Wind and rain persisted, and the fall did not have the blaze of colour we have come to expect. Sun was mostly absent except for brief hints morning and evening.

The dogbane colour intesified

And yellow appeared in the deciduous trees.

The September moon was one of the few that was not hidden by smoke or cloud, and even it was fleeting.

A lot of the leaves blew away before they turned.

And soon the view from the window was winter bare.

The beaver have abandoned their house. There is no feed pile and already the house has shrunk. They still seem to be maintaining the dam, though. I need that water for garden irrigation and fire protection.

The abundance of rose flowers produced a great crop of hips, soon gobbled up by the bears.

The first snow came early.

It did not stay long, but the pond started to freeze.

Helicopter activity started up at the Terra Nostra Guest Ranch across the river. They host heliskiers in winter but this was a bigger chopper. It was slinging a very strange piece of equipment.

I learned that this device was-

a method of measuring the physical properties of the ground to gain information about geology. Helicopters are used to perform airborne geophysical surveys, which can provide information on the bedrock and soils from the ground’s surface down to several kilometers in depth. 

The chopper flew back and forth for nearly three weeks but was often hampered by the weather. Apparently it was surveying an area not far from Nuk Tessli. (marked by the curser, top left). At the bottom of the shot is an area around Perkins Peak. Here is their website.

They are an exploration company, not a mining company. They hope to sell the info to mining companies. It would be horrible if either of these areas were “developed.” It is not altogether unlikely. On my trips to Bella Coola, I often photograph the Rainbow Range.

A gold mine has been built on the far side of that, fortunately serviced by a road to the north. Artemis Inc’s Blackwater Mine reckons to get the first gold out of it by the end of this year. They maintain it may be the largest gold mine in Canada. It’s “ambition [is] to be one of the lowest carbon-footprint gold mines in the world.” We’ll see.

Another unusual happening this fall was a cat.

I was astounded to see it on the deck. It was a bit timid at first, but as soon as food was presented, it became quite tame. It was incredibly thin. Ribs like razor blades. I phoned around and put posters in the local stores and post offices. I also contacted the SPCA in Williams Lake to see if any tourist had reported his loss. How on earth it got to my place I have no idea.

I didn’t really want a cat. He arrived just before I wanted to start feeding the birds on the deck. I was calling it “Kitty” but then we saw he was a male. So he is “Tommy.”

He’s figured out all the complicated dog doors and fattened right up. He and the dog are not cuddle buddies but they mostly tolerate each other. He talks a lot but very quietly. He loves to be stroked and purrs like a little refrigerator. He likes to look at the birds on their feeders through the window but rarely goes round to the deck. So I guess I’ve got a cat.

His eyes are blue; the flash has made them red. The next test will be the Christmas tree….