Rain, Finally! August 7

 

This time no records were broken but its close and its been a long time since the last rain, from June 15 to August 7. A few 'T' for trace on the Environment Canada website but I don't think we got any of it in Burnaby. 52 days! No wonder our big Rhodo called it quits and the Star Magnolias are not looking that great either.

Record Temperatures and Flood Risk - June 24 - 29

 

Three days in a row the Canadian heat record was broken in the town of Lytton with 46, 47 and 49C.
Apparently this is also a record for any place north of 50 degree latitude worldwide. Disaster strikes on the 4^th day when most of the town burns down and inhabitants have only minutes to get out. Terrible to see this happen to a place we often visited on our Thompson paddle trips.

Meanwhile some Pemberton residents are evacuated because of flood risk. The unusual high temperatures cause much accelerated snow melt.

 https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/01/news/fire-destroys-homes-buildings-lytton-bc-residents-missing

We had our own private record and measured 40oC at our place in South Burnaby - don't think it has ever been that hot in the almost almost 20 years we live here.

Garden Critters - Raccoons and Birds - May 18

 

Lots of activity at the bird feeder and in the garden in general.  Very cute raccoon taking a nap in one of our big Douglas Firs.

Turns in Town!

January 15th and 30 cm snow in town! I even do some turns down on McKay Avenue in front of our house, boot top pow but the base is thin. In the park across the road I also run into a paddling friend I haven't seen for 10 years or so. She lives with kid and husband just a couple of blocks away! Lots of snow in the local mountains too and it was needed!

Of course the snow wreaked havoc on the traffic in town.

Cold Snap - Feeding the Hummingbirds

A week of very cold temperatures in Vancouver and I'm experimenting with techniques to keep the hummingbird food from freezing.

Garden Birds

After several years with limited success this spring our hummingbird feeder is very popular with the little flyers! So far identified: Anna’s female and male and Rufous female. Its very entertaining to watch over breakfast and a good reason to have another cup of coffee later. Well worth boiling some sugar water once in a while.

Update May 16th: Mr. Rufous made an appearance too.

Every few years our cherry trees are infested by caterpillars having a good munch on the leaves. On the bright side they attract several species of warblers; MacGillivray, Willson’s and Yellow Rumped (Myrtle) warbler.

But it wasn’t just us enjoying the many songbirds in our garden. One day this Cooper’s hawk (or sharp-shinned hawk?) landed on one of our big Douglas Firs and had its lunch. Couldn't identify what sort of bird s/he caught, but it looked like a bigger one, maybe a Robin?

A while back I got some nice shots of a crow attacking a bald eagle that was resting on a fir in one of our neighbors gardens.