Canada is often imagined as a country of towering mountains, vast prairies, frozen lakes, and lush forests. However, tucked
between two mountain ranges is the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia,
a semi-arid swath of land containing the country’s sole desert.
Kelowna, Canada, is the largest city in this region, and is subject to
the many challenges of developing in an arid valley. Most obvious in
these summer months is the dry heat, which makes the upkeep of
traditional Kentucky bluegrass landscapes difficult without excessive
watering.
This was my last weekend in the Okanagan, and the weather gods saw it fit to bless Kelowna with an absolute scorcher: 35 degrees Celsius most days, and the rest of the week looks the same. I've got it in my mind to bask in the heat as much as possible before heading into the mountains of Alberta, where I'll be subjected to a winter like I've never experienced.
Sad panda.
In the meantime, I've been doing such summery activities as beach volleyball, naps in the sun with Favourite Cat, and enjoying drinks on rooftop patios. Of course, I've also had a summer playlist on almost non stop, and I've become absolutely addicted to one of the recent additions to my music library: Amy Winehouse's posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures. I've got a few favourites on the album, but her cover of "The Girl from Ipanema" stands out. It just screams summer, and is such a different take on the classic made famous by Astrud Gilberto. Judging by the comments on YouTube it's a little controversial, but when is Amy ever not? I particularly love the drum bits, but I've always been addicted to bass.
Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything, eh? To tell the truth I haven't really done much of note in the last while, aside from all this getting ready to move stuff. Basically, my downtime is spent in the backyard with Favourite Cat. Yup, that's about it!
Cities are built for a variety of reasons, but are ultimately places for people to live, work, and play. As such, architects and urban planners need to keep in mind the concept of human scale, or designing buildings and spaces for human use. This impacts everything from the height of buildings to the size of street furniture.
This blog post is a bit of a dump and run, sorry to say. Lots on my plate right now, such as packing and cleaning the place in Kelowna in preparation for moving and open houses, finding a place to live in Banff, training for my new job, and then that whole Poetry Tournament thing. Aieah.
So yah, lots to say, not much time to say it. So here's a song instead!
It's called "Little Talks," and is by Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. Apparently I can't stay away from anything Icelandic. Guess I better make my next adventure to Reykjavik, eh? Without further ado, here's "Little Talks!"
