Welcome to exuberant April...sometimes March and sometimes May, it is a linking month between seasons.

Lots to see and do, with emphasis on the Arts and Retreats...two gifts delivered annually by Salt Spring and the Gulf Islands.

On Salt Spring, check out the offerings at ArtSpring, at Easter Arts celebrations, at studios, at spa retreats, and take advantage of all sunny days (patio dining beckons).

Markets reopen, Spring offerings in specialty shops and at our delicious restaurants. Hastings House is open for the season and Michael has returned to manage fine dining opportunities. Enjoy a picnic at Ruckle Park, at Vesuvius Beach, at Drummond Park. Hike the trails on Mt Erskine, on Channel Ridge, at Ruckle. Kayaking, sailing, exploring. Whales, seals, sea lions are on the move...birds are back from winter locations, eagles are nesting. This is reality...not AI.

Watch the blossoms erupt in orchards, and maple leaves unfurl. There is a rhythm to Spring's emergence, and it's wise to align oneself with this energy. In spite of global and local concerns, April reminds us that beauty exists.

Let's remember the poet W.H. Davies:

"A poor life this, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."

Welcome, April.

Meteorological Spring began on March 1st. The amazing Pacific Northwest Coast now unfurls into the lovely sequence of Spring/Summer/early Fall...beauty everywhere to inspire and to enjoy.

March 8 brings Daylight Saving Time, plus March Break holiday (16 to 27), then the re-opening of Hastings House for the season (19), and the annual fun of St Patrick's Day (17). Salt Spring and the Gulf Islands always welcome visitors to discover the natural world, at any season. Check out March special events at the Salt Spring Tourism office. Spa retreats, ArtSpring events, walking/hiking trails, gallery openings.

The Arts are showcased in April, and March outlines the upcoming offerings. Salt Spring has been recognized as an authentic artists colony for many many years. Definitely worth this discovery! Mark your calendars.

It's Spring, time to switch out soups for salads, to de-clutter, to clean the windows, to walk Ruckle Park's trails, to open windows and invite freshness in, to call friends and meet up for lunch with a view. It's a beginning. It's a season turning. It invites positive change. It's our butterfly moment.

It's March. Enjoy!

February arrives with the whispers of Spring.

A short month, with a reminder that meteorological Spring begins on March 1st.

Every day is slightly longer and light lingers over fields, orchards, gardens...in protected corners, early flowering is sharing itself.

The perfect time to enjoy ArtSpring's seasonal offerings, to explore the hiking/walking trails before bracken hides the paths, to plan a Valentine's lunch or dinner at one of our great restaurants, to enjoy the annual Family Day Holiday Weekend....

February is a softer month and a time to welcome whatever remaining winter sends our way (brief snow? Pineapple Express rain? Clouds edging sea, all of it a pewter world? Alberta days of brilliant blue skies and dazzling sun?).

This thin strip of the Pacific Northwest Coast enjoys a treasured "cool Mediterranean" climate.

Live music venues, seasonal menus, smooth ocean days to welcome kayakers, garden planning, decluttering the office, signing up for AI training. Read up on the Asian Lunar New Year just for fun (starts on February 17th...it's the Year of the Fire Horse). A betwixt and between hybrid month....

It's February. Smile.

Ready or not, 2026 is with us.

January begins the lengthening of each day, on the slow march to Spring. It also begins with continuation of the past, then quickly evolves to the tone of the new year. Named for the ancient Roman god, Janus, who had two faces (one facing backwards and the other looking forward), January offers surprises of the future.

It was recently surprising to learn that the buyer pause in Canadian real estate lasted almost five years... I had surmised that it had lasted around three plus years. Words like hesitation, delay, and caution described the buyer inaction over this treading water time. At the same time, inventory remained very low and prices were relatively stable.

January wears a pared down bare aspect on its exterior. It can sometimes snow, but doesn't last long if it does. It's the perfect time to think about the societal changes of 2024 and 2025. Time now to consider new possibilities based on some of those dynamic changes (AI and robotics come to mind).

I think if someone said I could pop back for a visit to 1995, I would not recognize it. We have all travelled a long way since the beginning of the internet revolution. We need to put on our thinking caps (I imagine mine as orange or pink), and to consider how to tame the AI Revolution.

January allows us a brief time to think about how to "be" when our aide is non-human. Hmmm....did you know when you had a conversation with the person in the service department for your car that you were happily talking to an AI invention?

A suggestion: take a look at a philosophy course or two...be sure that being human is understood. This is our Gutenberg moment. The printing press allowed for the dissemination of knowledge to all who wanted it. What will AI unleash? Your thoughts are? Share.

Welcome to January's opportunities.