Calgary’s green summer has been truly amazing.

Most years, Calgary’s grass starts to turn brown in July. It’s normally quite dry here. Often, the first words from out-of-town visitors are: “boy, the grass sure gets brown the closer we get the city.” These pictures, taken at the end of August, tell a different story.

I love green. It looks like I did an amazing job of looking after my lawn. But I really did nothing but mow it on those few occasions that it was dry enough.

Looking ahead, the Calgary Sun tells me that this winter will be cold and snowy. Only time will tell what will really happen.

Calgary’s green summer – rain and more rain!

By the end of August, Calgary had already received its annual allotment of precipitation, statically speaking. During July, we had triple the usual amount of rain, not quite the all time record, but close. It was a lousy year for Stampede attendance. It rained all ten days, and Stampede attendance hit a 22 year low.

About the only three sunny days in a row were those when we got our new roof installed – just lucky, I guess. And the rain was frequently accompanied by thunderstorms (which ham radio types hate) and hail. There were 21 thunderstorms in July, compared to an average 28 a year.

And it was almost as humid as Toronto.

On the other hand, I have not had to water my lawn since May. It was hardly worth turning the sprinkler system on. Since Calgary charges for water and sewage use according to how much water you use, there will be some cost savings. (It has always struck me as annoying that I have to pay a sewage charge for watering the lawn, but I guess it makes their calculations easier.)