An end and a beginning

2015 is done with. And here's 2016, all fresh and new.

Our markings of time, the ticking of the clock, the turning of calendar pages, the march of decades, mean nothing, really. Time - real time, as we experience it - goes on at varying speeds, sometimes backtracking, sometimes leaping ahead, sometimes freezing in place. Some years (by the calendar) are longer than others.

2015 was one of those long years for me. Too much has happened, too much has changed to be contained in 365 days, although some of them had more than the required number of hours. I'm glad it's over.

And now? Nothing is the same as it was a year ago. I've moved house, I've settled in, I've winterized. I've scoped out the boundaries and made a new mental map, found my landmarks. I've said goodbyes, and tentative hellos. That done, what next? Where do I go from here?

View from Tyee Spit at the mouth of the Campbell River. Just before sunset.

I'm making plans. While winter lasts, I'll spend time in the museum archives, researching, poring over maps, getting ready for summer explorations. I'll do a lot of birding, whether or not I can get any decent photos. And I'll take a few trips; I made it to Victoria and back in one day, 8 hours of winter driving, with a wild party while I was there, and it was all fine, a good trip. (Even if I did sleep most of yesterday recovering.)

(And I saw a black bear on the side of the road near the Malahat Summit in the middle of the night. And a deer. Maybe I should be planning more night excursions.)

Late sun, peeking over the clouds at the float plane dock, Tyee Spit.

And then, spring! The beaches will be free again; the tide goes 'way, 'way out. Beachcombing! Critters! Seaweeds! Can't wait!

And there will be green lights in the forest understory, mushrooms and slime molds beneath them. And singing birds! Flowers! More bears!

And a garden to plant and tend! And feed the birds in!

Light and shadow. And look closely; can you find the eagle? Look for a bright head and tail.

In the summer, I'll be heading out, across the Island to Tahsis; north to the end of the road, at Port Hardy, southwest to Ucluelet, across the channel to Quadra Island. And more, following my whim; wherever I may go, there will be goodies to discover.

From Tyee Spit, looking north. Dreaming of boats and that long, blue road.

2016 is going to be a good year!