Last year, mid-May I think it was, it was like someone turned off the tap, and we didn't have rain for two months. Two weeks of completely dry weather is great. By the third week, if you have a garden, you are getting a bit anxious. By the time a month has gone by, you have to get out the watering cans and then it's hard slog, watering for the rest of the summer.

Living on the island, we can't just turn on a sprinkler. Many of us are on well systems and water is generally in short supply on the Gulf Islands. Even if you have a good well, you don't want to push your luck, as there are more people drawing from the aquifers during the summer months and the supply can get low. So, it's out with the watering cans, filled from rainwater you've stored over the winter.

It's hard to imagine those hot summer days, but they will come, and then these cooler days will be hard to remember. The grass will turn brown, the plants will grow limp, and my arms will grow longer from carrying watering cans!