CANADIAN THOUGHTS AND PLANNING FOR A FUN FILLED SUMMER

May arrived with the trees budding and flowers popping up in the garden. The birds are busy singing, courting and building nests. The garden centres are busy with spring shoppers planning their "landscape masterpieces"! The long weekend-the Victoria Day weekend- is the rule of thumb about planting annuals ! The last fear of frost learned by our ancestors. There is a tradition not to wear white before that time as well! Since our warm seasons seem shorter than the long winter, plans for not only May and June but vacations in the summer months. To travel to Europe, go south, rent a cottage, go camping or a fun packed staycation. Coordinating with work colleagues about coverage and who wants what week or month. Perhaps getting the house ready for summer guests travelling from away! For busy parents-what camp-art, computer, math, physical activities, what lessons-swimming, soccer, baseball or tennis with some little ones taking golf! Painting a room, new outdoor furniture, stocking the freezer! There is always a need to plan, plan, plan! Why? The real urgency is to know what is happening so when the time arrives- the need is to relax, swim, fish, days on the boat if you have one, picnic and well-lay back and enjoy! May allows the luxury to start to research and decide what the next few months can entail. If your camp site is not booked in advance, then you could miss out! Finding the ideal cottage location or if a family has one-who goes what week can take good scheduling! Rome? Paris? London? Or a last minute- Jamaica, Mexico? A well developed garden in May and June allows for good sitting with a favourite beverage to enjoy looking at it! The hurry up and plan- go, go, go becomes the - get my favourite book or crossword with some music in the background and enjoy. Dinners on the deck!  Long walks, boat rides, car trips with no particular hurry can be the reward for all the preparation! We Canadians know how to do it right! I hear the discussion right now  happening from British Columbia to New Brunswick with some talk in Manitoba about "what do we want to do this summer"? Yes-the nice May weather gives us a chance to start to get into that mode! So how are your plans going? Do you have your travel books out? The maps or are you just a GPS user? Checking the budget? So what are your thoughts, eh?