and the streams are all swollen with winter

"Winter" as I knew it growing up was a vastly different beast from what we have here in paradise. I remember one Christmas break in high school when temperatures plunged to -54C. It was so cold that my poor little 1980 Chevette simply could not warm up, and we had to scrape the ice off the windows--from the inside--while we drove; otherwise visibility would have been impossible. I remember massive mounds of snow, so big that we would tunnel through them and build forts. I remember months on end of darkness, cold, ice, blizzards, and ice fog.

Then I moved here.

And here, January looks like this:


Ok, that picture is from a year ago, but we have had days like that this year too! Mostly, though, winter in North Vancouver means water. Lots and lots of water. Water pouring from the sky, water oversaturating the grass, water streaming down the sides of the mountains. A few weeks ago I was driving the Sea to Sky highway with someone and we were both amazed at how many dozens of waterfalls had appeared on the side of the highway.

Today's run was similar. On days when I want some distance but am too tired (or lazy) to run trails, I hit the Seymour Valley Trailway. It's paved, undulating, traffic-free, and gorgeous. On a rainy day like today, it looks like this:


And today, there were dozens of new little waterfalls lining the trailway, and making for a very enjoyable run:

Some people complain about the rain here... I like to remind them that the rain gives us the rainforest... and this wouldn't be paradise without that! :)

(15 miles done!)