New in Town

The Canadian North. Wild. Majestic. Vast. And Brand New!

A trek has been made from South-Western Ontario to Northern Saskatchewan. Over 3,000 kilometres of road, trees and lakes rolled by as we (my spouse and I) crossed one provincial border, then another. We said good-bye to the last Tim Horton's long before we reached our destination and savoured the crunch of gravel under the truck tires that would lead us to our new home. The clear, calm lakes glimpsed between the pines were our landmarks. The setting sun to our left the only GPS we would require. A forest of birch was our welcoming committee. We had at last arrived in The North.

 So what, you are probably asking, are my first impressions of my Northern Surroundings?  

Talk about a bad first impression...found this guy on the windshield of our truck on the way up. His body was about the size of my thumb. Thankfully there was a pane of glass between him and myself because I NEVER would have gotten this close to him otherwise (on purpose). I believe it is a type of spruce beetle. I hope I never, ever meet him again; I've heard that they take chunks out of you. Chunks!

Otherwise my initial impressions have been more positive. Longer days (although that will drastically change come winter) and picturesque forest and lakes. There is obviously a considerable difference between a some-what isolated northern community and a bustling southern urban centre, thus it remains to be seen how we will cope being so far from the restaurants, stores and other amenities that we had been so used to Down South. Only time will tell. But that's for another post...