Hot summer ahead

It’s only the first of June and summer’s already a scorcher.

According to Environment Canada, we’re in for one hot summer. And in Ontario it’s going to be a dry one too. We bought some rain barrels this spring – got to get them hooked up soon so as to make the most of any rainfall we do get and use it to water our garden.

When I was a kid I remember loving hot summer days. That was back when tanning was cool and my friends and I would live in the sun, turning steadily browner as summer went on and competitively comparing our tans. It was also when summers meant long days at swimming pools or by the river, staying up all night around campfires and listening to crickets through canvas tent walls late at night.

I must be getting old, because now summer seems to be about trying to find ways to stay cool, to avoid the heat of day and to find activities for a toddler that let her run around and get exercise without also getting heat stroke.

Yesterday afternoon, as the temperature hovered around 30˚, with a humidex adding a few more degrees, Miya and I stopped by the farm. I had hoped the barns might be a relatively cool place to run around in, but with the exception of one newly-renovated building, the barns were sticky with the hot summer air, the heat of the animals and the heavy smells of manure and feed. Many of the stalls were empty – likely the animals had been moved to cooler locales.

Today Miya seemed to have been overwhelmed by the heat and fell asleep before having dinner, almost 2 hours before her usual time. Poor little over-heated girl.

So yes, I may be old, but I’m going to be looking for ways to stay cool. I signed M and I up for a parents and tots swim class today. We will be making the most of our museum memberships too. (Although I did find some Canadian made, organic, zinc-based sunscreen today for those times we have to be in the sun.)

So summer is great, but surviving it can be challenge.