...we're on a highway to Hope....

Yearning for the mountains, we decided to bundle everyone up in the car and brave the cold rainy weekend weather and head for the hills. Our mission was to find Hope. It was rumoured that Hope was a fairly pictureque place and so we thought the 2-3 hor drive might be worth it. We weren't disappointed - the scenery was great. There was fresh snow on the mountain top - you could see the lush green lanscape turning a frosty shade of white as your eyes moved higher up the mountain. It rained for most of the day, but did not snow. Hope turned out to be a pretty little town surrounded by mountains. It is the first of the mountain towns after leaving Vancouver. The summer tourist season had only been closed for a couple of weeks, so we missed going to a couple of places, such as Hell's Gate (a narrow part of the fraser River, which funnels the water through its passage with great force). Not far passed Hope was a town called Yale, which, at the hieght of the 1800's gold rush, was the largest town north of Chicago. Today the town was very small and there was little evidence of its former glory days.
Alex delighted in seeing many freight trains passing through this area. Ours was one of the few cars travelling that day. Most of the other vehicles were semi-trailers. There was a sign not far from Hope that stated that all vehicles travelling past that point would have to carry chains to wrap around their tyres in snowy times. Further up was a boom gate which closes the road if the snow is too bad. Past Yale, on the way to Hell's Gate, are a series of 7 tunnels which have to be navigated. With river to one side and steep mountains all around, going through the mountain was the only reasonable way to get from A to B. Still haven't seen any bears, and soon they will be off to hibernate for the wniter, so I guess we won't have any luck of seeing them now, until next year.

Rambo country

The Town of Hope. We stopped here for lunch. There really weren't that many nice eating places here, which was disappointing, but the scenery made up for it.
Rambo - First Blood was filmed here and the locals are REALLY proud of it. There is even a Rambo picture where you can stick your head through the hole and pretend you are Sly Stallone. Apparently Ashley is a Rambo fan!!!! I found this out when Ashley said he wanted to be photgraphed with his head in the Rambo cut out . Bewildered and dismayed, I asked "why?", accompanied by my best "are you insane...?" look. I heard no more about it!!! Other movies have been filmed here, but it seems none of them compare to Rambo - First Blood.

Fraser River from Hope

Although it looks like this picture of the Fraser River was taken in the secluded wilderness somewhere, it was actually taken while standing in the middle of the town of Hope, which was directly behind me.

Ladner Pumpkinfest

Last Thursday night, the businesses occupying the main street in Ladner put on the annual Pumpkinfest.
The Pumpkinfest is alot of fun, but the emphasis was on the kids. It only went from 5-7pm, but the kids were encouraged to attend wearing their halloween costumes. The local businesses were all open after hours, so all the children could go from business to business trick or treating. There were so many kids. Alex was a little overwhelmed at first, but once he saw that lollies were on offer, he soon got into it. After the "T or T", there was a best costume competition, one for kids and one for adults - a "dungeon master" won it for the adults, but the kids one is drawn out of a hat to avoid disappointment, and then all the entrants got a goody bag to take home. There was also a pumpkin carving competition. I am not sure what the winning entrant carved into their pumpkin. Then there was a scarecrow dressing competition- scariest and best, were the catergories. Just about everything on the evening was for free. They had clowns handing out balloon animals to the kids (Olivia cried) and the local supermarket photo lab. lady took pictures of the kids, which could be picked up a couple of days later, for free. For us, we were familiarised with more of the local businesses in the main street. The night made halloween feel like a real community event - and the rain stayed away too.

Deas Island

Deas Island, which is yet another of Greater Vancouver's regional Parks, is a mere 5 minutes from our place, but until the weekend, I couldn't work out how you got onto it. It was really worth the look. The tunnel that goes under the Fraser River, uniting Delta and Richmond, is situated on Deas Island. You can go there and take one of several walks, some go along the river, so you can watch the boats travelling by (we watched a tug boat haul a huge barge containing who knows what), or you can walk under a canopy of trees through other lanes in the park. Deas Island also has a camping ground and a rowing club. I guess you could also always play in the autumn leaves as Alex and Olivia did. Unfortuantely my camera died while we were here, so I didn't get to capture the essence of the place, but sisnce it is so close I can go there anytime.

