These have been flitting around in my trees for several days, and I thought they were Orioles, but now that I have finally been able to capture a pair in a proper picture, I see they are evening grosbeaks. They were picking stuff from my lawn. (Now you know why I have removed some of my lawn - this is the 'good' part!)

This little chipmunk caught my eye as I was sitting reading. It had come down from my fir tree to nibble and rest for a minute before it took off to the neighbours.

This warbler and his buddies come on a regular basis to sit in my trees and sing.

The deer are never far away.

Yesterday I was sitting out on the patio eating my lunch and reading. The birds were in the trees singing, and I noticed the chipmunk by my fence. Then I heard the hummingbird hovering above my head (no doubt contemplating the bright yellow sweater I was wearing, and deciding anything that big couldn't possibly be a flower!) Later in the day I saw the grosbeaks gathering food from my lawn. Then as late afternoon came along, the deer were across the road browsing. The robins, sparrows, warblers and swallows are ever-present.

This is the reason I like living here.

These are some of the things that trigger the "feeling" I was talking about in the last post.

The town has most of the necessities and some extras to keep us happy - the people are friendly - but it is the connection I can make to nature at any time of the day, no matter what else I am involved in - that keeps me content with being here, and resting easy without the things I don't have.

Part of Skaha Beach with its red sandy shores.

As you might have guessed from previous photos, much of my life has been spent around water, sagebrush and cows. I spent a good part of my childhood hanging out on the sandy beach in the sunshine, wandering through farmyards and orchards or exploring sage brush hills. It is in this environment I feel at home. That is not to say I do not feel a reverence when I arrive at the coast or Vancouver Island and walk amongst the towering trees of the rainforest and feel the pounding of surf on the shores - or hear the whoosh of the whales across the straight. It is just that I have more memories of life in the Okanagan.

Of course I have memories of many other places as well, and feel a connection to them when I first arrive after a long absence - the memories come flooding forward - all of the things I have done, the people I did them with, the sights and sounds of each place occupies its own space in my mind, and I think this is the key to feeling at home in new places. You must create the memories - make the connections with the smell of the air, the colours of the country, the sounds you hear as you go about your daily activities. You must find what it is about that particular place that can soothe your soul.

It is not always possible to stay in the same environment these days. Work, mates, economies, all can cause us to make the decision to go elsewhere and work towards our dreams in different surroundings. It can be an upheaval of monstrous proportions sometimes, but it can also be a great education. And I don't just mean in the sense that you are learning new routines and making new acquaintances - I mean an education in the sense that you learn about people and life. You learn that even though they may live in different circumstances than you are used to, they are still looking for the same acknowledgement from life as you are. They are looking for a contentment within their soul. Contentment can come in millions of different ways, but it is all the same feeling in the end.

The feeling that overcomes me when I wake in the morning to hear the birds singing, hear the river rushing in the distance, and the cars travelling on the highway; the smell of the air, occasionally with a hint of wood-smoke - can be the same feeling someone else experiences waking to the sound of horns honking in the streets below, and the first view out the window with everyone hunkered down against the weather while they rush to work with briefcase and coffee in hand. It is the feeling that we connect with -  the feeling that satisfies us. The activities around us are only the triggers.

Saratoga Beach, Vancouver Island - looking to the east towards the coast of British Columbia.

The ulitmate destination - Skaha Lake at the south end of Penticton taken from the viewpoint entering town.

Last time I did a blog about my trips to the Okanagan Valley I wrote about Keremeos (May 13 ). This time I will work my way from there toward Penticton. It is about a half hour drive past more farms, but the country gets drier as you approach the Okanagan. Instead of as many evergreens, there are more sagebrush, greasewood and bunch grass amongst the pines. At this time of year it is also full of balsam root flowers and other wildflowers, and considerably greener than in the height of the summer.

Not far down the road from Keremeos is a place called Olalla. Just a small gathering of people nested between the mountains - and of course more farms. You can see K Mountain in Keremeos in the distance.

Just outside of Olalla is where my favourite herd of cows resides. This time of year the fields are full of newborns following their mother around. (Couldn't resist uploading another picture of cows - sorry!)

A little bit farther along, you drive beside Yellow Lake. It is called that because in the heat of the summer the colour tends to be rather yellowish! Spring and Fall are great for fishing - even ice fishing in the winter - but you don't want to fish there mid-summer - the fish don't taste good. This is about the half-way point in the drive.

But no matter what time of year it is, the colouration of the cliffs on the far side of the lake is always intriguing.

As you get close to the Okanagan Valley, the sage brush becomes much more plentiful. Here, in spring, you have balsam root in bloom as well as a type of pink flox in amongst the sage and bunch grass.

Looking south near Penticton, tumbling down the hill to the right are the homes and orchards in Kaleden, and on the opposite side of Skaha Lake are various small residential developments, orchards and vineyards.

