Thursday, March 1, 2012

To Cheer My Maritime Friends

Here it is the end of February, the time when friends and family living in Vancouver (Lotus Land) phone their loved ones back east (anywhere west of the Rockies, basically, but I'm speaking particularly of the Atlantic side of the country) to chirrup with delight about the snowdrops being up, to crow about the crocuses popping up all over lawns, and to trumpet about the daffodils blaring their golden presence into the world while the east still shivers under deep blankets of frozen snow.  Well friends, this is the scene that greeted me this Leap Year morn


Yes, the view from my bedroom window at the end of February, I admit it.




The little island between this shore and the opposite remained clear of snow




but the trees on the hillside were well and truly
 sugar-coated (though still a bitter pill to swallow).

I guess there were some beings even less amused than I was by the crystallized world,


such as this host of golden daffodils, seen LAST WEEK in Vancouver's west end.

This is how it's supposed to look around here in February.
Seems I've got to take the bitter cold with the sweet warmth of the daffs.  After all, I will be returning east in a few week's time so I guess I need to start getting my chill on again.

Meanwhile, I'm heading south for a few days.  No need for beachwear, though, as I'm only going as far as Seattle where the weather is pretty similar to here.  
Umbrella and sunglasses all packed.
See you soon.


17 comments:

  1. I always marvel at your wonderful view! Luckily daffodils perk up after snow- don't know how but they do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How kind of Mother Nature to give you spring training to make the adjustment more gradual.

    Enjoy Seattle. Note of nostalgia: I attended a hootenanny (anyone still remember those?) at Seattle U in 1964.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your longing for more signs of spring this time of the year is quite natural, but I must say that the views you shared with us are immensely beautiful. The little island is a treasure by itself. Who knows, some snowdrop may be blooming there already!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such a pristine view from your window, a lifetime memory of the way snow and ice should look. I hope that you have a good trip to Seattle.

    Bises,
    Genie

    ReplyDelete
  5. was delighted to see snowdrops, crocuses and daffs in London this week - first time I have seen such spring flowers in 7 years - a sheer joy...here's hoping they get to you soon....

    ReplyDelete
  6. a fairy-tale. thank you. please have you all a good friday.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gorgeous daffodils. The snow is lovely, too, but it's time for winter to make an exit. Bon voyage a Seattle!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh,the humanity!
    (an the poor croak asses too!)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ah, good thing for sunglasses, wouldn't want you going sand-blinded on us after the dazzling afternoons on the Seattle beaches...

    Hard to reconcile freezing frost and yellow daffs in abundance like that... land of contradictions; yellow trumpets heralding the end of winter... yippeeee, can't wait, have not been enjoying the cold much this winter, for whatever reasons...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful pics, one and all. We're in a bit of a deep freeze.. briefly, I hope. We are hearing sounds of spring such as red-winged blackbirds and male cardinals doing their mating song. But it's cold -20C windchill today but rising to 11C on Wednesday. It's been such a mild winter.. I feel we have to accept this minor setback with grace. Enjoy your trip. Be safe. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jenny Woolfe,
    I'm going to miss that room with a view once the house is sold! Guess that's why I'm taking so many pictures of it this visit. Glad to hear that it's hard to keep a perky daff down!

    DCW,
    Mother Nature isn't particularly known for her kindness, obviously.
    I remember hootenannys! (not to be confused with hootin' nannies, which Driftwood might know something about).


    Merisi,
    A few years ago, that little island had a big for sale sign on it! Wouldn't it be marvellous to own your own island? Of course, then you wouldn't have the view of it. The cherry blossom trees in Vancouver will be popping any day now, so that will be cheering.


    Genie,
    Yes, snow and ice should look picture perfect and last about a day-just long enough to get some good photos. My trip to Seattle was lovely, thanks!


    Catherine,
    Oh yes, the snowdrops, crocuses and daffs are alive and well here...just had a little contretemps with that sudden snowfall which was gone by afternoon. Next up: cherry blossoms! Saw some in Seattle over the weekend, in fact. Colour me pink with pleasure.


    Robert,
    Fairy tales are there for the finding!


    jann,
    So true--time to say goodbye to old man Winter, hello tender young Spring! Although, there will be another bitter month of winter awaiting me upon my return to the east coast. Meanwhile, am revelling in the signs of spring in lotus land.


    Anonymous,
    Oh the horror, the horror, 'tis true! You'd better get your own poor croakass out here if you want to lay claim to that big green bin you're so fond of. Or maybe I could put all my stuff in it that I can't fit in my luggage and ship it back to the Hills. Two birds with one stone. How about a road trip west in May???


    Owen,
    Now, are you a one to ever really enjoy the cold, other than, perhaps, on a ski hill? Haven't I previously heard you bemoaning chilly temperatures and shivering bones and longing for tropical climes? Yes, I'm sure it was you I heard croaking away in the long nighttimes of blogging, rasping out toady poetry to palm trees and frogs in sarongs, dreaming of flippered feet flip flapping along sandy beaches and slipping into tepid clear waters aglow with bioluminescence. Perhaps even absent-mindedly munching on a daffodil while doing so. So quiet these nights. I guess you are slumbering deep deep in the murky depths awaiting the healing light of renewal and transformation.


    Hilary,
    I think this was probably a winter I would have been okay with, had I stayed back in the maritimes. Milder than most, perhaps. Nevertheless, it will be a shock to my system when I return to it in a few weeks. I heard the red wing blackbird's song this weekend in a park in Seattle, so I know just what you mean. I hope you bask in that 11 degree weather! I'm not sure if March came in like a lamb or a lion this year.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such an amazing view from your window!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Short Poems,
    Yes, I'm very lucky and privileged to have been able to "borrow" that beautiful view all these years since I lived here by visiting home.

    ReplyDelete
  14. As much as I sympathize with your cool days and delight in your view ( absolutely Love, I mean)..... to see the bright yellow blooms means there may be hope of the summer season to come.

    ReplyDelete
  15. wonderful contrasts at work here, and i am torn between the two, in the most delightful way :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gwen,
    Daffodils always mean spring to me. And after spring...theoretically comes summer...but weather is decidely unpredictable, in spite of what the professional prognosticators say. Fingers crossed, though!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Roxana,
    I suppose the contrasts are just flip sides of the same coin of spring. I'll take the sunny-side up one!

    ReplyDelete