Friday, October 26, 2012

Pt. 3- Auroras and Husky Mutts

I know I left the whole James Bay topic hanging on kind of a worried tone, so I just wanted to share some of the things I'm really looking forward to.

I'm looking forward to my sweetheart feeling a little more balanced and at home in his skin, finally doing the job he knew he was meant to do from the time he was a little boy. I can't wait to see the cloud of anxiety drop away from him, and the "whew, I've made it" attitude peek out a little more often. Not that he's melancholy at the moment or anything. He has a great smile and wonderful laugh and finds reasons to use both often, but I can see there's a little something missing, and I know that sometimes he worries about providing for our family in the future. I'm looking forward to him feeling a little more secure and content.
And yeah, I'm looking forward to him having rotating shifts again. I get that working nights has been a good thing for him these past couple months, at this company, but sometimes a morning snuggle and half dozen sleepy words is all we exchange for days. I miss going out with him, or playing games with him. It still happens, but not very often.

Up north is the ideal place to view the Aurora Borealis. Around the Moosonee area, the northern lights show their face nearly every night to some degree. Aside from a slight greenish tinge along the horizon, I can't say I've ever seen them. I've spent a lot of my life in places too bright to see the show, even if it was going on all around me. Up there, miles from any cities, there is virtually no light pollution. I look forward to clear crisp nights, with the stars so thickly encrusted on the heavens you wonder how you ever thought the sky was black at night. And ribbons of green, blue and even purple light that dance across the sky like the inside of the plasma lamp I had as a kid, but on a much grander scale. I picture late nights drinking hot chocolate in our back yard, wrapped together in a big thick blanket and watching the show while we talk about our day.

And night time won't be the only time for amazing views. The landscape is striking, the wildlife is abundant, and the rivers are gorgeous. I've been camping since before I was born. The novelty of getting to sleep out in a tent wore off around age 8. The novelty of sleeping in my own tent wore off around age 14, and now, after working two full summers at a camp where I slept in a tent nearly every night, setting up a tent and sleeping on the cold ground seems more of a chore than fun most nights. Why do I still camp? To see these remote, hidden wildernesses in our midst. To slow life down, take in the scenery, watch the birds, scare the fish and smell the air. I camp for the lifestyle of the great outdoors. We're talking about having that right outside my door. I don't need to go sleep in a tent to get that up there. I can roll out of bed, with it's plush pillows and feather duvet, and take my dog for a hike while the morning coffee percolates. If that's not the best of both worlds, then I don't know what is.

"What dog?"you ask. Well, certainly not Taffy, she's my family's dog and no questions asked, doesn't matter where we end up, shy of something tragic happening to my parents, she stays with the family. Besides, I don't think she quite has the constitution to handle the wilds. My little inbred, poodle princess, with her monthly grooming appointments, irritable tummy and seasonal allergies that require prescription medications... Not quite cut out for the great white north. However, the one request I made is this: if we do go all the way up to the middle of nowhere, and he's going to have a job that leaves me alone for 12 hours at a time, we're getting a dog. I've done lots of reading about various rescue groups that save puppies from up in that area and find them homes down here. They all agree on one thing: they make some of the best dogs. It makes sense in a way... up there, they get taught social skills, and how to be a dog, from other dogs, unlike some of our pets down here that get taught how to act like a small child by a human. No wonder they tend to be highly sociable, balanced, adaptable, laid back dogs. When we get up there, we'll likely take in a stray pup and give him a good home.

I'm already reading about what kind of foods will grow well in that area, and planning ahead to plant a big garden next spring. Fresh produce is a problem you say? I say so change that! Ideally, I'll welcome help from anyone in the community who wants to lend it, save seeds carefully, and hopefully the bug will be catching and some of these northern communities will start to produce a little more of their food themselves. I'm only one small person, but sometimes that's all it takes to spark change.

Also, as much as my future in-laws are wonderful people and I'm more than thankful that they've invited me to move in, it will be really nice to have a place of our own!

So you see, I'm still a little nervous alone in the dark at night, but I'm also really, really looking forward to this.

2 comments:

small farm girl said...

Sounds like you have a plan!!!! I would be great to see the northern lights up there! I bet they are beautiful. And to get a good dog! That will be a fun thing to plan for.

Unknown said...

I'm already thinking up names...