Summer at Last

Summer has finally arrived in Calgary and wonderful it is to have some warmth. The plants are much happier too.

I have never considered worshipping the sun but I can certainly see how people could. In the mornings when I feel very groggy just sitting at the kitchen table with breakfast and a magazine while sunshine pours in through the east windows perks me up and sometimes keeps me there longer than it should.

I am so very grateful for summer sunshine and will soak up as much as I can while we have it. All too soon it will begin to slip away.

I am also grateful for the invention of Light Therapy and have found it to be very beneficial between October and February. When I start to feel blue and sluggish in October I know it's time to bring out the 'light' and let it cheer me up. As the sun moves south during the winter months, it's candle power in our part of the world is very diminished and our bodies sometimes react negatively to this lack of light. Just 30-60 minutes in the morning with my 'light' makes the rest of the day go much more smoothly.

Sunshine and Roses

Today I'm very grateful for the sunshine (after a few days of dreary, cold weather). My body doesn't deal well with the unsettled, cold, low atmospheric pressure days, so I plan to soak up as much sun as I can today.

A few years ago I struggled with growing roses. They were in my front flowerbed, on the south side of our house which is sunny when the sun cares to shine in our part of the world. I could not understand why they were doing so poorly. Eventually I realized that the two trees in my front yard were providing shade during the heat of the day, which was great for keeping my house cooler on hot days, but did nothing for my struggling roses. I moved them to a sunnier location and enjoyed their thriving beauty last summer.

Human roses, like me, and you (?) need lots of sunshine too so we can be at our best. Don't forget the sunscreen. I'm off to soak up some rays!