Spruced Up

Every once in a while one needs to spruce up the place a bit - move some furniture, hang a different picture on the wall, change the bedspreads. I usually feel the urge after I complete a work project, or when I get cabin fever, or when some other event calls for a change. All three seemed to converge in the last few weeks with the loss of Bella, completion of a Stewardship Plan for the Isinglass River Conservation Reserve, and a smidgen of cabin fever.

So it was today that I got the urge to redecorate the Spicebush Log. No major changes, but the photo was looking a little faded and dusty. My new headline photo is of the rock polypody, one of my favorite little ferns. It remains stoic throughout the year. During the cold months, it curls against the wind, ready to be refreshed by the sun's warm rays. The polypody is common and grows on most of the large boulders throughout our northern forests. It will forever remind me of my daily woodland walks with Bella.

Nature refreshed the outdoors this week too. On Tuesday she dropped about 8 inches of fresh powder. The goldfinches knew it was coming. They zoomed in like a hive of wild bees -- all 70 of them -- for a late lunch. Within an hour they were gone, and the snow fell harder. The snow is not staying long as temperatures are creeping toward 40 F today. Vancouver weather!