Category: Uncategorized

February 1st–3rd 2019

The locals had been teasing me that it was a mild winter so far…. I was quite content using my up to -20 degree snow boots but had bought a second heavy duty pair (just in case!). Well….It happened! Suddenly temperatures dropped to below -30 before windchill!

I had to break out the Sorel -40 degree snowboots, heavy duty mitts, and my warmest head covering with ear protectors. Still my nose and cheeks burned! According to the local newspaper, we hit -40 before windchill twice! Brrrrr!

Omineca X Country Ski club was scheduled to host a competitive x country ski race on Feb. 3rd and I was scheduled to assist being in charge of “pinnies” and Gatorade sport drinks as competitors crossed the finish line. Well…The helpers sat by the phones watching the temperature on Feb. 3rd because it had to be warmer than -20 to host the event. In spite of a delay…the temperature and windchill were closer to -30 so the event was cancelled. I was sorry to miss the opportunity to be part of this new experience, but quite happy to stay inside the warm house. After going outside to shovel the driveway for only about 15 mins. (I gave up), my cheeks and nose were red and burning.

So…After heating up my vw Jetta engine 2x, I decided to take a drive around town to view this -30 + day.  As long as the seat warmer was running and the windows were up….It was stunningly beautiful.  Brat was happy to cuddle when I got back!

 

End of January 2019

In spite of constant temperatures below 0 (usually below -15!) life up here continues to be hectic indoors and outdoors. The temps are crazy low, but you dress for it. Also, between snowfalls the grounds are usually white and frozen and the sun welcomes the world more than I have ever experienced during a Canadian winter on Vancouver Island. As a newcomer to this ever present cold and snow, I still find it quite enchanting.

Each morning I get up at 6:30 a.m. so I have time to look after the cat’s list of jobs (morning bath and brush, feed, radio, etc). my morning jobs, pre-start the vehicle 2x when it’s below -15 and unplug the engine prior to departure. One of my schools is 7 minutes drive towards Topley and I’m on 8:05 a.m. duty each day! I supervise the children who arrive off the first 2 of the 5 buses that transport our students from outlying areas. The policy is they all stay outside unless the temperature drops below -20 Celsius. They are delightful! They read to each other on the mini picnic tables. They play games. They love to shovel snow and build forts in the surrounding forest areas. Some just chill and eat their breakfast. I am learning lots about farming and ranching jobs from some of them.

Once our day starts inside the school the focus at the moment is definitely Science Fair preparation at both of my schools. Students are busy with experiments, typing up their information, and creation of their backboards. I am busy assisting classes. 🙂

After school hours, life is busy with Teacher Professional Development, Dance lessons with Deirdre, exploring around Burns Lake, and keeping the wood stove going when it is below -15. I had my first burn this week! Ouch! Statistics from my blog are very interesting….I wonder who is reading my blog in Italy and France? Arggg! The forecast is for -40 degrees next week!

 

 

January 27th

Growing up on Northern Vancouver Island, I can only recall one year when Misty Lake froze solid and dozens of us went skating on the lake. What a difference up here! Living in Lakes District Bulkley-Nechako area a lake which is not frozen over appears to be a rarity. Unless…It is an area of a lake which remains unfrozen due to forced bubbles under water enabling ferries to continue to travel. Today my adventure was to transverse one of those “bubble” lines crossing Francois Lake to the “Southside” to visit a friend and colleague. This free ferry service runs year round from 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every 50 to 60 minutes. It’s so easy and convenient to use–and it’s free!

I have travelled over to the southside several times now. There is much to explore in this beautiful area leading to Tweedsmuir National Park. Today I was visiting my friend Christine. Their lovely home is lakefront and has beautiful semi panoramic views.

I have met more and more people who have sold their homes in the lower mainland or cities, such as, Calgary and Edmonton and moved to the Lakes District area. For outdoor enthusiasts, who enjoy snow and a more peaceful lifestyle, you can buy lovely homes and acreages with lake front access for a fraction of the price you would pay in urban areas. But be prepared to wear ice cleats, shovel your driveway often, and have a filthy vehicle for months on end! Choices. Choices 🙂

I snapped some photos of more frozen lakes during my trip back to my home base. I’m so fascinated with the beauty of the white winters up here.

January 26th, 2019

We had a recent warm snap which melted some snow, exposed lots of sand/dirt/salt which is constantly applied to our snowy roads (yuck), and exposed a lot of ice! I actually prefer the powdery snow, to the extremely dangerous ice. It’s definitely ice cleats and snowshoe time around here. I was very thrilled to be invited out for a snowshoe adventure, followed by my first venison ribs dinner with my friend Sarah and her parents.

