This past week we got a little taste of summer in April, and it was glorious. After trudging through a cold and grey couple of weeks, we welcomed some unseasonably warm temperatures with childlike abandon: people played hooky from work, the shorts and flip flops were quickly dug out from deep within closets and patios sprang up overnight in the city.
One of the things I love about living in Canada is that we appreciate nice weather. I mean, we really appreciate it. Because you just never know when you’re going to get another +22 degree, cloudless day. It could be weeks, even months from now. So, you’ve got to get outside and enjoy it while you can.
That’s what we did on Thursday. We called a couple friends and loaded a couple canoes on the trailer and headed for the hills – of Welsford, New Brunswick – and the Nerepis River.
The Nerepis meanders along gently, with topography that ranges from sandy banks to grassy meadows and a golf course, to tree lined cliffs. There is plenty of wildlife: we saw several eagles (one huge mother!), lots of geese and other birds, and a turtle sunning itself on an old tree stump.
There were quite a few trees across the river and unfortunately my paddling skills were pretty rusty and one of the ‘sweepers’ – what paddlers call overhanging obstacles such as tree limbs and branches – took us out pretty early on and Joel and I ended up soaked from the waist down.
Luckily it was already close to 20 degrees by that time and we were able to dry off in the sun fairly quickly. My feet, however, were wet for the rest of the day.
It was a great day. I love the smell of summer on the skin. It’s a mixture of sunscreen, sweat and fresh air. It makes all of the bitterly cold days of winter worth it.
They say the weather has shifted and that temperatures will be cooler for the next while, but that’s ok. We know that summer is on the way. For now we can be thankful for this little taste of summer in April.
