Karley and Ian live in a quiet little cul de sac in a residential area on the outskirts of Mission. Being in a residential area would lead one to believe that it is quite urban here but it’s not and there is plenty of wildlife that meanders through here on a regular basis. On Sunday when we drove to Whonnock Lake, it became very clear why there is a large population of bears that frequent the area. There are literally acres of wild blackberry bushes all around the area which are currently in full bloom. It will be interesting to see what happens with the bears when the bushes are laden with ripe fruit.

Yesterday after grocery shopping with Karley and with the heat still lingering, we decided to have another outdoor dinner. This time, Karley and Ian’s neighbour, Carmen joined us for BBQ’d shrimp burgers, a couple of salads and fresh raspberries and cream. Carmen and her husband have proven to be wonderful neighbours, helping Karley and Ian when they moved in with many things and even providing them with homemade sushi. Carmen is a “jack of all trades” and aside from her day job she is a talented seamstress, an excellent cook, a skilled builder and an amazing gardener. Somehow in her busy life she fits in some time for friends and as her hubby was working late and she was at home alone, dinner at the MacLachlan house seemed appropriate.

While we were eating dinner, we started to be attacked by some BC mosquitoes. After living in lake country in Ontario for the past 35 or so years, I just assumed that all mosquitoes were created equally; however, I was surprised to see these miniature insects. Not only are they tiny little critters but they attack silently as well. Their Ontario cousins are easily three times larger and sound like chainsaws in comparison; however their BC bite is no less annoying. Oh well, they were few and far between especially when I recall how thick they were last summer when we were staying on Lake Simcoe, so I cannot complain besides dinner and the company were excellent!