23 November 2018 – And there was, literally, a rattle-drum’s worth of hail along with the rain.

But rain is the constant, not hail. It is the pulse of Vancouver winter.

It makes headlights gleam, in the late afternoon of our ever-shorter days …

it bounces expanding circles into parking lot puddles …

and it plays polka-dot on a balcony glass wall.

Umbrellas again define us.

Waiting for use, they sit neatly furled by the front door …

in use, they bubble the sidewalk …

Inside shops, they are jammed into some kind of wet-umbrella stand …

and, once finally home, they are propped open, to dry.

Along with big, bright rain hats!