The last long weekend of summer is before me and with it comes the sad realization that yet another summer season is coming to an end. Already, the nights feel noticeably cooler and the sun sets earlier every day; on the other hand, the days are now warm and we actually have been graced with sunshine for days before any rainfall returns. And yet, while the arrival of the Labour Day weekend harkens the approaching end for weekend barbecues and the winding down of festivals and special events around the city, what I’m really dreading is the return of school.

Sure, it’s been quite some time since I grumbled at the blaring of my alarm clock how I didn’t want to go to school. But even when I left the shelter of school life for the freedom of joining that magical group – the workforce – whenever Labour Day weekend came round, it brought back fond memories of summer as a kid and the tinge of sadness that those days where the possibilities of doing everything and nothing were now coming to an end. Since I became a father of school-age children, there’s now something else that makes me melancholy when this time of the year arrives. You see, unlike those commercials for “Back To School” sales that show the mom and dad celebrating that finally, their kids will be gone to school, their free time filled with homework assignments and extracurricular activities, I’m actually a little sad that I won’t have my kids around all the time and free to do whatever the day inspires. That’s not to say that there weren’t days during the summer break where I wished for some peace and quiet, free from those sibling arguments over who was going to role-play what part in their latest adventure or who had first dibs on the prized toy of the day. On those days, school couldn’t come soon enough. However, those moments were more the exception than the rule. Click here to continue reading »”And Yet Another Summer Comes To An End”

So, it’s raining here . . . again. It seems pretty much to be the rule this summer that it’s going to rain almost every other day. In fact, now when my wife checks the weather report, I ask her ‘So when are we expected to see the sun again?’. I haven’t bothered checking the meteorological reports, but it won’t be surprising if they declare this summer to be one of the wettest ever on record. In fact, it occurred to me this morning that we’re near the end of summer and I haven’t once used the sprinkler to water the lawn. Naturally, this weather has the obvious downsides of reducing the number of days I can pull out the BBQ or that we can head out to the beach or attend one of the outdoor events around the city. But it’s also impacting me on another front – that as a gardener.

Oh sure, I know what most of you are thinking – what’s that? A gardener complaining about rain? Well, under normal conditions I wouldn’t since like most gardeners, I plan my work around the rain forecasts as some gardening tasks actually benefit from being done just before it rains or just after. But this summer, we’ve had more rainy days than sunny ones and the impact on certain sections of my garden has been noticeable – both for the better and for the worse. Click here to continue reading »”This Has Not Been A Summer For Gardeners”