Halloween at Wiltshire Street

The Wiltshire Street jack'o'lantern carved by Rowan with Diana and Meo kabitzing.  Very fine.  

But at 7:30 pm on Halloween night we have had NO trick-or-treaters and now the jack'o'lantern is keeping us company in the kitchen.  We would have had three next-door Song boys (Isaak, Orin, and Theo), but they have a new brother born last night(!) and are, I think, with grandparents.  Not having been home on Halloween for many years, I bought enough treats for 100.  I guess Rowan's residence pals (when she's back from Toronto field hockey) will benefit!

P.S.  Loved seeing Miss Muffet and a Witch in Oxford, and "les deux mortes et la Mexicana" at Rue Fabre.  Now we just need to see you (as a wild woolly? or a traveller?), Griffin.

last Oak Street Farmers' Market in 2014

This year, for the first time there is no "shall-we-or-shall-we-not" for next year.  So far, it is all "go".  Here is a sampling of our faithful vendors and musicians and volunteers at our last two 2014 markets.

Mohra of Forstbauer Biodynamic Farm in Chilliwack

Joseph and Judy of
Anderson Organic Farm in
Spences Bridge, BC.

It was SO wet that day, but people were buying produce right to the end of market.

Shelley of Sweet Thea's - pies of Thomson's pie-eating contest fame

Wing-Siu and his son Andy

Donald Adams

The first season that spirits are allowed at farmers' markets.  Here is "Back Yard" wine. 

The Blatherwicks drove from Northern Saskatchewan with their crop of wild rice.

And Langley Organics brought a box of kittens!  

This one found a home with one of the vendors.

Clarence is always there to sharpen knives and kibbitz with the volunteers.  

For the Hallowe'en market, he came as a Sasquatch, to go with Mary Forstbauer's lion.  

UBC Apple Festival Musicians

Well, after the UBC vs Calgary field hockey excitement on Sunday, Doco and I followed the crowd (40,000 in two days!) down the road to the UBC Botanical Garden and the Apple Festival.  Cole went to look at apples, but I never made it past the front gate.  I had come to hear my favourite Celtic musicians - Michael Burnyeat (fiddler in the hat) and Don Davidson (mandolin-er in sun-glasses), joined by Dave Lidstone (guitar) - and here they were, playing on the "Small Stage" right inside the entrance.  I sat on the grass with Michael's mum, Colleen, for their whole act.  The day had turned warm and dry, very kind to the many families streaming by, in and out. 

Lots of my favourites - Growling Old Man and Woman, Maple Sugar, Ashokan Farewell - and some new-to-me Canadian songs - the "Ookpik waltz" and the "Pelican Reel".

 Other members of "ErRatica" joined them for their last few sets.  

(My secret ambition is to be able to join in with my celtic harp!)  

UBC 4, U Calgary 0

Not such an uneven result, and more than enough to have UBC top the Western Canadian trio.  I was pleased to be there!  So, UBC is off to Toronto (along with U Vic) in two weeks for the Canadians.

In my attempts to photograph the goalie-in-the-wings, I seem to have captured some action in the foreground.  UBC in blue-and-white, Calgary in red.   My focus in the background - the yellow/orange #1, keenly taking stats, with coach Robin in white shirt beside (to the right).

Then the post-game hand-shake, medals, and awards (not all to UBC).

A happy team.

And a happy coach!

UBC 9, U Calgary 0

Here is a very happy UBC team after their 9-0 win over the University of Calgary today.  I wondered why the UBC ream was working so hard to keep getting more goals in the last few minutes, but Rowan said they needed to get 9 goals in the two U Calgary games (today and tomorrow) to come out on top of U Vic in the western Canadian division.  Looks as if they've done it in one!   But I guess they still need to win tomorrow.

Doco accuses me of gendered field hockey watching.  I don't go to see all of Thomson's games!  And Rowan wasn't even playing.  Ah well.  I say Doco and I are her only Vancouver-family rooters.  And, actually Rowan was more involved in the game - taking stats of both teams - than was the #1 goalie who may have touched the ball once.  

More tomorrow!

Intrepid UBC goalies

Two intrepid UBC Women's Field Hockey goalies, Rowan and Gabby, on Sunday afternoon after  sharing the UBC defence against Vancouver Hawks (lost 2-0 but played well I thought).  Rowan played in goal the first half, Gabby the second.  This photographer is not so good on action shots … but a fine photo of the two friends.

