OCTOBER 26 - Breehy-less Outing, Wildlife and Going Nuts

There were three reasons not to go out today:

1. Rain pouring from the heavens
2. Carrying a 75 lb head on my shoulders, with absolutely none of that being brain, and half of it being whatever is stuffing my ears with cotton
3. It was a day off all to myself, where I could just stay in and sleep all day if I wanted - this is the first day in 2 weeks I haven't shared my day offs with someone who likes to plan things for the day

However, there were also three reasons to go out today:

1. Patricia wanted an update on the Viagra Plant, which I had entirely forgotten about, to tell the truth
2. I needed a can of Hunts Four Cheese Spaghetti sauce to add to my slow-cooker delicious spaghetti sauce for supper
3. It stopped raining and I figured I could walk - I'm not sure how slippery Breehy's tires are on wet pavement and didn't want to chance skidding into a transport truck.

So off I went. I didn't take Georgia, as I was only planning a can of spaghetti sauce. I took my camera, my phone, my MP3 player, my grocery bag, my inhaler, my notebook and pen, and my umbrella, just in case. I should have taken Georgia.

As I walked up King George, I passed by a stream. I think it's Bear Creek, but I'm not sure. There's more water in this one too - soon there may be salmon jumping, and I can't wait to see that. I remember when we were little, in Scotland, we used to watch them jumping up the dam behind our house.

 In front of the pub by the Sky Train station, I found the plant. I think it's dead, or maybe it just caught a STD. However, I grabbed the top and twisted it off, a mere 3-4 inches, in hopes it might provide a few seeds to invade an Albertan garden.

 There was a youngster growing nearby. The dying plant must be very virile.

 This sassy fellow was busy looking for nuts, so I joined him in his search - not right away, of course, but on the way home.

 After picking up a few heavy things at PriceSmart, I headed home by way of Holland Park. Still pretty, but not as amazing as Bear Creek Gardens. However, this was a grey, overcast day, and the colours were very muted.

 Another empty playground.

 As I was walking down 134 Street, I noticed a huge Monkey Puzzle tree in someone's front yard. There is still a lot of green in the neighbourhood!

 And - I found some nuts!

If you know what kind of tree this is, you know what kind of nuts these are. I think they are chestnuts.

 And yes, there are still blackberries available. However, believe me, they aren't as sweet as they were in August and September, as now they are full of water, a bit mushy, and best spit out.

 I walked through Queen Elizabeth Meadows Park, as I saw a whack of squirrels and a bunch of groundhog pyramids.  If there were any nuts in the neighbourhood, I would add to their number.

This tree was amazing. I wonder how many creatures lived in it?

 

 And I'm not absolutely sure, but I did pick up a couple of what I do believe were hazelnuts under this tree. Is it a Hazelnut Tree? Maybe.

 And this tree had a blanket of nut cases around its feet (and I don't mean me.)

 

 I mean these, in the slightly off-focus picture. I really should use both hands when snapping a picture.

 And to finish off - two signs* I passed by today.

*This video has a lot of signs, some you may agree with, some you may not. Freedom of speech and all that.

This one is just not right.

And this one marks the spot where Steve sometimes drops me off at King George skytrain station.

OCTOBER 25 - Fall Foliage and Forbidden Fruit

There was such a beautiful morning sky outside my bedroom window this morning - pale blue, orange, then a  brighter blue. I didn't need the Weather Network for my forecast - it would be sunny with a touch of biking.

While I was finishing my coffee, Howard (who was home for a couple of days after slip slidin' away down the outdoor steps at Steve's place) wanted to know when we were going to Walmart. Walmart. Nice. So nice.

However, we weren't gone long - seems he just wanted some patterns for cutting designs in his pumpkins. So when we got back, I got Breehy outdoors, and we took off.

Not on a long ride. I thought I'd go check out Autumn at Bear Creek Park. I haven't been doing much bike riding lately, and I feel like I'm coming down with the mother of a head cold, and my ears feels like they're stuffed with silly putty. So of we went gliding down King George Boulevard, turning up 88 Avenue just before KG starts its long uphill grade.

And then I decided to

I actually took more than a moment, as there was so much beauty around me. 

The park will still and silent on this fall school-day. 

 I decided to check out trails I hadn't previously travelled. According to the sign below, it will soon be time to go salmon watching. I didn't see any flop up Bear Creek today though.

