British Columbia
Blind Bay --
Hello from near
Blind Bay, British Columbia, Canada, North America, near the west end of Shuswap lake --
in the bush -- at about 1600 feet above sea level. As I look out the window in front
of me, I see a few deciduous trees but mostly evergreen conifers... part of the extensive
forested area covering the mountains all around. Logging is one of the main industries,
although none has been done closeby.
Beyond the immediate forest, I can look across a beautiful lake to other mountains beyond,
and see a few patches of snow remaining on the highest peaks above 6000 feet. The
lake has a shoreline of about 700 miles, but the widest parts are only about 2 to 3 miles
across ... so narrow that it is strung out roughly in the form of an H for more than a
hundred miles. It is several hundred feet deep, as are many other long, narrow lakes in
the southern part of BC. One small town, Sicamous, on the lake, claims to be the Houseboat
Capital of Canada... maybe even of the World, depending on who's doing the bragging!
There are lots of boats on the lake, in the warmer weather, including a few
today... but no houseboats.
The climate right here is "mild" for Canada... It gets down to a few degrees
below Zero Fahrenheit a few times in the winter, and up into the 80's F in summer.
It snows for several months, but not nearly as much as on the east side of the Rocky
Mountains... Maybe up to 3 or 4 feet, total, for a season, and only a few inches at a
time... No tough shoveling.
A few weeks ago we saw a black bear a couple hundred yards from our home. We don't go
hiking in the forest, day or night! One of our friends a couple miles away has had
bears come right up to their patio doors and push on the glass, which luckily, didn't
break. There are also deer around, and have been known to eat the apples and
other fruits and vegetables in our neighbors' gardens. Right now, a pair of Great
Horned Owls are raising young in a small cavernous part of the rocky cliff about 300 yards
away. Thousands of ducks and Canada Geese migrate through here each year, and we
occasionally see Bald Eagles flying over, with a dozen or more in the trees along the lake
in the Fall when there are no leaves.
A couple hours drive south of here is the Canadian Okanagan Valley, famous for its fruit
orchards and vineyards. Most summers the hottest place in Canada is often at the
southern end of this valley, just north of the US border... But that would only be warm
where you are.