We have discovered that our beautiful dog Missy loves that spring has arrived just as much as we have! She has spent several afternoons this week sunning on the bow, albeit tucking out of the cold winds, but still enjoying the warmth of the sun!

We also discovered that when someone pulls a piece of driftwood out of the water and sits it on the dock next to your piling, you need to move it!
The dock moves up & down the piling with the changing tides, but can't move once this piece of driftwood is pinched between the piling and the dock. Darren went to take Missy for her last bathroom run of the day and when he stepped off the boat in the dark he couldn't believe how low the dock was in relation to the boat. A quick assessment revealed that our fenders (tied to protect the boat from rubbing against the dock) were inches away from being completely out of the water! Darren quickly set out with lots of effort breaking up the log into pieces, with the dock suddenly shooting up about a foot with him on it! From my vantage point it looked like quite the ride and not something you would expect to deal with before tucking in for the night! So....no more pieces of stray driftwood taking up residence beside our pilings!

It has also been so stormy here in Victoria that I'm at my tipping point. I am tired of walking Missy in violating winds & rain, and keep looking at my kayak adoringly waiting for calmer days. My flip flops are calling me from the closet (actually yelling) and I'm counting down the days until happy hrs break out in the cock pits once again! For the first time ever, I had to set the stove to gimbal (set free so it can swing with the movement of the boat) while baking to ensure "flat" peanut butter cookies! Thankfully it worked & they turned out delicious!

Okay, rest assured with all this whining, a silver lining has been found! During our walk, we went down to Dallas Rd to storm watch. People drive there all day long to storm watch, some climbing out to take photos, while kids & adults alike get sprayed with the sea spray caused from the huge waves crashing against the shoreline. Normally I am merely an onlooker, taking the odd photo, but usually just marveling at mother nature at work. This particular day I threw caution to the wind & decided to become "one" with this stormy weather I've been cursing now for days. Sort of the "can't beat 'em, join 'em" thing. I am thrilled to report it was an absolute blast! Even Missy enjoyed the thrill of it, barking away and then tucking her head under the guard rail for more! It was so exhilarating, I couldn't believe it! We both came back to the boat wet and in need of some clean up but we were happy & grinning! Secretly, I'm almost looking forward to the next storm so I can do it again! Who knew ?

(picture below)