Iona Beach part 1

Since our arrivalto Canada we have tried to seek out interesting places to explore. We have been particularly drawn to natural settings and have marvelled at the beauty of so many of these places. When we were in the hotel, Iona Beach was so close, but something put us off going there. A couple of people have also recommended we check out Iona Beach, which is also a regional park. As you can see by this picture, our hesitation and reservation about Iona Beach meant that we had simple delayed seeing some really great scenery and wildlife.

Musqueam First Nations land

When we were at Iona Beach, we saw some beautiful scenery and this is an example. The ocean was like a pancake, there was some heavy rain out to sea, which seemed to bathe the coastal islands in this lovely mist. The foreground shows a part of the lands belonging to the Musqueam First Nations. The various indigenous groups are referred to as "first nations" people. I believe that a large percentage of people identifying themselves as belonging to one of the various first nations bands choose to live on the reserves that are their own lands. The reserves are separate communities to the surrounding towns. And as I understand it, the reserves are governed by the first nations people; the "chief" (who can be male or female), being the head of the people. I haven't yet learnt very much about the various indigenous groups, but hope to invest time in this area and learn more about Canada's original inhabitants very soon. To me, it is the respectful thing to do, and besides, it is interesting.

Iona Beach part 2

There is also this great walk that can be taken, which consists of a straight 4 km stretch right out into the ocean. To the left is the airport, so you can enjoy watching the planes take off and land throughout your walk, and to the right are the lovely musqueam lands and distant islands. To the back is a great view of the Vancouver ridge, painted in all it's autumn colour. The fact that you are walking on 4kms of effluent dumping pipe and the ridge view looks out across some well disguised sewage ponds, simple needs to be ignored!!!! And yes- that was the part that initially, but needlessly, put us off.

Halloween is coming

Halloween is a HUGE deal here; the shops started to put out their Halloween merchandise in August. But since the beginning of October the heat has been stepping up concerning Halloween; and with less than two weeks to go until All Hallows Eve, there has been some crazy house and yard decorating going on. We have seen some pretty out there places - really getting into it. For instance, a yard was seen with a number of largeish tombstones in the front yard, skeletons hanging by nooses to trees in the front yard; coffins; homemade ghosts floating in the breeze - strung up like windchimes; enormous spiders adorning houses; even a garage door smeared with bloodied hand prints - all sorts of scary intentions. But my favourite whas this one; seen on a stobie pole out the front of a farmhouse on Westham Island. With all the spooky, morbid intent that comes with the Halloween theme, it was great to see that some folk hadn't lost their sense of humour, and had decided to join in the fun with a touch of the ridiculous. I also wondered if this was the work of an Australian - it is something an Aussie would do, and it sure tickled my funny bone.

