A magical spring day

Sun, sun, sun... It is a calm, magical spring day here on Salt Spring. The tide is low and Stanley, Lucy and I have been walking the Fernwood Beach. There are more purple starfish than you can count and lots of dead crabs. The bees are so busy. The tulips are out and the rhododendrons around the island are putting on a tremendous display. My favourite has to be the cherry red ones which I've never seen before.
In our own garden we have

My first time on the island is winding to a close and so I thought about the things I really like about Salt Spring:
1.  Characters and their stories. From the aged hippies, draft dodgers, mystics and spiritualists, fishermen, Ontario transplants...everyone has a story about how they arrived here. Some you can believe, some well...we need storytellers in this world, too.
2. Beachcombing
3. The amazing plants and animals- hummingbirds, eagles, goldeneyes, deer, loons, mergansers, canvasbacks, seagulls and otters - all on the same day.
4. The incredible views; from Mt. Baker, Washington,  to a pastoral sheep farm to the view of Burgoyne Bay from atop Mt. Maxwell to an amazing fungus growing on a rotting piece of deadfall to an otter climbing out of the water to enjoy his fish dinner, as the sun sets.
5. The unbelievable sense of community and helpfulness that abounds everywhere.  No matter who they are or what they are doing everyone I've met will go out of his or her way to be kind and helpful.
6. The quality of the light when the sun is shining and it is raining full force and everything seems painted in a shade of white or grey. The sea turns a flat, dark grey, almost black. A small boat ploughs by leaving a small wake of the most irridiscent silver behind it, as it catches the sunlight, just right, through all the driving rain.
7. Pulling over to the roadside farms stand, dropping my four dollars in the 'honesty box' and coming home with the freshest, golden yolked eggs I've eaten in quite a while.
8. The abundance of lovely parks and trails where everyone walks the dog leash free.
9. The smell of the air.

It will be hard to drive away.