This string of sunny days is officially remarkable. Just not supposed to happen here in January. But I'll take it. Frosty mornings and brilliant sunshine means I don't get much done before I'm pulling my jacket on and running outside.
Today it was a trip through Beacon Hill Park and Fairfield. The kids were off school for the day, so there were several families feeding ducks and peacocks. The peacocks look extremely healthy; there were nearly two dozen of them in the sundial garden, along with twice as many ducks, mobbing three toddlers with their bags of bird feed. I find this to be risky business, but it's a great photo op, so worth it I guess.
Did I mention it was chilly? There was ice on the pond, so those ducks got to stand on ice as they mobbed the feed-bearing toddlers on shore. I'd say the pond was still 40% covered as I walked past, but it was melting fast.
The sea was calm, but the clouds still shrouded the Olympic Mountains. I haven't seen them in a while. But off in the distance, I could see the line of mainland mountains quite clearly. I bet Cindy could see Mt. Baker from her work if they went to the beach today.
As I got closer to home, I heard a mass of birdsong in a tree near Quadra Street. I stopped for a long look to count the birds, but only saw two. If two birds can make that much music, I wish I could travel back to when thousands of songbirds filled the air. It must have been glorious.