Sunflowers and Sunshine

Pacific Gardens has sunflowers - ginormous, gigantic, Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-sized ones - outside our front entrance. They tower over us as we come and go, a sunny expression of our gardening efforts and a friendly greeter (although not like our late, beloved Capi, the concierge cat).

We've had endless days of sunshine for the past three months, which has been a blessing - but also a worry.The warm, summer-like days have meant we have been able to swim in our favourite places on the Nanaimo River or at Colliery Dam well into September, and the children have enjoyed playing outside for far longer than usual, with no rain to dampen their fun or our spirits.

But as the sunny days have continued on into October, we hear of rivers drying up in the Cowichan Valley, stranding spawning salmon and killing smolts, while the forests grow tinder-dry, and are at extreme risk of fire. This drought is breaking all records.

We're fortunate in Nanaimo that we have abundant water, and our Regional District managers are taking good care of this precious resource, making sure that our reservoirs are maintained and water conservation measures enforced.

We're also fortunate here at Pacific Gardens that we have a tributary of the Chase River running through our property, so we will always have access to fresh water - and that's a blessing we enjoy, along with the sunny weather, and the giant sunflowers that go with it.

Kathryn