The rainy season has officially begun. The skies are grey, views of the forest are filtered through a thin curtain of silvery rain.
I've learned a vital lesson to keep myself active and happy in this weather - immerse myself in it. Jump in some kind of water every day, no matter how cold it is. Put on shorts, take off my shoes and hike through the bush, balance across logs, crawl through game trails and get drenched in the droplets hanging from the ferns and salal.
I've been missing these immersive aqueous adventures over the past few dry months. It's good to be cold and cut and wet again.
Recent bush highlights:
Standing in a rainfall of fir needles on a dry windy day. It was like bathing in Tree.
Deep in a ravine where water falls from the forest canopy long after the rain has actually stopped. Realizing that the sky has cleared, but the "rain" is still pouring over me with the same intensity as before.
Crawling through a pile of logs in heavy rain when the dog suddenly goes crazy and starts running around sniffing something. He never smells deer, only bear. The rain is so loud it's impossible to hear anything more than twenty feet away. Waiting and listening, then following the dog to see what we can find.
The daily skinnydip in a rocky pool on Qualicum River, under an old Maple (shown above), and among crayfish.
Watching the dry streambed fill up and start to flow again.
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