outdoors

Making the most of warm weather?

OK, to be clear, I am not complaining about the heat.

It’s warmer then I prefer it to be, but it beats the hell out of being too cold for this time of year.

However, the heat leaves me stuck with another overthinking dilemma.

Because we have so little good weather, I want to make the most of warm days by being outside, doing fun things.

But we actually have a heat warning here today.

And I have work to do.

So what counts as making the most of a beautiful day when there’s a heat warning?

I shouldn’t really spend too much time outside in the heat, it’s not good for me. It’s possible it’s even unsafe.

But it feels weird to plan to spend the whole day inside where it will be cooler when we have so few warm days.

Basically, I end up spending the whole day thinking: When should I go outside? Is it too warm? Has it cooled down enough by now?

Aside from my own tendency to overthink, and I can hear generations of mothers and grandmothers and Girl Guide leaders telling me to get outside and spend some time out in the sun. Saying that I shouldn’t waste a beautiful day by staying inside.

Now, obviously, I’m not going to spend too much time outside and put myself at any risk. but it would be a lot easier on my brain if I could calm down the overthinking about needing to make the most of a sunny day.

Working Outside

I can’t decide if it is easier or harder to get things done when this is my view.

A photo of potted flowers at the corner of a patio deck.
Image description: the corner of my backyard deck across from my chair. I stood up to get a better angle. The focus of the picture is an arrangement of pots of flowers, some are on a wire rack, some are on a table and some are on the deck floor. The flowers include begonias, a variety of dahlias, some marigolds and others and they include pink, purple, red, and yellow flowers. The corner of my blue yoga mat is at the bottom of the photo and my shed, trees, and some green grass with a large patch of sunshine in the middle is in the background.

I make myself laugh

I looked over from where I was barbecuing some hot dogs and saw Khalee sitting in one of her favourite spots in the garden.

My first thought was ‘Strange flowers grow in’ round these parts.’

Clearly I need to get out more.

A photo of a dog sitting on the grass under a tree
Image description: a photo of Khalee, my light haired dog sitting in the lush green grass under some trees. She has her legs folded under her and she is looking around contentedly. Patches of late afternoon sun are coming through the trees here and there.

A good way to spend a Saturday night

Don’t worry, this took place is a safe zone for an outdoor fire and it was in a well-established fire pit.

Sitting around this fire with 4 of my dearest friends was a terrific way to kick off my summer of contemplation, revaluation, and relaxation.

Yep, those three things are my summer priorities.

The tricky part is putting them into practice.

a small outdoor campfire burns within a circle of large rocks.
Image description: a small outdoor campfire burns within a circle of large rocks.

Flowers by my front step

I love seeing these return every year.

A close up photo of the blooms on a lilac tree.
Technically, this is a tree (or a bush) but still, it *is* flowering and I like it. image description: a close-up photo of one set of blooms on a lilac tree. The flowers are light purple and the leaves are lush green.
Bright orange flowers surrounded by leaves.
I think these are some variety of poppy. They have been growing every spring ever since we moved in over 20 years ago. Image description – bright orange flowers with 5 rounded petals blooming amidst greenery.