 Now it's late October, there's more water in the 'crick.' If there were salmon heading upstream to spawn, it would be no trouble seeing them here.

 And I even entered a dangerous zone just to see if I could bring a big of excitement into your lives.

 However, I didn't see any beavers, or any fallen trees with pencil sharpened points, and the only wildlife I saw were some ducks.

I did, however, come across what I think is a composting pit. You can see the steam rising from the soil. Must be hot down there,
and in the composting world, that's a good thing. Let's see ...

When I got to the end of this particular path, I noticed this tree in the parking lot. There were red thingies in it, and a lot of red thingies underneath.

I thought at first it was a red potato tree, but of course, red potatoes don't grow on trees. Then I thought, maybe some kind of nuts - the nutmeat would be hidden inside the protective red shell. I'm a bit dumb, really.

 However, by this time, a East or a South Asian young fellow had walked over from the temple, and stood about two feet away, just staring at me. I felt very uncomfortable, so I asked, 'Am I in a private parking lot?'

And he said 'Yes.' Oh.

'Well,' I answered, 'I didn't mean to trespass - I thought this was Bear Creek's parking lot.' He answered, 'No.' So I left. But as I was riding out, I saw the sign for the park, and realized it was the Park parking lot, so I called back - 'There is no reason why I couldn't be there - Park on the left, Temple on the right. WELCOME TO CANADA.' And I could actually hear Breehy's tires whisper, 'Jackass.' It was the first time I felt intimidated on any of my rides.

However, as we all know, my rides tend to overlap, and I ended up at this parking lot again - this time by way of 140th Street. So, bold as brass, I rode in and picked some fruit off the ground and tossed them in my basket. When I got home I cut one in half - it looked like a plum. I tasted a bit, and Howard informed me he wouldn't eat any. I wouldn't eat any more, either - it was very woody, pulpy, and not very tasty. I'm still alive 7 hours later, so I wouldn't think they were (very) poisonous.

However, after picking up the forbidden fruit, I headed back down the trail, and decided to walk through the gardens. If you've read my posts during the summer, you may remember the day I discovered them - and today, I wanted to see how Autumn was decking them out.

Just what I expected. Beauty.

 Serenity.

Brilliance. 

 Picture perfect.

 

 The perfect example of the gorgeous day that always follows the few rainy ones, in Autumn and Winter. Well, of course, in Winter, this particular tree wouldn't be orange.

 After leaving the park, I headed out, and though I shouldn't tell you I thought I'd take a short-cut home, I'll tell you anyway. I actually ended up in the same place I got lost ages ago when I was a walker and not a biker, and didn't know how to navigate very well (even when the streets and avenues are all numbered - some of them just come to a dead end stop.) Then, I almost panicked, and probably walked five miles before I found my way home. Today, I just rode around and ended up back at Quibble Creek, another small brook surrounded by trees. I walked Breehy along a leaf covered path, and came across this tall dead tree stump.

 However, the tree may have been dead, but it was offering life. And no, this is not a climbing wall. At least I don't think so.

 Yes, there's fungus amungus.

 Quibble Creek. It seems like such a baby creek.

 After a relatively short ride, I got home, had a bowl of nice hot pea soup, and checked out the Stellar Jay in the tree in front of the kitchen window, waiting for his peanuts. Poor things, they have to fight off the crows and squirrels to get their treats.

OCTOBER 19 - Grey Skies, Gratitude, Greens, Greenways and Ham

I really wasn't going riding today. It was a very grey day, cool with a forecast of rain, not exactly the biking weather I am used to. However, about eleven o'clock, I hauled Breehy outdoors, and left - planned just a short route, up 88 Avenue to Scott Road, down to 80 Avenue and probably over to King George Boulevard, as that would give me a nice long downhill glide most of the way home. But once again, the best laid plans of mice and men .... 

It was chilly. I got on the Wildflower Greenway, and pedalled into the wind, which froze my fingers and face and made my thigh muscles groan. However, I do tend to be stubborn and figured I'd warm up as the morning progressed.

I found some October flowers. They look something like daffodils, but of course they are not. 

I turned down Scott Road, which as you may remember from previous blogs, is a road with many many great big trucks. I was walking on the sidewalk when Neil called. He had just passed his Road Test and now is the very proud holder of a Class One licence.

I mentioned that I thought big truck drivers didn't like bicyclists, and he agreed with me. He said he wipes out as many riders as he can. So when we ended that conversation, I got back on the road and willed the trucks to give my left elbow enough room as they sped past.

