Thursday, November 02, 2017

Into November We Go



On Sunday afternoon (after our tea at the Abkhazi Garden mentioned in the previous post), we met up with our eldest daughter and her family for a walk. 



This is the time of year when Pacific Salmon return to their birthplace to spawn the next season's fish, and then die. 



Tall cedar and maple trees line the banks of the Goldstream River. They crowd out the sun and dapple the light on the water. Occasionally, looking up through a clearing, one sees the burnished shades of autumn against the blue sky.



The salmon run is late this year, and although we saw a number of dark silvery fish hanging out in quiet deep pools, they have not yet laid their eggs nor turned red and begun to die. 

Leaves drifted and swirled down from the trees along the pathways, mesmerizing to watch. They came singly at times, or in great flurries when a breeze passed through the branches. 



Here's the November 1st birthday girl hiding behind a big leaf. (edited to add - My birthday is at the end of October; our daughter's on the first of November.)
The golden days of October shifted dramatically with the turning of the calendar to November. Sun and warmth have given way to chilly temperatures, wind, and cold rain, with snow at higher elevations. Most unusual this early. A portent of things to come? We'll see.

How are things in your corner at the beginning of November? 

29 comments:

  1. You really live in a magical place, Lorrie! Superb pics!

    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy birthday for the 1st, hope it was a good one. Your maple trees are glorious, something that is missing from our shores. Still very mild here although getting colder this weekend. B x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice to see the fall foliage still hanging around. What a lovely walk.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

    ReplyDelete
  4. The maple trees are wonderful it looks like you had a great walk. Sort of damp and misty here today but yesterday was lovely and we had a long walk under trees too, mostly oaks:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Belated Happy Birthday to the birthday girl - lovely walk - it is getting decidedly chilly here too, and warm summer days are beginning to feel like the distant past.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds like your birthday was a good one, Lorrie. So much beauty to be seen, isn't there?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy belated Birthday! My birthday is in November too. It looks like you have a wonderful place to go walking!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Belated birthday greetings to you my blogging friend!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That's one of the biggest leaves that I've seen! I read online that Victoria beat the Eastern cities for the first snowfall. The salmon are also doing their spawning run down here. Enjoy the weekend, Lorrie!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Belated good wishes for your birthday.
    Lovely to see your photo's ...
    I just love this time of year for the wonderful colours nature provides.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great photos Lorrie...cute picture of the shy one peeking out from the leaf!
    its been a brilliant autumn and now we have a dusting of snow.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful autumn photos Lorrie ... and then I saw your snow on IG!! So strange to see snow in your town at anytime in winter. We're basking in warm sunshine this afternoon ... hope it holds all weekend as I have some work outdoors to finish up.

    ReplyDelete
  13. And now we have that freak snowstorm. Wild! That's one huge maple leaf! Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous5:10 PM

    Happy Belated Birthday, Lorrie. Oh my that is a HUGE leaf!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Magnificas imagem outonais. Bom fim de semana. Abraço.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great pictures and a Happy Belated Birthday!!!

    Our weather is cold and rainy and it is snowing a bit north of us- predicting 4"-6". UIgh- I am not ready---but then I am never ready. xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  17. What glorious color revealed in your gorgeous photos!! Happy (belated) birthday to you and your girl!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful pictures Lorrie...such lovely colours. We are having a lovely autumn here too, and like you I love to go for walks and enjoy it all. Happy weekend xox

    ReplyDelete
  19. That is one BIG leaf!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Happy Birthday! I love your leaf portrait! :) Our November started with a bang and we got snow. For 2 days! Have a great weekend! :) Kit

    ReplyDelete
  21. That leaf is huge! You still have some wonderful fall colors. I am highly suspicious of the cold snap. I don’t think it will last. I certainly hope not. Our weather is mild, but on the chilly side. I’ve been working outside today and I feel chilled to the bone. Foliage is pretty much gone. Happy Belated Birthday 🎈

    ReplyDelete
  22. Happy Birthday to you and your daughter. Your walk looks so beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I've heard we're having a warmer, dryer winter, but we'll see. Wonderful photos and amazing leaf covering the birthday girl!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Do you think that we will have a cold winter this year? The colours have been beautiful this fall. Happy birthday to you and the eldest. I love autumn.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Love that last picture! And may I say Happy belated Birthday to you and your daughter.

    Your photos are beautiful! Hugs and joy!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Lorrie - that's a mighty immense leaf! Aren't you glad you don't have to rake them up? Our snow has continued off and on since the first day of the month - estimating we have 8 inches so far ... yes, maybe we'll have another winter like last!! Have a super week!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Happy birthday to you and your lovely daughter! Lovely vistas where you are... I just sometimes marvel at the range of your photos from gardens (Abkhazi, Butchart, your backyard) to the beautiful places you two go boating, to these lovely photos of the stream, to the beautiful snowy mountains and cabin you went to last winter. Just so much "scope for the imagination!" We are celebrating a birthday today, also... my middle son's. He's the one that still hugs his mom (more like engulfs his mom) and is not afraid to show how much he loves me. :) He's also the smarty pants, Summa Cum Laude graduate, now in grad school and working everyday, too. We are thankful. Hope you both had fun celebrating your birthdays!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Happy Belated Birthday ... beautiful Fall scenes and that's a great way to show how big those gigantic leaves really are -- we see them in the mountains around here as well..

    ReplyDelete
  29. Birthdays here too. Mine 4th and Alan's yesterday. I'm wondering if the large leaf is a Maple. Whatever the pattern and colour is the same as the Sycamore here which is fairly large. From the tree in my road our 2 driveways are deep in leaves right now.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment. I read and value each one, cherishing the connections we can make although far apart. Usually, I visit your blog in return, although if you ask a question I try to contact you directly.

A Wander Through my Mind

  Nothing is so beautiful as Spring -  When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Gerard Manley Hopkins When I opened my bedroom...