Saints

St.Hanne with Apples, Enderby

Salmon Arm of the Shushwap Lake

Walk by the River, Enderby

Shushwap River Bank

A couple of days more, then we celebrate Halloween. Tuesday is All Saints Day, started by Pope Gregory Third in the 8th Century. Apparently we are all Saints, if we are true believers. But on Tuesday we remember and celebrate the lives of all the dead ones, sometimes specializing in the ones that died in the last year. But somehow I can't quite connect Monday's celebrations with all that, when ghosts and skeletons of all the saints come around demanding candy. Interestingly, this year some schools have banned the wearing of scary costumes. Another example of death avoidance in our modern society.

All Saints Day Celebrations in a Polish Cemetery

Apparently all the little goblins will have to cope with thirty centimeters of snow over NE North America on Monday....

Good Landscapes

We were out for a walk at the so-called magic hour for photos, or maybe a bit later than that. The sun was almost setting but the sky was blue. These are perhaps some of the last blue sky photos for a while. And we thought we were good. You should see these six prize-winners from Hereford!
Well, a few more landmarks have been reached and passed. The seven billionth human has been born. Maybe a cure for AIDS has been found. Still we drive too fast and people get hurt. There was a bizarre collision in Kelowna yesterday where three cars bumped and three drivers were taken to hospital. Maybe it's time to make cars that go automatically under the speed limit? I love the new traffic lights that if you go through a red light it makes the next traffic light turn red just before you get there! Gotcha!

Lakeshore Colors

Children at play on the Rocks, Okanagan Lake Penticton BC

Yellow Berries, Yellow Leaves

Autumn

"Autumn Leaves" by John Everett Millais ( Manchester Art Gallery)

                                       Complications for the Fall Migration

"Autumn"

Autumn Colours

"Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" (Keats). The first verse of this poem is fine, I'm not so keen on the next two verses though. The word autumn, like a lot of English words comes from the French, and replaced the old word "harvest" maybe because of the migration of numbers of people from the countryside to the cities. Interestingly in 16th Century England it was called "fall" thought to be a contraction of the phrase "fall of the leaf" ( I play a piece on the piano by Martin Peerson (1580-1650) called "Fall of the Leafe" ) and this term was taken to America by the early English emigrants, where it is still in use today. In England however it died out and was replaced by "autumn". Autumn was funnily enough in 1997 still in the top 100 for girl's names in the USA. Here today it is still Fall, with a sunny windless day, somewhat cool at 3 degrees Celsius. I will attempt a bike ride....through the autumnal falling leaves....

OK Falls Provincial Park

Maple Leaves by Okanagan River

Splendid Maples

Hanne enjoying a Contemplatative Rest

Tall Ponderosa Pine amongst the Deciduous Trees

We enjoyed our walk by the river yesterday and met a couple of busy girls inspecting a whole bunch of dead salmon a colleague had gathered from the water for scientific purposes. The Sockeye Salmon had reached the end of their life cycle after spawning in the local gravel beds. It is amazing how far they have swum, all the way up the Columbia River system from the Pacific Ocean. We saw some freshly laid salmon eggs they were also studying. The fall colors in the park were stunning. We sure live in a beautiful part of the world. Sad about the demise of English cricket ( India won 5-0 ) but good news that the All Blacks beat France at Rugby Football. My grandson Sam in New Zealand watched the game at the stadium- lucky chap!

Post-Fantasy Week-End

Michael at the foot of the stairs to ?Heaven

Hanne under the Tree of ?Temptation

Coffee by the Pool under God's Mountain

Breakfast Table at God's Mountain Retreat

We have survived the anniversary week-end at God's Mountain Retreat and now have our feet firmly back on terra firma. We heard that Moses up on the Mountain was a bit unhappy about all these new tablets that are circulating, but he allowed ours to work there ( the iPad tablet of course) so it was a mixed experience, i.e. no TV or Radio, but still wireless connections to the outside world. The resort where we stayed was halfway between Heaven and Earth. Old and new mixed too. The rooms were full of antiques of all kinds, furniture, paintings, ornaments, collectables, even lead soldiers from the first world war. Yet the kitchen and bedrooms had modern electric accoutrements, frig, stove, and heat. There were wonderful fresh flowers in every room.
Thank you everyone for all your good wishes for our 18th Anniversary. You are all so kind. A special thank-you to Sarah for making our week-end so unique. We shall treasure the memories for years to come!