Blood Moon

Except that it wasn't

2:15am this morning:
I struggled awake enough to get out from under the snuggy duvet and head for the bathroom.  My feet hit the floor and an orange light from the window above our bed hit me in the eyes (no glasses on).  The "blood moon"!  How lucky was that!  (I had half heard a talk on CBC yesterday by UBC astronomer Jamie Matthews on the eclipse of the moon - to be full at 3am.  I think he said that the "blood-red-orange" effect is from light leaking around the earth when the eclipse is full.)  I headed off toward my bedroom closet.  Oops.  I thought I was still upstairs in the ranch house, with the moon shining in the south window over our bed.  Doco woke, looked around and said "Actually, it's the street-light in the lane." With my glasses on and my location sorted, I had to agree.  Took photo #1.  My "blood moon".  We laughed till we cried.

Then Doco mentioned that, when he was out walking at 10pm, he had seen the full moon in the east.  It would now be in the south.  So, while I was at it, I climbed the stairs to see what the actual moon was doing.  Was it an odd colour?  No.  Perfectly normal moon-coloured.  BUT, back under the covers, my brain said "Hey, wait a minute.  That was no full moon.  That moon had a bite out of it!"  It was eclipsing, and I had nearly missed it.  Photo #2.  We laughed even harder.

Photo #1.  My "blood moon"

Photo #2.  The actual eclipse with the moon half gone

Photo #3.  I at least can still see a moon sliver

Photo #4.  No more moon

 Having got this far I had to get up again in 20 minutes.  Photo #3.  The moon was almost gone, but no blood.  In another 20 minutes the moon had totally vanished, but so had the stars.  Photo #4.  I sat on the front steps (scurrying inside as the Globe and Mail delivery car came down the street) until 3:40am.  I then decided that either the clouds had thickened or the ancients were right and the moon was gone for good.   Either way, I climbed happily back into our snuggy bed.  Clouds permitting, we'll see tonight if the moon is back in full.
………………………….
Update, at 9pm the next night:  It came back!

Ranch bewitchings

Even this petunia, neglected for a month then pelted with rain, was fetching

And the grounds around the old ranch house are as attractive as ever 

Logging is a scar, but the ranch remains

The Bosun Lake is again accessible

And aquatic plants return

Ian, Emma, Scraps, and Meo

Looking south, late afternoon, from Aunt Heather's tree

Is it clear why we are bewitched?
Doco

my very first ever harp gig!

At Mercado, the organic-food restaurant in Silverton BC, October 2, 2014

photo by Shelley

      Harpists should be neither seen nor heard.  You might think that I was just sitting at home, playing, and it did feel delightfully like that.  Doco and good friends chatting away as they ate.  Nobody really listening, but every now and then I could tell that somebody was.  Rather like an evening in the Old Ranch House, but I didn't have to cook!  And for Shelley and Jim Dobie, a full house.  Cunliffe and Mary Barnett, here for one night from Lumby.  Douglas' colleague Emma Cunliffe and her husband Ian Greig, on their second night of a two-month stay in the ranch house.  Lori Langford and Jeff Bustard from "Sweet Dreams".  Chris and Tia and Tia's son Mike.  Julia, Devon, Norbert, Norbert's brother Hans and his wife Friedrun from Smithers.  Jeff and Ana at the end, after their work-day.  Alan and Marnie and their 3-year-old Nava(?) who just happened to be there.  And one other fellow.  NOT advertised.  

      Hmm … it's more-ish.  Maybe again next year?

Harvest

Such bounty from the ranch!

Doco, the strawberry farmer.  A picking on Oct 1.

.

Mick's carrots a-washing.  Chris, Christiane and Ana's sunflowers and onions a-drying.

Ian and Emma with our diggings from Mick and Ruth's garden - carrots, potatoes, and vole-nibbled beets, though mostly what you see is their large wooly dog, Scraps (trio here for 2 months).

Ian the happy washer of carrots.  Mick and Ruth the proud growers.
(Mick's Yorkshire mother and friend were at coffee in the ranch house. )

Ralph's sunflowers.  A present to Susie.

Betsy

Betsy in her new skin

Yesterday, I picked up Lori on her way home from looking after Helen Woods and we had a grand car-visit.  She said that as soon as Betsy became "theirs", Jeff got going on body-work.  Now people ask them if they have a new car.  Lori took Betsy up to Monica Meadows for a hike - the first time in 10 years that they have had a mountain-worthy car in summer.  As I dropped Lori off, I said I was heading to the Post Office in hopes of a replacement harp string.  I got it and Jeff and Lori joined our table at Mercado for my "harp gig".  Fun!

drunk robins

This is another of my famous "bird photos", not much improved.  I can't see it (the bird) either, but there are at least two robins in the rowan tree and another ten or so careening around in the air, drunk on fermented rowan berries.  Rowan-berry wine as a Bosun Ranch product?