Crumbs

Chefs generally have the reputation of being pretentious, cranky, old primadonnas (apologies to all chefs reading this blog), but now I can understand why. They have a hundred things on the go; they are trying to keep it all together and create this wonderful master piece which thier guests are simply going to rave about and extend a multitude of complements, all the while working with a staff, which always seems to consist of one, who just doesn't seem to understand the concept of teamwork, and consistently turns out to be an incompetent nitwit.
Alex and I embarked on the not so dramatic or demanding task of making a simple chocolate cake. We assessed our pantry stocks carefully and determined that we had just enough ingredients for one cake. We had never made this recipe before, but were confident that our combined expertise would result in a job well done.
I arranged all the ingredients we needed and measured them all out. Alex tippped them into the mixing bowl and stirred. I poured the completed batter into the lined cake tin and Alex licked the spoon. 40 minutes later, we turned out the perfect chocolate cake, well risen, rich in colour, moist appearance, and the smell....divine - Magnifico!
While the cake cooled we found we could bear the sweet aroma no longer, so we retired our chefs hats, bundled up Olivia, and went out for a run on the sport field next door and a hit of hockey. Upon our return we whipped up a rich batch of chocolate icing and lavished the cake with the delightfully luscious treat - Perfecto!
Alex again licked the spoon, but this time, was required to do so in the kitchen as a bit of a mess was made in the family room with the cake batter spoon. I left Alex to it and left the room for 5 minutes. This seemingly harmless act was to prove to be a fundamental error on my part.
Oh why was I unable to foresee the events that were about to unfold? Oh why had I not considered all the looming possibilities for disaster an iced cake, sitting defenceless all by itself could hold? For upon my return, I could hear the cluttering sound at the bench top where Alex was standing when I left, but Alex was sitting on the couch, engrossed in whatever was on TV. With a sense of panic beginning to develop in the pit of my stomach, I rounded the corner only to see Cobie on the bench top eating our marvellous creation!!!!! Profanities were uttered at rather alarming decabelles, but alas, it was too late. For only a handful of crumbs remained, he had eaten the entire cake. The doggy door was opened and Cobie undelicately booted outside. It was fastened to prevent his entry for a considerable time - he was in disgrace. And although the household was bitterly disappointed that not a crumb would passed our lips, the time-out, the yelling and screaming, the silent treatment and the dirty looks, nothing... seem to wipe the look of contentment off that bloody dog's face.

The Birds

Anyone who has had the fortune of living in the foothills of Adelaide, would know that living among the wonderfully colourful and chatty birds, is an absolute delight - like you are living in an actual avairy. Here, we hear no bird noises at all. This saddens me a little, since I loved to see and hear the Adelaide birds so much.
But for the past couple of days I have noticed at sunset and sunrise, flocks of geese flying in a V and honking away. I love it. They are, no doubt flying to (or away from) either Boundary Bay or The Reifel Bird Migration Sanctuary (such an unfortunate name for a bird sanctuary don't you think?) . There is something about birds, I just love all kinds. Hawks, eagles, parrots and lorikeets are among my favourite, there is something awe-inspiring about them and their presence, thier seemingly free life. I don't think I could ever have one as a pet; thier purpose is to fly.
I am really looking forward to going to the bird sanctuary again in November when it is said to be the best time to go. I wish I had bought a yearly family membership to the place last time, then we could have gone all the time and not had to worry about the cost (not that it will break the bank). In fact there are so many places in BC where you can buy a yearly membership, and the cost is not much more than a one off entry fee.

"Go fish" comic

There is something about a barrier that excites the imagination, whether it be the cupboard in your parents bedroom, which you imagine to be the hiding place for the yet-to-be-wrapped christmas presents, or the the door ANYWHERE that says "no admittance" or is suspiciously always locked with no indication as to what is behind it, or even the "prize" you are aiming to win when playing the clowns at the show!!! But nothing excites the imagination more than the thought of entering a new country.
This is what we did on the weekend. We decided to throw caution to the wind and enter the United States of America for a bit of a nosey around in Washington State's own Point Roberts ; a slither of a piece of land that fell victim to the 49th parrallel - the marker indicating where Canada ends and The USA begins (it is on the US side).
Well, we set out early, imagining a day full of adventure, discovery and sight seeing. We could only imagine what lay in wait for us, as we had been promised by Ashley's work mates "that it was really worth going there for a look". It only took us 20 minutes to drive from our house to the Canada/USA border crossing at Tsawwassen. When we got there we were asked to pull over and go inside to fill out some forms. We paid our visa-waiver fee of $6 each to enter the country and were glad to hear that we could then enter and re-enter as many times as we liked within the next 90 days - "cool". As we filled in the forms, the immigration personnel discussed amongst themselves, what they thought we might do once we were in Point Roberts - "they are Aussies, they are probably going to the pub", they said, loud enough for us to hear. We brushed it off as a joke about our Australianess and went on our merry way, wondering what delights were about to be unleashed upon our eyes. Now what I will next describe will be very brief, so listen carefully. What we saw, experienced and delighted in was this.... a daggy and really boring looking casino; a deralict jetty; a marina full of boats but not a soul anywhere to be seen; and no shops, other than a half dozen service stations with no customers, although one oddly had a sign on the door saying "help wanted", "with what", I wondered , "help to escape"!!! The whole place looked deserted, unfacilitated and a bit neglected. It was a bit (ok more than a bit) disappointing, and it was then that we realised the immigration officers weren't laughing at our Australianess, they were laughing because we were going to Point Roberts to "check out the sights", as we had informed them when asked, "what is your business in Point Roberts today?"
After about an hour unsuccessfully driving around the entire area, hoping to find what was "worth the look", we declared "bugger this, lets go 'ome", and we did with a cheer, as we drove back over the border and onto Canadian soil.

