Spare a thought for Arnica Rowan, who has written so often for us, most recently this account of Canadian Thanksgiving and the role played by wild turkeys. She lives in the heart of British Columbia's wine country and in July sent a heart-rending description of the effects of unaccustomed wildfires there, in Okanagan Valley frazzles. You may have read that Vancouver and its hinterland has been severely lashed by rain and consequent serious flooding. I asked how Arnica and her family were faring. Above, her backyard garden last spring.
We are fine, although I do feel a bit melancholic.
At time of writing, 4 pm on Wednesday 17 November in Kelowna, I'm sitting with candles beside the fireplace on my cellular iPad … power is out. Kids are playing board games by candlelight at the table with their friends, while I write a new wine-label brand plan on my iPad. Glad cell service is back online as it was out most of Monday and Tuesday. That was really inconvenient.
I'm very grateful for my chickens making eggs in the yard and the veggie garden still producing, as there was a major run on the grocery stores yesterday. All the stores are empty. Really empty. All supply routes from Vancouver up to our home in Kelowna and the rest of the province were washed out. So they are talking about routing grocery trucks through Washington (a seven-hour detour) but it might be a few days to a week before the stores are restocked.
Almost all the dairy and chicken farms near Vancouver were flooded, with all chickens and many cows dying, so food shortages will likely continue for a few months. Thankfully, we like fish and beans. We have enough food to last us for two to three weeks though if necessary! Plus I might go replant some winter veg just in case.
It certainly feels a bit apocalyptic around here. But we will be fine! It's a been a very harsh dose of reality this year in western Canada and we had better get used to adapting to the changing climate.