Ah there is summer

It is official despite school not being out yet, it is summer. The weather even decided to cooperate by being sunny, hot and over thirty degrees. There is lilac bloom scenting the air and there are riots of color pooling in the back garden. There are also riots of children running through the sprinkler and chasing the birds and butterflies that wander too close. The cats and dogs are keeping a safe and watchful distance from over the alley. Icecreams have been licked and sampled on fingers, faces, noses and toes. All in all, my clean house is no more as grass, dirt, crumbs and juice have joyfully splashed onto the floor. This is summer.

I have magically lost the will to negotiate tidiness with the kidlets. They are playing and they are happy. I have a book and have a sunbeam that melts into my orange cushy chair and I am taking great delight in wallowing in the warmth of the summer sky. I should be weeding the garden, hunting dandelions and stinging nettle but it seems highly overrated compared to the sprinkler and waterslide. There is copious amounts of watermelon being consumed and quite frankly, that will save on dinner because I haven't seemed to cook any.

Take that winter. Take that Spring (did we ever get Spring?). Today is also smoke free. We have been having a burning summer, with fires that creep and rush close to landmarks and then turn and sweep away. The largest fire in Alberta's history seems to have mood swings that send billowing sheets of smoke and then the wind changes and the smoke must go and visit somewhere else. The smoke has been thick but today, there is breezy wind and it is smoke free. I can be outside to pretend all is quiet and peaceful.

Summer is the time that Fort McMurray shines brightest. The trees are rich with greenery. The grass has finally filled in. There are smells of barbeque wafting down the street and gardens that spill over with plants. The gangs of children race from pillar to post while parents watch with languid calm. The rivers are running and fishing reigns supreme. This is summer, so I am going to continue to sit and wallow.

My deck is open - come visit!