Well, not really. Not yet. And it rained just yesterday. Today, however, it’s all about the blue sky and sunshine. Walked for two hours. I’ve been waking up…and staying up at 5:00AM lately, so all my usual Saturday chores were done by 10:00, and I was out on the trails by 11:00. I wrote a post last year about the stasis this time of year. Nuthin’ much happening because most plants and flowers have emerged from the earth and grown to their full, gorgeous potential. Except the sunflowers. And the magpies, not that they emerged out of the earth. Lots of short-tailed baby magpies squawking in the trees. Not much going on, in other words, but a feast of beauty. I’m sure the bees would say otherwise. They were out in huge numbers today feasting not on beauty but the of by-products of beauty.

The river and the creek are flowing with rust-tinted water. Not sure where the odd colouration originates, but I’m sure it has something to do with all the rain. By late July/early August, the river should be turning aquamarine, but it’s a strange sort of terra cotta and still pretty high, comparatively speaking. And Mill Creek is gushing like a spring version of itself. Normally, in mid-summer the creek is just a sliver of slow-moving murk, but not this summer. If I were a dog, I wouldn’t be dipping myself in Mill Creek unless I had a rope, and the promise of a delicious treat for my exertions. Most dogs appear to be saving themselves for the slower waters of south Mill Creek.

Took me awhile to get going today and I’m not quite sure why. Probably the heat, or the Strathcona Farmer’s Market tomato, fresh basil and veggie cream cheese multi-grain bagel I ate just prior to stepping out the door. I tried to stick to the shadier areas, but the sun was directly overhead for most of the walk. Still managed to do some stairs, and I felt much perkier after about a half hour outside.

1:05PM/23C

Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but compared to the chilly weather we’ve had lately, not too far a stretch. Stinkin’ hot, in other words, and not especially conducive to a long walk in the river valley with a heat-seeking backpack hanging off my shoulders. Yesterday, however, was gorgeous. No mosquitoes in the woods on a sunny Sunday afternoon, so I figured I’d live dangerously and walk on a sunny Monday afternoon without a layer of chemical deterrent on my skin. Bad mistake. The mozzies were out in their numbers by the Muttart. Even saw a guy spraying some foliage…so hoping to get some action (of the deet kind), I walked toward the truck and realized he was actually watering the plants. Watering_the_plants. I could hear the hostas weeping.

5:48PM/27C

…after the rain.

Also, a lot of worms.

On the good side, my new runners no longer look new. Long walk yesterday, short walk today. Love the sound of raindrops on my umbrella. Love the sound of raindrops on anything. I will take a rainy day 100% of the time over the intense heat plaguing the east. Toronto was 37C on Thursday. Brutal. Here? Lovely…comparatively speaking.

5:05PM/13C

…or before the storm. It’s one or the other these days. The drought correcting itself, which started last year with our rainy summer and snowy winter. The black sky to the south directed me to the shorter paths, and of course, now it’s sunny, so just a 45 minute walk. Longer walk tomorrow, hopefully.

5:20PM/19C

Yep. Edmonton has overtaken Winnipeg as the mosquito capital of Canada. We are also the murder capital of Canada, which is in no way related. One more interesting fact: we’ve had 33 days with rain out of the last 43. For a mosquito larvae, Edmonton, and our many standing pools of fetid water, is the ultimate staycation.

The mosquito in question is not our typical summer pest. According to the Edmonton Journal, we are up to our swollen tissues in Ochlerotatus spencerii, an unusual mosquito for these parts in that it is a ‘daytime biter.’ It is also an indoor biter, an under the umbrella biter, and a right through my shorts biter. As long as their plungers are wet (with blood) these little shits are entirely indiscriminate about when and where, and whom, they bite.

Nevertheless, today I had a great walk in the warm sun, which is a nice change. Also happy to report that the leaf-roller caterpillars, or worms, that infest Rossdale in June and July are gone. The numbers were way down this year, according to a Rossdale resident. I saw three and that was enough to keep me out of that area for a month. I think I am permanently scarred from that time, a few years ago, when the worms hanging from the trees and bushes were so numerous, it looked like someone had decorated the neighbourhood with squirming green party favours. There were thousands of them. I’ve never gotten over it. In any case, the area is back to its usual lovely, lush self. I’m ever so thrilled that I can add this route back into my walking regimen.

4:13PM/21C

…yes. Yes it is.

Not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for my complex cellular structure. And my giant can of OFF.

5:40PM/20C