Fishing Frenzy

How can you not love summer? For me it is the best season of the entire year. There are just so many things you can do in the summer. You can enjoy the outdoors, whether it is out of town or in your back yard, you can have lovely bar-b-ques on the back deck, or go for walks around the city without fear of frost bite or slipping on ice.

I was asked to distill my love for summer into a top three list. I immediately rattled off three things I love about summer. I then immediately amended the list. I soon realized that I needed some time to think carefully about this list. I could easily come up with the top 20 things I love about summer and with little trouble craft a top 10 list. A top 3 things I love about summer time was going to be difficult.

It took quite a while actually for me to decide on my final list. But I finally managed it, so here they are: 1) Using our Big Green Egg for backyard bar-b-ques, 2) riding my seadoo at the cottage, and 3) anything to do with gardening.

I just love cooking; I absolutely can't turn the channel if either Rachel Ray or Iron Chef America is on. And bar-b-quing has become my summer cooking option of choice. But not just any bbq, it is way more fun if you have the luxury of cooking with a Big Green Egg. This thing has changed our perspective on bbqs - it is a natural charcoal smoker made of ceramic, it is shaped like a giant egg, and it is glazed a dark green. You can add wood chips to it so you can smoke something all day at 200 degrees, or you can open the drafts and have it reach close to 700 degrees to sear a steak in 3-4 minutes. It even rivals wood fired pizza ovens for cooking pizzas.

Now, one of the best things about summer has to be the summer cottage we have, and the time our family is able to spend at the lake. But it just wouldn't be the same if we hadn't invested in a couple of seadoos in order to enjoy the lake and visit our neighbours and the neighbouring beaches. I almost feel stranded at our cottage if we don't have some way of getting out on the water, and the seadoos are just so convenient and fun, it has to a pretty miserable day for us not to be out on the lake. Until it's time to pack them up under the sea-doo covers and haul them home, they barely see any dock time.

I love growing things and I love flowers. The time I spend in my garden just flies by. I get excited about new plants popping their heads through the soil. Over the years I have tried to plant perennials that will bloom at different points during the summer. The timing of the different flowers is not yet perfect but it is a work in progress. I add some annuals every year to brighten the colour and every fall I add some spring time bulbs to the mix.

I pondered my list of the top three things I love about summer time for a while. However, once the list was finalized I was certain that it encapsulated perfectly my love of summer. It includes three different activities that collectively mean summer time to me. So whether I have a spatula in my hand or I am pulling off Seadoo covers, or I am holding a garden spade, I am bound to have a smile on my face.