Today is overcast - no sunshine peeking through the clouds. It is a grey day. But it is mild and in between the sprinkles of rain the birds and animals are still busy, as am I - inside and out. I have given all my plants a dose of fertilizer, took a run to town to take care of errands, sat with my coffee by the river, and spent some time catching up on the computer, working on more designs for the zazzle page and plotting out my next vrv Gallery exhibition. So today's blog post is mostly a compilation of photos from the past couple of days - just bits of this and that.

The Bullock's Orioles have been flitting about my place for several days now, but being as they prefer to set at the top of my 30ft evergreens, it is really difficult to get a clear shot of them. This morning I happened to spot one on a neighbour's fence. Fortunately he sat long enough for me to get my camera out, but not still enough to get it perfectly clear! They are brilliant yellow and beautiful.

Caught this little girl sizing me up - debating whether she should jump my fence into the yard or not. A neighbourhood dog made her decision for her and the four others by chasing them back in to the park and up the hill.

I wasn't aware that they ate dandelions. This one does anyway - she was methodically nipping off the blossoms. Wish they would clear up the ones on my lawn and leave my Bergenia alone! You can see the brown patches of her summer coat showing through the grey winter one.

This bug (not sure what kind it is) is covered with pollen from the willow catkins it was crawling over. All kinds of critters help in the polinization of our plants - rain or shine.

Took this one yesterday in Penticton. A hummingbird gathering nectar from the chestnut tree blossoms.

This one also taken yesterday in Penticton. Skaha beach on a blue-sky day before all the tourists arrive! Towards the end of the first sweep of sand is where I spent a great deal of my childhood - soaking up the sun, sand and water.

No - I don't spend my complete day just wandering around looking at stuff - but I do try to spend some of each day doing that, in between my working hours. It is what keeps me going with the rest of my life. Wandering and watching other life unfold, be it plant or animal, keeps me working towards my goals with enthusiasm so that my own life can unfold - in a direction that I can enjoy.

This was 'my' river this past winter. Notice the river bank on the island.

This is how it looked on the first of April this year. Notice the gravel bars and the dry river bed where the snow still sits.

Here it is about 2 days ago. Hopefully this is the high point and it will begin receding now - at least long enough to let the excess waters flow down and make their way to the ocean.

Many things I could blog about this morning, but I guess first things first. The rising river has come up higher than it has in many years this time around. We have had a rather cool spring, being about 2 weeks or more behind normal as far as weather and plant blossom was concerned. Then, on the weekend we had our usual  hot weather (which everyone thoroughly enjoyed). All of a sudden there was enough heat to melt the snow pack up high on the mountains, and down it came. There hasn't been any flooding here - let me re-phrase - there hasn't been any flood damage to homes. There has been flooding of farm fields and grazing areas near the rivers ( some of those beautiful pastoral scenes I have posted are now very wet). For some farmers this means they may lose a large portion of their crop of alfalfa this year. That could mean a shortage of hay for their animals, or less income from sales of bales, depending on what they grow it for.

All it takes is a couple of days of hot or rainy weather at this time of year to make a massive change in the amount of water that flows in our rivers and streams. In one week our temperature went from around 17C to 30C - two days of 28C to 30C did it. That was all it took. I am not alarmed - not at this point anyway. This is a normal occurrence every spring, and we are much luckier than some areas of the planet who have had flooding and storms that were devastating to the people.

I was uploading new photos to my facebook page one day and noticed that a friend in India was doing the same, so I took a look just out of curiosity. He had uploaded pictures of forsythia in bloom, fruit tree blossoms, and rising river levels.... exactly the same things I had been looking at in my own little spot on the other side of this planet. It struck me how small this world is, and how similar in so many ways. When it comes to nature this truly is a borderless planet.

Just thought today would be a good day to let you see a bit of what my world is like on this day, and to be grateful for what I have, and what I do not have in my life.

Update:
This is where it is today - stopped by on my way back from getting my hair cut, and it has receded considerably even though we have had a little rain. It always amazes me how quickly it can come and go.

A view along the road from Princeton to Summerland - the back way. Through the mountains and over the streams, past ranches and farms and fishing lakes.

After my last post I left home and took the back road to Summerland. It follows along the valleys that you see in the photo above for about 100 kms. over mostly paved road, but some gravel (and washboard, potholes and cattleguards). Took me about 2 hours. Lots of fishing lakes and streams, outdoor camping spots and great scenery. The sun was shining, the weather hot, the birds were singing and everyone was out camping for this first long weekend with great weather. Every place that you could get near a creek or lake there were campers, trailers, tents, dirt bikes and quads parked. People were relaxing and enjoying the country.

