September is the best month to be in Canada.

Or perhaps more accurately, it's the best month to be in the Ottawa area.

I joke (sort of) that Ottawa really only has one good month of the year, and that is September. After all, we have a brutal winter that lasts from November through March. Both October and April can be iffy though, and I would certainly not count on getting any half decent weather in either of those months. Out of the twelve months of the year, those seven can be scratched.

So there are only five months left where the temperature has a chance of being half decent. You can get some okay days in May, but May, June, and July are bug season around here. Mosquitoes especially, but black flies can be horrendous in some areas.

And of course in June, July, and August here in the Ottawa area people do nothing but complain about the humidity. In fact in this area, they talk more about the "humidex" than they do the actual temperature. And they're not lying about the humidity... on any day that goes over 27C (81F), you don't have to put in much effort to start to sweat. We actually had a pretty decent August this year in these parts. But of course the kids were still out of school, so if you're out doing anything touristy (in a normal year) you've still got deal deal with families and kids out on vacation.

And so that leaves us with September... the only really good month of the year in the Ottawa area. The kids are back in school (usually!), the bugs are pretty much all died off for the season, and it's usually still shorts and t-shirt weather without being too warm.

Perfect, to us.

Yes, I know... many people love the different seasons, and many Canadians are hardy enough to love the ice cold winter. Skating, skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, snowmobiles. And I guess if you have to be stuck in that kind of weather, you had better find something to enjoy.

But for us, if we have to come back to Ottawa to visit family then September is the best month to do it.

Yesterday, we went for a nice hike at the Rock Dunder Nature Reserve. I had been there twice before because it's close to where my friends and I rented a cottage for our annual guys get together. But I wanted to take Ruth to see it. Along the way, we picked up our friend Kim who was house sitting in Smiths Falls which was right along our route.

It's a bit of a drive from Ruth's dad's house (130 kms, 81 miles one way) otherwise we would go more often because it's a really pretty spot. Plus, there is a $10 day use fee but that's for your entire group (up to 7 people, I think).

Trail map.

Beaver pond.

Us!

Kim and Ruth.

A few other people enjoying the overlook.

A month from now when the leaves are in vibrant fall colors, this is a really busy spot!

Whitefish Lake.

Us.

Kim.

Kevin and Ruth.

Whitefish Lake.

We ended up doing an easy 6.5 kms (4 miles) on a beautiful afternoon. Temperature was about 21C (70F).

The month of September should continue to have weather about like that, so hopefully we can get out and explore a little more often even though there is still lots to do around the house.

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