Spring, here and there
Last fall (2025), Jan and I moved to a little knoll tucked into the forest at 1,233m (4,045ft) elevation. Winter comes early and lingers! It’s June now, and we’re still experiencing chilly overnight temps. It snowed recently! Despite all that, spring is SPRINGING, and I wanna talk about it.
The freshness of spring
Given winter’s incessant grip at this elevation, when things start to thaw out and the first plants begin to bud in the spring, we take notice. Up on the knoll, the change happens slowly. It really is an unfolding of tiny details. Well, except for the lake: it transforms from a sea of white to a deep blue as the ice thaws out. One day, the ice is gone, and you marvel at how on earth it ever could have been 16″ thick. (Ok, obviously this takes weeks, but it feels like it happens in the blink of an eye.)
Branches turn colour, and willows pop out fuzzy, cat-paw-like buds.
As one of my favourite, earnest IG creators, Josh (aka gimpy) observed, “You just go to bed one night, and it’s a bunch of sticks, and the next morning, mama naitch is just in full bloom, dude!”
Righteo, my dude.
The many shades of green
Interestingly, things stay green up here year-round, thanks to the conifer forests that blanket the hills. So, springtime hits a bit differently at this elevation. What’s noticeable are the different hues of green that start to pop out: fresh, new buds on the deciduous aspens and poplars; fuzzy neon green tips on the larches. Leafy trees are shooting out tender, lime-green, vibrant shoots.
On a walk around our property a few weeks ago, I noticed the newness appearing as little pops of green in between greys and browns. The leaves were wet, shiny even! From a distance, this fresh growth gives a soft sort of appearance. Now, they’re fully leafed out and looking all dapper.
It looks almost other-worldly, this green! The forest becomes a textured quilt, splashes of green bursting here and there. It’s like it’s dusting itself off from winter. The word “lurid” came to mind. It’s audacious!
One of my fave BC artists, who recently started hosting dilly dally walks through her local, coastal forest (delightful!), reminds us not to blink and miss it all.
Elsewhere, rainbows
By contrast, in the valley, spring comes on like a riot. Given the slow creep of spring in our new mountaintop abode, itās nice to venture down to the valley bottom for a jolt of bold beauty.
Every time I’ve come into town this spring, thereās something new blooming. First, it was forsythia, magnolia, and daffodils (and roadside wisteria, ahhh!). Lilac and fruit trees followed shortly after, donning their fluffy, flowered coats.
The Okanagan palette
By far, my favourite thing about spring in the Okanagan (in the arid lowlands) is the combo of Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Saskatoon Berry, and Oregon Grape coming into bloom. On a blue-sky day, the scene is enough to make your eyes pop. I become frantic, looking for spots to pull my car over so I can go and bask in it all (being mindful of ticks, of course!).
Brilliant heads of balsamroot sunshine carpet the grassy hillsides, contrasted so beautifully with the airy bunches of white Saskatoon, while dark, holly-like spiky leaves of Oregon grape act as a chiaroscuro for this season’s fresh yellow flowers. It would not be a complete scene without the ponderosa pines, of course, their bark gnarled and orange-brown while bunches of quill-like needles rustle around, almost glittering in the sun.
Slowing down to read surfaces and tiny details
Author’s note: I started this post in April. It’s now June 1! I keep trying to publish, but spring keeps happening, and I can’t help but marvel at the unfolding of it all. Let it be known that I’m officially cutting myself off. Even today (the day I’m publishing!) I found more teeny tiny blossoms on the forest floor and had to add them in. Tee hee.
I recently joined a webinar – hosted by NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program – all about nudibranchs, my most favourite of marine invertebrates. Discovering nudibranchs is, as the featured speaker Luan Roberts put it, all about “slowing down and reading surfaces.” She’s totally right! While many nudibranchs are ostentatious with their rainbow coats, many more blend very well into their surroundings, so it takes careful observation and slowing your roll to spot them.
Quick story: I remember snorkelling off the Cargo Pier on Midway Atoll (back in 2012!) and it taking me several breath holds to finally spy a nudie endemic to that particular patch of water. (Goniobranchus sp. 5 for all you fellow nerds out there.) It was an exercise in patience and breathing!
The same sentiment, it turns out, holds true for observing spring on our little knoll: slow down, read surfaces.
Here are some other things I’ve noticed. I can’t get anywhere fast these days!
- Tiny, wild bees harvesting nectar from tiny, wild flowers.
- The sound of water rushing in the distance. Things are melting.
- The energy that birds returning to their spring homes bring to a place. The air is abuzz!
- The smells*. Winter is cold, muted. But when warm spring sunshine hits a patch of trees or bare earth, the resulting smells that emanate are a downright aphrodisiac.
- Tiny, wild orchids (Calypso bulbosa, looking just like a little fairy slipper) and yellow violets (Viola pubescens) popping up along the forest floor. Come ooooon! š¤©
- Kinnikinnick flowers (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, the tiny, pink bells below. Hello gorgeous!)
*(I read a book this winter called ‘The Overstory,‘ and one of the characters is a tree biologist who learns that trees release pheromones as a way of communicating with each other. I find this so absolutely magical, my heart almost can’t take it. Read this book!)
Bring on spring
Here we are, the beginning of June. In the valley, things are inching towards summer. Up here in the mountains, spring is still unfurling. Purple wildflowers (Penstemon fruticosus) are making their annual appearance, and new buds continue to pop out (like those teensy tiny star-like Saxifraga bronchialis below, my heart!). The spring rain adds a layer of texture to the whole scene, making all of this feel like a shower for the soul.
Can you tell I love the changing of the seasons? š¤
What’s spring like where you are?
PS – I had to Google my way to all the scientific plant names you read in this post. I’m a plant nerd, but not quite seasoned enough to be able to rattle these names off from memory…yet!