Coming into the back entrance of Summerland you drive past orchards in full blossom now, and down into town. This long weekend is the "Blossom Run" weekend where they gather from all over to show off their old cars so I took my tour around so see what was there this year. Some real beauties, and some that will be, once the work is finished. Always fun to see what people used to tour around in!

From old to new - original and souped up..... a real variety here.

All set to go touring. Can you imagine rumbling along in this one! Would have turned everyone's head.

All polished up and gleaming in the sun.

Spent a couple of hours there chatting with friends and checking out the cars, then continued on to Penticton to pick up some plants for my patio containers.There are plants sold here, but I wanted something a little different than what was offered. Stopped at Skaha Lake for a few minutes to watch the kite boarders on the lake taking advantage of the sun and the wind.

All in all it was a fun day and I am glad I took off. The energy of this first sunny weekend is always exciting - everybody busy having fun - it revs you up and gets you going, and it has to carry us through until the next long weekend!

One of several on the lake that day. With all the traffic, I couldn't get closer! Will find them another day and take more.  This guy took the wave and was just floating in air when I clicked this one.

I am just sooooo happy that the warm weather is here! So happy, in fact, that I don't want to sit and think about something intelligent to say --- I want to be outside!! So ...... I have posted a video that I like, and some photos I have taken recently .... and then I am gone! Outdoors! In the sunshine!!!!

Love the colours on these horses.

Part of a favourite herd of cows with their spring calves and their curly hide hair.

A shoveler duck, just floating and watching.

Establishing the pecking order and finding mates.

It is a busy time of year, getting closer to summer, and all of the spring rituals must be taken care of before summer comes. The birds are busy establishing the pecking order and finding mates;  building nests to raise their young; finding food sources to feed the females on the nest as well as the young when they hatch; guarding their chosen home from predators and thieves.

I too am busy getting everything into shape. Doing the spring clean out and organizing, getting the garden ready, taking care of paperwork that has to be done, taking photos, designing products, writing blog posts, chiropractor and massage appointments. All so that I can relax and enjoy the good weather that seems to have arrived finally!

There are so many thing to consider when prioritizing work. What does one put first? It is important to keep the daily flow of trivia organized and functioning - but it is also important to keep the rest of life balanced as well. Birds and animals mainly have to work at survival, and routines can be set up - habits formed. But for us humans there are so many facets to life today that sometimes it can be overwhelming - hard to make a decision as to exactly what is MOST important for this specific day.

Some of the questions that I ask myself when plotting out my activities are:

Food and Shelter - do I need groceries, are there bills to pay, does anything HAVE to be taken care of for the house or the car?

Work - what work has to be done and when does it have to be done by? How much time will it take to complete?

Family and Friends - are there birthdays or special events coming up? Are there opportunities to get together with others that should be taken advantage of?

Relaxation and Enjoyment - what would I LIKE to be doing? what can I do towards my own personal goals of enjoyment?

Physical and Spiritual - do I need to tend to health or physical well being? Have I been letting exercise or eating slide? Have I been spending enough time to fill the spiritual well?

And perhaps most importantly, do any of these things I think have to be done, really fit in to my overall desire for the kind of life I want to live and the things I want to accomplish?

The reason I have my little mental list is because I am one of those people who tends to get focused on one thing. All else falls by the wayside. I can easily sit at the drawing board, canvas or computer and completely forget all about things like eating or paying bills. First it is morning, and the next thing I know it is evening and getting dark outside. Since this seems  to be my natural self, I try to allow for days when I can just focus and ignore everything else. It is the way I accomplish things. But being that I have to live in this world, and don't have anyone else reminding me that other things need to be taken care of, I have to make a point of being awake and aware also. There are trade-offs. I just try to make the trade-offs PAY off. They have to be things that mean something to my goals, otherwise, they are just time wasters and need to be changed.

Getting the home ready and guarding the space from invaders. Not certain what kind of bird he is, but he was extremely busy picking a satisfactory hole in this crevice of the tree - popping in and out to work, then check for danger, then back in to work. I had to keep clicking the shutter because he was too fast for me!

Finding food sources. This flicker is picking into an ant colony - flicking out the dirt to get at the grubs hidden beneath the soil.

In the lower midsection of the photograph - the white blotch is a mountain goat. This is the closest one I have seen lately on my drives to the Okanagan and back. They are up there, they just don't come down very often so we can see them.

This is the red bridge visible along the highway near Keremeos. You head over it to get to the Cathedral Mountain Provincial Park with fishing lakes, hiking trails and alpine meadows. Lots of outdoor activities available there.

I managed to catch a mountain goat within picture taking distance..... well, sort of. You can see there is a goat there, but that's about it. With the warmer weather they are moving up the mountains. The pastures are becoming greener in the valley too, with the help of the irrigation systems that the ranchers use, and the cattle are gradually being moved from low fields to higher pastures.

