A Resident's Ramblings

So, I’m driving out to Horsefly last week on my way to Kamloops to see my Dad and I realize that we are such "city people", we count and keep track of bear pooh!! Laughing, I think the last 2 years there have been very few bears, this year there is lots of bear pooh on the road, it’s good to know they are back. Someone on Facebook recently posted a picture of a mother bear on the Horsefly Hwy with 4, YES 4 cubs.

I’m sitting on the front deck at the cabin, it’s now my favorite spot and I can hear the songs of hundreds of birds and I remember that when we came here 8 years ago, I didn’t notice the birds songs! Are the birds here because the Dogs keep the squirrels at bay (their favorite pastime) OR the fires in the Chilcotin in 2017 have burnt the forests west of us so the birds come here now to nest. Not sure why they are here but I’m glad, I love listening to them with my morning coffee!

The woodpecker : Pileated Woodpeckers drill distinctive rectangular-shaped holes in rotten wood to get at carpenter ants and other insects. They are loud birds with whinnying calls. They also drum on dead trees in a deep, slow, rolling pattern, and even the heavy chopping sound of foraging carries well. Their flight undulates like other woodpeckers, which helps separate them from a crow’s straight flight path.

Can someone tell me about these huge bumble bees! Do they have hives like a honeybee OR where do they live? Their favorite flower in the yard is the Rhododendron – Having lived in Vancouver where the Rhododendron thrive, I would never have thought they would survive this far north. The Rhododendron love this forest.

Bumble Bees Family: Apidae | Genus: Bombus Medium to very large, social bees. Entire body is fuzzy. Carries pollen as a moist clump in a corbicula on its hind legs. A queen might recycle an abandoned mouse burrow, bird box, or a warm area under logs for a nest. There are over 35 species of bumble bees in BC. B. nevadensis is our largest; B. sitkensis is a mountain/ coastal bee; B. insularis is a cleptoparasitic bee (Cuckoo Bee), laying her eggs in other bumble bee nests.