Early November Musings...

November on the west coast of British Columbia always presents interesting weather.  What is most consistent though is the true beginning of the winter rains.  And rain it did, these past several days.  In some cases, there were record rainfalls.

A walk in the forest, between rains.

With proper clothing, regular drizzle doesn't deter us from our regular hikes or walks in the neighbourhood.  What does deter us though are the heavy downpours that we have witnessed these past few days.  

On one of our walks.

One of our favourite nearby places to hike is the Aldergrove trail system. With heavily forested hills and valleys, open meadows, creeks and wooden bridges, this area is visually appealing anytime of the year.

One of the groomed pathways

Witness the heavy fog when we walked out of the forest and into one of the open meadows.

Sharing this trail with horses and riders

This particular trail is shared between bicyclists, hikers and horsemen and horsewomen. It is always a pleasure to stop and chat people up when they show an interest to do so.

The horseman Jeanette engaged in conversation with was a very friendly fella.

He invited us to visit his farm, close by.  We have a few things in common.  His wife is of Ukrainian descent and so is Jeanette.  Both women speak and read the language.  He and I have something in common too.  We are both French Canadians and he, like me, is fluently bilingual.  It was fun chatting him up while conversing in the French language.   His riding buddy was quite engaging too.

Owen, in Edmonton, got pretty excited about his first Halloween.

Deni and Courtney did get Owen dressed up for his very first Halloween outing.  We understand the neighbours were very generous with Halloween treats too. I bet he had to work hard to drag that goody bag back home.

 Readying for some Halloween door knocking.

A nice way to get around is to ride on daddy's back.  I remember when Deni (Owen's dad) rode on my shoulders.

Saturday's chore?   Winterizing our underground sprinkler system.

My neighbour and I have underground sprinkler systems and we helped each other set up my compressor to remove the water from the underground lines.   Saturday's weather was ideal.  We actually had some nice sunshine and the mild temperatures made for a pleasant time outdoors.

Neighbour, Jack, is assisting me with in our front yard.

We tackled the neighbour's yard first.   With nine zones, it took us a bit longer to complete the job.  Our yard has six zones and we made quick work of that.  So, a few hours after we started, our sprinkler systems were winterized.  One more check mark on the 'to do' list.

Sunday 'Open Mic' in White Rock.

Although we often meet at a coffee joint, we've taken to gathering at Hemmingway's - on White Rock Beach - for the second half of our Sunday 'Open Mic' gatherings.  The outdoor (heated) seating appeals to us and we get to enjoy the ocean view directly across from the sitting area.

While I was busy working to solve the world's problems, Jeanette was being far more productive with baking.

Tuesday's forecast called for sun and mild temperatures.  That was enough of a carrot to draw me outdoors to move a few trailers around and pull our 5th wheel to the front driveway.

With Easton visiting for a sleepover with us, I had a good helper for all of those fun outdoor chores.  A typical little boy, Easton just loved being outdoors and he was quite engaged in all of the tasks. Hooking up trailers and moving stuff around was pure fun for him.

Easton is checking out the lights on the motorcycle trailer.  They all worked

The motorcycles were moved around and the motorcycle swivel wheel (that attaches to our 5th wheel) was parked in the garage for maintenance checks.

Easton stood in the back seat of our F-350 when it was hitched to the 5th wheel.  Now, that was something to see.  When I started to pull the 5th wheel forward, he was thrilled to view that from the back seat too.  Plenty of excitement for him to witness.  

Taking a little break from the work.

Our daughter Ginette drove up while Easton and I were outdoors.  She was dropping Brie off for a few hours while she ran some errands.  With both kids to look after, Easton hung out with me while Brie was kept busy hanging out with Jeanette in the house and outdoors too.

Fun with the toys in Nana's house.

With both kids getting a lot of time outdoors, it took little time for them to nap following lunch.  While they were napping, I got back outdoors and washed off all of the black streaks on the 5th wheel.  That done, I then took a fresh bucket of soapy water, along with a wash brush and the hose, on to the roof.  The grime washed and rinsed, the roof looked nice and white again.

I do have to replace all three plumbing roof vents though.  All three are showing signs of sun damage and one cracked when the wash brush touched it.  Those parts will be purchased and installed within the next day or two.

One more photo with the grand kids.

Once the motorcycle trailer, the utility trailer and the swivel wheel were sorted out and stored, the 5th wheel was returned to the driveway.  

Attaching the motorcycle swivel wheel hitch assembly

My little right hand man was quick to try out the ratchet wrench.

 Brie watched me while I was rinsing off the soapy roof. 

Of course, Nana would take her to investigate the leaves on the ground in the back yard.  So much new stuff for her to learn.

Brie is enjoying the warmth of the sunshine while keeping an eye on me near the back of the fiver roof.

With the 5th wheel up front, and easily accessible, all of the necessary checks will be completed before we begin loading stuff inside.  We have plenty of lead time to get everything accomplished.

Thanks for dropping by.