Recent pasts and hazy futures

Jetlagged coffee-sipping/cat-sitting in Jeju City while the torrential
 rains pour down outside – peak cozy achieved

Aftermath of the great rainihilation/foaming shoe incident

Food options on Gapa Island were…tricky at times. One day I ate a pogo (corn dog) for all three meals. The woman at the shop felt so sorry for me, she gave me… 

…a free coffee ("Service!")

The following day on Gapa the only thing I ate was this massive pajeon. It was
 filling and tasty, albeit a tad heavy on oily octopus legs for my taste.

I crossed paths with this dapper squire on Gapa last spring. I regret not talking to him, but I understand that he had an important marshmallow gumdrop harvest to attend to.

My old favourite hang in Seogwipo (“The Office”)

Foggy Jeju hills

I'd forgotten how fun it was to live out of a perfectly packed backpack
(for a while at least)

Best bus pass ever

The legend of…

…Cheonjiyeon Falls

Spring in…February?

Much too early for park reading weather

Or...memories of spring, melting winters...

  Time flies, it’s true what they say. A short year ago I was busy plotting my nutty Korean spring fling. It feels like it was yesterday, no joke. I re-read all my spring posts in a daze the other night, which re-charged my adventure batteries by about 6%. I picked up another 4% by combing through some phone pics from the trip (here are a few). I wonder if I’ll ever get to experience another Korean spring? Will I one day get a proper look at a Ruddy Kingfisher? Stay tuned, I guess.

  In other news, it’s 15 degrees and sunny out in Montreal, on February 27th. The forecast shows unbroken above zero (mostly double-digit) highs from here on out. The only snow left is hiding in the shadows, and the outdoor rink on the corner has almost fully bled out into the gutters. Just 20 short years ago, the outdoor rink was skate-able from early December right on through to mid-March, with few exceptions. I doubt if there were two weeks of solid ice this year.

  If this is what February is like, I’m terrified to imagine what April will bring, let alone the hellfires of August. I wonder if birds will be migrating north early, only to find that favourite food isn’t available yet.

  In other other news, I’ve got a couple of birding-related writing projects that are baking away, and the oven is about to ding.