Who would have predicted that in addition to eating my first venison (deer) ribs, I would also discover moose tracks and learn about this evasive species. (At least evasive to me since I’ve been up north!).

After meeting at Sarah’s place we drove to her parents property. Man did we need ice cleats in order to walk anywhere! Sara, her mom (Lynne) and I headed off to go snowshoeing in the back woods up towards the paint ball area before dinner. There were lots of moose tracks in the snow.

The male’s were large, fairly narrow, hoofed footprints.  The female prints were smaller with a more pointy shape. There was also lots of moose hair in areas of the trail. Lynn thought it was possibly from some sort of battle–possibly the mother trying to get her 2 year old calf to depart and become independent. We discovered moose poop–also named “scat” depending on the season!!! Moose need to eat at least 50–60 lbs. of food per day to survive. In the winter and early spring, the scat consists of round deposits that look rather like pellets or chocolate almonds! Some artisans here use moose poop to create decorative paper and others collect the pellets and coat them in polyurethane to create jewelry. ????  According to Lynne, the female (cows) poop is a more elongated shape.

While out on our adventure, we explored the Burns Lake Paintball location. I’ve never tried paintball before, but all the structures and hiding locations looked like it would be a fun area for those who enjoy this sport. As we returned to the house, we were aglow from the fresh air and exercise.

Inside the house Lynn showed me her newest craft. She is creating mats from recycled torn sheets! Finally, it was time to try venison ribs!

There were lots and they had been cooking for hours in the slow cookers. I was warned they are rather greasy. I thought the deer was really tasty, and was surprised by the amount of meat on the ribs. Thanks so much Merv and Lynn. It was a fun and wonderful evening!

January 22nd, 2019

One of the delightful teachers I have been collaborating with is Stacey and her grade 1/2 class. We are studying about winter birds in the Burns Lake area then creating bird houses/feeders for them. Today was the day we donned the school snow shoes and went for an adventure through the woods near our school. We saw a few birds from our identification booklets; but also got fresh air, exercise and had fun.

The children were really good at buckling up their snow shoes and releasing the straps when we returned. I’m still a novice! lol  What a wonderful day!

January 21st, 2019

There is an enthusiastic and diverse group of individuals in the Lakes District area who are passionate supporters of the Arts. People travel from all around Burns Lake to attend these high caliber musical performances and every concert also showcases at least one local artist. A local person or organization supply the very tasty intermission coffee/drinks and sweets. In spite of snow and low visibility, many of us made the Monday evening jaunt to the Burns Lake Community Church to attend a delightful evening of Cello and Piano Classical music from the brother/sister duo Cheng2. They are both from Ontario but presently Lily is studying piano in New York and Bryan is studying cello in Germany.

I sat with my usual Arts performance friends and was incredibly lucky to be sitting behind a short white haired lady named Ruth. There are many white and grey haired people who follow the Arts in this locale, but Ruth turned out to be a most prestigious member of the audience, as during the show Lily and Bryan left the stage to present Ruth with flowers in conjunction with the emcee announcing that it was Ruth’s 102nd birthday!!!

Pretty impressive!

January 20th 2019

What an action packed Sunday in Burns Lake, B.C! I opened my eyes to a beautiful sunny morning once again. It was Rookie Day at Omineca Cross Country Ski Club. The ski club is about 6.5 km, about 10 minutes out of Burns Lake towards Francois Lake. Once you leave highway 35 S it’s only 800 m up a well groomed road to the Lodge and wax/rental shop area. The club is run like a coop by many volunteers and is very friendly and easy to access. There are multiple trails to explore and even lit until 10 p.m.  groomed trails for evening skiing.

The group of 8 new Rookies started the day up in the lodge where 3 experienced instructors guided us in learning about different skis, boots, bindings, etc. I discovered my rentals are: classic waxless fishscale skis; classic boots, and SNS bindings. We got a bonus is we knew what NNN stood for… I suggested “Not ‘Nuf Newbies” but apparently it wasn’t the answer they were looking for lol! We also learned about the many trails available and how snowshoeing was not allowed on the x Country ski trails. Also, when you see a Red Flag in a certain area, that means they are practicing shooting target for the biathlon group. Could be interesting to observe one day?

Then we were off to the stadium to don our equipment, stretch, and learn skills (without poles). The long skinny skis still seem awkward to me, but my balance is very slowly improving. We divided into 2 groups and heading off on different tails to practice skills which matched our ability levels with very patient and encouraging instructors. It was a great day and I highly recommend anybody new to Cross Country skiing, try a Rookie day! I even bought a new Omineca ski club beanie.

