When snow is swirling around outside, it’s nice to reminisce about favourite fishing spots. It almost works to warm me up.
Days when you’re feeling a bit more mature than you feel on some other days, it’s nice to do a little time travel in the mind, to when you were a youngster and to snatch that feeling back—even if it’s just for a second.
Twin Lakes evokes that feeling—of being a youngster in summer—in me.
It was one of the first lakes my Dad took me fishing as a kid. We lived in Penticton, so it was close by, and the fishing was generally pretty good.
I can just feel the sunshine on my face and the excitement of going fishing with Dad.
There’s some beautiful Okanagan country around there.
So, it’s with delight I hear the news that The Nature Trust of B.C. has secured 809 hectares of grassland in the Twin Lakes area that is home to a variety of endangered plants and animals.
The land is worth $3.5 million and it’s been a massive fund-raising effort to secure this ranch property which will link other conservation areas together to create a total of more than 2,000 hectares of Nature Trust property.
This is the second largest parcel that the trust has acquired in its history, so it’s a pretty significant achievement.
That’s not to say it’s all a done deal, warns Deb Kennedy of the trust. They still need to raise another $100,000 ideally, she notes, so all donations are much appreciated. Go to the website at: www.naturetrust.bc.ca
While I revel in my memories of sunny summer days on lazy lakes, there are others who just thoroughly enjoy getting out in that winter snow, including members of the Kelowna Nordic Club.
And you’re invited to come out and help by volunteering to make the club’s first loppet a success on Sat., Feb. 25. Altogether 38 to 40 volunteers are needed to act as parking attendants, man first aid stations, for timekeeping, serving refreshments, act as controllers on the course, as the start and finish crew and a completion secretary.
If you can spare some time to help out, contact Lisa Howard at lisajhoward@shaw.ca or by calling 762-0433.
This Saturday, join the Central Okanagan Naturalists’ Club for a primer in using the GPS. This is both for beginners and those with some knowledge. It will begin downstairs in the EECO in Mission Creek Regional Park, beginning at 9:30 a.m., and then move outdoors to find your way through the park’s trails in a game of geo-orienteering, ending up back at the EECO at noon.
Bring suitable footwear and dress for the weather. The walking won’t be strenuous.
No registration is required, but bring a loony to cover insurance.
Judie Steeves writes about outdoors issues for the Capital News.
jsteeves@kelownacapnews.com