Chef Alex

Alex was so excited about Thanksgiving. His pre-school had gone on and on about it, so he had all these expectations. Therefore we thought we should make an effort and try and make it special. The main fare for Thanksgiving dinner seems to be exclusively turkey, but chicken is an acceptable second choice. Most people roast a whole turkey and some have a family recipe that has been handed down. There are all these other side dishes that you can have as well, like sweet potato mash with marshmellows on top (wierd huh). Alex made a picutre in pre-school which was laminated by the teacher. At the top it says "Thanksgiving 2005", below that the kids got to glue pictures of fruit and veggies into a "horn of plenty" shape - the symbol of Thanksgiving. In The States, Thanksgiving is celebrated in November and honours the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. In Canada it is held in October (obviously) and is celebrated to return thanks for the harvest - hence the horn of plenty thing. Under the horn of plenty picture, is a statement of what each child is thankful for; Alex's said, "Alex is thankful for his shoes". I had a bit of a chuckle at that. I asked him why he was so thankful for his shoes, and his reply was simple and practical, "they keep my feet dry" ( it rained on the way to pre-school that day). Alex was a huge help in preparing the meal. He wanted a hand in everything, but we did manage to limit his input to brushing the turkey with oil before it went into the oven; scooping up the cubes of potato and putting them into a pot to boil; helping to set the table; putting the cranberry sauce into a serving dish; and blowing out the candle at the end, which according to him, "was the best bit".

Thanksgiving Dinner 2005

Here we are about to tuck into our first Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner. It took 5 hours to cook the Turkey (roll - shhh). By the time it was ready Alex and Olivia were ready to devour thier own feet I think. But would you believe, after all that effort, Olivia couldn't sit still enough to eat and Alex announced that he "don't like it" - can we ever win? Alex made all the table decorations at pre-school and Ashley and I (at least) thought the meal was lovely, and we had a good day. We made ourselves the most basic Thanksgiving Dinner around (we researched the options on the net!!!), Turkey, mashed potato, peas, bread rolls, gravy and cranberry sauce and Pumpkin pie for dessert. Even with this simple spread, we were stuffed to the max and had to go for a long walk afterward to work it off. No one wanted tea that night.

Pumpkin Pie tastes like.......

Well I wasn't game to make my own, although since we had never tried it we probably would have accepted whatever taste and consistency we achieved as being authentic! Nevertheless, I thought we should experience what it was actually meant to taste like, so this one was bought at the supermarket. As you can see it sort of looks like a caramel tart, but what does pumpkin pie taste like........ drum roll please......
Well it wasn't far off a Balfour's custard tart, if you ask me. Distinct nutmeg flavour; baked custard consistency, and not so much as a hint of pumpkin flavour funnily enough. It was okayyyyyyy, neither Alex nor Olivia liked it (the devils), it was good enough to have once a year, but I can't see any of us , hanging out until October next year with a severe pumpkin pie craving. So there, sorry for the anit-climax. I guess the mystique of this North American festive treat, has now been quashed. If this dessert sounds like it is up your alley, here is a link to a recipe site: http://southernfood.about.com/od/pumpkinpies/r/bl21016d.htm- enjoy! .

