. Even so, a few 'zipper' rips succeeded in raising the hair on the back of our necks. The geese and swans are sticking close to shore, dippers are in the river, the eagle sits on his snag and the ravens are begging. Small bloody droplets in patches of snow indicate successful eagle fishing jaunts. A small twitching tail muskrat swims near the lodge under the bridge. Nothing seems too active, I guess they don't want to use up too much energy. Tell-tale tracks speak of noturnal visits from wild cats and dogs. Dick saw two wolves just down the road last week, so they seem to be staying in the area. The cat tracks are either lynx, bobcat or small cougar, hard to tell for sure without the animal standing in them.

Yesterday we 'walked' across Antler Creek... and the ice held...whew! Yes, we used a jab-pole to test each step, but the cold gurgling below always keeps one worried. There is only about 10 cm of snow on the ground so the frozen country is wide open to wander, especially when you can 'walk on water'. I wonder what marvels today's outing will bring.....

Summer in Retrospect - Old News I Never Got to

Writing about June, July and Aug all in one post is not what I expected but the summer of 2010, tho quieter then normal, has been just as demanding, and computer 'play' time was at a high premium. So here are a few thoughts from over the summer months all in one, very late post.


June -- New parents are fun to watch. Most seem to be as befuddled as Elmer Fudd. Going one way, then another, not really knowing where to turn, what to do... but all of a sudden instinct kickes in and they seem to get the gist of what is what. Our new mother (and father) started out just like that. At first they couldn't seem to get their 'bird-brains' together. They worked on three separate mud-daubber homes before finally deciding which one to complete. They build their one - and two half - nests under the eve of our balcony, right outside the restaurant windows where they entertained dinners for weeks. At first we thought they weren't ever going to get around to 'sitting'... but finally they did... and what a brood they hatched!!


At first all we could see were two harried parents continually foraging and poking food into the top of the nest. Within days, wide yellow beaks began reaching out to grab the food before the parents even got stopped. Then before we knew it there were bodies hanging out every which way. Six fat, fuzzy, downy balls all crammed into one tiny nest. Beaks and butts circled around the edge hanging on for dear life. Every once in a while one would go into 'Copter' mode, wildly flapping its tiny wings, strengthening them for what instinct dictated was about to come. Meanwhile the rest couched, squaked, slipped and grabbed to prevent themselves from being flung out. After weeks of gut-giggling antics the time finally arrived. One at a time they began falling out of the nest. Some fell to the ground and flapped wildly beating the head high grass, before getting air. Others flapped from the onset and found themselves flying... then crash landing into the nearest bush. Mom and dad chirped crazily, swooping to coach the new aviators. Too soon, the nest was empty... the family grown and gone... and the window at last, was clear of 'bird smear'... for this year.

July -- busy, busy, busy -- all I remember is the continual flow of people, old friends, new acquaintances and busy days.

Aug -- Fire month!! If you listened to the Weather Channel, they reported that B.C. was burning up. Unfortunately that stopped alot of visitors from coming into the Cariboo area -- and more unfortunately it was a prime time to come because the area was very so nice and quiet. A real rarity in the heart of the summer season!! In most places the elevations were so high that the smoke didn't effect them much. In the valley though, we did have about 10 to 14 days were the Bowron lakes were 'smoked' in. There were big fires around Nazko and Williams Lake and add to this a small fire iat the south end of the park, resulted in views that were definately not at their best. Although small, the fire in the south part of Bowron Park did get somewhat close to a few camping areas, so B.C. Parks closed the area to all Paddling traffic for a while. I can't blame those who cancelled their paddling trips during that unfortunate event, even I would not want to paddle all the way to the bottom of Isaac Lake, just to have to turn back and face those three portages again!! No way, Jose!!