What Autumn Brings

I have been waiting to hear when the fall raspberries are ready for picking, and it was announced earlier this week. I decided that this was a perfect weekend to go to Knapps on Greenbluff to pick raspberries.

On Thursday evening, I was watching Grey's Anatomy with Rose (she has the cable - I still do not) and we saw a preview of the evening news cast. The image on the screen was a car that was wrapped up like a package - the announcer said, "Later, we will show you why it is dangerous to drive on the roads in our area this time of the year."

I went home after Grey's Anatomy(Christine has finally met her match was my conclusion after this premiere), and checked out the news station. A man collided with a moose on I-90. Apparently it is breeding season, and the equivalent of a night club in this animal's world is highways.

So, when I set out on Friday, I paid extra attention to the road. About 11 kilometres from home, there was a moose standing in the middle of the highway.

I do a lot of driving on this highway and I have never seen a moose before. I have even travelled during breeding season, and never saw a moose before. What is a bit curious is that, moose was on my mind. And there it was. I wonder how that happens. You think of a friend, and then they call. You mention a person's name in a conversation, and then the next day you see them.

I drove home from Spokane today, and encountered another traveller.....



This fellow ran parallel to me on the other side of the road as I drove slowly down the highway - while I was fishing out the camera. Then he decided that he would cross the road. He went and hid in the forest. That was it - two moose - both Canadians, I might add. And none, I am delighted to say, had any encounters with my car.

Yesterday, Al and I picked raspberries - they were heavily picked by the time we got there so we worked hard to get our harvest. But we got a generous amount....



The sun was warm, the sky clear, and I could wear sandals. Perfect. Many of the raspberries were not ripe yet, in fact there were quite a few still in bloom. It is a wild idea, to think of raspberries not being ripe enough on September 27th.

Greenbluff is an inspiring place to be - wide open spaces, with lots of trees and plants, and mountains in the background - here is a view from a raspberry patch:

Life on Lummi Island

BJ's plan was to celebrate her birthday with two friends, hanging about and having adventures. The chosen spot was Lummi Island, which is one of the San Juan Islands close to Bellingham. She rented a "cabin" with one grand view...



In the background is Mt Baker, one of those Pacific Northwest volcanoes. I was standing on the deck when I took this picture. Here is one view of the deck...



We spent a lot of time on this deck. The moment we arrived we knew we would. We ate all of our meals on that deck. We had many conversations there. We moved into the sun; we moved out of the sun. And it was the perch for many photos.

Here is the birthday feast:



One day we were sitting at the second table, and heard a lot of racket in the bush below us. I was convinced it was a bear because it was so noisy - bears often make a lot of ruckus when they are in the bush. Here is what we saw from the deck:



We had visitors...




A mom and her baby... How close does one have to be to get this picture?

This close...



I have officially had deer slobber on my hand... That's gotta be one of those MUST DOs before you die...

If you think that's cold....

Nearly a month now since I hung out on the lower mainland and Bellingham area. One day when Aimee was at work and Josh was home from work, Josh and I went touring. I had seen on a map that there was lots of lakes around the Vancouver area, and it piqued my interest. One spot in particular. Aimee had been to Buntzen Lake earlier in the year. Buntzen Lake made a big impression on her, because every time we hung out at a beach when she came to visit the Kootenays, Buntzen Lake was the measuring stick. "Oh," she would say, "this is much warmer than Buntzen Lake." "Oh," she would say, "this is much colder than Buntzen Lake." Well, actually come to think about it, nothing was colder than Buntzen Lake.

Buntzen Lake is not too far from their home. It is a part of Belcarra Regional Park and Buntzen Lake Recreation Area. Both located directly across Burrard Inlet from Barnet Marine Park. Here's the map...


When we got to Buntzen Lake, the sun had already slid behind the mountain, and most of the people there were not IN the water. They were hanging their fishing poles over the dock. Here's Buntzen Lake...



Josh and I continued our exploration. He brought me next to Sasamat Lake, specifically called White Pine Beach. Here's the view...



These beaches are P-O-P-U-L-A-R. Here's a description: "In hot months the beaches at Belcarra's Sasamat Lake and at nearby Buntzen Lake are so popular that park information signs will tell you if Belcarra and Buntzen are full. You can probably sense this on a hot day before you even leave the house. On weekends, unless you get an early start for their beaches, look elsewhere for a destination."

When Josh and I visited, the parking lots and beaches were quite empty. So, if you want to visit there, just ask Josh or I - we'll give you the best visiting times advice if you want to avoid the crowds!

More about White Pine Beach..... "There's one critical difference between this beach and nearby Buntzen Lake: although the sun shines equally warm on both, the water in Buntzen is far colder than in Sasamat."

Aimee, who actually swam in that lake, can attest to that.