The last couple of weeks have gone through quite a range of weather. One morning the dog and I climbed up Little Mountain, hearing wild geese call through the dense mist, emerging at the very top into blue sky with snowy mountains poking up out of the fog. Another day we left the gray river valley to hike in to Whistle Lake, only to find the winter sun crashing through the trees in bright rays. The lake was completely iced over at one end, giving it a strange pearly quality. A walk at Padilla Bay was cold, but the water was perfectly still with views out to the snow-covered islands, shining in the sun. And some days we just walked in the fog or rain.