26 January 2025 – It is a brilliant, chilly day. It is officially capital-C Chilly as well — I’ve just watched stragglers crossing the Chilly Chase finish line at the False Creek seawall in Olympic Village.

Now I’m leaning on the railing that edges the rivulet flowing through Hinge Park into False Creek.

My mind is on those red berries, lower left.

The toddler next to me has a different preoccupation. She is looking through the reeds to what lies below.

“Why is ice?” she asks.

I can hear the smile in her father’s voice as he answers, “Because it’s cold.”

And I know, just as surely as he does, what comes next.

Sure enough! “Why is cold?”

Away they go, down the rabbit hole of “Why?”

I move on, full of respect for the endless patience of loving parents, as they help their little ones begin to make sense of the universe.