Squamish Walk on Truth and Reconciliation Day

On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Yumi and I slowly strolled the Indigenous Story Trail at Alice Lake near Squamish, BC, and were blessed to spot this lovely Red-breasted Sapsucker.

red-breasted sapsucker alice lake bc

We also saw an amazing varieity of fungi in the area today, which I’ll post later.

And a few Chinook salmon that had returned to spawn near the Tenderfoot Hatchery, and a huge 4-leaf Clover.

spawned Chinook salmon Tenderfoot Squamish BC

4-leaf clover Tenderfoot Hatchery Squamish BC

Kokanee and Painted Turtles

We took an overnight camping trip in search of spawning Kokanee and native Western Painted Turtles, and were happy to see both!

Kokanee are landlocked sockeye salmon that spend their entire life cycle in fresh water, whereas anadromous sockeye hatch in fresh water and go out to the ocean for rearing, then return to spawn and die in fresh water.

Mature Kokanee are smaller than sockeye, about as large as a midsize cutthroat trout.

Western Painted Turtles are considered endangered in some areas, and protection and recovery programs are in place.

Mission Creek and the turtle pond Kelowna, BC.

kokanee spawning mission creek kelowna bc

western painted turtle kelowna bc

Thank You Sockeye!

Went to the local Buy Low to check for bulk blueberries and found fresh wild Sockeye. I cut it crosswise, bone in for more flavor, in about 1.5cm widths. Yumi making salted mini steaks to freeze for later use in bentos and onigiri rice balls.

wild sockey steaks

Thank you Sockeye!

Riffing on Recipes

I rarely follow recipes to the letter, because I like to incorporate extra ingredients.

So we had an aging zuchini in the fridge, and a bunch of cheese bought on sale. Googled zuchini cheese and came up with a cubed bread casserole that looked good.

By the time I’d finished preparing it, and adding some extra veg, I realized it was pretty much like a casserole stuffing with a whack of cheese on top 🙂.

zuvhini cheese bread casserole

Gosh, I’m a Senior Citizen!

Tonight I reserved a couple of nights camping in BC Parks in the autumn, and during the reservation process it hit me that society now considers me a senior citizen.

Half price is nice, eh?

But yikes! I’m still working full time, and intend to keep working for several more years.

 

Summer Cold Birthday Blues

Well not that blue. . . I had a good birthday despite sleeping much of the day fighting a summer cold.

It always helps to have Sora the Cat’s devotion, eh? She knows I’ve been ill and has been giving me extra cuddles.

A delicious Yumi-made fruit cup with ice cream, Studio Ghibli 40th Anniversary T, and Samurai Cat T! Woot woot! 🙂

Paul birthday fruit cup with candles and Sora the Cat

sutdio ghibli 40th anniversary T shirt

samurai cat T shirt

Streamkeeping, sustainability, community, business, photography, books, and animals, with occasional forays into social commentary. Text and Photos © Paul Cipywnyk