Next, it was off to experiment making crafts with my friend, Sara. She taught me how to make the wax/resin reusable cloths that are so popular right now. It was fun creating together and I ended up with 7 new reusable cloths of very cool patterns. I’m finding they keep food much fresher than saran and ziplock bags and are a huge improvement on my environmental footprint! I have 3 in use in the fridge atm.

As I left the moon was starting its eclipse.   My camera did not do justice to the amazing slight that I witnessed for over an hour. I included a photo of the Super Wolf Blood Moon taken by my friend Jackie Hildering. I was thrilled to discover that many of the students I teach had also been witnessing this phenomenal event! What a stimulating and exciting day!

January 19th, 2019

Winter in Burns Lake! After the snow falls, the sun often peeks out and the world becomes a sparkling inviting wonderland. Like the Premack principle…First shovel the driveway, then a snowshoeing adventure around Kager lake with one of my young colleages:-) So bring on the snowshovel! It’s not too deep this time!

After Deirdre picked me up at my Home Base, we headed off to one of the favorite recreational areas for locals, Kager lake. It’s less than 10 minutes out of town and in addition to the lovely trail around the lake there are endless mountain biking and “fat tire” trails through the trees. For those of you who don’t know what “fat tire” riding is…I just learned too. Basically, it’s mountain bike trail riding using really “fat” or wide tires so you can ride in snow. Not on my bucket list…. Today We’re trying snowshoeing. The schools  have sets of snowshoes and cross country skis for students and staff to use. So, we borrowed a couple of pairs and decided to get familiar with this mode of snow transport. After we figured out how to attach the snowshoes (similar to snowboarding) and I admired the saw shaped metal ‘claws’ at the bottom, we were off.

The metal snowshoes felt large but were pretty easy to maneuver. The lake has been frozen solid for several months now. I had heard that people were skating, playing hockey, and riding “fat bikes” on it. But it was a quiet day and we only saw 5 other people during our hike. As you walk the snow squeaks somewhat and we both noticed that snow tended to build up under the snowshoe making them quiet heavy at times. Perhaps the snow conditions?

I felt great for the first hour….but I could really feel the top front of my thighs near the end and I really had to push myself to finish the last section of the trail. This is good exercise! It was beautiful walking through the forest and a fun sensation walking on the frozen lake too. Thanks Deirdre!

January 2019

January is a time to promote and extend questions and curiosity at both schools! January is a busy time of the year

as older (grade 3 and up) prepare for the upcoming Science Fairs

while the younger students study snow/ice/snowflakes/changes of matter/penguins/and Arctic animals and accompanying biomes. Our hydroponic Garden Tower is flourishing and students and staff are enjoying the fresh veggies and herbs it provides. Meanwhile, I continue evolving the 2 libraries into Learning Commons and enjoy the camaraderie of both staffs in this friendly location. 🙂

While at Home Base, Brat (the cat) experiments with new locations and just plain looking darn cute!

January 12 & 13, 2019

With temperatures between -10 and -15 most days, I really missed Mark’s kindling supply. However, I was too scared to use the ax and hatchet to create my own pile. This was a skill I had never needed to learn in the past. I asked at both schools if there was somewhere I could go to purchase kindling, but nobody had any suggestions. When I arrived back at home base on Friday after school, I noticed 2 cardboard boxes by the carport door. A Burns Lake fairy godmother/godfather had left me a much appreciated gift of potential heat!

I was exuberant making the first fire of 2019 in the woodstove that night! I felt quite successful and independent when the fire caught and warmed up the house:-) I asked many people if they were the secret santa, but I did not discover the answer for nearly a week. It was a gift from our friendly retired teacher and TTOC Paula, who is also the talented force behind the Burns Lake pottery at the Artisan center.  Thank you Paula! You are an angel in my eyes!

On Saturday I had my first Cross Country ski lesson at Omineca ski club. Doug was my instructor and was so patient and encouraging!

I had incredibly skinny classic no wax fish scale 190 cm skis, and really long classic 135cm poles. I was wobbly and probably looked pretty funny…but I only fell twice. Both times were going down hill!  I’ll tell you though, I won’t be winning any ski races for a long, long time–if ever!  It was a great start, but I have a long way to go 🙁

On Sunday, my friend Sara invited me to learn how to make kindling at her place. It was so icy, we needed to wear ice cleats.

Turns out I really am pathetic at making the thin kindling, but I got the hang of using her log splitter! Thanks Sara for your patience, encouragement, and spare wood. 🙂 “I’m a Lumber Jill and I’m okay!” It was a weekend filled with new experiences. Brat adores the heat from the wood stove!