BC Landscape

So, I was challenged a few months ago by barbaraelka and kalyrical to post some photos of the wide open spaces of BC.

Now BC is a very diverse province in terms of landscape. The Lower Mainland is pretty urbanised in places. There’s wide open areas of agriculture in the Fraser Valley. Obviously the ski hills around Whistler as well as Big White are different again. Loads of unspoiled first growth as well as second, third etc. growth (i.e. previously logged and now managed) forests. And desert and near-desert in the east of the Province.

A couple of weeks ago, I took my son and heir (in lieu of the missing hair) for a couple of nights camping, when we had a public holiday. Expecting the more popular sites to be totally heaving, we went to one of OUR favourite sites. Being a bit out of phase, our favourite places are  w-a-a-a-a-y  less likely to be busy. Sure enough, we easily got into the Juniper Beach Provincial Campsite, just outside Cache Creek. As well as the usual RV pads, it’s a lovely tent site with a beautifully manicured lawn to pitch on, as well as hot showers to offset the usual pit toilet experience common to BC campsites. So why so easy to get a spot on the long weekend? Easy… trains. Lots of trains. It’s in the Thompson valley, with CPR tracks on one site and CN tracks on the other. Every hour or so (all night too) there’s a freight train on one side or the other. You get used to it, but apparently it’s not to everyone’s taste!

Needless to say – I took a few snaps. The colours were a challenge, as it’s quite an arid area, with lots of washed-out hues. Below are a few of what I think are the better photos. Comments always welcome…

These steel tubes made a great graphic image I thought. They were sticking out towards the fence from a small welding shop in Ashcroft

High contrast B&W makes things look moody I think. Especially if they’re industrial or straight edged

I liked this fence plank. It had attitude

The sun was trying so hard to burst through the clouds, and the sky was a deep blue. The stove pipe made a hard contrast to the fluffy clouds

Sorry! Just can’t help myself with power lines. They fascinate me!

Now THIS photo I think I might enter into a competition. I liked the way sky/hills/field cut up the frame, and the artificial regularity of the bales contrast with the chaotic beauty of the glacier-scarred hillside.

All weekend the sun and clouds made great sweeping gestures across the landscape. I never did figure out how these watering devices move across the fields.

Agriculture was reshaping the land around Ashcroft

The colours were quite bold in this frame. The light on the sandy landscape usually made for a washed out palette I found.

Thompson valley. The green patch is the campsite – Juniper Beach

The Thompson had steadily cut its way deep into the rocks

The trains on the South side, over the river, were Canadian Pacific

The clouds came and went all weekend, dramatically changing the “vibe” of the photos I was taking.

A lake on the way back from Kamloops

This is what you get when an OCD person hires out heavy equipment. A little reminiscent of Ursus Wehrli’s work, I thought…

On the way back from Kamloops. A purveyor of mining, drilling and other heavy equipment. these were all shiny and new. As yet, they had not been used to rape Mother Nature.

Chez Elephant where son and I spent a couple of very pleasant nights.

Not a place to walk around in sandals.

Not surprising to learn it’s snake country…

The landscape looked like a high school project with quite sharp delineation in contours.

These dead branches put me in mind of dinosaur bones for some reason.

The river was fierce, but obviously got a LOT bigger when the mood took it!

These pools were a reminder that the water-level didn’t need to raise too much to fill this entire area.

The full-flood river must be quite a sight!

I wonder if these smooth rocks were always here, or have travelled far.

The diversity of the colours and shapes caught my eye.

Plenty of freight travels this route each day, keeping the wheels of Canadian commerce turning.

When the rains swell the Thompson, this entire area would be a maelstrom.

The train echoing the old travel route of the Thompson itself. CP Rail on the South side. The river is hidden by the sand bank.

These gnarled twisted bushes were surreal. Like dried muscle tissue.

The OTHER railway. CN have the line to the North of the river. The same side as the campsite.

The drivers were very circumspect at blaring their horns in the middle of the night as they approached the road crossing… just in case any campers were actually asleep.

Though the engines themselves were noisy, the thing that really woke you was the squealing wheels as the trains dragged untold thousands of tonnes of freight around the bends in the track.

Yup – there’s trains in them thar hills.

The bends and folds in the mountains sing testament to the power of the glaciers that helped shape this area.

Despite the huge length of these freight trains, they are nothing compared to the majestic mountains they travel through.

Looking towards Kamloops. “Wheel-squeak corner”.

A busy valley. the river is off frame to the left. The tracks show the train’s route. There are many Amps of electricity flowing through the power lines, and up on the hillside is the highway between Cache Creek and Kamloops.

Life is a question of balance.

I can wait. They’ll come back for me. One day. I know they will.

I like to think some oily train engineer threw these down so he could embrace his gingham-clad wife and passionately kiss her until her knees trembled. Or something.

“Join the army” they said. Well I don’t like my post.

Life. It stakes it claim wherever it can.

And would you like fries with that?

Even deserts can have a little colour when the mood takes them.

A burst of sun through the clouds lit up the hillside.

I just fancied taking a picture in portrait for a change!

Chalk/clay hillside and a splash of yellow.

On the way home on Hyw 1. I liked the splash of early autumn in the bottom/right.

The trees looked like models, and the streaks showed the power of steady repeated rain and water over millions of years.

