Those brilliant yellow Aspen leaves are gradually falling from the trees, taking with them the beautiful fall colors I have so enjoyed. Also gone are the sunny skies, replaced by dull gray and showers.
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Here are some more Robson Valley Autumn photos taken on a walk on Jervis Road. I love the areas of solid colors in these shots.
There was a fog most of the way to Prince George, when we made the drive on Wednesday. It blanketed PG for most of the day. It was nice to return to a beautiful clear blue sunny day when we got back home to the Valley.
Prince George does have a problem with fog. The town itself is located in a bowl beside the Fraser River with lots of steam coming off of the pulp mill, and it can take a long time for their fog to disappear. Even though the Prince George Airport is located higher on land land above the bowl, fog can be a persistent problem for those people waiting to catch morning flights out.
This has happened to us more times than I care to remember. We did most of our international traveling starting with a very early flight out of Prince George in the Autumn. The fog would delay the first leg of our multi-leg flights, often for hours, causing us real problems in trying to catch the later flights we needed. We have learned to avoid early morning flights out of Prince George in the Fall.
The Birch and Aspen trees in the Robson Valley are currently showing off their brilliant yellow leaves. They are at their prime. Against the greens of the fields and blues of the mountains, the leaves create a beautiful accent for the eye. Our walk yesterday afternoon wasn’t much of an aerobic exercise because I had to constantly stop to take photos of the brilliance that surrounded me. Here are two shots.
We drive up to Prince George about once a month to stock up on supplies that we can’t find in little McBride. Our main destination in PG is Costco. Walking down the aisles of the store our eyes scan the products searching for things on our list that we need. We of course see things that weren’t on our list and we ask each other, “Do we need this too? “
The reply is always, “I can’t remember, maybe we should get it just in case.”
By the time we walk out of the door, we have a cart full of things that weren’t on our list. When we get home and unload our stash and start shelving it in the shop, we discover that we didn’t really need those things we weren’t sure about.
You hear a lot these days of Covid about people hoarding things. I’m don’t think we are hoarding, it’s more of the case of not remembering what we already have.
Above are two full bottles of avocado oil (we have another in the house). Below are three full cases of tomato paste, (I hope we don’t run out). We bought two loaves of bread, and when I went to put them in the freezer, I discovered three more loaves already there.
Since we store our extra food in our unheated shop, we face a problem--when temperatures get colder, we are going to have to move all of the freezable items into our already overstuffed house.
I think I need to find an app that will keep track of what we have before our next trip to Costco.
Autumn is a time of great transition. On my morning walk through the woods I noticed how different plants handled the change. The fern (above) has given up, its season in the sun over. A few steps down the trail I came upon some Bunchberry (below) it was still green and thriving, and it looked like it has evolved to hang on into much colder weather.
In the spring the timetable of plants is more obvious. They emerge and flower at different times. I guess I haven’t been paying as much attention to what the different plant species do in the Fall.
I’m not sure why I am so attracted to the images of abandoned or deteriorating things, be they vehicles or old farms, but my library of photos confirms that I am. Presently I am painting the rusting tailgate of the old GMC pickup I used to own.
I think part of the appeal for me are the changes brought on by time and age and how nothing lasts forever. The dreams in life are fleeting, and as Neil Young said in a song, “Rust Never Sleeps”.
This old homestead east of McBride has been a constant subject of my camera. I have often visually recorded its slow decline. It was nice to catch it with the turning autumn leaves in the background.
You can view the painting I am working on by clicking "Current Work" at davidmarchant2.ca
