The pounding blizzard, beating rain, deafening hail and the fallen trees laden with jagged ice. Then the disconnection from the power and communication grid. Apocalypse? Hardly, it’s just typical northern Quebec weather that will change several times during a day in the supposed warm spring months.
As I see stragglers who weren’t aware of the shutdowns of the schools and other services slip and slide their way across the street and into the ditch, I wonder if cleats on my boots would help. Or for those in a rush, a pair of skates should make the cut for today’s daily commute to work. Like I’ve said before, typical northern Quebec springtime blues.
Now, I see that the schools are preparing for the annual spring break and families hustling to catch the last of the winter frozen landscape and lakes before melting season. Often, the snow and ice don’t collaborate and moving around can be difficult, so getting things done in the bush for goose hunting season requires a lot of preparation while the winter is still strong enough to keep your snowmobile afloat.
Getting enough firewood is usually the biggest activity before the warm winds of the south melt the ice on the goose pond. This is good planning. When the geese fly into your pond, the last thing you need to worry about is having enough firewood to cook them when you reach the teepee. Spring being what it is, there is always a surprise weather snafu to keep you indoors, so firewood is an essential.
Back in the day before the chainsaw, the mighty axe did the job. Felling trees and splitting wood was a daily chore and the axe was your most valuable tool. As I grew up, the axe carried a responsibility for safety and sharpness. The uses for the axe were unlimited. You could build your own home with one using local resources. No one left their camp without at least one. Sometimes, the axe was always in hand as you went through thick brush and used it like a machete in the jungle.
Today, myriad problems plaque the modern-day lumberjack, with chainsaws and other mechanical tools being the main culprit. It takes fuel and oil to get a machine going, if it has been properly maintained and used. Then it takes two hands to wield and requires a ear protection. Then it’s a little dangerous, from sawing off your right leg to getting stabbed by a low hanging branch of the tree you just felled, to chopping off your other leg and left hand with one swoop of the axe. Yep, getting firewood is for the brave and sometimes foolhardy.
As the snowmobile, which reluctantly coughed into action and rumbled noisily to camp towing a half ton of equipment, fuel and oils to fetch the most dangerous energy source in the world – the trees of northern Quebec. Some trees have withstood the ravages of time and are hundreds of years old before they die and dry out enough to use as firewood. These trees are somewhat scarce to begin with now.
Yep, being one with nature does come easier while holding the trusty axe as the sense of accomplishment triumphs over weary, unused muscles that ache for the days when turning up the thermostat was the only effort you needed to warm up. So, get ready, go to the workout centre and prepare those muscles for the trials of a wet spring.