When does Canadian summer start?

In Canada, we pride ourselves on our climatic toughness.

We like to trade stories of the worst winters and compare the endurance we have against those from other cities. Across the country, there are historic tales of brutal storms and enduring horrible extremes, which only seem to be worsening these days.

This general prevalence of less clement weather (dare I say winter?) makes us fiercely proud of what summer we do get. We make the most of every warm day that comes our way.

Despite the fact there are still ice hockey games being played, the weather is signalling more summer temperatures and accordingly, more summer activities.

Canadian tradition says that summer starts unofficially when the May long weekend arrives. If you are in my generation born in the 1960s, then I imagine the smell of burgers or ribs on the barbecue might be the memory of Victoria Days past. Or perhaps it is the sound of the boat on the water, the smell of that first campfire. Maybe it is the feel of the wind in your hair as you ride with the top down for the first time.

I have been reminiscing about past summers and what made them special. As a kid, I used to dread the Victoria Day weekend as that was when the garden work went into full force at our Calgary home.

My mom loved to have an outside space that offered some variety and colour. There was of course a veggie garden planted out back, where most people would have parked their second car or camper. She also designed a rockery garden with flowers, and rocks brought from the countryside.

Can you guess who my mom’s chief labourer was? I was the eldest, so I carried the heavier rocks and hoed the garden rows. My little brother carried what seemed like pebbles and planted the seeds. There was no lazy start to the Canadian summer at our house, I thought. But then my tale of woe wasn’t unique. I had friends whose moms who had gardens too, or large lawns to mow.

Funny enough, as an adult I followed in my mom’s footsteps, creating my own little world in the grounds at Rabbit Hollow. I now look forward to the first sure weekend of garden work, which here in the Okanagan is often earlier in May.

I remember the first trip the ice cream truck made was usually this weekend. I haven’t seen one of those in a while, but we live a stone’s throw from the ice cream counter at Paynter’s Farm Market on the Westside, and they have Tiger Tiger (my favourite summer flavour).

Once the lawn was mowed that first time, it was open season for the sprinkler too. Many an afternoon was spent running through the one at our house, or whomever had the biggest yard on the street (meaning more kids, more splashing. You get the idea.

There is a great episode from The Vinyl Café about a hose in the yard on a summer day if you want to reminisce.

I haven’t seen kids in a sprinkler recently, but I know from looking over to the market that eating ice cream outside is still popular. The next time we have friends over with their kids ,I might invite them to run in the grass, get a few grass stains and drink from the hose.

Here’s to a happy summer.

(Editor's note: This is the start of Kristin Peturson-Laprise's column in its new regular spot. Look for it each Wednesday morning from now on.)

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.