Expedition Canada

And Fog Mon Jan 31st Howe Sound sunrise For most of last week Howe Sound and metro Vancouver seem to have been socked in fog, only clearing as rain arrived just before the weekend.  Once the rain cleared, clear cold skies produced some stunning sunrises.  The pic on the right is looking towards Vancouver (it's behind the distant mountain) just before the sun appeared over the  mountains and bathed the Sound in orange light. With modern satellite and radar technology, I had thought fog horns were a thing of the past.  It's certainly not the case on BC ferries who in fog, sound their fog horn every two minutes.  It's loud!  On my ferry across to Vancouver on Wednesday for a workshop part, the bridge announced that any passengers on deck "should watch their ears" (is that an oxymoron?), "as the fog horn will sound and it's loud".  Quite why anybody would be on deck in zero visibility, temperatures close to freezing with the ship going full tilt is beyon...

Snow in Whistler Thu Oct 13th It may be wet and cold at sea level, but it's cold and snowy in Whistler.  So we will put up with wet walks and a soggy dog, knowing that every cm of rain here is likely to be 10cm of snow upstairs!  It may not stay if we get some warm days, but we live in hope! It also means the mountains opposite us, which saw the stubborn patch of snow on the tallest mountain disappear last week, are now covered in snow. We have had some spectacular sunrises but are facing the wrong way for sunsets.  It also means we missed the Aurora Borealis light show north of Vancouver in Monday.   Nick and Lizzie, who'd just got back from Thanksgiving in Ontario, also missed it.  The view would have been fabulous from their rooftop deck. This morning the cloud cover was too heavy for a decent sunrise, but even the grey murk had its attraction. The last two mornings by comparison were stunning. The first from our lane (Smith Rd) looking a...

Coyotes and Bears  Mon Aug 13 - Wed Aug 15 Looking across to what we think is Mt Windsor There is a saying in Manchester if you can't see the Pennines it's raining, if you can see them it's going to rain.  It is about to get like that here.   Small falls on Roberts Creek in Cliff Gilker Park This morning's red sky sunrise proceeded the rain alert from Gov.Ca for Thursday through to Friday and should have been sufficient warning.  It was the most vivid red sky I think I've ever seen.  In fact the incoming frontal system is bringing rain through to Tuesday.  We'll know if we can't see the mainland mountains it's raining, and if we can it's going to rain. The good news is that it will give the parched forests a much needed drenching. More importantly it is forecast to fall as snow above 1400m in Whistler.  I wonder if the mountain opposite  us  (Mt Windsor?)  will see snow before the residual patch from last winter final melts....

Rain Sets In Sat Sep11 Sun Sep 12 It is around this time of year I would put my (unscented) dog poo bags to good use foraging for mushrooms on Salisbury Plain.  I had one spot where I was able to find a good number of a member of the Agaricus family.  I did get them checked by an expert to be sure I knew that what I was picking was safe to eat, but can't recall the name.  It was a type of field or horse mushroom.    Occasionally I'd find a puffball.  Even better! The mushroom season has started in BC and I've already spotted some Chanterelle and about a dozen other types which I don't recognize. We have a local chap in Gibsons who trades under the name of Shaggy Jack (aka Jody), who runs foraging courses, so I have booked onto an October course for a five-hour tutored forage. I've decided it's no longer safe to stick with the 'perpendicular test' when foraging for mushrooms.  The one where if I'm still vertical the next morning they must be ...

Back to School Sat Aug 4th Saturday Sunrise to  Mon Aug 5th The Labor Day weekend is the final public holiday and long weekend of summer.  The holiday goes back to events in the late 1880's and a printer's strike in Toronto that led to demonstrations and an organized labor movement against the banning of trade unions.   Historically it has been the first Monday of September and not aligned to similar May holidays in other parts of the world.  Schools go back from Tuesday onwards and the ferry terminal is building up for a busy Monday.  That is of course assuming that many did not head back on Saturday when a large part of the summer's absent rain fell in one day. Community Library on Gates Lake - Pemberton Saturday didn't get off to a bad start but the 'red sky in the morning' should have forewarned us of what was to come.  The sun does not appear until ten minutes or so after the official sunrise as it has to climb above the ridge of th...