first day of fall?

So on the calendar and lunar cycles, it may say that it's officially the first day of fall. Apparently it arrives at 5:18 EDT today.

However, the locals have been saying that September is fall here, to expect snow at any time during September, and that winter starts officially in October.

So, September 22, 2009, first day of fall, is our first day with any kind of accumulated snow.

I went out with Squire this morning, and thought 'wow, that's a pretty heavy frost'. As I'm standing there while she finds the perfect pee spot, I thought to my self 'hmmm, that frost is falling in an awful snowlike fashion....'

It's not a lot of snow, I don't even know whether you can tell in pictures (I'll try to post them at lunch break.) But teeny tiny flakes are still flitting past my window here at work.

First day of fall up here feels an awful lot like the first day of winter.

fall colours, nite skies, and special deliveries

Random photoiness from the last few weeks here. We've been completely negligent in our posts. You'll have to forgive us, as you know internets were infrequent. But we now have a permanent connection, so *fingers crossed* posts should be more frequent.




There are lots of really interesting local plants. This little plant goes up the side of Mount Baker Lake, and the whole sections of the side of the hill are red right now with colour. Although we won't see the leaves changing colour, there are definite changes in the foliage up here too.




Oftentimes, the moon is really pretty up here. OH! And we saw northern lights the other night for the first time. I took a picture of that too, but um, well, it's just a black sky in the photograph. I'll have to play with settings to see if we can't get some good shots.



So it wasn't quite Santa Claus (although there were times we thought about enlisting his help... how busy could he and the team be? It is only September...) but it was still kinda like Christmas morning when we finally got our stuff. About 50 boxes came the first day, and another 40 or so the next. Glad to say that everything made it up ok ('he''s computer fan is slightly damaged but still functional), and we're really enjoying having the ammenities of home. Never thought I'd miss a slow cooker, our books, and my shoes so much.

Mount Baker Lake

Ok... so not really a mountain, but it's a pretty big hill with an awesome view overlooking the town and the lake.

It's always really picturesque up there, no matter the weather. There's a well kept trail that runs up the back side (the local kids climb up the face) that's great for jogging up. You can pretty much see the entire town from up there, including the airport and the hill behind it.

It's become a popular choice for weekend excursions (coffee in tow... not quite Tim Horton's, and it costs about twice as much as Timmies.) Even during the week, Squire and I will often head up there on a walk.

A bit of Baker Lake perspective... the big blue building on the right side of the photo is his office, on the north edge of town. Our house is on the road in the centerish of the photo. Oh, my office is on the exact opposite side of the mountain from our house/his office.....




An example of the difference in culture up here:

#1. Dogs as pets are super cool. So are you if you have one. Kids come running from miles around, and will follow you around town for hours, just to hang out with your dog. Without fail, the first question is "does it bite?" almost always followed by "what's the name?" Kids up here may not be too sure on child vs car etiquette, but they are certain of child vs strange dog etiquette.

#2. Strangers aren't scary. Kids have *no* fear of strangers. They are extremely friendly, and very willing to share their name, where they live, and all that other personal information that kids back south are taught never to share.

Anyway, these two local boys followed us up the hill, and then asked to play fetch with Squire.