We got some rain last night, then this morning we woke to this incredible, dense fog.
It was 10:30am when I took this photo, and it was still so foggy, I could feel it on my skin as I walked around!
So gorgeous.
The Re-Farmer
Foggy Morning
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Red Sun
It was smokier today than yesterday. Oddly, when I tried to go online and find local smoke advisories, I kept getting hits from 2014 and 2015, but nothing recent! Strange.
From what I’ve been able to figure out, the smoke seems to be coming from the fires in California and BC right now.
When I headed back from locking the driveway gate, I found myself looking at the most amazing red orb in the sky. The smoke had dimmed the sun enough that I could look right at it – it wasn’t even as bright as a full moon!
I tried to get some photos to capture the colour. This first photo shows how much daylight there still was as I took the photo.
I then played around with the white balance and ISO (who would have thought a phone camera would allow that, when they first came out? *L*) and got the sun to match the red I was actually seeing. So imagine the daylight in the above photo, but with the sun as red as this…
I expect we will have red suns like this every evening for some time, from what I’m reading about the fires out west. :-(
My reason for going out to lock the gate was at least a good one; it was after my electrician friend came over, with his daughter, with the new motor for our bathroom fan. We now have a working bathroom fan again! And didn’t have to pay to install a new one and cut things up to fit it. The new fan will wait for when we install a second bathroom.
When they first got here and I went outside to great them, we heard the sound of kittens. When his daughter commented, I told her about the two litters, and how we hadn’t yet been able to really touch them.
As I was at the bathroom door, talking to her dad, suddenly there she was – with the tuxedo in her arms! She had meowed at it and it came over, then went for her toes. She was able to pick it up! It was obviously not too happy, but was also not freaking out and clawing, either.
My younger daughter ended up taking it out, along with a can of wet cat food, as a mollifying treat. :-D
Any day that involves cuddling kittens is a good day! :-D
The Re-Farmer
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Smoke on the water
My daughter had a slightly later shift today, so the sun was well up by the time I got to the beach.
During the drive in, we could see the haze of smoke, everywhere. The lake was no exception.
Normally, I’d be able to see at least a bit of the other side of the lake from here. Especially when the water is so calm.
(I believe there is an advisory against going into the water right now. The birds are pretty, but their fecal matter can result in E. coli problems.)
The camera on my phone automatically “clears up” images taken in fog or haze. The trees in the distance were not actually as visible in real life as in the photo!
While walking along the beach, a splash of colour caught my attention.
Someone left a bit of cheer for others to enjoy. :-)
I hung around town long enough for the post office to open, and for the postmaster to put out the mail, so I wandered over to the marina and sat by a fountain (and added a Pokemon into the gym that is there, which was controlled by my team at the time. :-D ).
It still feels weird to see the bright green frogs. They used to be just the brass, which developed a natural patina.
I still like them. Because they’re frogs. :-D
I headed home shortly after this and was able to stop at the post office. Sadly, my husband’s CPAP has not come in yet. The company could only guarantee speed of delivery within the US. Once in Canada, they have no control over how quickly something gets delivered. Usually, packages get processed quickly. Much faster than envelopes, anyhow.
Usually.
The Re-Farmer
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Sky on fire
While tending the fire pit, burning away the rhizomes I’d pulled up earlier, I got to watch a lovely sunset.
The photo does not do it justice. It was as if the sky on the horizon was on fire!
I went over to the outer fence line (the cow fence. ;-) ) to get this shot, so there would be fewer trees blocking the sunset.
We had another hot and muggy day today, so I didn’t plan on doing any manual labour in the trees today. Which worked to be a good thing, since my husband was able to reschedule a medical appointment from next week to today, so he could get updated prescriptions, and then fill them. He was able to get an updated prescription for a CPAP as well. He’s been without for almost a week, now. Interestingly, after that first night without, he’s actually been breathing quite a bit in his sleep. Granted, the incline of the hospital bed helps, but it’s no where near as bad as it was before he finally got the sleep apnea diagnosis. Back then, he spent more time not breathing, than breathing, and had 0 REM sleep. His case was so extreme, the sleep researcher that had his file, who was also a university professor, asked permission to use the test results and video for his classes, and his data for future text books. In all his years as a sleep researcher, he’d never encountered a case as severe before! So any improvement is a good thing.
