Winter on Canada's west coast

Most of the time winter on our BC west coast looks like this, with cloudy skies and bare trees and soggy ground.  Sometimes the sun even shines as it is here in this photo of our blue bridge transformation at sunset.

Victorians often dream of a white Christmas and against all odds it happened this year. We awoke on Christmas morning to this sight. And the kids on the block were up before 7:00 am playing in the park and making snowmen.

Here's what it looked like on our back porch. The hummingbirds that overwinter here were pretty happy to have some nectar ready for them. Of course the snow lasted only for half a day, and by the next day when we headed out to Sidney for a waterside walk things were back to normal.

Last weekend we headed over to Vancouver to visit friends and family and the winter rains had started. Everything is misty and grey. That doesn't stop Vancouverites from heading out for brunch. This place in the Strathcona area was very cozy on a rainy Sunday morning, with a small bluegrass band and excellent food. I wish I could remember the name but sadly it has escaped me.

Here's the band playing, jazzed up by an app that I've been playing with. The name of it is Prisma and it's very cool. 








The photo below on the left was taken as we waited for the ferry to return to Victoria. It shows gloomy trees and rain through the car window.  The one on the right has been created with one of the app's filters. So different!

As pretty as it is, there's still the fact the January here is rainy and dreary and damp. And so we're happy to be heading south to Zihuatanejo on the west coast of Mexico for a few weeks. We're leaving Monday and I plan to do some posting about the sights we encounter on our trip.  Happy new year to all those who follow this blog.