May Long Weekend

We have arrived at the May long weekend, the great divide between spring and summer that signals the official end of a long stretch of winter and the beginning of an idyllic northern summer.  I suspect we'll see an exodus from town later today, as families dart south for big city escapades and camping adventures.

Heather and I did the same the first year we met, packing up our tenting gear and staking a spot along Mariana Lake.  The temperature was comfortably warm during the day but below zero at night with a sheen of frost in the morning.  Based on this year's forecast, we're in for a great couple of days, free of any negative temperatures.

This is the weekend when the garden gets turned over, compost gets added and seeds get planted.  Our feathered friends won't be happy with the increased level of activity in the backyard, but such is life.
They will happily wait till we've gone in for the day to get their fill.

We are most likely into the final week of hearing the furnace for a few months.  Soon the inside temperature will rise, blankets will get shed, and eventually I'll be sleeping on top of the covers.  That switch happens quickly once summer sets in, usually in the third or fourth week of May.  For several weeks I dream about what having an air conditioner would be like, then a cooler day hits and puts me out of my misery.

Heather and I have been going for walk 'n' talks in the evenings, stretching our legs, getting much needed exercise and catching up on life.  We often pass the myriad condos that are in our downtown neighbourhood, and wonder what it might be like living in one when we're a little older and the boys have moved into their own lives.  While I would really like it in the winter, it strikes me that being without a yard in the summer - grass to cut, birds to watch and room to putter - would just feel wrong.

I love our spot in downtown Fort McMurray, home for the past 15 years.  Soon, I will have been here longer than I was at my childhood home in Kamsack, Saskatchewan.  It continues to grow on me and provides our family with a sense of place, sanctuary, and love.

Have a great long weekend no matter where you are traveling or staying.