Canada Day at Minter Gardens

Canada Day started quite fine in White Rock. It’s been a trifle damp for several weeks, and even for a rain-lover such as I, it was a pleasant change to see a bit of sunshine. After a languorous start to the day which involved hot croissants, buckets of tea and eating toast in ones pyjamas (plates seem so passé, don’t you agree?), we finally headed East up the Fraser Valley to spend a few hours at Minter Gardens. (Yes, dear reader – I did get dressed first).

Named after Brian Minter (BC’s answer to Yorkshire’s Alan Titchmarsh), it’s a lovely oasis from the bustle, though you can still hear the cars race for the Cascades beyond Hope on the adjacent Trans-Canada Highway running just behind the bushes. There were some interesting bands of cloud hanging in lines across the hills that edge the valley, and before too long there were a couple of very light showers. Nothing major though, and the two wedding parties taking place at the gardens seemed blissfully unaware.

Inevitably I had my trusty camera, and given the changing light, chose to limit myself to my fast 50mm. I must force myself to do a long range set soon, this 50mm is dangerously close to being the only lens I use now…

So – here are a few snaps of the gardens, dripping with the dampness that makes BC such a wonderfully vibrant and colourful place to live.

Some form of ornamental kale – I loved the crinkly leaves and the little jewels of rain drops trapped in the folds

Violas all on tiptoes looking for their Sebastians

This palm was in a tub outside the conservatory. Inside was a young pianist hammering out some great music for one of the wedding parties.

Just in case you wandered in from the surrounding bush and wondered where you were…

A virginal heart, bleeding pure white

I’m sure the planting pre-dated Canada Day, but it was particularly apt.

I forget the name of this plant, but it’s truly impressive. It’s like giant rhubarb, with leaves about a metre across, but with these vicious looking spines on all the major veins. Prehistoric looking.

Vivid pink this dahlia. Perfectly formed. Almost like a paper decoration

Lemon yellow rose

Subtle “old fashioned” pink

Gorgeous tints

Full and sensuous

These three were not a crowd

Corinthian columns

The heart bleeds for thee

The dappled light was hard to capture under this pergola

Lily was wet

A curtain of water from this unusual fountain

Mr Slug meets a fun guy

This tree seemed none the worse after a nasty gash some time in its past. The spray from the curtain fountain was doing its part in keeping the moss damp on the trunk.

Verdant life was everywhere

I loved the way these steps were reflecting the moody feel of this damp corner of the gardens.

Water – the source of life

Not sure if these were Fritillaries. They looked a little sad I thought.

Fuchsias – my all time favourite plant. These were in a hanging basket decorating one of the wedding tents

Another gorgeous hue on display

This tree’s bark reminded me of some elderly pachyderm

This cyanide millipede really does secrete cyanide! It makes it smell of almonds.

Astilbes in every shade of pink from white to crimson. Almost like a Monet: lots of little dots of colour

I was amazed at the blood red marks on the leaves of this plant. Like some recent murder had gone unnoticed.

Marilyn and Me

Second born burst into the parental bedroom this morning asking if we’d like “flat” pancakes.

As opposed to lumpy ones?!

No – as opposed to “fluffy” (North American style) ones.

Proper pancakes were on offer. British and Euro-style crêpes.

Mais oui – definitely up for some of that. Especially if I don’t need to make them myself. As a kid, we’d always have them with lemon juice and sugar. Now we live in Canada, we inevitably add (real) maple syrup to the buffet of options. Second born loves to have hers with dark chocolate spread (like Nutella, but with more chocolate and no nuts), and showed an unnatural patience in spreading it just right to ensure the correct distribution of chocolate in the subsequently rolled pancake.

For one simply must roll the pancake into a tight cylinder before slicing it into delicious if somewhat unhealthy bite sized chunks. I prefer to trap an edge between two fork tines and roll the pancake that way, but second born uses manual dexterity, claiming it produces a tighter roll. It might be interesting to watch a dusky Cuban maiden from the tobacco fields, to see her technique. No particular reason. Just the voyeurism.

Anyway, all this as a tortuous lead up to my new found favourite condiment. Marilyn’s spicy red pepper jelly. Lovely on pancakes. I think I bought it at Canadian Superstore, which always has lots of eclectic foreign foods due to the local demographic of Surrey, BC. So anyway, it turns out that it’s made by Tower Foods in Abbotsford, just down the Fraser Valley in BC. Marilyn Tower is the owner it seems – hence the name of both the product range and the company. They produce a range of different jellies made of different peppers, but I’d bought this one due to the word spicy. It has a bit of a tang to be sure, but it’s certainly not chilli hot.

The ingredients are listed as:

• Sugar
• BC red peppers
• White vinegar
• BC jalapeño peppers
• Pectin

So basically, it’s jam. Made with peppers. I’ve had it on toast as an alternative to Silver Shred (also available at Canadian Superstore), and it works very nicely. Keep an eye out for it on your next grocery trip. Totally recommended.

While hunting for a product photo, I also came across this little article about Canadian beaurocracy, and French labelling on Tower Foods products. Quality local foods taken off the shelves because of the lack of French on the label. In a part of Canada where Mandarin or Punjabi would be way more beneficial to customers! Bureaucracy – The British Empire’s gift to the world…

Marilyn Tower, owner of Abbotsford’s Tower Foods, with some of the products seized from Vancouver’s Home Grow-In Grocer by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency due to alleged inadequate labelling. Credit: Doug Shanks — From the Weekender