I came across this sign, and thought it was a great sentiment. I am very grateful for a lot of things - one being not getting run over by a truck. Another that it wasn't raining - yet. And another that I had pushed myself to go riding this morning. Because once I'm out there with Breehy's tires whistling in the wind, I feel a lot better about a lot of things.

Did I mention it was a very grey day? The rain clouds stayed overhead, no matter how fast I went.

When I reached 80 Avenue, I decided to keep on going straight for a while, and when I saw a Superstore, I thought I'd drop in and see if they had any hams for tomorrow's big dinner. And, Yes, they had. So I bought one, plus a salad and yogurt parfait for a picnic lunch when and if I came across a picnic spot on the way home.

Then it was on the road again, with Ham in Breehy's basket, until I neared 72 Avenue and saw this sign. I pulled Breehy onto the sidewalk for a little walk to the intersection a few metres away. At the bottom of the pic, you'll notice Ham posing for its first photo shoot.

Because there was a fine hill after the intersection, I decided it was a good time to cut across town on my way home.

Just a wee bit on 72 Avenue, and look what I found - Cougar Creek. I had tried to find some info about Cougar Creek Park online this morning, as a possible destination, but could only find it in reference to a school - of children, not fish. But here was the creek itself. Cool. There was actually water in it, too, and I could hear it splash and gush its way down the short bed. Cougar Creek is actually made up of a lot of culverts, but I guess the salmon don't care if they get to where they're going in tunnels.

And another photo op for Ham.

I knew (or thought) there was another greenway cutting across this street, and sure enough, I found it. This is the Serpentine Greenway, and it's a really good ride through meadow and shrub land.

Lots of bull rushes, but no babies in baskets.

I did, however, meet a 3 month old Golden Lab puppy who seemed very interested in Ham. He ended up using my hand as a teething toy for a few minutes, before his daddy called him off.

The day remained grey, and I did feel a couple of raindrops on the way.

Reached Scottsdale. I've seen that word on buses, and now I know where they go.  Maybe they take spies here to get their Agent 66 equipment.

And then, by some unfortunate twist of fate, I ended up at the intersection of 88 and 120 again. Guess somewhere I veered left instead of right. My sense of direction isn't so great. I crossed the intersection, and found a little tiny spot with a couple of benches and a non-functioning fountain, and decided to have my lunch with the sound of many vehicles, horns, sirens and people around me.

Lunch was a small Chicken BLT salad ($2.93), and I must say, for a pre-packaged salad from a huge supermarket, it was extremely fine. The lettuce was fresh, there was lots of chicken, bacon, cheese, tiny tomatoes - and the Renee's Sweet Onion Vinaigrette dressing topped it off amazingly well. It was so filling I decided to take the yogurt home for later.

However, it didn't warm up while I was eating, I think it actually cooled off a bit. The wind was cold again in my face and hands - but the sight of these pretty little roses warmed my heart a bit.

And I rode home. First thing was to plug in the kettle for a cup of Hot Chocolate, then it was my Yogurt Parfait, which was also delicious. A sweet cool finish to a sweet cool trip.

I found this Smrt Gals post about October weather, and thought some things never change. I suppose Octobers will always be cold, and they will always jump on you and remind you of how you complained during the hot summer weather.

October, 2009

This is a winter day, even though it's only October first on the calendar. Here I stand at the bus stop, wishing my fingerless gloves had fingers, and wondering where the hot flashes are when you really need them. The wind blows at my umbrella, the raindrops reroute themselves so they take a ballroom dip and sneak under it to kick me in the face, and I find myself once again complaining about the weather.

Yes, leaves are falling. Rain is falling. It's Fall. My favourite season, actually, although it's hard to appreciate the rich warm colours dressing the trees, when I'm shivering, hunkering, dancing almost, when my goose bumps have goose bumps and my warm jacket isn't quite warm enough.

And I remember this past summer, when the sun blazed its way through clear skies and it was hot enough to make your knuckles sweat, when a few hours walking around Stanley Park resulted in sunburned skin peeling from my shoulders like old paint from an abandoned boat, and I swore and complained and longed for cooler days.

Guess my prayers were answered. Now if only the lottery ones were next.

This little map is the best Paint would let me do today. If you imagine the red line going straight up from the bottom left to complete a rectangular sort of box, you'll see my trip for the day - about 17 km - 10 miles.