I’m not a big fan of winter. It isn’t a season where a lot of transition happens. Everything sleeps, and I am drowsy, despondent, stagnant.

This winter started out mellow. It wasn’t too cold, so I did my best to find beautiful things, especially as the year turned with a promise of early spring on the horizon.

Unfortunately, my nemesis–the winds from the Fraser Valley in Canada– hit the island in February. This cold system collided with storms. The mellow winter turned . . .

On Tuesday this week, I trudged outside. No one was out driving, so the normal quiet was even more silent.

Found the wonder of winter. The hush of snow. The transformed landscape . . .

Outside, the slow thaw drips and slushes. The forecast doesn’t exactly call for spring again, but there are signs.

I stand near the wetlands

Just behind me

A red-winged blackbird clings to some dead plant

Calling over and over and over again

Not caring anything about winter.