The red bridge across the river near Keremeos is now metal and new after an ice jam caused such damage to the old one a few years ago that it had to be re-built, but the original was built in 1907 by the Victoria, Vancouver & Eastern Railway (VV&E), and was a familiar sight to anyone travelling the valley to the interior. It now takes cars across the Similkameen River to the Ashnola Valley and Cathedral Lakes Provincial Park. It is one of very few covered bridges in the country.

The economy of Keremeos has been led by many things throughout its history, beginning with mining, but now is known for fruit, vegetables and wine grapes. There is an abundance of produce stands as you enter the village, and they always make for mouth watering stops. There is also an historic grist mill that has been turned into a tourist attraction offering not only information on the history and workings of the mill itself, but also tasty morsels produced from the mill ground flour, a garden grown from heritage seeds, and entertainment at various times throughout the summer.

There are interesting spots to visit if you are interested in geological things as well - basalt columns can be found on one mountain, and jasper, chalcedony and rhodonite  on another. Throughout the summer season there is always lots going on. An antique and custom car show, rodeo, pepper festival, pow wow and outdoor music festival are among the list of festivities. It's a fun little town with friendly people. I spent a few months there one year, and if you stop for breakfast in one of the local restaurants, you get to know all sorts of interesting people with stories to tell.

Towns are like people - on the outside they may appear unimportant or boring - but if you delve deeper and peel away the layers, there is always something interesting to learn.... every place and every person has their own unique story to tell.

Orchards with fruit trees just coming to bloom right next to vineyards with grapevines beginning to bud out.

This is K Mountain - for obvious reasons, and in the foreground some of the development on the upper bench. Most of the town is below and not visible in this shot.

My rock for sitting on is now covered by swirling brown water! Not a comfortable spot to relax at the moment.

i have been working in my garden lately, trying to get part of it done before the heat hits us. I don't like working in the sun when it gets over 30 C. There was a time when I didn't care - but that has passed. Now I prefer to just relax in the shade with some iced tea, or work inside on being creative until the day cools. Early morning, late evening are the times I like best to be there. I am also trying to set up the parts of the yard that get sun all day so that I don't have to water them very often.

I have planted grasses, lilacs, some sage and lavender and covered the ground with mulch. I am hoping the deer will leave these things alone long enough for them to grow. As I have been working there, digging up the 'grass' and covering with cloth and mulch, I have had lots of time to watch and listen to the birds in my trees, capture a few photos, and think. I have done lots of gardening in my life - pretty much on my own, and the heavy labour part of it gives me a good workout, but is always a 'chore' in my mind. Occasionally I have hired people to do some of it, but not often. I usually just look it for a long time and then decide it is time to roll up my sleeves and dig in.  More than familiar with what needs to be done, it still is never a comfort zone for me. My back gives me grief if I am not careful, but over the years I have learned to deal with it in a way that hasn't done permanent damage. I just set my mind to do what has to be done because I know that when I am finished, I will get the enjoyment I want out of it.

It occurred to me one day as I was laying on my side on the grass attempting to loosen a boulder from a hole I wanted to plant a shrub in by chipping away at the layer of clay that had hardened around it, cementing it in place, that I perhaps need to approach a few other things the same way. Other things that are out of my comfort zone. I would chip away at the hardened clay and scoop out a handful, then chip some more and scoop it out......... over and over until I finally got out a boulder that was about a foot across. (My property was at one time a river bed I believe! ) I must admit I was quite pleased with myself when I lugged the rock over to the side of the yard and looked back at the empty hole. I could now take the next step and plant the shrub. As I tend and nurture it until it is full grown, trim and tweak as the years go by, it will give me a great deal of pleasure.

So I figure if I approach some other things out of my comfort zone the same way - chipping away bit by bit - I will at some point be able to reap the pleasure out of them that I desire, rather than feeling they are 'chores' to be dealt with. They aren't really, they are merely things I don't enjoy doing, or things that I don't yet know how to do. They are each just another challenge to be dealt with one small piece at a time. It's kind of like the river. If a river had to look at the prospect of wearing down a mountain, perhaps it wouldn't flow. But each year it rushes down the mountains and through the valleys and wears away just a little bit more soil from the top to the delta. Bit by bit it wears away the mountain. Perhaps if I just chip away at a bit more of what I want to change in this lifetime, I may get a chance to come back and chip away at a bit more -- you never know.

This is the part of the garden that I have been working on. I know, it doesn't look very big, but it is about 15' long and 10' wide and I am digging in gravel. So, each shovel stroke has to be coaxed around the rocks before it actually goes anywhere. Anyway, this is how much I have done at the moment. The birds are happy because they can still pick the seeds out of the cones, they can bath and drink in the bath, and the sun can shine there all day and not dry out the grass. Problem solved.