Through the thoughtfulness of a neighbour, the generosity of the Kamloops Indian Band, a little effort from the community and co-operation from Mother Nature, in 20 years the children and grandchildren of residents should enjoy the shade of hundreds of young Douglas fir trees, planted last week. Residents helped themselves to the seedlings in a box on the side of the road marked “free.”
One neighbour was shocked when he took the last of the little bundles back to his cabin. Thinking he had taken the last four trees, he carried the bag home, only to learn he now had the arduous task of planting 40 trees on his lot.
Puppy love
Several upsetting incidents of missing dogs this summer have prompted the suggestion that residents, particularly seasonal residents, put a tag with local contact information on their dog’s collar.
A tattoo or microchip may be appropriate in urban areas – where the information can be deciphered – but in a remote area, a name, address and phone number will help reunite owners with their pets much faster.
Spraying season
For those eligible residents unable to attend the July 11 dispensing session in 100 Mile House, the invasive plant team will host another session in early August.
Thistles and burdock are targeted invasive plants in the area. Call Natalie Borkowski at 250-392-3351 for more information.
Waste time
The nearby garbage facilities are going to significantly change soon.
Public input sought at the information meeting scheduled for Interlakes Community Hall, July 25 at 7 p.m. will help the Cariboo Regional District determine appropriate operational hours for landfill and transfer station sites.
Flying object
On July 19, the International Space Station will orbit within sight of Lac des Roches, and its reflecting light will be visible for about three minutes.
Residents will want to set their alarms as it will pass over at 4 a.m., taking about three minutes to travel across the sky. The orbits are known weeks ahead of time and the schedule is on one of the space station websites at www.iss.astroviewer.net.
Overhead hazards
Sunken debris along the shores of the lake gives evidence that for years, people have thrown, dropped, fired, rolled and hit things into the lake.
While the days of using radiators and metal machinery parts to hold docks in place may be over, it seems whacking golf balls and shooting potatoes into the lake remain popular past times.
While the balls and potatoes themselves may be inert to the environment, perhaps flinging these items into the lake, especially on busy long weekends, is not the responsible thing to do.
Sweet scents
The unmistakable scent of bog orchids can now be detected in local marshes.
For those residents interested in a little adventure, the wet ditches on the Wavey Lake side roads are often filled with these wildflowers and for some reason, give off a much stronger scent than those growing around the lake.
Animal harmony
Lately, all the wild and domestic animals seem to be getting along.
There are many reports of family sightings, including deer, badgers, loons, ducks and birds. The heat wave in June may have pushed the bears to the hills as their sightings are down in the past few weeks despite the ripened twin berries – a black bear’s favourite.