Stories, Excerpts, Backroads
A quick lash across the cheek with a red willow, wet, barely thawed. A mighty sting. That’s what it was like walking behind you. No need to fetch a switch when they lined the trail, caught up on hips and shoulders, or pulled back to make going easy and finally letting loose, in whip and spray. And you turning, ‘What’s wrong?’
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing was wrong.
Damn I miss those walks.
Willow and I were first in the mountains then down the lake, on the west side, anticipating the return of the galactic centre. Willow barked at the coyotes yipping. An owl started up somewhere behind us, then was quiet, maybe busy filling it’s belly with an unlucky vole.
The Milky Way curved from north to south. The stinger of Scorpius glowed red, a smear of greenish northern lights, turning magenta over the Giant Chief Nutmuq¢in.
An imagined glacier under foot. Even Willow bought into my tall tail, and gave me the cautious look of, let’s not fall through. You worry to much old hound, just the same, there is coffee an’ a muffin waiting. Plus we had our proof, spring is really on its way.
Despite grey forecasts the day turned blue. The lengthening days feel like a gift. Willow and I headed for the bush. The snow was soft. As soon as we were off the trail Willow sank up to her chest making it tough. I wandered off here and there to check the willows for buds, bending the juniper to test for spring. I have promised Scarlett and Copper I will show them how to make a bow and arrows this year. It was long ago my dad taught me. I’d almost forgot. Some willows have sprouted fuzzy buds. It was hard to not keep looking skyward even with ice underfoot. The ravens tossed themselves like oily rags at one another. The songbirds puffed their chests towards the sun, reenergized in the promise of spring. They will sing constantly soon. Become vibrant again looking to attract a mate. The owls will roost and hoot before light. Willow sniffed and pawed at the thawing smells. A mouse under the snow, a discarded bone, feathers lost or taken, and droppings of all the animals that shared the trail through the winter, under the stars and through the storms and cold spells. To finally examine them. Do they tell their stories to Willow? It is me who can only wonder. I am the odd man out, but where I belong, with the sun shining, my face warm, with more creatures than I can see smiling with me on a blue day before spring.
The temperatures spiked above freezing and with that came rain. The snow has been melting. The lake has a couple inches of water on top of a couple feet of ice.
We found some time to head out on behind Swansea. Once off the pavement the backroads turned to solid ice. We stopped for a short walk to a small pond. Lisa took three and sunk up to her crotch in the soft wet snow. It was imperative to pick your route.
Willow fetched sticks in the water. Barking at them, chewing and then bringing them to us for another swim. Her wire hair is about as long and curly as it gets. When she is wet she smells every bit a dog.
A great day for the Polar Bear Plunge. Everyone had a great time. It was Hunter, Eddie, and Scarlett’s first time plunging through the ice into the frigid waters of Lake Windermere.
The crowds and participants just keep getting bigger each year, and why not, it is great fun and quite invigorating.
Here are a few pics of The Walrus Water Society 2025.
The clouds lifted for part of the day and we had some blue skies. The Sun felt good.
Lisa and I went looking for birds and spotted a couple Bald Eagles that let me take their picture. We searched for an American Dipper but had no luck. We saw chickadees, hawks, ravens and flickers. They seemed as happy for the sun as we were.
Very strange winter. We have had plenty of snow, but temperatures have been unusual. We haven’t had any double digit minus temperatures. The lake doesn’t have enough ice to drive on yet. Many days throughout December have been above freezing.
2024 is in the books. It was a good year. Lisa and I will have to find a better work/life balance as we both worked plenty of hours with not many breaks. It is funny to think, turning 60 this year, and not having pensions, we only have another 10 years of work left to put a little away to ease us to the grave. I say this in jest as I wouldn’t want it any other way. In the past I had a taste of working for the government with the big bloated pensions they offer and it wasn’t for me.
Did a few hikes, but not as many as I would have liked. A few injuries caught up with me. Not surprising considering.
2024 had some incredible northern light displays as the sun reached a a solar maximum in it’s 11 year cycle. Lisa and I were lucky to spend several nights in the mountains under the spiking auroras. The auroras were so strong on one occasion that I was able to detect them when it was still light.
It would be nice to get some cold weather and blue skies, we are half way through winter for Christ’s sakes. Freeze some pipes, bring out the stars so bright you can hear them while all the ancient ghosts take your breath. Freeze the gas line, kill the battery, make the old truck crank and moan. Rosy the cheeks, remind us of all the bits we froze as they only hurt now in the cold. Telling us we can always light it all on fire if we really need to get warm.
This is a closeup of the comet from a couple of nights ago. It is not taken with a telephoto lens. That would require a piece of equipment that tracks the sky which I don’t have. Instead it is taken with a 55mm lens and cropped tight.
Amazingly, 10 satellites can be seen in this photo of a small piece of the sky. You may not be able to see them depending on what computer or phone you are reading this post.
Most of the satellites are Space X communication satellites. It is amazing how many more there are than only a few years ago.There is something about them, that I can’t put my finger on that makes me uneasy. When I see so many it makes me think the world is going down the shitter. I don’t know why I have this feeling.
Stayed up past bedtime for another crack at seeing Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. It was more difficult to pick out, but with a little squinting I found it in a much higher position than the last time we spotted it. Without dark clear skies it would have been impossible to see.
The comet is racing away from us, back to the Oort Cloud, and getting dimmer and smaller by the day.
I took quite a few photos on different camera settings. Once I go through them I will share more here. The photo above is a panorama of six shots stitched in Adobe Lightroom. It was taken on a much higher ISO than I usually use for astrophotography, but was necessary with the lens I was using. Well worth losing some sleep over.
Palliser Pass 