Summer Time Crazy

I’m sorry.

I know I haven’t been around much.

I blame summer.

Maybe I’m just trying to make up for last year’s failure when I moped around with a broken collarbone for the entire summer feeling sorry for myself.  Or maybe it’s just a quirk of us Northerners who feel compelled to squeeze out every possible minute of summer fun.

Whatever the reason, I’ve been too busy cramming in maximum summer activity rather than trying to keep up here in blogland.  You probably didn’t even notice I was gone.

I’ve been golfing for the first time in 3 years.  In spite of having taken many lessons over the years, I’m still horribly dysfunctional with a golf club … but it sure feels good to be back after such a long absence.

On this 9-hole course, there is a water hazard on 7 holes and 5 bridges to cross to reach them.

… that means I will lose at least 7 balls if I attempt to hit over the water.  It’s virtually guaranteed.

Although we’ve had some hot and humid days, they’ve been generously interspersed with overcast skies and rain.  Lots of rain.

Usually by the end of July, everything is starting to look scorched and brown, but this summer all the lawns and gardens are lush and deeply green.

This is my front yard.  It’s flowering like it’s on steroids.  Needless to say, it doesn’t normally look like this.  Note to self – flowering plants LOVE lots of water … or maybe it was the compost …

With summer comes a lot of time spent around water on boats both big and small.

… but not this boat though.  I thought that if I waved in a friendly manner, they might offer to take me out for a ride.  Sadly, it didn’t work.  This is the marina at Toronto’s Ontario Place

For the first time in about 13 years, I made it back north to The Island where we spent our childhood summers in a small cabin.  The small cabin isn’t there anymore – replaced by a 3-bedroom cottage – but the memories overflowed.

 

It’s a small island of about an acre, surrounded by Crown Land and no other person for several kilometers.  For this city girl used to the constant hum of traffic in the background, it was odd to be back in a place where the darkness at night was absolute and the only sound was the cry of the loons.

Prelude to a major thunderstorm that crashed through the area.  My sister and I sat outside on the veranda to watch the storm – something my mother would NEVER have allowed us to do.  She didn’t like the water, didn’t like The Island, and definitely didn’t like thunderstorms.

Speaking of water,  the Great Lakes are still unusually high with flooded shorelines all along Lake Ontario.  It doesn’t even look unusual to me anymore.  That’s a sad commentary.

Toronto Harbourfront 

 

… and yes, Helen and I are still making slow progress along the Trans-Canada Trail.

Trans-Canada Trail along the shore of Lake Ontario east of Toronto in Pickering

There are still many more summer days ahead of us, so please forgive me if I’m sporadic in my visits.  I’m going to be busy trying to squeeze out as many memories as possible while I can.

Winter is coming.

This post is in response to The Changing Seasons monthly photo challenge hosted by Max at Cardinal Guzman.  This is my 3rd year participating in this monthly feature.