Drip. Drip. Drip.

Autumn has arrived here on the wet coast. Unlike the rest of the country, we don't see quite the show of reds, yellows, and oranges that blaze on the trees. Instead our maples turn brown, or bronze if we're lucky.

(Our vine maples DO turn very red, but you don't see as many of them out here in the Fraser Valley.)


Nicolum Provincial Park, near Hope, BC

The alders all turn yellow, giving many hillsides a golden glow. One autumn day a few years ago I saw a lone alder in the middle of a stand of firs. It shone out like a beacon on the mountainside.


Naikoon Prov. Park, Queen Charlotte Islands

Our autumn season here on the coast is characterized by storms that sweep in from the Pacific as the prevailing winds shift from the warm southwest to the cold northwest.

The weather forecast for the rest of this week is fairly typical: Today, 100% POP (probability of precipitation). Wednesday, 40%. Thursday 80%. Friday 80%. Saturday 80%

Many of the trails I have hiked in BC look like the trail pictured here. The trees are HUGE. Sad to say, you take them for granted after a while...


Garibaldi Lake, Garibaldi Prov. Park

Cheryl and I backpacked up to Garibaldi Lake 2 years ago this last Labour Day. It was the first time Cheryl had ever hiked anywhere that you could not see anything man-made at all. We're looking forward to taking Melissa and Michael there when they are old enough.

Not a lot of news on the home front today. Cheryl was apparently feeling better because she cleaned out our van, washed several loads of dishes, and had supper waiting on me when I got home. (Is she cool or what?)



As we were eating she told me I had missed the hurricane by a half hour. Just before I got home there was a fire on the stove, Michael was screeching, and the pot cooking our vegetables had its lid stuck on and our vegetables were likely mush. In the middle of it all was Melissa clamouring to be part of the action!

Speaking of the Sweet Baboo: Melissa still does not go down gracefully for her daily nap, but Cheryl vows to keep on.

Today when Michael produced his VILE POO part of it was solid. I cannot remember what it was that Cheryl suspected was the source of the firmness. I will post that as soon as I remember it. At any rate we may try giving Michael some water to help soften his excrements.



The pictures on this page are from the BC Parks home page. If you would like to see more pictures of the beautiful province we live in, go to http://www.elp.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/