I haven’t lived in Canada for almost two decades now but I always think of my native country on Canada Day each year. Since I’ve been away for so long, I’ve lost touch with the day to day happenings there and am not always up on current news – I often have to ask friends to remind me who the current prime minister is. But there are some things I will always remember.

Here’s just a few of the images of Canada that fill my mind:

Lounging in a Muskoka chair beside a lake, in cottage country, on a hot summer day

Skating on the rough, uneven ice of the makeshift rink in our local park

Rushing along muggy Toronto streets, the heat like a suffocating blanket and a busker’s raucous song hitting me as I battle along

Stepping onto the pristine fluffy blanket of my garden path after a fresh snowfall

Sitting on my friend’s porch listening to the clip clop of hooves as Mennonite buggies pass by on the country road

Watching a moose, taller than me, lumber past our car with barely a glance at us in Algonquin National Park

Sitting down to a Thanksgiving feast of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, brussels sprouts, carrots and gravy, followed by my grandmother’s homemade apple on a nippy October day

Riding on a Toronto streetcar, watching the second language on English street signs change from Chinese to Korean to Polish as I travel along the streetcar’s route

Eating pancakes smothered in blueberries and maple syrup on a Saturday morning at the Kitchener Farmer’s Market

Leaning on the smooth, wooden rail on the upper deck of the Centre Island ferry, watching Toronto’s skyscrapers recede and flat, quiet parkland approach

Stopping in mid-stride on my walk through the park when I spot a skunk shuffling along the moonlit path ahead of me

These images in my memory may not be exclusively Canadian but they evoke my homeland vividly for me.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!