It's official, as though we haven't been abundantly aware of these extreme weather conditions.  Environment Canada has confirmed that we are facing unusual summer weather conditions.  We have been reading for several weeks how urgent the situation has been in parts of the Eastern seaboard of the United States, and we are in the throes of experiencing a similar situation, albeit not nearly as severe and dramatic, as they are.

We've received a distinct dearth of precipitation this year.  And this summer has been consistently hotter than normal.  We've just come off ten consecutive days of plus-30-degrees Celsius, with no relieving rain in sight.  Although the temperatures at night and through the day have improved the past few days, we're scheduled to return to the plus-30s in a day or so.

We've been watering the garden pots and they don't look too bad, although plants that don't thrive in hot, dry conditions are beginning to show stress.  Nothing compared to what area farmers are facing, however, their vegetable crops threatened as a result of these conditions, forcing some to resort to improvised and inefficient irrigation to balance the situation.

If this continues we'll be facing mandatory water restraints and that will make us decidedly more cautious about the water use we normally take for granted.  Meanwhile, we are in the fortunate situation of being able still to admire and take comfort in the beauty of our gardens.