Public Transit and Hints of Spring

It was my day off today so I took the bus downtown to meet Kayla for lunch. I don't know if I could depend on public transit all the time but it is interesting to ride the bus once in awhile. It is awesome for people watching. Everyone from stately elderly ladies with carefully curled air to young people with multiple piercings and jet black hair styled in mind boggling ways. In between you have office people and school kids and casual riders like me, going downtown for the afternoon. It is also quite stress free if you aren't on a strict schedule. No parking worries, no lane changes and you can even read a book - if reading while moving doesn't make you feel queasy. And since you aren't driving, you walk a lot more, see more of downtown, smile at more people, avoid a few more panhandlers and get more fresh air. All in all a good way to go on a laid back day off.

The down side of riding the bus at this time of year is that you wait by the curb. The streets are very wet and the gutters are filled with gray brown slushy stuff that sprays up very easily. You have to be quick to jump back for fast moving vehicles! But that is the first sign of spring so you can't dislike it too much. I came home and shoveled the same yucky stuff out of the garage and opened the end of our driveway. The graders had been through and now we are actually driving and walking on pavement!

I also saw a downy woodpecker in our tree. He is here all winter but it was still good to see some wildlife back after the long cold spell.

I know in BC there is probably something ready to bloom but here we take every little hint of spring we can! I love winter but there is something really exciting about seeing it wane.