Late September

It has cooled off a bit, both temperature and tourist wise, thank God!

It is the mature tourist season, older without children. Some of my young coworkers call it, ’the newlywed and almost dead’ season.

It has been another trying year. The arrogance, rudeness and entitlement of the tourists seems to be getting worse, if that is possible. Quite a few youngsters who came to work in tourism decided it wasn’t for them and I can’t blame them. My advice is to put on an extra thick layer of skin armour. Skin armour is something that my daughter Maddy invented. You put on to get you through the rudeness that accompanies many work places. July and August it needs to be bullet proof.

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Another Provincial Election is upon us. The NDP against the new Conservative Party.

The old Conservatives caved in and formed the new Conservatives. Make no mistake they are the same bunch. What was once the Social Credit Party became the BC Liberal Party, then they became the BC United Party and finally they handed the keys to the BC Conservative Party.

Our MLA of Liberal/United persuasion heard the klang of a party in disarray, so took his new pension and added it to his other government pensions and called it a career.

Now we have a couple other opportunists lined up to take his place.

I can’t even express how little these cagey, scheming, cunning two-bit politicians to be do for me. Whew, say that four times fast.

Regardless, in this riding we are going to have a new one to deal with. The only question, not that it makes a bit of difference, will it be a Conservative or NDP, both retired teachers by the way. Both ready to add another generous defined government pension to their portfolio. It is tough to keep pigs from the trough.

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These are the way things are. You have to put up with tourists and politicians. Sometimes you need damn good skin armour. What the hell. Regardless of it all, it’s good to see the coming frost, the ripe tomatoes daily, the empty back roads, salted mountains and golden tamaracks. That’s plenty.

Harvest Moon

The full moon came up tonight with a piece missing from the top.

The bite is caused by a partial lunar eclipse as the moon just touches the shadow of earth.

It is hard not to be mesmerized watching a full moon rise over the mountains. To see one peek over the mountains in eclipse can’t help fill one with wonder. A special Harvest Moon indeed.

Palliser Fire

Burnt trees between the mountain and creek bed.

The Palliser Fire is still going in places. Forest fires have been known to burn roots underground for months. Lisa and I wandered around. Lisa was hurt to see some of our favourite places burned. Rock Creek was burned badly.

The forest floor reduced to rock as a new cycle begins.

The fire burned 9000 hectares. It was managed by a large firefighting crew who seemed to control it and let it burn. That is the way forest fires will be managed now. Forest fire management has become an industry unto itself.

A rocky crag with hundreds of waiting deadfalls.

Life renewed from ground still warm with fire.

Dream

Dug the garlic today. About 120 heads of purple hardneck. I laid it out to dry and damned if we didn’t have a hard rain. Granted it didn’t last long. It was marvellous to feel. It was like the earth lapped it up. The birds even came out and seemed to rejoice in the damp, warm air.

The garden is doing what it can. Picked a bunch of peas. Not easy. The wind has blown most of the vines off the fences, making one pick through the tangle. I know I’m missing as many I’m picking. Willow helped out picking, but she ate the ones she picked not contributing to the bucket. Once and awhile I’d give her a pod I’d eaten the peas out of. She would nosh it around and spit it out, giving me a dirty look. She will eat the pea pods as long as they have peas in them, take the peas out and try to pawn them off and she will let you know you are a cheat.

The mosquitoes have been atrocious. The garden is almost unbearable. At night we usually have at least a few driving us crazy. The buggers having followed us through the door. Sometimes I hear Willows jaws clack as she tries biting them out of the air. They are tough to get in the pitch black.

The fire in the Palliser River area is getting bigger. It has burned a lot of country that Lisa and I love. It will be something to see when we can get out there.

It is a long weekend and the tourists are unrelenting. Hordes all trying to do everything at once. I am not sure if they even notice the smoke obscuring the mountains or the sun that rises and sets blood red, on fire through a thickening haze.

Humans are something. I dreamt that the town and hills surrounding the lake were on fire, like they will be one day, while the long grass, trees and homes burned, the tourists in their wake boats just kept jetting around the lake, pulling water skiers and surfers, kids on tubes, loud music from big thumping speakers, laughter, cocktails, bikinis and sunglasses, sunblock and beer bottle empties thrown overboard. Making sure they are draining their tanks, getting their kicks before the lake starts to boil.

Just a bad dream. Exacerbated by the heat, smoke and pesky mosquitoes.

Smoke

Lisa and I along with hounds Willow and Lola went for an early morning walk down the lake. It is a place we don’t go often.

The banks above the lake are dry. Plenty of dead grasses and broken branches. Many years ago people would go here to party, cutting down trees and lighting large fires, driving motorcycles and cars tearing up the earth. I was only there once when that was going on. I was young, but remember it well and I hated it. I still get the same feeling thinking about it all these years later.

These hills are now protected or they would be ruined like every other place around the lake other than the Akisqnuk Nation land.

This morning we watched sparrow hawks, swans, swallows and juncos fly above the fields. The dogs had a good swim once we reached the lake. The smoke cast a soft light, the mountains shrouded, out of reach, the lake almost calm.

It was a good morning walk. The dogs were slower going home.