June

I love June. I love the fact that it begins with the birthday of my beautiful little boy, Ben. He’s now three years old and he continues to amaze me every day with his intelligence and his remarkable sense of empathy. I love the lengthening days and the warming temperatures. The weather can be very unpredictable but if you want little or no distinction between seasons, move to the tropics. I love the fresh vegetables and fruits that are now locally in season. I just finished making the most tasty strawberry jam with fresh local strawberries. Guess what’s for Christmas this year?

Canada Day is next week so come to Kingsgate Mall (370 East Broadway) at 1 pm where I will be singing and playing a wide variety of folk songs from all over Canada along with a Joni cover (she is 70 this year) and maybe even a Neil Young tune. Oh, and there’s cake! 

Canada is not without its problems. Our electoral system certainly needs reform and the environmental practices of this current government have put our country in serious jeopardy. Still, with Canada Day coming, I am grateful to have been born and raised in Canada. If you get born into this country, you’ve won the life lottery. My family and I have free access to clean drinking water, we are well fed and we have a clean, dry place to live. Everyone should have this and it is terrible that untold millions of people do not have these basic necessiities of life. Oh Canada.

With the summer coming, I will be doing some limited teaching, a reasonable amount of travelling and, most importantly, spending lots of time with my boys. There may even be some more jam and definitely some canning.