This province does things differently when it comes to CPAPs, which is covered by the medicare system with a deductible. We had to explain to the doctor that we were intending to just get a new one from cpap.com In the end, it’s cheaper that way. Even with the dollar difference and before insurance coverage (we have to pay in full ourselves, first, then submit the receipt). It’s amazing how incredibly more expensive the machines and supplies are, when purchasing them from Canadian suppliers! It makes no sense! So by doing it this way, we are not only saving money for ourselves, but for our insurance company, too. Also, since the machine we plan to get is an adjustable type, he doesn’t have to go through new testing to work out the settings, so it’ll probably be faster, too. In the long term, though, it would be good to get him tested again, and see if he would be eligible for a VPAP (variable pressure, rather than continuous pressure) instead. That is still covered by the system 100% here, too. That will be discussed with the doctor another time. The most important thing is getting a new machine quickly. Sleep apnea is not something to take lightly!
The Re-Farmer
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Lovely
After dropping my daughter off at work, I stayed in town to play some Pokemon Go. There are a couple of areas where I can park and get some good gaming in.
They also happen to be right by the lake, and gorgeous.
At one park, I walked around to get some pictures. Here are a couple.
The cloud formations were really something to see.
Love the texture on that granite.
The Re-Farmer
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Views
While driving my daughter to work this morning, we saw some pretty incredible views.
Right now, a couple of flax fields we pass are in bloom.
My daughter was able to get some photos of this one out her window for me. The canola fields are in full bloom right now, too. So we are seeing this amazing purpley-blue in the flax field, framed by brilliant yellow. There’s a wheat field that’s starting to turn from green to gold, and other crops in differing shades of green that we pass along the way, broken up by groups of trees sheltering farm yards or planted as shelter belts. So gorgeous!
After dropping my daughter off, I parked by the lake for a bit, got a bit of Pokemon Go in while also enjoying the view.
It’s tourist season right now, so later in the day and on weekends, things get very crowded on this beach. This early in the morning on a weekday, there were very few people out, so it was quiet and peaceful.
Where we lived before moving here, we had some pretty impressive views over a river valley, even though we were downtown. But for me, growing up in the prairies, nothing beats the wild open expanses out here!!
The Re-Farmer
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Sun Rays
While preparing the fire for a cookout, we got that perfect combination of sun through the trees, and smoke creating dramatic rays!
The Re-Farmer
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Beep Beep and views
As the girls and I headed out to the city, Beep Beep came out to see us off.
Beep Beep is pretty much the only one of the outside cats we are seeing regularly. Every time I see her, I am amazed by how little she is! Just fur and bones!
During the drive to and from the city, we saw many beautiful fields of canola in full bloom.
Gorgeous!
We even saw some cranes just half a mile from our place this morning, some pelicans flying over as we were leaving the city on a different route, and a herd of bison, with their little ones, on the final leg home.
Pretty awesome. :-)
The Re-Farmer
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Magical
Some days, it’s clear I live in a magical fairyland.
It’s warmed up again, enough for there to be fog last night. Which promptly became frost on anything it touched.
The view of our spruce grove from our driveway gate.
Usually, it goes away rather quickly when the sun comes out, but it’s been overcast and still a bit foggy, so the magical fairyland remains.
So gorgeous.
The Re-Farmer
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Too Early!
I was really hoping the snow would hold off until after the move.
Weather forecasts, unfortunately, are not in our favour.
Still better than doing a 15 hour drive (not counting stops for gas, etc) in the heart of winter.
The Re-Farmer 