Hot!

Today it's 45 degrees celsius with the humidex. Had to mow the lawn, because I really couldn't put it off any more, and I know with temperatures like this there will be a thunderstorm following soon, and then it will be too wet to mow. So out I went, and worked in the yard for 2 1/2 hours. I don't think I've ever felt more filthy and yicky after doing yard work. The dust just clings to your skin in humidity like this, until I looked like I'd been rolling in it. Now I'm showered, cool, and on the couch and refusing to go out the rest of the day.

Not that the dogs want walking anyway. I let Brio and Maple into the backyard, and they were back at the door pawing to get in within about forty seconds. Definitely a day for stretching out on their bellies on the tile floor indoors.

I do love a good thunderstorm, though, I have to say. First the trees start to dance, and the sky boils up with gray clouds, and then there's a sickly yellow cast to the light, and then boom! Because it's so flat here, you can see the lightening for miles. I used to love it when it stormed in Utah, when I was growing up. The thunder would get caught in the canyon and just ricochet around, magnified, like a volley of cannons. That ozone smell as the dust begins to grow damp is one of my favourite smells.

And I have a new Cathy Kelly novel to read, and a wind-up lantern in case the power goes off. And Monday I have off work because of Canada Day. Woohoo! Bring on the rain.

I love rainy days

People who know me know that I am never still. I have so many things I love to do, and since I work all week and have a long commute, all my interests have to be packed into evenings and weekends. This time of year it's primarily the garden, which is slowly ramping itself up and beginning to produce. On top of the onions, garlic, asparagus, and rhubarb, however, are the weeds. The straw mulch I used last fall looked clean to me, but apparently it had grass seed in it, because the grass crop is abundant this year, and it takes most waking moments to get on top of it. I figured this weekend would be spent on hands and knees, picking grass out of the beets and lettuce while the sun baked the back of my neck and bees dodged around my ears.

However, it's raining today, and the ground is like cake batter. Going out in the garden would only compact the soil, and pulling weeds would only uproot surrounding seedlings. So today will be an indoor day, where a host of possible activities await me. What shall I choose? Working on my needlepoint tapestry? Reading The New Farm by Brent Preston? Baking lavender cookies? Starching the Christmas ornaments I'm taking to the arts and crafts sale next month? Framing the cross-stitch gift I just finished? Putting a back on the half-finished baby quilt? Working on the manuscript I'm supposed to have turned in to my publisher? Or (heavens forbid) doing some housework? Naah. Mopping can wait. A snug, rainy day is too precious to waste. I think I'll spend today listening to Celtic music while dressing the new tabletop loom, so my husband can get started on his weaving project.

There's no chance I will ever be bored in life. So many interesting things to learn and do!

Bursting with the generosity of others...quite literally

Somehow I seem to attract free stuff lately...first a giant floor loom, then two spinning wheels, and now another giant vertical tapestry loom. I'm going to need a bigger house. I wonder if my husband would mind giving up the living room... Thank goodness he's so patient! My hobbies are taking over my life...

The kindness of strangers

This week I needed to mow my lawn -- it is large and had gotten quite out of hand -- but the mower was defunct. So I was out in the yard for hours with a weed whacker, slowly making headway and roasting in the heat. And then suddenly two neighbours appeared (one I knew only slightly and the other I'd never even met). They brought with them a gas mower and a sit-down ride'em lawnmower. They proceeded to shoo me inside to get a cold drink and mowed my lawn for me in about ten minutes flat. When I thanked them, they merely shrugged and said, "That's what neighbours are for." We had a nice chat and feel like friends now. And I feel loved.

June is busting out all over

It seems that overnight the world has exploded into colour. The peonies are out in all their frilled glory. Purple Siberian irises. Spirea and soapwort. Even the boring old beans are a light emerald as they unfurl and stretch toward the sun. Where once it was a dull grey-brown in my yard, it's now practically lush and tropical.

I have been gardening for decades now, but it never ceases to amaze me every spring. How does this pinpoint of a seed possibly produce a gigantic flowering plant? Or a tree, for that matter? How can I put one little bitty seed into the ground and harvest five pounds of green beans from it? It's miraculous.

I took Brio to the park to chase the ball around today, and in spite of the great weather, we had the whole field to ourselves. There's nothing so beautiful as my fuzzy golden pup streaking across the bright green expanse toward me, legs pumping, ears flying behind him, his amber eyes lit with joy. He played until he was so tired he was literally staggering, and finally he collapsed at my feet, stretched out on his side...with the ball still firmly in his mouth. Clearly he was saying "Just give me a sec -- I'll be right with you!"

Like Brio, I want to stretch my arms out to the sky and just run and run. Free of winter clothing! Free of snow and wind! Free of bitter cold! Free of...well, um, not free of the pounds I put on over the winter. Maybe not running, then, so much. Maybe a brisk march around the field. That'll do.

Very satisfactory!