The weather

The unusual weather of this la nina year continues.  Again because of the slow melt in the mountains, the hike tomorrow has been changed from Twin Lakes in the Monashees to a place lower down and closer to Vernon, Cougar Canyon.  The name sounds intimidating, but locals say that although there can be cougars in the area you rarely see them.  From the top, you look out over what used to be called Rattlesnake Point because there are rattlesnakes there, but it has recently been renamed Turtle’s Head Point, probably by the tourist bureau.  What’s in a name?  I had some of my best walks in Ottawa around Mud Lake.  However, you can’t fight the weather.  It’s about 4:15pm now and dark.  I’ve turned the lights on, the wind is up, thunder is booming and large drops of rain are tapping on the sidewalks.  I just checked the weather report, and it looks as if tomorrow should be fine but next week we’ll have more rain.  The sunny Okanagan it’s not.  And Ottawa and Winnipeg are melting in the thirties with nothing but sun in the forecast.  I was afraid Vernon would be too hot, and I still go biking in the morning to escape the heat, as I did today, but instead I’m beating the rain.  It was the same on Wednesday morning when I biked around Vernon with a few other women and returned home to rain in the afternoon.  I learned a lot about how to get around on a bike on that ride.  As I said last week, the bike paths are erratic here, but these women know how to link them up.  As a result, I decided to commit myself to biking for groceries, etc. and bought ‘panniers’ and a rear view mirror.  I’m getting geared up.  Speaking of which, and before I leave this quintessentially Canadian topic, I have to say that Blake and Tracy’s motorcycle honeymoon sounds like a hot one.  They rode right into the oven as they headed for Texas.  I’ve enjoyed tracing their route, but not envied them the extreme heat.

Living alone and having to do things I’ve never done before continues to be a learning experience.  My favorite picture of Jim is one in which he’s wearing a cap, like the one he was wearing when I first saw him, and his eyes are sparkling.  I recently remembered that the reason they were is that he was delighting in my ineptitude as I tried to get everything set to take the picture.  I used to get angry when he did that, but increasingly I’m learning to admit that I’m often distracted and clumsy and the only way to face it is to laugh.  My shins are covered with scabs from practically falling off the bike, and putting the panniers and mirror on was quite entertaining/frustrating.  I’m a hard worker and quite capable, but if there’s a wrong way to do something or a wrong direction to take, I’ll do it and/or take it. 

Vernon and Swan Lake as seen from Ravine Edge, last Sunday's hike

Two members of the club enjoying lunch

Shooting stars on the path

Violets on the path