More rain last night, not long in duration but robust in intensity. All traces of winter washed away. Everything lifting skyward and greening up. I therefore declare today, Friday the 13th, the official first day of spring on Manitouilin Island.

Rowdy west wind all day, but mostly skipping over us here in the lee of the bluff. Chilly, but warm. The water in the bay pushed up high.

This morning, diadems. Rain drops caught in cedar twigs glinting in the morning sun.

The area around here is woodpecker heaven (and more on that later). Today, a very self-assured hairy woodpecker working the trees down by the zen spot. (I think it was a hairy.)