Summer Heat

The sky is blue, the sun brilliant, the temperature 30c and I am sitting in the comfy chair pushing the hair off my forehead so the sweat will have a chance to dry. I've just come in from doing the last of the work in the yard before driving to Victoria tomorrow to visit with Barbara and Terry and Liz and Ross. I look forward to seeing them again. It's becoming a tradition. In the cool of the evening I'll give the yard a last watering, show Jay how that system works and be ready to leave our house in his hands. He's not finding it easy to live without May, and even the chaos of the girls seems less overwhelming at a distance of thousands of miles and 15 hours. But he still has work and a lot of practical jobs to do. He's getting things done. And his iPhone jingles a tune at all hours as the communication continues.

I led the VOC Mothers' Day hike up Sugarloaf last Sunday. I was nervous because I'm not a leader, an animator perhaps, but my sense of direction is undeveloped. I always drive to the trailhead with someone else and talk all the way so don't remember the route. I even felt unsure of the turnoff to Sugarloaf and I'd been there checking out the trail the Sunday before. I also feared that my pace might be too slow because my breathing is not great. But all went well. There are some steep bits but nobody was in a rush, and the view of Lake Okanagan from the top made it all worth while. It was so clear that the snow capped Monashees were bright white in the distance. I was so relieved to have done it I practically ran back down to the parking area after lunch.





The view down Lake Okanagan. The Monashees are in the other direction but did not show clearly in the picture I took of them.



Tulips in the front yard