Wind rises quickly, churning the Strait into a wild scene of endless waves, crashing in white froth all across the dark teal water. Looking vulnerable, the long narrow finger of Violet Point shimmers in a spotlight of sun. Across Discovery Bay, a rainbow hangs over Quimper Peninsula, tantalizing.

Then a sheet of lightning glitters above the water, while thunder roars and tumbles down the Olympic Mountains as if hurled by Zeus himself. Crows are silenced and tuck themselves safely into huge douglas firs. Young fawns are startled and scamper after their mother into the woods. Only gulls are impervious, bouncing gleefully on swift currents of air. Spring will not ease gently into summer this year.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What is demanding your focus now?
• What should you be paying attention to in your life?
• Do you need a jolt of thunder to rouse you from a state of inertia?