This last week has been a hot one here in New Brunswick, for most of the week the temperature has been above 30c and there has been no let up in the evenings with outdoor temperatures in the mid twenties and indoor temperatures hovering around the 30 mark.

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We do not have air-conditioning, but we do have a basement which is about 8c cooler than upstairs so Julie and I moved down to the basement bedroom for at least two nights when the day time temperatures hit over 35c . I am not complaining, we were cooling in the pool in the early evening and sitting out on the deck until we turned in for bed.  The crickets and cicadas were singing in the trees all evening, it was very tropical and restful

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Anyway in true weather style that is ending this weekend because Hurricane Earl is heading our way. Below is a satellite photo showing Earl in all his cloudy, spinning glory. The red triangle points to Fredericton (inland).

Earl has now been downgraded to a tropical storm (never mind Earl it happens to us all) and is expected to make landfall midday Saturday and we have a rainfall warning 2-3 inches (50-75mm) of rain within a 8 hour window (trust me that is a lot of blinking water!).

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Preparations for Earl's arrival were completed yesterday:

• Garden furniture put away/tied together
• BBQ lashed down
• Car filled up and I have also filled two spare petrol containers giving us another 35 litres (just in case)
• Generator fired up and tested
• My emergency water container (about 15 litres) flushed out and refilled. Plus two toilet water containers checked (another 20 litres)
• Julies big Pot filled with water (you can never have too much water).
• Downspouts and gutters checked (all that water has got to flow somewhere)

 We were ready for the worst. The rain has arrived and it is currently a gentle shower and cooling nicely.

Oh yes this weekend is a long weekend here in Canada. It is Labour day and we all get to rest