Easter 2011 in Sitka..

Nice weekend... Saturday morning found the sun shining and me in the yard looking for spring. It's been so fickle this year with what seems like hourly changes in the weather since March. One minute it's raining, next it's snowing and next it's hailing, all within a morning. Brave blossoms are peeking their heads out, but very cautiously.

My mood for gardening has been as varied as the weather, with me stepping out to see what the temp is before I gather my tools. Bout the time I get outside though, it seems like the teasing sun ducks back behind a cloud with a "fooled you" giggle. Sometimes I stick to it and tackle dandelions, other times, I give way to a warm corner and a magazine that promises blooms untold if I just follow their instructions.

Easter Sunday did find me out looking for wildflowers to coax into my garden. I love the woodland mosses and the tiny flowers that grow there. Tiny pieces of art, peeking from within the soft mound of green. Petals so dainty.

Small treasures of wild Columbine, tiny ferns and wild strawberry made the trip worth it.

So, for now, my gardening is low key, waiting for the magic number of 55 that everyone says is when the plants in our area can grow.. till then, a cup of coffee, a good gardening magazine and a warm blanket over my knees will keep me happy...

The herring are coming.. the herring are coming!

Saw my first whale of the season yesterday. I was on the phone with a customer, in my office that sits right on the oceanfront and could barely conceal my excitement!

The herring are coming the herring are coming was going off in my ears as I try to focus again on our conversation..

"Yes, June is a nice time to come," I say again. What I don't say is if I could only have one month in Sitka a year, it would begin about mid March to mid April when all the wildlife starts coming in to get ready for the influx of the herring. Love this time of year..

Sea lions have been gathering a couple weeks and now the whales are here.. I had noticed an increase in eagle activity, too, so knew it was getting close.

In three weeks my cousins are coming from Texas, so I'm excited they'll be here to witness "the feast" as it was called in the BBC documentary that covered it a couple years ago.

And me, I get a front door view as I watch from Sharon's Cabin on the Sound!

The whales, the eagles, and the sea lions are all good tokems saying that winter is over and spring has sprung. On my list today is go around and start looking for crocuses and daffodils!