This is a bay on the Churchill River near Stanley Mission on May 20, 2009. The ice is still closed in around the larger area of the bay. The surface tension and the bug in the bubble are an interesting curiosity.

Getting into trouble

It's easy to get into trouble out in the boreal forest. When people don't return, we go looking for them. Sometimes we find them, sometimes we don't.

It is overcast this morning as I look out at the remaining clumps of snow here and there in the back yard. The light rain over the past two days has turned the remaining surface crystals on the lake ice to water and the open water at the river mouth has extended it's path into the lake to the first island. The lone eagle appears from time to time to survey the river and activity below. The otter we sighted three weeks ago has not been bold enough to bask in the morning sun again. The willows are forming buds that will explode into rich green leaves with the first warm day now. The winter palette is in transition and new growth is waiting to burst forth. There is something about the bone chilling humid dampness and the dull horizon that speaks to the core of our consciousness. If we choose to heed the lesson of patience we will be rewarded. The returning warmth will bring inevitable change.

Softscapes

The winter "softscape" is dazzling on sunny days. There is something about fresh snow cover that is soothingly attractive. Snow always tells a story. Tracks reveal recent activity and events that are often unseen in summer. Getting "out there" is an absolute in this country if we are to connect with the real world. In the boreal region we are in the midst of an environment that speaks to us, unbounded by fences, roads, herbicides, pesticides, and the heavy human footprint of "progress".
If we do not venture away from the comfort of our heated homes, plowed roads, stores and parking lots, we fail to learn about balance and beauty. We fail to remind ourselves of the universal natural order behind our tinted windows and controlled environments.

Tiny Tracks

In October we placed these tiny moccasins in a geocache just north of La Ronge. There is also a geocoin in the cache, but after the snow flies, it seems that the geocachers from the south don't make their way up here. I'm not complaining, but I may have to retrieve a few items myself and carry them to a geocache located in a more active area. Our intention is to have the tiny moccasins make their way to New Zealand. The "Tiny Tracks" geocache can be found on the geoaching.com website. The postal code for this area is s0j 3g0. The geocaching search engine will load all of the caches in this area. Ahhh.......another reason to get out there and breathe some more fresh, clean boreal forest air. Some of us are more fortunate than others in having access to cleanwater and clean air. I would prefer this to remain an undiscovered secret, but the ravages of economic progress, energy and resources demands will dictacte the eventual demise of every natural resource on this planet.

Paddling on New Years Day 2006

Each new passing year marks the advance of time and inevitable change. To mark this occassion and pass the New Year morning, we decided to venture out onto the open water on Lac La Ronge. Some attribute the open water to global warming, others suggest that it is part of a natural cycle. My perspective is....there is open water! Let's get out in the canoe and breathe the fresh winter air.

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In your own back yard.

Living in this region has many benefits. Almost every nothern Saskatchewan community is adjacent to a river or lake. The communities of Air Ronge, La Ronge, and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band are no exception. The Montreal river flows through the community of Air Ronge on one side and Bigstone Reserve on the other, emptying into Lac La Ronge.

This is an amazing place for seeing all forms of waterfowl in the spring. You can see deer tracks, muskrats, beaver, and watch the pelicans fish in the rapids. A three kilometer nature trail begins at a campground area just off the main road between Air Ronge and La Ronge and continues along the south shore of the river to Bigstone Lake.