Summer

Summer. I am grateful for summer. For anyone who has known for more than a few months, this may come as a bit of a surprise. For those who have been around for a while - family and friends - it will sound like downright heresy to them.

You see, I grew up in Québec City, Montréal and Toronto. Summer in these Canadian cities are sizzling, humid and as far as I’m concerned, uncomfortable. As much fun as it was going to the international fireworks competition, Just For Laughs, the Montreal Jazz Festival, to the neighbourhood public pool or up Mont-Royal for shenanigans, summer weather was stifling and mostly unbearable... to me. The return of fall and winter was always cause for celebration.

Since moving to Prince Edward Island however, I have developed and acquired a certain fondness for summer. There is something much gentler about summer on an island on the East Coast: there is water everywhere. And I’m not talking pools; I’m talking the ocean!

Whether you go for the white or red sand beach varieties, you are assured to find your very own perfect spot along the shore somewhere. Plus, there is almost always a breeze coming off the water. While it has become more humid in the 12 years I’ve lived here, the humidity is STILL not nearly as bad as my aforementioned hometowns.

Then there is the summer scenery comprised of the local fauna (foxes!) and flora but also of harbours, boats, and sunsets I never knew existed when I lived in the city. And on PEI, everything comes to life in the summer: there are more activities, more events... just more to enjoy and appreciate. In the big city, there is always something to do, no reason to slow down or speed up based on the seasons. The impact on the pace of life is not as extensively felt.

Don’t get me wrong. I suspect I will always be a winter kinda gal. It’s ingrained in my DNA. But I am more and more grateful for the many wonders summer has to offer.

All pics below by me, in and around PEI.