Home Sweet Home Again

I thought I would never say that I liked home better than vacations but after another 10 days away, this time in Alberta,  its great to be home.  I do enjoy visiting family and friends but the weather in Alberta sucks.  Yes the economy is thriving and many young folk go there for jobs and being able to make a good salary is a factor that can make life easier and therefore better. After all,that was our life choice during our productive working years. But I think Albertans buy more stuff, more toys and possessions to compensate for the lousy weather.

Here's Calgary during one of the few sunny breaks last week    

And here is a view

of the highway east of Edmonton

K and I had a pleasant drive back through the Roger's Pass.  The sun brightly shone on fresh snow up on the mountains but the roads were bare and dry.  There was little traffic and no construction.  We stopped lunch in Revelstoke where we saw our first spring flowers:

When we got to Vernon,  we went for a walk up Bella Vista Road, then crossed the hill west of our house.  We could see Okanagan Lake and look back towards Vernon and Silver Star, still white with snow.  The Balsam  Arrowroot are in bloom all over the hills:

It is good to be home, I plan to stay put for a while!

    

Home Sweet Home

We have returned from a terrific three week trip to Mexico, flying direct from the  Kelowna  airport to Cancun from where we toured the Yucatan for two weeks and then flopped at an all-inclusive for five days of self indulgence and gluttony.
We were actually really excited to come home.  Sitting in our hot tub our first morning back in Vernon, we could hear the chatter of birds, smell the freshness of the damp soil where iris and tulips have pushed their new green leaves up to catch the spring sun, soon to bloom, joining the yellow glory of the forsythia and sturdy pink spikes of hyacinth. and the vibrant coloured primulas.Ah the joy of early spring, a joy not experienced on the prairies where a few warm days in March and April might tease you between snow storms but real spring does not settle in until late May.

Early spring flowers in my garden

Yesterday we hiked up to John's Jump in Kalamalka Provincial Park, through the forest of Ponderosa Pines and new green grass to the rocky outcrop where we looked down upon a still Kalamalka Lake, circled by hills showing a hint of green with snowy Terrance Mountain standing in the distance.

 Early spring in Kalamalka Provincial Park

 The Balsam Arrow Root whose bright yellow daisy-like flowers cover the hills from April until June were starting to bloom.

Balsam Arrow Root early blooms overlooking Kalamalka Lake

Today it is raining here in Vernon but that means fresh snow up at Silver Star, more fresh snow to add to the 10 cms received last night, bringing the cumulative snow fall of the season to 30 cm from the usual 700 cms expected each year.
Tomorrow is the last day Silver Star is open for skiing, although Sovereign Lake will close for a couple weeks so ski teams can take advantage of late season training and then be open until the end of May for cross country skiing.  As a celebration for their season pass holders, Silver Star hosts a free barbecue.  We look forward to chowing down a burger, having the last "flat white" for the season and maybe going for one last ski.  We have to leave early though as the VOC (Vernon Outdoor Club) is having a social at a local restaurant.  Hiking and biking started this last week.  Ah, it's great to be home!

Skiers line up for free burgers on last day of season at Silver Star Mountain Resort April 7, 2013