The heatwave continues. Day after day.  Too hot to work in the afternoon.  Too hot to sleep.  But during the night the clear skies allow the temperature to drop almost to freezing.  For a brief time, until the sun gets up, it is deliciously cool.  But when the sun clears the trees, the heat climbs at once.

I took Erin and Ben to Bella Coola.  Ben was going to catch the ferry to his new volunteer place, with renowned wildlife photographer  Ian McAllister.  See his video and read his stunning book, Great Bear Wild: Dispatches from a Rain Forest.  Lucky Ben!

A slight haze of smoke had built up with the heat so on the whole photography was disappointing.

On Walker Island, the big cedar trail offered some relief.  As always I was fascinated by the tactile tapestry caused by the sun and shade.

 

This still living tree had a dead centre that had been burned out.

Inside were more fascinating colours and textures.

Small things are always of interest, too.  The thimbleberries were ripe.

This leaf miner had a convoluted journey.  Perhaps there is something in thimbleberry leaves….

The temperature hit 35C again as we drove home.  The heat is exhausting.  Even the hummingbirds make me tired!

Everything in the garden has bolted.
This delightful mild-leafed plant, which appears to be some kind of spinach, bears no relationship to any pictures on my seed packets or in the catalogues.  Worth growing, though.  I will have to try and save some seed.

I have radishes as big as apples.

Before I took Erin to the airport, we picked the first batch of kale and dried it.

The endless heat has produced amazing butterflies.  But now the caterpillars are coming to the fore.  These have devoured my lovage plant.

When I inadvertently got too close with the camera lens, they shot up these horns!

I have no idea what they are.  I built a cage around them and enclosed them with mosquito netting but they seem to have disappeared….

With all this hot weather, the fire danger has become extreme.  Many areas of BC are suffering badly.  (See the BC Forest Service Active Fire map.)  So far we have been lucky – the nearest out-of-control fires is about 80 km east.  We have not even had as much smoke as some.  But these last 2 days, the winds have been fierce and the smoke has thickened.  The sunrises have been red.

Imagine my delight – and relief – to have a 20 degree drop in temperature today – and rain!

After such a long hot dry spell, the greyness and the soft, scented air is beautiful.  It is expressed so well by the Ladysmith Soweto Gospel Choir: Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain.

The forecast is for rain every day for at least the next week! No doubt I will be sick of it by then.  Especially as I am going to Nuk Tessli to guide in a few days.  My next post will be from there.

Added a day later:

It has been suggested, by a reader, that the caterpillar might be the black swallowtail butterfly, also known as the parsley worm.

From:

Here is the description: it is sometimes called the parsley worm, as well as – Eastern Black Swallowtail,Parsely Swallowtail,Dill Worm, Parsley Worm, Celery Worm,Carrot Worm, Fennel Worm.

The common name depends on what plant someone sees it feeding on.
Larvae feed primarily on plants of the carrot family and some in the Rue Family . It is usually found on Dill, Parsley, Fennel, Carrot, and Rue in gardens, and Queen-Anne’s-Lace, Poison Hemlock, and Lovage in the wild. The caterpillar will stick out smelly orange “horns” to prevent predators or us from picking them up.
It overwinters as a pupa.

Picture and lots more from