We had a beautiful summer this year. Even looking at that sentence is making me feel a little melancholy. We had a gorgeous summer and now it's over. There is, I think, an underlying certainty that when you live in the North that Mother Nature is a bit like the Canada Revenue Agency. If you have enjoyed the nice summer days and had a lovely time soaking up all the rays, then you will have to pay a sunshine tax on your enjoyment in the coming seasons.
If you talk to people in Prince George about the weather, everyone will agree that this summer was perfect (we all forgot how unbearable hot it was) and now we will have to pay for it with a rainy fall and a hard, long winter.
I love fall in Prince George. The air is crisp and the changing leaves are beautiful. The squirrels frantically collecting the rest of their winter supplies are keeping my lazy dog exercised so I'm grateful for the little buggers. However, I have been finding that the rapid changing of the seasons is a bit shocking.
One day it was summer and then the next day it was fall. There is no gradual changing of the guard in the North. In a few short months, we'll wake up to a blanket of snow covering up the leaves in the yard that didn't quite get cleaned up and we'll all jam up the car shops putting on ourwinter tires.
It rained for three days straight last week and just when I thought that this was our sunshine tax, the sun came back out. It's important for us in the North to take the time to appreciate the breaks in the weather. During a rain break and before the snow hits, admire your lawn that looks greener than it has in the last two months. Take the time to pick your apples before the bears take up residence in your front yard. Enjoy the last few weeks of the outdoor Farmer's Market or visit one of the other markets around town.
During the first of the flash floods that we experienced, I was looking out the window with dismay as it ruined my plans for cleaning up the yard and gardening. My three year-old son was also looking out the window at the rising water in our front-ditch and he turned to me with a very serious look and said: "Mom, it's raining. I need my rain doots and my 'brella. Need to go outside."
So we went outside and watched the water pour through our drain spouts and watched the rising tide of water rushing through the storm drains and played in the puddles. It was a wonderful fall day.
Sometimes, you just need to go outside with your rain doots.
