From earlier today, a quiet moment in between.

I have been seeing hummingbirds more lately. Today one visited our clematis. I'm not sure what it was looking for. The plant is a mass of brown stems and withered leaves. Fluffy seed pods cling to the branches like discolored cotton balls. The hummer poked its beak into several puffy seed balls, but left disappointed. There are green shoots growing, but they are only a few inches long. It always surprises me how early this plant buds out and begins growing, but it seems impervious to frost.

Not much in the clematis to attract a hummingbird

The light and shadows have been changing all day. We'll get a sun break, then dark clouds will pass over and a cold, soaking shower will fall onto the saturated ground. At one point there were even snow flakes mixed into the rain. It didn't last long, of course, and soon was sunny again.

Detail of sunshine on tree bark

Groups of juncos flit through the trees in the back corner of the yard. The sun glints off their white rear feathers as they move form one branch to another. The sun makes the yellow and grey lichen shine on the tree branches. Combined with the freshening red of the dogwood stems, the effect is brilliant.

Red-twig dogwood, showing its color

The kitchen smells of the cookies we just baked - Gluten Free cutout cookies, a few days late for Valentine's Day. The black-eyed peas are just beginning to simmer, and their smell swirls with the steam from the pot. I know I should wipe down my flour-covered countertop, but I step outside for a moment first.

Spring Already?

January begins the year dark and damp in our neck of the woods. The lights of Christmas come down, the decorations get put away, and I breathe a sigh of relief that we made it through another holiday season. January is a time of resting, catching our breath, and dreaming of the year to come.

This year has been unusually mild, though, and it seems that spring is just around the corner.

The helebores in the front yard have a large clump of blooms.

Violets are appearing out back, underneath the clematis bush that is sprouting out already. I find myself at once cheered by the hope of spring and brighter days, and yet also resisting the change. Is winter really almost over? I was just getting used to it. The earth just keeps spinning, moving faster and faster in its orbit. At least, that's how it seems to me. Maybe I'm just getting old.

A few weeks ago we had a warm day for January, and took a drive up along the Skagit. In many years the bald eagles come down in the winter months to feast on the salmon that are spawning in local waterways, and to get a break from icier climes up north. This year the migration peaked in December, but we still were able to see a few eagles during the day, and the kids learned about the connection between eagles and salmon.

Just as important, we were able to get some fresh air and have a break from the confines of the house. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery to revitalize the mind.

Tidbits

I've posted a more complete story of our hike to Lime Kiln Trail Friday on nwhikers.net.  Click on the link if you want to read more.

We got snow again today.  It melted by mid-afternoon, but it sure accented how much strange weather we've been having this winter.  I can't remember having this many snow events.  We had some giant flakes falling for awhile.  I kept catching myself gazing out the window, watching flakes fall, wind blow, light change and such.  

Annika's coloring has changed lately.  She has begun being more deliberate in her markings, and is starting to tell stories about the pictures.  This one has whales ad fish on it.  The whales are really happy.  The fish are, too.

I hope your weekend was refreshing and that your week goes well!  Thanks for stopping by.

Shifting Light

The sun has shifted in the mornings now, so that it shines in through the back door.  It made even the pile of laundry look more cheerful.

How Many More Weeks of Winter?

I guess the groundhog was correct when he said we'd have six more weeks of winter.  The past few days have brought snow showers punctuated by the driving forwardness of spring.  I stepped out the back door this morning to photograph the powdery snow that had dusted the yard, when I found a surprise - several violets hunkering down under the miniature drifts.  These violets came from my neighbor across the street when she was cleaning out one of her beds and these had taken over.  They've hung on through two or three years of neglect.  I didn't remember them blooming so early.

We had such interesting snow today.  We had powder, pellets, floating down like dust motes in a sunny window.  We had large conglomerations of flakes falling heavily to earth.  We had sun that melted the snow as fast as it was accumulating.  We had blustery wind that made me think we lived up north somewhere, as it blew the snow sideways.  

Annika and I opted to walk to the library for storytime today, getting all cold and snowy but enjoying the fresh air and brief path through the forested greenbelt.  Annika mentioned how quiet and peaceful it is in the forest with the snow coming down.  I thought it was interesting she would notice such a thing.

We came back home to find a surprise on the doorstep - some Amy Butler notecards I won in a giveaway on CraftStylish a while back.

 I felt special to have something so fancy delivered to me. They are another reminder of spring on its way, no matter what color the ground is today.

Hope

Even in these short, grey, cold and damp days, I find hints that spring is coming.