Spring Arrives in Baja

If you're reading this from outside the San Diego/Baja Norte area you probably have in your mind that all of Baja is tropical - like Cabo, at the southernmost tip. But Cabo is 1,200 miles away from where we live, right up 30 miles from the US border. So, while I thought when I came here (two years ago) that I'd be missing seasons, that turns out to be wrong. We just had "winter" here, which was chilly (40s-50s). OK, I know that those of you from places where it gets REALLY cold are laughing yourselves silly at the thought of winter temps in that range, but for here, it's COLD. We had to bundle up to walk the dog, we had to put away our sandals and get out our sweaters, we had to light the (beautiful) fire some nights, and the bathroom floor was too cold to walk barefoot. The garden continued to bloom some, but most plants just slowed down. And it was rainy - very rainy this year. Big storms with lots of wild rain and wind in the night. I was very happy to be in our snug, cement villa. It started in December, lasted through January and February. Just when I was starting to think that I was getting pretty tired of "cold" - it ended.

Yes, just like that, on the first of March, Spring arrived in Baja Norte! The temperatures shifted to the high 60s. The sun shone more brightly and warmly. We suddenly seemed to have more hours of sunlight - now with US daylight savings time, it's light until 7pm! (We shift to US time because we like TV and all the programs we like are on the US schedule. Our families back home are all on US time. Mexico shifts an hour forward in April. So, it's pretty confusing here for a month in the spring and fall.) The garden has started to look lively. Flowers are still in bud, but they're getting ready to pop open with color. Birds have appeared from somewhere, with sweet and happy songs I don't remember from last year. They're hard to see - not colorful here, as I expected. Even the hummingbirds are a dull color. Did you know they don't "sing"? They make a little clicking sound that confused me at first, until I got close one day to make sure that sound was coming from that bird.

We see whales and dolphins almost every day. These whales are the last ones heading south to calve. The dolphins are following the fish, so they're always around, traveling north, traveling south, wherever the fish go. Sometimes the whales and dolphins get together to actually herd the schools of fish. You can see them, the whales moving slowly on the outside, the dolphins racing fast on their side, guiding the fish into smaller and smaller spaces, until they take turns going in to feed. The seagulls and pelicans wheel above, shreiking and dive in, with an almost soundless "plop". It's amazing.

We don't have the time to take the trip south to see the calving, but we've heard that in April we can drive about two hours south to a protected cove where the mothers bring their babies to shelter on the loooong trip north to Alaska. I REALLY want to see that! Sometimes, late at night, when I walk the dog along the cliff edge in the chilly dark, I look out at the vast Pacific shimmering quietly to the distant horizon, and imagine the huge whales out there, swimming through the night. Do they sleep, I wonder? Close their eyes? Make those lonely whale-sounds to each other as they travel? I know they're not cold, but the thought still makes me shiver.

Last night I slept with the door cracked open for a little air for the first time in months. It was deliciously cool and scented with ocean. Now I'm sitting in a short-sleeved shirt, no sweater, and sandals. OK, I'm a little cool, maybe rushing it a bit, but I have welcomed Spring whole heartedly, and I'm not going back!