The Squamidian Report – Sept. 5 / 15
Issue #693
Including:
Just Me!
Hi All,
Both funny and inevitable when you think about it, west coast summer
was incredibly hot and dry and yet the PNE (Pacific National
Exhibition) has a tradition of being rained on and even rained out. And
sure enough, on the first weekend the PNE was open, south western BC
got hammered by both rain and wind. You probably heard all about the
storm that pretty well brought the Lower Mainland to its knees. So many
trees were blown down that it took over 4 days to get the power back on
for everyone. Well, almost everyone. Some isolated locations were
without electricity for days longer. Rain pelted most areas. The
streams that had pretty well dried up became raging rivers. Mind you, a
week of rain after months of heat and drought is a welcome thing.
Getting back to the wind component, I was in Maple Ridge last Saturday,
the day of the wind storm, visiting Ryan. We were in his living room
and the wind was howling. We heard a thumping crash and looked out to
see a huge tree at the edge of the park just across from his place
laying across the parking lot and over two vehicles. Both vehicles were
crushed, completely totaled. Turned out a third vehicle was also
smashed. It had been driving by and the tree caught its back end.
Incredibly, no one was hurt. The drive home that evening was
interesting because very few traffic lights in the Lower Mainland were
working and no one seems to understand the 4-way stop procedures. Also,
there was so much debris on the roads, including Highway #1, that it
was like driving after a snowfall. Once I rounded the mountain by
Horseshoe Bay all was well. We only got a little bit of wind and a lot
of rain up my way. And then we got more rain, day after day for several
days. Rain that was and is very badly needed. It had gotten so dry that
Shannon Falls had pretty well turned off. It had become barely a damp
spot running down a cliff. Now its back to 'normal'.
It had become so dry up at the Gondola that the trails were dusty and
the vegetation stressed and brown. Olsen Creek had disappeared and the
scenic view had become almost static, nothing changed except for the
amount of forest fire smoke in the air. Now, with the rain, the moss
has greened up, the mountains are cloaked in mist and cloud. Olsen
Creek is roaring again. Riding up and down the last few days has been
totally different from how it was all summer. The trees are like
ghosts, at times barely visible through the mist and the cable that the
gondola cars ride on seem to disappear, lost in the cloud blanketing
the side of the mountain. Walking the trails is cool and refreshing,
the views ever changing.
When it was endlessly sunny out, one tended to be 'out' a lot. Even if
that just meant hiding in the shade somewhere. With the cooler
temperatures and rain, one tends to be indoors more. To that end, I've
actually had some nice quiet time to myself and when that happens, I
seem to get creative, musically speaking. So, this link will take you
to my latest creation, should you care to give it a listen. Its called
'The Forests Burn' and its about the raging forest fires that were, and
to a large extent, still are, burning.
http://www.thedougsite.net/Songs/Lyrics/The%20Forests%20Burn.mp3
Actually, I may as well fess up. I got creative twice which kind of
took me by surprise. The second one is called 'Playing To The Night'.
Its really not much more than just a little ditty about sitting out on
the back deck with my guitar during some of those hot summer evenings.
http://www.thedougsite.net/Songs/Lyrics/Playing%20To%20The%20Night.mp3
And something kind of half way between both topics, weather and music,
some of you might remember that we used to do a version of a song
called 'Snowing on Retone', that we modified and called 'Snowing Up On
Brohm'. Well, it did. When the clouds rose and broke enough to see the
mountains, low and behold there is fresh snow dusting all the higher
peaks around here as well as Brohm Ridge and in fact well down the
slopes below the ridge. Cool, literally.
doug
****
****
If there is anyone out there would would like to give
filling if for Greg a try, please feel free to do so. Greg is taking a
much needed break. So, here's your chance to become a famous writer.
Don't be shy.
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.
|