Practicalities, for those considering a move

There are a few people who read this blog who are considering a similar move to what we have done. And while I try to make the blog somewhat entertaining and informative with the pictures, I am aware that I gloss over the challenges - especially the financial ones (who wants to hear about that). But since some people are thinking along similar lines, I thought I would write a blog dedicated to the practicalities of moving to Canada, so those considering a similar move will be informed of things that they might not have considered before. This information is not designed to put people off, but to bring awareness, so they can plan.
Firstly I will say, come for the experience not the money, because the living costs are similar to those in Australia. Secondly, we are considered only temporary residents at this stage, so we don't have as many rights, and being such new residence we have no credit history, which makes things more complicated. To get a loan we needed 35% deposit, but with the help of a mortgage broker we got that down to 25%. Canadians can get a loan with no money down, though I wouldn't recommend it, considering the cost of housing in Greater Vancouver. When looking at where you might live and the costs of buying a place, check out www.mls.ca. We looked at this site alot and were able to get a really good idea of the areas and the costs and style of housing over there. But when it came to teh crunch it was when we physically here that we could get a proper feel for considered areas. Investing in a street map of general area you are intending to go in Canada is a good idea. When we were looking at houses, we would sometimes find a house that seemed nice, but was considerably cheaper than comparable ones. The map often showed us why - beside a major highway, thoroughfare or cemetary!
We can't get a credit card or other or any other credit, such as a car loan or store card for 6 months, because we have no credit rating- evidence of a good one in Australia doesn't count. There are alternatives to getting a car loan, some car yards will sell a brand new car and have some shonky plan to let you new residents pay it off over 2 years. I don't know the details, but it sounded like a scan. We are actually secretly happy that we don't qualify for a credit card even though it would take the pressure off right now.
If you have kids, you aren't eligible for family assistance benefits for 18months of residency, which is not actually mentioned on the web-site - so that one got me. The Australian family assistance benefit will pay part B for 12 weeks after you leave and Part A for up to tree years if you maintain communication with the FAO.
You may as well not bring any electrical items from Australia unless they are dual wattage. Even with the right adaptors my electrical items struggles to the point of being useless.
In BC, at least, you will need to pay a security deposit when you hook up your gas with Terasen Gas, which is about $450 and comes along with your first monthly bill, and is paid back to you after a year. BC Hydro, the electric company, are the same, but their bill came along two weeks after we had hooked up and was a more reasonable $180 - they normally bill bi-monthly. Telus the national phone company are crap so avoid going with them. Shaw seem to be the preferred alternative, but you will need to sit down and compare each youself. You will need to buy a reciever if you want to get any kind of TV reception, these cost between $60-$200. If you get cable, don't bet on getting any decent channels unless yo are willing to fork out.
BC fuel costs about $1.10 at present and are generally cheaper for those who live further out of town. Ladner is pretty cheap, when compared to Richmond or Vancouver. Digital photos can be processed for .30c each including taxes. You don't pay for water here, it is covered in your council rates called property tax, which can be included with your mortgage, which for us is about about $200/fortnight, but it depends on the value of your property. If you buy a condo, consider the monthly service or condo fee, not all have them. They do range in cost, but some are really high. This fee covers grounds maintenece gardening and othere services -i.e some complexes have pools, gyms and other services.
Vehicle insurance in BC is scarily expensive -keep that in mind if you are used to being a two car family - we are paying $360/month! Make sure you get references from every vehicle insurer you have ever used in your life, with the PRECISE dates of when you were insured with them i.e dd/mm/yyyy, not just the month and year. If you have this documentation you may be elilgle for a discount. We have been trying for 5 months to get a discount because we didn't have the commencing day of when we were insured with a couple of companies. And while one company was fine about revising this information, we had heaps of trouble with the other company, they just couldn't see why we ahd to do this and were resistant to our additional requests, "don't complain to us...just give us the information we need!!!"
Medical insurance will cover all your hospital, doctor and dentist fees 100%, but the cards take three months to process. Keep that in mind because it will set you back $80- each person for a consultation only without a health card number. Also apply for a social insurance number (SIN) as soon as you get there. I think you need it to get paid - like a tax file number.
There is probably heaps of other things, but I can't think now. I want to say that our experience here so far was been very positive and good, we think Canada is a beautiful and peaceful country and we are enjoying our life here. Not that we disliked Australia, we love Australia - it is where our hearts lie - but when called you must respond....

