Spring Ramping Up January and February

 The snow we received on Christmas Day was followed by a week long cold snap so the landscape was white going into the first week of January.

With snow covering their food supply, the neighbourhood wildlife had to find food where ever they could. Our cedar hedge was a popular grazing spot.  All the hedges here are wrapped with deer netting so they can nibble on just the leaves that protrude but can't eat large  holes in them.  So, really, they're helping our gardeners do some early spring trimming.

Here's French Creek Marina on a grey day in mid January  

In mid January we were hit buy a major windstorm that coincided with a king tide so many sections of the beaches all  around us were damaged.  King tides occur mostly in winter, and the infrastructure is designed with high tides in mind but the variable is always the wind.  

Here's the front at Qualicum Beach, the normal effect of a king tide is logs pushed high up, and sometimes flooding.  

But this tide and storm caused much more damage. 

This photo below doesn't really show the devastation, but the beach front hotel was badly damaged with logs knocking down the verandas and the wall protecting the rooms. Guests were evacuated. And  a million or two in rebuilding because the sea wall was actually the responsibility if the hotel, not the town.  They’ve got to work it out with insurance before they can reopen for the summer.  A very bad situation after two years of closures with the pandemic. 

For us, the first sign of spring is always the geese restringing to nest around the golf course lake. They showed up in droves, stayed a week or two,  had their territorial battles over prime nesting spots and now a just a few remain to begin  nesting. 

February saw the sun returning.  Here's some photos of mount Arrowsmith

It was warm enough for me to sit outside on the porch with a cup of tea and a book.  I had to clock the ambient temperature 

Mount Arrowsmith again.  

I used one of my daily walks just to photograph the first colour I could see.  Almost every garden has Heather and it's the first splash of colour we see.And it lasts a long time too.  

A dandelion , not what I expected. 

Primroses in the wild. 

Who wouldn’t support enhanced salmon? Seriously, the island, and the BC economy is dependent on this resource.  That line "plenty of other fish in the sea" is a myth.  Many creeks and rivers have local volunteers and groups who take ownership of looking after stock, introducing fingerlings on the hope they return 4 years later to spawn.  On First Nations lands the local band will manage the replenishment, elsewhere it's dedicated volueeers. 

Pop up libraries are popping up everywhere. Just discovered this latest edition, simple design with primroses in the base. 

Totally surprised to find blossoms already in colour.

Snow drops 

Crocuses

And another sign of spring. Walking along Rathtrevor beach, we discovered some crows who had just returned from Home Depot with R25 fibre glass insulation in their beaks to line their nest and save on rising heating costs. They've seen the TV ads that BC is giving a rebate to people who bring their nest up to energy efficient  levels. Or maybe it’s dry moss