a man and his hoe

January was one of those months where the adage, “Thinking about moving to the Pacific Northwest? First, take a shower for six months long and see if you like it,” rang true. Many locations around here had from 28 to 30 days of rain in January.

February started on a better note, lots of blue skies, a stiff breeze, and on this second day of February it isn’t raining, so two out of two days with no rain is a winner for me.

See, this morning the sun has lit the cottonwood trees on fire. It’s odd that we don’t have different words for trees. A tree bare of its leaves in the winter is an entirely different thing than a tree in the summer with all its leaves. It’s an entirely different thing in spring when the leaves are still tender, and yet another thing in the fall when its leaves are burning red and orange. For humans we’ve got words like infant, teenager, adult. For deciduous trees we could have four separate words for when they are bare, when their leaves are still tender green, when their foliage is full in the summer, and for when they are in color.

The steady January rains haven’t stopped the forsythia from starting to bloom. Daffodils and tulips are pushing out of the ground too. All in all, it’s been an unusually warm winter.

You know I am making tofu in the cabin when you see the chickens come running out to the cabin. They are eager to get the leftovers. I’m sure they are wondering why I don’t do it every day.

A drive to Fir Island took us past field after muddy field full of trumpeter swans. The cygnets are as large as their parents now, with some starting to show white feathers. They do love digging around in the mud. We saw a cygnet with its face coated in mud, which made me wonder how a swan washes its face. Does it stick it in water and give it a good shake? Take to the air and hope the wind blows the mud off its face?

These are big birds, the largest water fowl alive today. Chatty too. You can close your eyes and hear them talking to each other. As they walk, they say something every few steps, soft, soothing honks.

It’s hard to believe now, but around 1933, fewer than 70 were known to exist. They had been hunted nearly to extinction. How much poorer we would be if this species had gone extinct. I certainly wouldn’t be enjoying winters with thousands of them spending the season in this valley. How a trumpeter swan washes its face is something that wouldn’t cross my mind.

Which shows the depravity of economics. If it doesn’t involve the exchange of money, things have no value to an economist. GDP, the thing economists and politicians worship places no value on trumpeter swans, no value on unpaid work, no value on most of the things that make life on this planet worth living. I listened to a fascinating talk today, “The Unpaid Work that GDP Ignores and Why It Matters” by economist Marilyn Waring on the subject. We need a political and economic system that values what makes life worth living.

Nicola Sturgeon also gave a though provoking speech along these lines, “Why Governments Should Prioritize Well Being”.

Yesterday morning was magical. Enough snow had melted that I could make my Thursday deliveries of bread, eggs, and tofu on Friday. Wednesday I decided that there was no way I was going to venture out with all the snow on the roads.

Thursday night, a fresh inch of snow fell, not enough to be alarming, but enough to make for a dazzling morning.

This morning, yesterday’s beauty is melting away, drip by drip by drip. The snow is sliding off the roofs, turning into big puddles in the woods, and making paths muddy walkways.

Yesterday morning it started with a light snow. By dark the temperature dropped below freezing. During the night the fluffiest of snow fell, blanketing everything. Snows here are often wet and heavy. Today’s snow is so light walking through it is like walking on clouds. Shoveling the driveway after the snow stopped falling was a breeze. With some of our heavy snows, each scoop weighs a ton. Today’s snow was lighter than marshmallows.

The forecast is for one more day of snow before our winter rains return on Thursday. By Friday this wonderland will just be a memory.