Published in Peachland

Not a whole lot new to report since my last post … actually, there’s pretty much nothing new to report since my last post. But when has that ever stopped me from filling up more than a few paragraphs of what many would likely describe as filler. So be it.

With work projects being more than a little elusive of late, I’ve spent a fair bit of time hiking some of the local mountain trails (and occasionally improvised trails). Not surprisingly, I’ve yet to tire of the Okanagan Valley. Although, I would like to return again in the summer sometime. August, in particular. My last summer-stop here was in 2015 as part of my Kitchener-Vancouver-San Diego-Florida cycling tour. And it was then that I had the absolute best peaches. Ever. Peaches have alway been my favourite but I didn’t know peaches could be SO good. I kind of feel bad for all the other peaches to which these Okanagan peaches will forever be compared.

Other than hiking, the biggest excitement of late here in Peachland was probably the Family Day event at the local riding club. While there were no horses in attendance, there were a couple of skating rinks. And a fire pit – I didn’t think fire and ice would react well together but in this case they did. There was also some free food and beverages, a tug of war, and about 60-70 people (and a couple of dogs) in attendance – all seemed to be enjoying themselves. I didn’t bring any skates with me or have any access to said equipment (which may be for the best as I haven’t skated in, well … a while) so I opted to take the drone up for a quick flight for fun and to document the event. Of course, with all the new regulations surrounding drones, I had to be somewhat selective as to my flight route – not that I thought anyone in attendance would care but it only takes one person (with nothing better to do) to complain. In the end, all went well.

I ended up taking some additional amateur (i.e., unpaid) footage from the ground and put together a one-minute highlight reel of Family Day in Peachland. I’d say it wasn’t really my intention to do that but since I had taken my camera with me clearly I thought it was a possibility. Have to keep busy after all.

I also submitted one of the drone photos to the local weekly newspaper, The Peachland View, and they ended up using it on the front page. I’m famous!! Or, my photo is anyway. Actually, this is third consecutive year one of my drone photos has ended up in the paper – the previous two were of the annual Polar Bear Swim on New Year’s Day. Despite the multiple publishings, fame and fortune has not followed.

Let’s see … what else is there to tell? Oh, have I mentioned that the Okanagan Valley is beautiful? Well, it is – if you like mountains, anyway. And I very much do. This past week has been especially nice with the sun and blue sky treating us to stunningly beautiful days and equally beautiful, clear and star-filled night skies. The latter being thoroughly enjoyed during my evening 5 km walks.

Sadly, my time out here is rapidly coming to an end for another season. For the previous two years my winter visits here have been for close to three months and included multiple house-sitting gigs. This year there is just the one. However, yesterday I had a great reunion with Rodger (of Rodger, Heather, and Jack the dog) for whom I house-sat in 2018 and 2019. Rodger and Heather stayed local this winter which means I won’t get a chance to visit with Jack the dog. For those unaware of my time with Jack, well … simply put, he’s my favourite dog. Ever. Seriously. That’s not to meant to diminish any of the MANY dogs I’ve taken care of and/or played with over my many years – it’s just that Jack the dog is, well … Jack. So, without a visit with Jack in 2020 I’ve opted to recycle a few visual memories (video below, photos in the Photo Gallery) of Jack from last year’s sit. Who’sa good doggg?? Yup, Jack is. And he SO knows it. But in a good way.

Oh, and while I’m posting videos … as I mentioned before, I haven’t had much to do in the way of work-related video editing lately – this video would be a good example of how to NOT make the most of some spare time.