Fall Favorites

 First I have to introduce the newest member at whoville. Owning a car is a first for us, and we held off as long as we could, but ultimately it came down to wanting to have access to all those things we love to do that Beautiful British Columbia has to offer.
db no longer had the company car on the weekends since he changed jobs (oh, did I forget to mention that? -- Long story, but it's all good now). Anywho...we found a nice little used Matrix that will get us wherever we need to go.
I still transit to work, and db takes turns with a co-worker carpooling, so we're still trying to minimize our carbon footprint even though it may have gotten a whole lot bigger just by owning a vehicle. Anyway, I'm not going to beat myself up about it any longer.

Now onto fall.

 The leaves are starting to change colour, but I haven't really been focused so much on the changing colours. It's been all about enjoying fall treats such as db's Apple Pie and freshly baked bread.
When I came home from work after he'd made pie and bread, the whole place felt so inviting and warm.

My favorite fall flower: the toad lily. This is probably my favorite lily (but then again whatever lily happens to be in bloom at the moment is usually my favorite). Lilies in the fall! It doesn't get better. Just when I thought the garden was winding down and I would have to start thinking about bringing in pots and tidying up for winter, the toad lilies bloomed. I love their freckled petals and their tiny delicate presence.

And then there are the mushrooms, a definite fall favorite. The Matsutake or Pine Mushroom was our first wild mushroom of the season. Unfortunately it wasn't something we found in the forest, but rather at the farmer's market. The vendor told us that they're from the Bella Coola and Terrace areas. That's a long, long way from whoville so I'm not rushing out to search for these (even though I know they're out there!). They had two large crates of Pine Mushrooms. We picked two from the less expensive ones that needed more cleaning than the more expensive ones. They were still pricey, but we really wanted to try them.

 The next day we went to our favorite fall forested area. On route to our chanterelle spot, db found this Boletus Mirabilis. It was in good shape having been somewhat protected from the rain by the canopy. (I wish I had taken more pictures of it. db took this one. I think the fork is supposed to give you an idea of the size, but it also might be a reminder to make sure you eat your mushrooms).
db did some research to be certain that it was edible and then sliced it and panfried it. I was reluctant to try it and thought that one of us should be alert and healthy enough to drive to the hospital, but then I couldn't resist, and I really was confident that it was an edible. Very melt in your mouth tasty. It's a shame we only found one.

Finally, the bounty. There were a few chanterelles on our way to our favorite spot, but nothing to get too excited about. We hiked up to our little mossy area in the woods and started looking around, but weren't finding much -- at first. Then, once we spotted one we kept seeing more and more. We left the smaller ones. The ones we did collect were clean and dry and pretty perfect overall. Again, that nice canopy over the moss seems to keep them from getting too damp. We'd find these soft green depressions where the moss had grown over the old growth and inevitably we'd find chanterelles. It seems like they're just starting.  More fall to come.

Toad Lily

I adore lilies. I wish I could have more in my garden, but with the rainforest bordering the yard, and more hours of shade than sun, I'm limited to what I can plant. However, that doesn't stop me from trying.

Toad lilies are shade tolerant, and they bloom in the fall when all of the summer lilies are long gone except for their stems. They are the brightest flower in the garden right now (well...the black-eyed Susan is still going strong, but it's not nearly as sweet as the toad lilies).

Garden photos

I haven't had much time for my garden this year, but like all gardens it grows anyway.

This may be my favorite clematis (Niobe). It looks like velvet, and it really stands out amongst the cotoneaster.

The Rose Campion came back in full force, and I was surprised by the height it grew, which is why the tango lily is hidden amongst it. I may move it in the fall and bring all of the lilies forward.

I was also surprised (pleasantly) by the trumpet lily that I don't remember buying or being given so I'm not sure where it came from, but I love it.

It may be slightly neglected this year, but the garden is full of surprises for me.

long weekends

Friday started with a sighting of the pileated woodpecker that lives in the area. He (I've confirmed he is a "he" by the markings) parked himself high up in a tree just outside our fence. Fortunately I've got an amazing zoom and could capture a few shots of him preening. I think he's actually doing his prehistoric call in this shot.







It hasn't been an entirely a long weekend so far since I did work my first day at Karmavore on Saturday, but I only worked for 4 hours so it's hardly a shift. The time flew by even though it was relatively quiet. It's a nice store that is trying to bring in vegan products that you can't find anywhere else. The marshmallows seem to be very popular. They're more like gourmet marshmallows since some of them are flavoured (strawberry, cinnamon, and coconut). I tried the raw tiramisu. They received a selection of raw dessert pies in individual servings. It's a nice treat. I also bought the locally made vegan (do I even need to say that anymore?) Nanaimo bars. I'll let you know how they are.

As for the rest of the long weekend...

db and I kicked off the end of our Saturday (he went into work to do a few chores while I was working) with margueritas and were planning on a lazy evening at home until my friend RB called. He doesn't live far from here and I've been wanting to take pictures of his garden so off we went. We were greeted with more margueritas (it's the heat. It just calls for margueritas). RB's garden is full of lilies. It's his favorite flower and the garden is a show of lilies right now.




When you walk into the backyard you see the raised beds first that were once full of foxgloves and delphiniums but are now full of liatris (sorry no close ups of that flower) and lilies. There is always a lily in bloom.

His workshop/garden shed is in the corner of the garden. All along the fence is greenery and mostly many varieties of clematis. He has over 30 varieties (I think. He's lost count).












He is a bit of a bad influence and inspiration at the same time. Because he has all of these beautiful tall heathly looking lilies everywhere, I want to get more lilies. While it is nice to get new plants I don't really have the money for them. I'll wait until we own our own place before I go nuts, but then we really won't have any money for plants.















Along the back fence is a huge maple, but the plants seem to get enough light to produce five foot lilies and the black-eyed susans aren't complaining either.








RB had some beautiful photos from the morning when the sun was rising and casting a glow over the garden. We were late in the day, but I did manage to capture the sun set light on this lily.

The skies are quite orange in the evening. I can't say it's a good thing since the air quality is so poor right now. I can't remember the last time we had a day of rain. That along with all of the wildfires not too far away creates a strange looking sky.

It's difficult to see the mountains. Usually you can see for mile after mile after mile, but now the view is limited.


Tomorrow we're planning a hike. We wanted to go to Joffre Lakes, but because of its proximity to Lilooet and the Pemberton valley that's not a great area to be in right now. We're going to try something a little closer to home. I'm afraid the views won't be as spectacular, but it's always nice to get out for a hike.

Right now I think we're headed to Ambleside park for the craft market that's on this weekend. Again I have no money, but it's fun to look at the one-of-a-kind crafts.