Category: Vegtable soup


Off Voght Street in Merritt and  next to the Merritt Desert Inn is an electric car recharging station. I talked to a man recharging his car and he said his car a Tesia model S has a 500 kilometer range. He had come from Vancouver and took on 130 kilometers worth of free power from the charging station.

The man said that he spends 6 dollars a month on power for his 100 thousand dollar luxury electic car. There three models below it  with less range and according to him it takes more than over night to fully charge his car with the 110 service at home.

The car drove off with no noise and a happy driver on his way to Kamloops.

The charging station is  in the  same parking lot that the farmers market occupy starting May 18th.

A report in the Merritt Herald here said that  more stations are coming.

An update:
Another Tesia driver charging up here on 4/15/13 said his range is more like 300 KMs because of going up hill and he agreed that the return trip should have better results as that would be downhill . Merritt is 2000 feet above sea level that the coast drivers come from.

Today in History:  April 9, 1867

Alaska is purchased from the Russians by a vote of one.

Underground warmth

The hill side to the south-west in Merritt is green. It’s the one that’s visible just under some large condos that Claude Lelievre of Merritt Mountain Entertainment built and were abandoned some years ago. The warmth coming from underground workings that burned for many years is still apparent. The developer Claude Lelievre was said to be making a pond or lake behind the area when he lost all the water to underground workings. The hill-side also had billowed a small column of smoke. The smoke has not been seen for  years and the story of the water loss was talked about as its cause.

The area is shown on the Active Mountain Resort http://www.freespiritmedia.com/AMRNew/realestateintro.html‘s web page . However the abnormal greening  is only apparent in early spring when the surrounding area has not germinated yet.

http://wp.me/pAoul-2Qp

The Web page has not updated its calender of activities since 2005.

There are unconfirmed reports of  new owners and development plans.

Today in History:  April 8th 1954

Thirty seven people die as a Canadian Air force trainer collides with an airliner over Moosejaw Sask.

Calfs and lambs

A trip out highway 5A saw many spring calf’s and new born lambs along the road and in the ranches fields  that are intersected by the highway.

Once asked a local rancher Gloria Capp what the difference between a spring calf and a winter calf she replied ” one is born later”.

Nicola Ranch, Quilchena ,Cattle Company and  others along the lower road to Kamloops are quite pleasant to view from a car  as  it takes its way along the ” 70 percent load restriction ” road . These restrictions concern transports and commercial trucks and have made the route free of them at this time ,preferring 5  the divided highway with out load restrictions.

Today in History: April 2,1912

The ill fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.

April 1st

Another provincial rail line for outer Ottawa launched.

Today in History: April 1, 1973

Project Tiger a conservation movement is launched in Corbett National Park , India

The week in Pictures 3/30/13

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Today

TGIF

Merit of Merritt

Its good that it is friday….

Happy Easter and resurrection day to you:

From The Proprietor Review

Today in history:March 29,1973

The last US combat soldiers leave Viet Nam

Dance

Its spring break for kids and the local dance studio had blue wraps with red strips tied around the trees in the yard of the court-house gallery. ” We did to get attention ” said the Dance instructor ” we need more students”.

The Merritt Dance Society  has Ballet and movement classes for 3-5 year olds and is Presented by a ” Royal Academy of Dance” registered teacher.

A brochure also names the same teacher as offering a Dancing Divas dancing fun for women. With beginners courses  and Golden girls

( 60 +).

The dance society is in the Old Court House Gallery on Nicola Avenue  upstairs from the Art Gallery.

Today in history:March 28 1990

Jesse Owens posthumously, is awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

New Week New Walk

With weather improving the ability to get out and walk for health and enjoyment is improving along with it Merritt has a sponsored walking trail program that sees a network of walking trails around town and connecting parks. About 5 kilometers of trails connecting parks that can be found at the link below.
Walk briskly for 20 minutes twice a week and stay fit.
http://www.merritt.ca/city-services/public-works/parks
Today in history: March 25th 1807

The slave trade is abolished in the UK by legislation.

The week in pictures 3/23/13

TGIF

Merit of Merritt

Its good that it is friday….

The Nicola naturalists had a presentation from Les Gyug on the Williamson sapsucker last evening. Sapsucker AKA woodpeckers are of interest here as they were the predator of choice when conversations came up about natural ways of dealing with the mountain pine beetle problem that afflicted the province in the last decade and a half. Les had a great slide show that covered the range and characteristics of the Williamson sapsucker, a close relation to the Clark nutcracker who got its name from the Clark in Lewis and Clark the surveyors / explorers that had the great journey to the sea   and developed British North America. It would seem that these birds were very much documented by people in the Military, engendering the term closet ornithologist.

The specter of the Forest Practices Code ,an attempt  by the NDP to codify forest practices decades ago was brought up with pictures of suitable habitat for the old tree loving sapsucker. The forest practices code was discussed in round tables and was generally a failure as it tried to extent ministry total control to private landowners. However the discussions did cause logging practices to leave  trees for wood packers  and birds in the clear-cut that were being completely striped as per practice.

Pre harvest silvaculture prescriptions on crown land and nuisance civil law remained after the discourse  that was the FPC.

The appreciation for old Lark stands and a care when taking firewood  from old dead tress that may be a birds home was the most useful part of the presentation as well an enjoyment of the wonderful photography was voiced by several. A comment “who’s going to the Amazon ” By Doctor Glenn Carlson also gave a sence of responsible interest in habitat use.

The aesthetics debate of the forest practices discourse became mute when the forest in BC became red and dead from the over population of the Mountain Pine Beetle and Spruce Bud Worm. Giving a rest to the War in the Forest and a stage for the mighty woodpecker to do. Of interest is the fact they are in the Merritt area for people to find when overcoming there reclusive nature.

Today in history: March 22,1995

A Russian cosmonaut returns from 438 days in Space,Valoreriy Polakof; sets a  record.

Born to travel, watch out for rocks

We talked to a person who works for the CPR in the Fraser Canyon yesterday. The conversation was about the timeliness of the Coquihalla hyway. We agreed that it was for the World Exposition in Vancouver in 1986, to get people up-country. However the canyon has a peril especially around Jackass Mountain near Hope BC. He said that he is down on the Fraser river below that on the trains and they had a big slide  about 150 feet across recently. He also said they have special power to just push it into the river. ” It would have taken a long time to clear otherwise”.

The Jack Ass  hill on the trans Canada from hope is a sore to transport trucks and people talk about slides that may come as when not if. The royal engineers built the rail bed and roads in the Fraser Canyon before being called back to England in the 19th century. It remains a scenic but cautious route for one to consider if  you wish to see the historic parts of BC.

There is a lot of coal and wheat that is delivered to the seaport by rail  by the Fraser canyon it is worth a trip through it just to appreciate the scale.

Today in history: March 19th 1813

David Livingstone , Scottish explorer is born.

Jersey Day

The Local community college is having a Jersey Day , today wear your favorite team jersey and get into a draw. Pizza at 6 and watch the Canucks and Wilds in the lecture theater at 7.

Today in history: March 18 , 37

The Roman Senate nulls Tiberius‘s will and makes Caligula the Ruler of the Roman Empire