At the Wharf

I only had time for a short walk yesterday morning, so it was confined to the Salmon Arm wharf area. It was definitely a mixed, surreal experience of nature!

Peace Pole, Salmon Arm Wharf

I like the sentiment of the peace pole. Although most people in Salmon Arm call this area "the wharf", or perhaps Marine Park, its official name is "Marine Peace Park", in reference to a joint project with one of the Rotary clubs, and a local branch of Physicians for Global Survival. Scattered throughout the park are a wide diversity of trees, and plaques with quotes invoking peace. Unfortunately, the plaques have not weathered well and many are difficult to read. There are quotes by Dag Hammarskjold, Gandhi, and others. But the peace pole message is very clear. Peace on earth. A tranquil meditative thought to begin one's day. May peace begin within each of us, and with loving hearts.

This provided a rather comical counterpoint to the peace pole.  Hanging from a tree at the end of the road accessing the wharf, its lurid pink was most noticeable against the backdrop of Shuswap Lake. "Hello! My name is Annie. I want to be your friend!" read the words in English and French. Perhaps the path to world peace leads this way ... openness to being friends with all, without judgment, to giving and receiving love.

My wharf walk continued to an encounter with the dozens of mallard ducks which hang around the area.  Originally they had been over in the area of the peace pole, but a vehicle arrived with several young people who had just been to Tim Hortons and were carrying coffee and bags of donuts, and vaping clouds of smoke as they loudly enjoyed the morning. The ducks migrated across the street, to make sure they did not miss any handouts.

Urban nature.

I finished my quick, brisk morning walk along the walkway in front of the CSRD building. The grass-covered mudflats are covered by water in the spring, with grebes and other waterfowl hanging out here. Now, things are much quieter. 

The lake is higher than normal at this time of year. With so little snow, and temperatures much above normal, the mudflats are quite wet and hard to access. Often by this time of year skiers and snowshoers have been out, but this year I have only seen one skier so far.

For any readers wanting to track Shuswap lake levels, an excellent source of data and graphing is www.shuswaplakewatch.com.