On a cool October day...

Today we went to Boundary Bay conservation Park and did the dyke walk, which divides the bay from the conservation area. Boundary Bay is right next to Tsawwassen - the next town over. It was the best day for walking; not too cold and not a breath of air (although the distant mountains appeared to be getting a down pour). Alex rode his bike almost the whole way. It was nice to get out into nature again and go for a bit of an explore.

Boundary Bay

Boundary Bay is a world renowned haven for migrating birds (or so the sign said!) - for those escaping the South American heat and those escaping the Siberian cold. There were alot of birds in the bay on this day, not that this photo adequately picked them up (imagine...). We did see tonnes of ducks, a herron, a harrier, many of the standard crow that never leaves, and some tiny birds, whose names I have completely forgotten. November is the best time to spot migratory birds, but I think the migration commences late Setpember early October.

Olivia

Olivia on look-out duty (18 onths old).

Alex

Alex conducting an important environmental study at Boundary Bay.

Alex and the soccer

Alex has just started attending a soccer skills group for 3-5 year olds and he LOVES it. The people we stayed with in East Vancouver had a couple of boys 9 and 12 year olds, they were very into soccer and Alex would watch them kicking the ball around out the back. A couple of times he joined them and then pestered them to go out and kick the ball some more. When we moved to Ladner we bought Alex a soccer ball so he had something to kick around on playing the field next door. He really enjoyed it and we think he is pretty good, since both Ashley and I are fairly clueless of the skills required. He quickly got to kicking the ball as he ran along. So we asked him if he would like to play soccor, and he replied in the affirmative. They don't have teams for kids that little, but they had a skills group for his age. Alex was very excited to go. It is held in a gym, I guess so the instructor is not spending teh entire class chasing balls all over the country side. Alex was meserised throughout the whole 45 inute class. He listened attentively to the teacher and showed alot of control in what he was doing, where most of the other kids just wanted to boot the thing as hard and as far away as they possibly could. He was so cute. He did really well and was really proud of himself afterward, and asked if he could "do that again tomorrow" - bit like the pre-school. Unfortuately for both of these new activities he has not been able to attend for the past little while and forseeable future, due to a province wide teachers strike, which effects pre-schools as well as soccor instructors apparently. He was a bit disappointed, but what can you do. The government did a bit of a dastardly deed to the teachers, who had been out of contract since June. Over the government refused to negotiate a bargain of any kind to the teachers, throwing 0% on the table that they were willing to negotiate over with the teachers. Since the teachers were out of contract they threatened to strike, if contracted they would not legally be able to do this. So when the strike was called, the government passed a quick bill that extended the teacher's already concluded contract to June 2006, without negotiation of any kind. The teachers are extremely angry and are currently conducting an illegal walk-out; their employers are facing huge fines for the inconvenience, with picketters wages reduced to $50/day. I can see where the teachers are coming from and understand their frustration and anger over the way the goverment has handled this. The strike is causing chaos for working families who have to find alternative arrangements for their children or take time off to care for them while school is out. I feel sorry for the low income earners and others unable to take time off, but are forced to do so under the circumstances - thier wages are reduced to $0/day. I guess the teachers are trying to emphasise their importance to the community and that they are indeed an essential service. I hope it is resolved soon, little kids like Alex don't really understand why they can't go to soccer or pre-school and are disappointed, even if many of the older kids are just loving the extra days off.

