The last of the fall colour, with a few leaves just about hanging in there – farewell, the leafy portion of fall!
Shrubbery leaf colour, hanging on…
Now we (I!) will wait, somewhat impatiently, for the arrival of real winter, hopefully a proper one, with decent snow and many opportunities for xc skiing and heading out on snowshoes…
Stop! (the mild winter projections!)
Unfortunately, the early forecasts and predictions are for a mild winter, but I won’t stop hoping! And I’ll be properly provisioned and prepared:
A decent IPA – one to be enjoyed post snowshoeing!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We enjoyed – is enjoy the right word? – a sprinkle of snow over the recent long weekend, a reminder of what might be waiting for us as we tiptoe towards winter.
“Is this all? And anyway, isn’t this snow a bit early?!”
The actual amounts were a bit of a let down after much fuss in the forecast with dire warnings of travel disruption. In fairness, I’m sure more snow fell elsewhere and caused a bit of slipping and sliding for some…
Bow brilliance
It melted away and temperatures have since climbed back to seasonal and even somewhat above. Crisp mornings and warm afternoons, blustery breezes and big blue skies. Jackets? Not really. A sweater? Maybe for the morning, and then back to shirtsleeve afternoons. A western Canada fall!
Photographs this week were all taken along the Bow, with leaves hanging on even after the wind and snow. Brilliant autumnal days, and maybe we’ll enjoy a few more before the temperatures properly plummet!
Still leafy
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Goodness! The fall colours have started to show – quite far along in some places. We set off yesterday on a short prairie trip, our last blast of camping this season, and we’re looking forward to big skies and perhaps some seasonal sunshine to light up the tree colour.
Here’s one we saw earlier:
A good start!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
…just outside Merritt, BC. After a few rain showers, we took a short hike along the shore of Nicola Lake, following a pretty trail winding through towering ponderosa pines. These are such beautiful trees, so striking with their red trunks and long, long needles. I’ll keep it brief and let the trees and the lake do the talking below!
Texture Tall pinesYoung tree, long needlesLakeshore trail, after the rainFarewell rain, hello sunshine!We like camping here – little chance of flooding…
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I’ll keep this brief as we’ve only patchy wifi, but our time in Wood Buffalo was amazing, from the moment we got to Fort Smith – the NWT gateway to the park, as signposted!
What a welcome! (Photo: Mrs. PC)
Within minutes of passing a sign stating bison were in the area, we encountered several small family groupings. They are incredible to see up close (but not too close) and they are large, so very large.
Amazing!
On our drive out of the park at the end of our stay, scanning the road ahead for buffalo and bears – both seemed to pop up almost anywhere, and even though they are not small creatures, harder to spot in the shadows and undergrowth than you might think – we approached a large rock or boulder. We both commented it looked a bit like a buffalo but wasn’t quite the right shape. Slowing down and passing the “rock” we saw it was in fact a buffalo, sat down with head up, and it was absolutely huge. Huge! The head and shoulders appeared larger than the front of our truck. We rolled past, slowly and carefully, and the buffalo tracked us with the smallest right to left turn of the head. Happily, it stayed where it was, and on we travelled, astonished at the size of him, even though we’d seen several large ones on other days.
Wood Buffalo ragged pines
Amazing, and barely scratching the surface of the wonders found in Wood Buffalo. More to follow when we’ve a better connection and had time to really stop and think about it all!
Best sit and think on things…
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Last week we had the dizzy heights of coastal Maine. This week, after recent events, um, well, there’s a different dizziness and some disbelief around here. I mean, huh?! You did what now?! Hmm, wonder how that will turn out for (non-billionaire) folks over the next few years? Yikes! Oh well, if that’s what you really, really want, then good luck… (If it isn’t what you’d hoped for, I also wish you good luck as depths are plumbed…)
This works
Alrighty, on we go, and let’s look for something more uplifting!
So does this
Trees, rivers, mountains, lakes and the like always work for me, so here are a few uplifting images from the last month. Most were taken in Maine or on the (not so) Plains of Abraham when fall was in full colour.
The leaves have mostly dropped now, so let’s skip the dull bit and head straight to proper winter – you hearing my prayer, weather gods?!
Not so plain
Thanks for reading, look after yourselves, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I often wake up early. It isn’t out of a sense of virtue or a need to get to work or to make a fast start on the day. Goodness, no! I’m a light sleeper, and tend to stir once the birds start on their morning songs.
Our new tent has pretty good blackout, but not sound out. That’s fine by me because 6AM camping is one of my absolute favourite times. I like coffee and I like camping. Is there a better cup than the first of the day brewed on the Trangia – slightly blearily so somewhat carefully – when it feels like the rest of the world is still asleep?
No hurry
The other day it was me and the birds and three deer. The deer stopped to have a staring contest. I won. They blinked first, before moving on almost silently through the trees once they decided I was no threat. Just me and my cup of far too strong (no such thing) dark roast.
“Just you? Wait a minute…”
All was calm and birdsong quiet if you know what I mean. Not entirely quiet, but in a good way. The forest floor was mostly still. In the tree tops, the rustling of leaves stirring on a gentle breeze. Those leaves! Green on bright green, and brighter still as the sun climbed higher, lighting up the day.
Leafy
The mosquitoes and biting types didn’t seem too interested. A combination of my eau de bug spray by Muskol – lemony notes and a hint of, hmm, gasoline? – as well as the woodsmoke and charcoal aroma from last night’s campfire seemed to do the trick.
Bug deterrent
It’s safe to say not all is well in the world. Some understatement, that. However, temporarily disconnected and unplugged, it is safe to say that all was well, under canvas and over caffeinated, in the small corner of the world we found ourselves in.
Disconnected? Perhaps not!
Woodsmoke and coffee – not too sure it’s always the answer, and not too sure what the question even is, but it’ll do on an early summer morning camping in the woods.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
By happy coincidence, thanksgiving more or less marks our anniversary for when we moved to Canada, a decision we’ve never once regretted. With each passing year, we love the place we call home more and more – we’ve so much to be thankful for here in Canada!
Live here? Sounds good!
Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate this holiday!
Home
Keeping it short – we’re heading out to visit friends and family the next little while, with off grid and in the woods cabin time involved, so not too sure if there’ll be anything posted for a week or two or three.
Cabin time? Sounds good!
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great (long) weekend!
It will likely be a rainy day Canada Day tomorrow and we’re ok with that, as Scout has discovered some nearby forest trails that she’ll be happy to explore all weekend – we will too, provided there’s enough bug spray…
Many places are desperately needing significant rain to help douse wild fires, so fingers crossed for those locations, and a damp Canada Day would be very welcome.
Let’s go already
Canada Day! I’ll repeat myself – now that’s never happened before on this blog, oh no – and say how much I love Canada and being a Canadian citizen. As a nation, it’s a work in progress, like anywhere, and there are faults and things to fix, but I mostly believe, to borrow a phrase or two, we’re paddling in the right direction, and the journey is the destination.
Barking up the right tree
So, rain or shine, we’ll be wandering some eastern woodlands and delighting in the day. Might be too wet for outdoor eating, although the mosquitoes don’t seem to mind the rain and will doubtless have a bite or two, but when we reach beer o’clock, we’ll be happy to raise a glass and celebrate Canada!
Heading east
Thanks for reading, and happy Canada Day tomorrow if you’re Canadian, almost Canadian or just like the idea of Canada! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
How about those Leafs, eh?Is it beer o’clock?! Happy Canada Day!
