Au Nord Du Quebec

 It's been a while... I feel like every post starts like that! I will run through 2020 is a nutshell.. one sentence and one picture to sum up each month of 2020. Then we will get into the nitty gritty of the first 6 weeks of 2021, because it's been a BUSY year so far. January: Cold, and uneventful as most Januaries are! My Bermuda turned 1! So big! February:  Short, sweet and snowy. Bermuda decided to eat foam out of her bed...so we took an impromptu (and expensive) trip to Val D'or to x-ray her belly and make sure nothing was stuck! She was able to pass the foam with help from a laxative and all was well in the end. March:  As we all know what happened in March 2020... I'll share where I was when it all started! I was in Edmonton, Alberta! So exciting. A few colleagues and I signed up to attend the Think Indigenous Education Conference  in Edmonton. The conference was extremely insightful, interesting and engaging. Unfortunately, due to the onset of the pandemic, the c

Wow! It has been way too long since I have properly updated. It feels like yesterday I was arriving for the first time in Mistissini and now I am halfway through my 3rd year! This blog post is going to be a little bit about the New Year, a little bit of updates from the fall and a lot of random little things :) I feel like I share only big things on here, so I want to share a little bit about my daily to-do's and the activities I love doing. Winter As you all know, I love the winter. I love the snow. I love the cold. I love everything that happens between December and April. (or June if you live in the North). November and December are actually the more difficult months to power through because the sun sets so early (3:50pm) and rises so late (7:55am). So basically, I go to school as the sun rises and leave school as the sun falls. I find that staying active is the most important thing that keeps me healthy and happy during those long dark months. Now that it is January,

Hello Everyone, I want to thank you for your patience and your support on my journey Au Nord Du Quebec. The end of 2018-2019 was very eventful, hence why there have been no posts since my chilly January... I passed a wonderful end of winter in the north, enjoying the snow, the sun and the woods. Snowshoeing was a weekly activity for us, both humans and canines alike. May came and went with Goose Break, taking a much needed break in Montreal and making a short trip home to Boston to visit friends and family. Once back in Mistissini in June, the lake thawed, the weather got slowly warmer and I was able to enjoy my days without a jacket! I have to say the highlight of the spring was my new beautiful fur baby: Bermuda. This beautiful four-month-old beauty came into my life thanks to my dog-rescue friend here in the community. Bermuda had followed her around for a week straight and finally came into her house. I went over to visit, as I always do when there are new puppies. I

Skidoo or Ski-don't...that is the real question here. Since the new year, I have had many new experiences by Skidoo (aka snowmobile). Skidoo's are one of the most fun machines ever created. I have not ever driven one, so my experiences are from the passenger seat, or more accurately the backseat. A few weekends ago, a friend and I decided to try going hunting for ptarmigan at his usual spot about 30 minutes outside the community. First came the loading of the Skidoo onto the trailer then hitching the trailer to the car, no big deal. Once we arrived at our spot we parked the car, prepared our gear and the dogs and set off in the snow. It is important to note that we had just received a few FEET of fresh fluffy snow. The trail was completely covered by snow so we were on our own. Let's just say it is not the brightest idea to go Skidooing in fresh, deep powder with two humans, two large dogs and cargo... We kept sinking in the snow, leaning to the left or leaning to t

As the temperature drops and I travel back north, I realize just how comfortable my wool socks and Roots sweatshirt are. I was welcomed home this weekend to a 22 hour power outage, meaning 22 hours without electricity, heat, hot water, NOTHING for 22 hours! All of this happened while it was a brisk -15 C (5F) outside. As the temperature dropped in the apartment, I scrounged up as many blankets as I could and as many dogs as I could to keep my bed warm. Just kidding about the dogs but I am lucky to have Lily to keep my feet warm this winter! The quickest decision when I woke up in the morning was to leave the community and venture to Chibougamau to eat a hot breakfast and stock up on non-perishable food in case the outage lasted longer than the day. Luckily, the power came back just as I pulled back into the community, around 3pm. I made a very smart purchase today, buying myself a pair of Bilodeau winter boots, these are both the warmest and most ridiculous-looking boots in

Hello Everyone! Thanks to the heavy snowfall and dropping temperatures I have been keeping myself busy these days. Daylight Savings cut back my afternoon sunlight, so I have about 15 minutes between leaving school and sunset now...this is not ideal when wanting to take 30-minute off-leash walks every day! My friend and I have come up a new solution to the sunlight problem, we chase the dogs around the backyard for 30 minutes instead! This gives us the heart-rate workout we want, as well as some quality exercise time for the pups. The Mistissini Lodge is a ten-minute walk from our homes, so we have started taking the dogs to the lodge and lake in the afternoon when it's not too windy. The dogs love it because sometimes they see other dog friends and the views are beautiful. The photo above was from one of our sunset walks, the sky is very pink at the horizon and what you see of the snow is actually Lake Mistassini! The snow has almost covered the entire lake at this p