Cranberry bogs

The growing process for the humble cranberry had never really invaded my thought space too much in the past - all I knew for sure was that the cranberry is red; cranberry sauce tastes yummy with turkey; and it a refeshing and healthy, yet almost inaccessibly expensive drink. Here in Canada, and in the cooler parts of the US, the cranberry flourishes and is a huge industry. Cranberry juice is very affordable too. The cranberry is harvested in autumn and is grown in these "bogs", as shown here. They require scary amounts of water to thrive, so they are not the most environmentally friendly crop, therefore cranberry crops are best reserved for damper regions.
In pretty Fort Langely, they even hold a Cranberry Festival, which has been held over the Thanksgiving long weekend for the past 10 years.

Field of pumpkins

Fields of pumpkins are a pretty common sight in the area right now. They are the poster vegetable for both Thanksgiving and Halloween, which both occur in October here in Canada (Thanksgiving occurs in November in The States). The unfortunate thing about this colourful vegetable, is that the majority don't eat them. They are used mainly for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, which if you are ignornat of what this food is, as I was, is actually a sweet dessert pie. I am yet to try it, so I am unable to describe it at this stage, but I do intend to try it out when Thanksgiving is upon us - keep posted for that one..... Other than that the pumpkin seems to be a largely decorative item. There are mini ones, sorry "ornamental pumpkins", that people use for display purposes, and of course there is the larger variety, which are hollowed out and carved for the Halloween Jack-o-lanterns. Both of these cultural traditions are a bit lost on us, but I guess we will shakily participate as best we can. Oh, they do have butternut pumpkins here, which are used in cooking, but are referred to as "butternut squash", so if you are talking about a favourite savoury pumpkin recipe to a Canadian (and many Europeans so it seems), and they turn their nose up at it, make it clear that it is the butternut variety that you are probably using.

Autumn leaves begin to colour-up

Autumn has definately arrived, although this photo was taken on one of the last sunny days we had. This is a picture of a beautiful Elm tree, which is on Grove Ave, the next street over. I love walking down this street. There of two of these trees in a row, and they are spectacular. Unfortunately for the neighbour across the road, they drop a spectacular amount of leaves too. As I was walking past the other day, there was a gardner at the tree-owners house, ( apparently a very elderly lady) the gardener's truck was choccers with leaves, and there were still piles to scoop up.
I love the Canadian autumn, or "The Fall" as it is known over here. It is my favourite time of year (due to my eye problem I can actually see!!!). Everything looks so healthy and lush after the months of sunshine. The squirrels are hurrying around collecting all the acorns in anticipation for the winter months. The firey coloured leaves are bright against the grey skies. And you can spend a good chunk of time outside without worrying about hats, sunscreen or burning. In Australia I loved it just as much - autumn meant that things would once again began to turn green. I also never really enjoyed the heat, so the crisp air came, to me, as a welcomed relief. Ashley and I always loved to spend heaps of time in the Adelaide Hills in the Autumn, and winter for that matter. If you haven't tried it, I thoroughly recommend you take a drive through Algate, Stirling, Heathfield, Piccadily etc... stop in at the Uraidla Pub for a meal and/or drink in the restaurant for a break. Pick a day when it is any combination of cold, wet or foggy. They have an open fireplace and excellent food - very cosy. Ooh, and make sure you stop into the apple orchards in Summertown for fresh off the tree apples - just before Anzac Day is the best time to go. You can also pick your own at some orchards, which we did every year.
I digress- South Australians will now have to wait a good six months for this magical time, so this information is pretty useless. Anyway, most Australians are probably sick to death of the cold miserable weather by now, just as I am welcoming it in.

Autumn in Ladner