Go West, Young Girl!

it's always springtime somewhere

Got an email from Nicole this morning. Poor kid, seems like every time she digs herself out from under the snow, another dump happens, and with three more storms in the forecast for this week, she’s feeling pretty beleaguered by Old Man Winter.

Much as I sympathize with her, I am also grateful. No matter what it’s like in the rest of the country—or the province, for that matter—spring has arrived in Victoria. In fact, passing the park en route to work last Thursday, I blurted to Ter: “Cherry blossoms!”

Nic’s note inspired me to take the Canon on a photographic flânerie this radiant Sunday morning. Big clouds over the water, the sun glowing overhead, and lingering raindrops sparkle like jewels on every bush and blade of grass. The songbirds are doing their collective nut in the flowering trees, and I was lucky to spy the pictured nest amid the aforementioned cherry blossoms. I was even luckier to need no more than my hoodie and a t-shirt on my stroll; I can always tell the imports by the parkas and raingear they bring from the suburbs, not knowing what conditions await them at the ocean.

It’s brisk but mild, a perfect spring day. With 10-15 mms of rain expected to blow in overnight, this gorgeous morning was an unexpected gift. Strained as her tone was, Nic’s note was also a gift, because it made me aware of how truly blessed I am to be here, where the winters last for weeks rather than months and the last snow “storm” we had was in January 2012.

In no way is this post intended as a gloat—there are natural perils out west, as well. Joggers plague every pavement year-round. Purse dogs perennially skitter hither and yon on the same pavements.  A sweater in the morning is too heavy for the afternoon. When it pours, it literally pours with rain. And best of all, we are sitting in a subduction zone that, when the earthquake hits, will likely send Victoria the way of Atlantis.

But not today.

sailboats off the point