Spring on St. Paul Island does not arrive all at once.

In some places, spring may mean warm sunshine, blooming flowers, bare feet in sandals, and bees buzzing around gardens. But here, on a tiny island in the middle of the Bering Sea, spring is slower. Wetter. Windier. Wilder.

Some days still feel like winter, with snow drifting through the air. Other days the island disappears into ground clouds, heavy fog so low and wet it feels almost like rain. And lately, we have had plenty of both.

All that spring precipitation has changed the island. Puddles have become ponds. Low places have flooded. Roads have washed out in places, and familiar paths across the island have become muddy, rutted, and unpredictable.

This was not quite as severe last spring, but last spring was also our first spring here. Maybe this is ordinary spring business on the island. Maybe it is not. I have been asking around, and from what I am hearing, this much flooding and washout is not exactly normal.

Still, spring is moving in.

The sea ice has retreated. Arctic foxes are roaming across the tundra again. Reindeer are more visible now, sometimes gathered in small groups, sometimes scattered across the hills. New calves are being born. Whales have been passing through the waters around the island, sometimes showing only the dark curve of a back or the misty burst of a spout.

Birds are returning too: kittiwakes, rosy finches, sandpipers, gulls, ducks, and puffins. Harbor seals have been swimming nearby, and sea lions have been sunbathing out on Sea Lion Rock. We are still waiting for the northern fur seals to return, but each day the island feels a little more awake.

So, with all those spring signs around us, we decided to go for a drive.

Our goal was North Beach.

The roads were unpredictable. Washed out in some places. Flooded in others. Muddy nearly everywhere. But we were determined, and Betty, our trusty side by side, was doing her best.

And honestly? We discovered just how well Betty can maneuver.

Not entirely on purpose.

At one point, we came to a large flooded stretch of road. We took the high road, hoping to make it through, but the water was deeper than it looked, and the mud underneath was much softer than expected.

Betty made it partway.

Then, she settled in for a break.

There we were, stuck in the mud on the tundra, making a plan. The recovery boards came out. We started figuring out how to get Betty moving again.

And then I looked off into the distance.

Reindeer.

Through my binoculars, I could see a smaller group of them walking across the tundra. At first, they were far away. Then I realized they were walking directly toward us.

As we worked on getting Betty unstuck, the reindeer kept coming closer. They seemed curious. Maybe they came for the show. Maybe they thought they could help. Maybe they were just wondering what in the world these humans were doing stuck in the middle of their tundra.

I could almost imagine them thinking, stupid humans.

And honestly? Fair.

This was their turf. Their tundra. They knew how to move across it far better than we did.

Thankfully, the recovery boards worked. Betty got unstuck, and we continued on our way.

That moment has stayed with me because it felt so connected to this month’s Wild & Wonder episode, The Secret Life of a Seed, Part 2: Getting Ready to Grow.

In the story, Plaira the seed wants to grow up toward the sun. But first, she has to grow down. Her roots push through dark soil, curve around pebbles, search for water, and slowly help her become steady. What looks like being stuck is actually part of getting ready.

And that is exactly what spring feels like here right now.

Messy. Muddy. Slow. Full of water. Full of waiting. Full of movement beneath the surface.

The roads may be washed out, but the island is waking up. The tundra may look brown and soggy in places, but tiny green shoots are beginning to appear. The weather may swing between snow and rain, but birds are returning, calves are being born, and life is finding its way back.

Sometimes growth does not look graceful.

Sometimes it looks like mud on your tires, recovery boards under your wheels, and a group of reindeer watching from the tundra while you figure things out.

Sometimes, before we rise, we root.

You can listen to The Secret Life of a Seed, Part 2: Getting Ready to Grow where ever you get your podcasts. In this gentle spring episode, Plaira discovers that growing down first helps her grow strong enough for the bright, windy, moving world above.