I checked the burn along my driveway for flowers. Some areas didn’t seem to have much growth at all.
But other areas had quite a display. Birch-leaved spirea was particularly prolific.
Here’s a northern bedstraw.
Below the hill was a slough.
It was a hot day, and Pepita went in to cool off…
It seemed as though we were not going to get any more frosts, so I dared to put a petunia and nasturtium plant outside. Instant love for the hummingbirds!
The exceedingly wet spring had kept all the hollows full of water, and near Nimpo Lake, was a vibrant stand of bladderwort. I’ve only seen such a prolific stand once before.
It is an interesting plant. It is one of the several insectivores that live in acidic swamps. The feathery leaves are not attached to anything and they live underwater. They have tiny bladders on them. When a microscopic food particle touches the hairs on the outside of the bladders, they open so swiftly, the food is sucked in. The bladders open at a 5/1000th of a second. Nothing slow about these plants.
Another plant that did well this year was the saprophytic pine drops (Saprophytic means living off dead material – opposite off parasitic.)
Full moon was in the middle of August. Its short trajectory at this time of year means it sets over the mountains.
Thundery weather persisted.
The humidity made it very hot. One afternoon two visitors of mine, and Jade and her kids, went to Big Stick Lake.
Pepita wouldn’t go into the water unless I dragged her in.
Everyone else had ridden in Jade’s truck, but Pepita and I went on the ATV. I figured that, by getting my clothes wet, I would stay cool. But in fact another thunderstorm was already building up and I ended up riding home in pouring rain.
My visitors were two women who were hiking the Coast Mountains from Squamish to Bella Coola. They had written to me asking about advice in my area. They had stayed away from main centres for the most part – relying on mailed food packages, but they had to come down to Highway 20 as there was no easy way to cross the Klinaklini river. I picked them up south of Tatla. They had been in the Niuts during our last extremely violent thunderstorm – not the best time to sleep in a tent. As the thundery weather persisted, then ended up staying 4 days with me – and of course I put them to work.
Forestry had made piles of the trees they had to clear from the roads during the Big Stick Fire of 2021, and the piles would be burned, but in the mean time they were up for grabs. So the two women and myself loaded my truck.
When we deemed the weather to be stable enough, I took them as far as I could drive towards Nogwhon. They would hike over the mountains to Nuk Tessli.
My deck now sported geraniums which were a lovely contrast to the sunflowers that the birds had planted – ie seeds they had knocked off the feeders. I always let a few grow among the salads.
Every year I cover the kale as things eat it.
But this year other things got under the cover and made lace doilies out of the leaves.
I made a couple of trips down the famous Bella Coola Hill to pick blueberries.
On one of my trips I encountered mountain goats.
Getting towards the end of August, now, and here was the new moon.
The sunrise had begun to light up the cottonwoods along the river showing it was getting close to Fall.
And one morning there was even a dusting of fresh snow on the mountains.
The beavers had been quite active in my pond, and, because of the rain, the pond was exceptionally full.
Last year it had been all but drained when the fire protection crew used it to run the sprinklers over my house. This year there have been plenty of fires in BC, but miraculously our Cariboo region has been spared.
