When I lived in Seattle, I didn’t fully appreciate the arrival of spring.  Seattle is kept moderately temperate year-round by the proximity of Puget Sound and, by proxy, the Pacific Ocean.  You can pretty much go for a run out of doors all year long, if you don’t mind a little rain.

But since leaving Seattle to return to Eastern Washington, I have a new appreciation for spring.  The numerous evergreen trees in Seattle keep things from turning entirely gray and brown.  So you miss the slowly dawning, creeping emergence of green all around you.  It’s such a pleasure that I’ve come to consider driving around here this time of year as hazardous, because you’re so distracted by the sun-dappled leaves out the window.  I went out of my way to drive by one of my favorite local parks last week with cold groceries in the backseat:

And with the slow creeping green came warmer weather in a rush — literally.  All of our considerable accumulation of mountain snow is melting in one go, and the Falls are at record levels.  Check out these photos!

Lower Falls, May 2009

Lower Falls, May 2011

Happy Spring-almost-Summer, everyone!