CRESCENT BEACH - January 23, 2018

At 10C, a warm breeze drifts across the tiny thumb of Canadian soil that hooks out into the Straits of Juan de Fuca just above the American border at White Rock. A flock of mixed European and American widgeon ducks paddle in the muck of the retreating tide, picking up and sharing leaves of seaweed the colour and shape of lettuce, and on the tip of Blackie Spit, a uncommon winter visitor, a black Oystercatcher, plucks along the surf edge.

Just a month after the winter solstice, spring has begun to make an appearance. Catkins on alder trees hang pendant from the branches opening to disperse pollen that tickles the nostrils and mists the glass of our RV. A marshy pond edge yields branches bearing furry grey pussy willows. Forsythia bushes erupt in drifts of yellow blossoms and frilly knots of pink dot the twigs of double-flowering almond.

I, too, shed the last vestige of winter and in a visit to Value Village change my long-sleeved winter clothes for lighter wear. Soon, when the rain ends, I will even purchase a new pair of Birkenstock sandals to celebrate!