Summer is Here

Officially summer doesn’t arrive until June 21 but unofficially it’s here.

I am finally warm. I can go outside and feel the heat of the sun seeping through my skin and right into my bones. I feel completely relaxed, flittering from one activity to another – going high on the swings, flipping over on the monkey bars, watching my son play in his new mini pool, going for a walk and throwing stones in the lake.

We are eating watermelon and spraying bugs with the hose. We are planting our vegetable garden and hanging clothes on the line. We are watching robins build nests and orioles and hummingbirds emptying our feeders.

I am counting down the days until summer driving season and weekends full of fun plans.

Welcome warm weather.

For the Love of Water

Water, particularly bodies of it, has always been an important part of my life.
Growing up, my house backed onto the Credit River, and I spent many hours playing in and around it.

When I went to Humber College, I had the Humber Aboretum to go to if I needed a place to relax and unwind. From there, I moved to Kingston where Lake Ontario beckoned me. In times of trouble, I would bike along the paths that ran beside the lake before finding a secluded spot to think and write.

When Stouffville was my home, I would walk Tramp, my aunt’s dog, through the reservoir, where again my worries could be put aside.

While both Milton and Pickering offered bodies of water, it was more of a drive to get to them and I tended to think while on my inline skates or bike.

And now I am here with Lake Simcoe literally outside my door, offering instant peace.