Mellow December

Last year's winter shocked us Vancouverites into thinking we'd somehow been shifted to another part of Canada altogether -- a place of early snow, lots of slippery ice, then months and months of more snow. This December, we're back to normal. While relatives back east were reporting on their early snowfalls and frozen lakes, we were scraping up the last of the fall leaves, planting winter pansies, and enjoying long stretches of fog that transformed our world into the setting for a mystery novel.  I admit to snow in the last few days, and a cold snap that won't quite go away, but I'm expecting that we'll be back soon to our usual mellow coastal winter. Green grass, early spring buds, and yes, rain.

I like the mystery that fog added to this little birdhouse duplex on someone's boulevard.

And it makes this peeping person even more of a surprise.

Birdhouses, lanterns and ornaments add to the tree's silhouette.

In a nearby park earlier in December, a pile of leaves awaits removal.

At about the same time, this delphinium in my back yard thought it was warm enough to start on its spring growth.

And winter pansies were blooming by my back step. 

Some days of sunshine brought out the beauty of fall grasses like these.

A closer look at the grasses.

Between the spells of sunshine, the fog kept coming back. From the south False Creek seawall, my friend Linda looked toward West End towers shrouded in mist. 

Meanwhile, Christmas decorations started appearing partway through the month. Some householder cornered the market on polar bears and decked his house and trees with them.

In the foreground, a bear on top of the laurel hedge, while in the background, his buddies climb up over the front porch.

Another look at that bear lineup on the roof.

On the ground, candy canes and a bear on a bear.

I'm not sure what these white berries are, but en masse, as they were in front of this house, they made a nice display.

And, with our recent snow, I have taken our bird feeder out of storage and put it to use again in the back yard. The birds were delighted.

A friend visiting on Saltspring dropped by our place there this week and took this photo of our snowy deck.