One Mile Lake near Pemberton, BC. I took an overnight camping trip to Nairn Falls Provincial Park.
Unfortunately, the couple of days of fresh air and exercise did not stave off the cold I had coming on. . . Sigh. . .
Lac le Jeune Cloud Reflections, Loon, Chipmunk, Grouse at Manning Park
We camped at Lac le Jeune near Kamloops. The next day we tootled south to Manning Park and saw chipmunks, Steller’s Jays, a grouse, and a couple of deer on the drive up to the Cascade Lookout.
Clouds reflected in Lac le Jeune
Common Loon taking off from the lake
Yellow-pine (?) Chipmunk
Steller’s Jay
Grouse
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.
Great Blue Herons at Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby
I took a stroll at Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby, BC, this morning.
There were several Great Blue Herons, with one snoozing.
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.
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 
.
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!
Byrne Creek Hawk, New Westminster Osprey
We took a couple of walks today, first in Byrne Creek Ravine Park in SE Burnaby, BC, where Yumi has been seeing accipeters in the woods. We then followed up with a stroll along the Fraser River in New Westminster, where we were excited to see an Osprey cruising down the river.
Mom Mallard Drives Off Predatory Heron
Fierce mom Mallard protects her ducklings against a predatory Great Blue Heron with lunch on its mind at Deer Lake in Burnaby, BC, this morning.
The heron was wading and fishing when it spotted the ducklings and thought, “hey, I could swallow one of those no problem!”
