Just as the winter seems like it can’t get any darker, any rainier, any cloudier, any gloomier, suddenly it’s late January and the sun comes out and stays out for a few days. It’s light out when I wake up in the morning and dusk doesn’t come so early. The crocuses come up (I saw my first two days ago), and our lilac tree shows the first hint of buds. In Vancouver, it’s not unreasonable to develop some healthy spring fever before February.