swaddle yourself in October’s corduroy

“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!”
— a Rainbow Rowell quote.

Last week, I had to use a few words to describe the beauty of autumn, as I’ve experienced it in recent weeks. I now have some photos taken in the past week, including a couple videos (raw and non-edited).  Following the images are a pair of interesting bits of science (not related to autumn). I hope you see something that appeals to your autumn heart.

My favourite nearby walk is the forested loop through the Little Qualicum Fish Hatchery on the edge of Qualicum Beach.  It’s always a quiet nature walk swaddling us with its natural beauty. As you can see, Heidi takes advantage of getting into the water — her wet coat giving her away. In this image we’re about half way through the trail where we meet up with the Little Qualicum River and, yes, the salmon have begun to spawn. But first, let’s crunch our way through those fallen leaves (my apologies, I hadn’t realized how noisy this particular video would be!).

In the short video below, you can see where I caught the salmon splashing in one of the spawning channels at the fish hatchery.

And in this very brief video, Heidi is checking out the salmon for herself.

“The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats.
Tom Skelton shivered. Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked.” — Ray Bradbury, from The Halloween Tree.

To reach the moon it would take 30 earths lined up in a row.

If you’ve ever wondered why elephants have such wrinkled skin. Biologists explain that the skin is not a mess of wrinkles but rather an important pattern of intricate cracks that make it possible for animals to stay cool and protect themselves from parasites.