Day 288 – When the wind blows

2

October 14, 2016 – The photo I took today reminds me of the season, and of the weather we are having. The day was windy as storm number two (of three) blew through; they say that the big one is still coming.

When I was getting ready to head out the door to pick up a co-worker and head out to Chilliwack for a day of spawning Chinook salmon for the Capilano River program, I turned on the morning news and picked up my pace to get out the door when I heard that there was a tree down across the Stanley Park causeway, and a four car crash on the Second Narrows. There are two bridges off the North Shore, both were compromised well before 7am. Even though the crash was on the other side of the bridge, heading the other direction, turkey-neckers often cause another accident shortly after a first, so i bolted to get off the North Shore before something really bunged things up.

Not a good start. Particularly when there were hours before the storm would really arrive.

I picked up my colleague across town and headed for the Valley, passing two more accidents along the way, one quite horrific. Other than that, the drive was windy and we were buffeted around the highway a bit, but it wasn’t terrible.

We sorted, spawned, and sampled about 90+ pairs of Chinook and the crew appreciated the extra hands; even though the two of us aren’t as experienced as they are, more hands make for faster work, and that’s helpful when the weather sucks and the rain is pounding down on you.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; I work with and for amazing people and I have nothing but admiration for them. It’s hard work, it’s physical work, and I know that couldn’t do what they do day in and day out. Now I shall go nurse my sore hands, sore knee, my sore elbow, and think about where I’m going to go do it all again next week.

Rather than drive all the way back into downtown, or make my colleague drive me home, and then cross the bridge again, i handed off the keys and jumped in with the Capilano hatchery staff for the long ride back, since I only live a block or two away from the hatchery road. The winds were peaking as we returned through the Valley; the trees were bent at crazy angles, a few were down at the side of the freeway, and we were knocked around like a toy.

Similar to last August, when we were hammered by a windstorm, the deciduous trees still have most of their leaves, and that makes them infinitely more dangerous in a windstorm since the leaves turn the entire tree into something akin to a sail, rendering it infinitely more dangerous than when it has lost all of its leaves. These early season storms are not particularly welcome….

Batten down the hatches, the third storm in the series is slated for late afternoon/early evening tomorrow, the remnants of a typhoon, and it’s predicted to be a doozie if it stays on track.

And at the end of a day of killing fish I come home to…..fish for dinner. In University we used to joke that you have to eat your organism, so pick a good one. Good thing I’ve always been good at compartmentalizing things like that.

And that’s what kind of day it was.

 <i>116 Photos in 2016 – 36. Intricate </i>