Nice Day, eh?

We Canadians spend a lot of time discussing the weather. It is a national past time to comment pointlessly on the weather today, yesterday, last year, what to expect 6 months from now, how cold it will get tonight, remember that May when it snowed? Usually in California, this is not such a big conversational item. In the winter, it's cool and rainy, in the summer, it's hot and dry.

But now we are into a weird wet weather pattern and it's on the table for discussion. Mudslides and floods make it into the news; citizens exclaim to each other over predictions that it will remain wet and rainy until the end of the month; we rejoice over the moments when the sun shines out; we are astonished when the next monsoon downpour hits us.

Yesterday, a rare nice day, reminded us of what the weather is supposed to be like right here, right now, which is a) sunny and b) warm. We should be swimming in outdoor pools, digging out the sunscreen, preparing for Easter Egg hunts in which all the chocolate eggs melt into mushy blobs before the kids can get at them. There was a giddy feeling in the air. You experience this a lot in Vancouver, when a rare bright day breaks through and the whole city shines in the rain-cleaned sea air and everyone is in a party mood. Strangers smile at each other on the streets, clerks in stores are friendly.

Today, we are back to cool and overcast. As I drive through town though I realize with wonder that nature is marching on, undeterred. The earth is tilting on its axis and the days are lengthening and leaves are coming out on trees whether you are ready for them or not. I have packets of seeds that I keep waiting to plant until it's Spring, but it's already almost the end of April. Luckily we have a long growing season; you can keep annuals going right up until Christmas, so maybe it's OK if I wait for the next sunny day to get them into the dirt.

Comments

[Mary]

ep, You must hurry and register for BlogHer! They're running out of space quickly! You'll have a great time!

Sorry about all of the !!s. I'm all jacked up on that cookie dough. Whee!

[Jo]

I think we should sue someone about all this rain. Stupid Republicans!

Hey let's see a movie tomorrow. I'll call you.