Shovelstoke

The cozy cabin last night.
It snowed another 30cm over night after this.

Through German Eyes

My German cousin, Catharina, came to visit a couple of weekends ago so I played tour guide around Revelstoke. She left some pictures on my computer, so here they are.

Yuko, myself and Catharina.

Yuko just moved to Revelstoke from Japan, so she was keen to play tourist with us. That's a warm loaf of Modern bread in my hands. My cousin fell in love with Modern bread.

Catharina with moose ears at Rogers Pass.

She took a lot of pictures of the snowy highway while we drove.

We went to check out the wolves that live just outside of Golden. It's an educational centre and most of their wolves were puppies born in zoos that can't go back into the wild. The human owners are the alpha male and female and they take them on off-leash hikes and skis. It was interesting, but absolutely no comparison to getting even a fleeting glimpse of one of these animals in the wild. Something about the chainlink fence I think.

It think this farm that was covered in broken equipment (spare parts) was the highlight of this road trip for my cousin.

and here's the farmer

Snowflakes on the car handle.
Not too surprisingly, the macro pic is mine.

Night Snow

Winter is here

James Shoveling

Garden shed

Cozy Cabin and Cozy Cat

Groovey Things

Bow ties and Mittens - December 2002

Five years ago today James and I went down to wreck beach during a lunch break to share some cheesecake and enjoy the November sun. I had brought the cheesecake to school with the thought that it might be nice to share it with that cute boy doing his masters in avalanches. Meanwhile he had sent me an early-morning email entitled "Groovey Things" requesting a date. It's been five years of fun, adventures, music, good food, good beer and a lot of laughs. Groovey things indeed.

Random Pics

I'm tired of looking at dead things, but I haven't been taking many pictures since things turned gray and brown. So here are a few random shots from the fall.

Iris leaf

Tendril shadow

Translucent mushroom at Begbie Falls

Thanksgiving feast at the Cozy Cabin

Fred Flinstone and BamBam

The Ix in Action

Another dead thing

Just in time for Hallowe'en .... I found this guy on Victoria Drive on my way home from school today (thank god the cat didn't kill him).

Based on my description over the phone, local bat nerd Mandy thinks it's a little brown bat. Update: after actually seeing the bat and pulling out her calipers and bat guide, Mandy decided it was a Myotis californicus rather than a Myotis lucifugus.

Back of wing

Front of wing with thumb at top. Are they called thumbs on bats?

Oh-so-cute bat paw.

I pinned him out and passed him onto my friend Rory who's attempting to turn his whole class into nature nerds. I figure this'll be a good Hallowe'en treat for the kiddies. The bat will be coming into a grade 7 class with me on Thursday too, so long as he doesn't start to stink too much.

A Gift

Gee Salix, Thanks.

late afternoon sunlight

trembling aspen on bracken fern

golden star moss (I'm guessing here)

River

Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known. ~ Winnie the Pooh

Ski Season has Begun!

Good turns and no rocks in early October. I love Revelstoke!

Dan shows off James' ancient Tua's. I thought they went well with his early 90's red and purple ski pants. Nice work on these skinnies Dan!

Salix

This is Salix. He showed up in our yard on Canada Day in 2005 and decided it was home. We had just decided not to get a cat for various reasons, so we were intent on sending him to the pound as soon as it reopened. But by the end of the 3-day weekend he had us convinced and got to stay. I'm rather smitten with him.

He is definitely an outdoor cat and is rather fond of snow, or at least he likes it a whole lot more than rain.

Looking fondly outside. Photo by Ned Woods.

Last spring he went missing. James and I were both very sad and after a few days we figured he'd been munched by a coyote, bear or cougar. Five days later he came through the cat door at 2am. He was thin and dirty, but very happy to see us. He spent the next day alternating between eating, sleeping and being unusually affectionate.

Last year he almost never slept on this cozy chair in front of the woodstove, but this year it's proven to be a favourite spot. Until yesterday... I heard a loud crash from the kitchen and he came sprinting out. He started acting all funny, yowling and limping and hiding. I guessed that he had jumped onto the woodstove and indeed I found four little claw marks on top of it this morning. He didn't do any major damage, but I think he learned a good lesson. He's still acting a bit mopey and he refuses to go into the kitchen, let alone near the stove, so he's being fed in the living room for now.

sore paw

Heat

Nothing like sawing with daisies

Proud wood collector

James with his new manly chainsaw - the envy of all his UK buddies who have no need for such a tool.

Hoola Hoop + Chainsaw = Hipneck

We rented a splitter for four hours. Well worth $40.

It splits into four!

Drying wood with trouble coming to explore.