Winter greens...

I like winter. I am not a fan of the cold or anything like that. I just enjoy the winter time. Lighting up the wood stove so that the house is warm enough to walk around in a t-shirt and bare feet...if I so choose. The hermiting is nice too, because of the cold, I just want to be in my own home...or maybe in a friends warm abode and sipping some nice herbal tea (or sipping wine...that also keeps me warm). I like the white and wonderful snow too...but not for as many months as it normally is around when living in the Prairies. I mean...nothing against the Prairies, I AM a huge and loyal fan of the beauty that is there. I just really enjoy the winters out here on the West Coast. The bright and rich greens that cover everything during the winter months is definitely something to behold. I remember my first year living in BC and being pleasantly surprised that there was no snow that day I arrived in late January. I had just driven out of Winnipeg two days earlier...leaving behind a whopping -27 degrees and the start of a blizzard. Highway #1 was killer that day...I lost sight of the road many times due to "white out". (I for sure do not miss those kind of driving conditions...SCARY!!!) That morning, on January 24, 2000, I drove from just east of Kamloops (stayed in a teeny roadside cabin that beckoned me off the road after a long day of mountain, snowy, scary driving) to Vancouver in an epic 4 hours. I was so excited to get to the final destination and a fresh new start in the life of Pam...West Coast Pam. ;o) It was actually +12 degrees in Vancouver that day. Pretty strange for the middle of winter...but what a delightful welcome. I was impressed by the green everywhere. It's January! What the heck...where is the snow man? I guess I left it all behind. Wow. I was definitely not used to it. And I also was not used to the wet weather that followed. It may be green and lush all winter long, and that is because of the rain that keeps coming down each and every single day. A lot of grey skies and rain drops in the winter out here. It took me a few years to get used to. +5 in January can feel like what -20 is like in good old Winnipeg. It's true what they say...that dampness gets right through you...into your bones. No parka will keep you warm when your body has it's inner thermometer set to a dry cold.

Well...now I really love it. Grey skies and all. I love going for walks on the beach or in the forest. I still feel the chill...but that is nothing a quick footed pace won't cure. Maggie really loves the forest walks. The soft dirt under her old and weary toes is so cushiony and soft. She actually gets to running when we are in the forest trails...her teeter totter run of course. Oh, old lady Maggie May...you breaka my heart! (in a good way of course...her cuteness can be overwhelming at times.) It was a chilly walk today...temperature is around -2...(time to get my wood stove fired up!) Anyhow, the green felt so fluorescent to me today. It was nice to do the forest loop walk and see all of the moss hanging from the trees, the salal and fern covered forest floor. Sooooo beautiful. Stop and smell the freshness! I didn't stop for too long as I needed to keep warm. But I managed to take a few pictures before needing to put my ice cold hand back in the warm pocket of my winter jacket. Maggie loves this weather...she sits out on the deck just taking in all of the scents this green winter wonderland has to offer.

 

 

So...where should we walk tomorrow? ;o)