Happy things

The piping plover is my new favourite bird. It is small. It is endangered. It is a shorebird. It runs madly around the beach on little toothpick legs, once in a while taking flight, staying really low to the ground. The tiny plover makes the not-so-huge sandpiper look pretty big.

I saw several of both these birds on the east beach near Halifax. Jill and Bob took me there for a walk on a windy, sunny Sunday. Their dog, Duke (World's Best Dog), isn't too hot at fetching things out of the water, but he is an expert enormous-stick-carrier. He struts around with a big branch between his teeth until he feels compelled to bury it in the dunes somewhere.

Jill and I went for a swim. The water was freezing, so I wasn't sure about it at first, but the opportunity to swim in the ocean is always hard to pass up. Once I jumped in, I didn't want to get out. Maybe it was the salt or the big waves or Jill's enthusiasm - she is one of the happiest people I know - but it felt great... until my hands went numb!

Bob and Jill are so genuinely friendly that you feel instantly at home with them. They never let you do the dishes or anything and they are always topping up your glass. They are both great story-tellers. And Bob has the most beautiful white hair. I love white hair.