AUTUMN

The scent of wood smoke from nearby chimneys and honking of geese flying overhead; the beauty of my dog running to grab a thrown toy; the soft hair against my hands when my cat comes close for a snuggle and the warmth of her body keeping me comfortable in the evening; the flavours still favored after childhood: chocolate, peanut butter, strawberry — these are some of the simple pleasures I can be thankful for.

In contrast to this year's hot spring and summer in Ontario, my youth spent in PEI was much cooler and wetter. Spring along the east coast was a windy, rainy change from the large wet snowflakes of winter. I remember standing on the verandah, savoring a rare warm sunny spring day when the bees were buzzing amongst my mother's flowers and the newly opened leaves on tall trees shaded parts of the lawn.

Summer was a time for warm sunshine and walks on the beach. The average highs for June - August were 20°C to 23°C (compared with 23°C to 26.6°C in Casselman). PEI breezes from the ocean moderate temperatures so they are cooler in warm months and milder in cold months than experienced in Ontario. I don't remember any really hot days in summer. In fact, I had to keep blankets over me because the nights were cool.

By tradition, September felt like summer was over; not only because school started but because temperatures dropped enough that swimming in the ocean was no longer tempting — not that the water was warm in the summer!

This year's hot summer in eastern Ontario kept me from taking as many trips as usual. Terri and I normally enjoy walks at weekend outdoor events where dogs are allowed — dog shows, country fairs, camping in parks. This summer seemed too hot to enjoy spending a full or even half day walking under the sun. Many places have very little shade so I lacked any ambition to leave my shade trees.

The 2012 heat has lasted a surpisingly long time. Even the geese seem to be puzzled. They are still flying back and forth (north and south) as if they aren't sure which way to go. I suspect that this long mild autumn is allowing them to feed on many corn fields before their long flight south. I hope they don't get too fat to fly ;-)