conservation

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National Herbalist Day

Hail Brave Hearts

Enjoy the nutrition of the land and the many medical marvels that it reveals.  It’s a new day dawning for the Herbalist.  A day of worthy mention.  National Herbalist Day!  Wow!

The subject matter is superb.  Now that spring is here, the welcome backyard medicine cabinet is opening it’s doors.  New spring teas from fresh shoots, leaves and plants.  Lovely.  Fit for any larder, the beautiful abundance of natural goodness is in your yard.

The most obvious, killer weed, that notorious Dandelion.  Awesome!  The nutritional value of this plant is a keeper.

Plantain, St John’s Wort, Daisy and many more.   A special day for those of us, who seek natural remedies for those aches and pains.  I’ve been lucky with Nettle, Red Currant, Apple Leaf and Rose Hips, but these are just a few of the many natural wonders of the wild world.  Home made salves and soaps, fragrance and tea.  Natural healers to boost energy, to calm, to induce sleep, to improve circulation and help achy joints and achy pains.  Your garden is an Earthly delight.  Those pesky weeds, so hard to get rid of , might freshen your breath, improve your eyesight, add luster to your hair and make it shine.  The self indulgent gardener might even find a cure for what ails themselves.  There are many good gardening books which will help to plant an herbalist garden.

But are natural remedies important?  They are, if you want them to be.  Do they actually provide cures?  Yes, they do.

To quote Chris Dalziel at Jobillee Farm.  who has a  book Growing Abundance, the Garden You Harvest in a Week.

Monday is National Herbalist Day!  It’s a day to acknowledge the herbs that keep us well, help our gardens grow better, make our food taste better, and give us abundance.  Its also a day to recognize the herbal mentors in our life.

Who taught you about using herbs in the kitchen, the garden, and the apothecary?  Did you learn from a mother, a grand parent, a neighbor? Are you self-taught from books and the internet? Did you take a class? Or are you just beginning to learn about herbs as an adult?

Learn about Plantago major — Plantain

I love teaching children about herbs.  My 2 year old granddaughter knows to look for plantain (Plantago major) if she gets a bee sting or a mosquito bite.  “Plantain” comes from an old French word meaning “sole of the foot”.  It grows in compacted areas, where the footprint of humans or animals have compacted the soil.  Its a healing plant for the soil as much as it is a healing plant for us.

Often plantain is the first herb that people learn to use.  It can be an “a-ha” moment, when you hand them a leaf and tell them to put it on the “ouch”.  Relief is fast.

I’ve had the privilege of introducing plantain to tough motorcyclists, stung on the hand while riding, hikers, farmers, beekeepers, wee toddlers, and grumpy teens, mowing a lawn. Plantain is just one of the many gifts that God gives us to nourish and heal us.
Gun Control
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Gun Control

Good Day Brave Heart

It’s seldom a bad day with so much to do.

Exit the warm contentment of the cozy, familiar structure to the bright snow-covered future that awaits you in the outdoors.  It’s a fantasy world of snow laden trees, martins leaping along the way and birds chattering to each other.  What do they say?  Only your own spirits will determine their message.  The sundog shines in a glorious ring around the sun, indicating a weather pattern on its way.  The brightness of this glory world is the psychedelic wonder of yesteryear.  It’s no wonder that they thought that LDS was safe.

Minds bend in the staggering difficulty of the task.    The unfathomable human experiment of the day.

Hunting and trapping, the need to survive, the human is a new predator in this place.  Now the competition for the food supply has increased and new hunters are on the land.  Hunters with families and small mouths to feed.  Tiny tots with growing pains, hunger pangs and shill cries.  Feed us! cloth us! save us! The howls stop when the hut vanishes in the snow and the hunt for animal tracks begin.

This new human brings a new kind of weapon to the wild world of big game hunting.  Gone is the bow and arrow, now it’s the rifle.  Guns.  Guns to protect us, guns to hunt with, guns to be dependent upon.  Guns for survival, guns for livelihood, guns for trade and barter.  Guns.   Only the need for ammunition is a drawback in the use of guns.  Stock the larder with as much provision for the winter as you can, and don’t forget the main one, your gun.

Unlicensed weapons have as many as you want to.  No one is watching.

The stealthy aboriginal makes his way to your shelter.  Maybe you don’t have to hunt today.  Maybe all that you have to do is to trade him a good gun and a round of ammunition for a side of moose, a rack of elk and a hind quarter of deer.  Maybe he will give his own much needed furs, from that rabbit, for a gun.  The indigenous people need the fur more than the fur trader do, but wildlife is plentiful, and trade brings wealth to this family.  Wealth to one, survival to another, a deal is struck.  It seems like a win, win situation.  The stealthy aboriginal so experienced in the ways of this land, looking to improve his own lot in life.  A gun for his hunt, a gun for his prosperity and a gun to protect him from the devil.

The homesteader is saved.  No more psychedelic sunshine.  No more mind-bending winter exposure.  No more lethargic, seemingly drug filled indecisive wanderings.   He is saved.  Saved by the aboriginal bell of necessity.  The gun is more powerful than the bow and arrow.

A shot rings out on the still land.  The skilled new hunter has already conquered.  More will come looking for this kind of trade.  More will seek the European for guns.

Guns for survival, guns to protect us.  Guns.  A new way of life.

The Wild Canadian Year: Canada’s toughest season, with only the hardiest prevailing – Winter – YouTube

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

 

 

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The Power of your Garden

Hail Brave Hearts

Good health to you.  It’s all around us, in the food we eat, the daily exercise that we do, our social and spiritual interactions, education, work and play.  Heal us.

In the past centuries of homesteading natural healing was common sense.  To find the elements of medicine in our natural world, to relieve us from the threats of  common illnesses.  The day’s work must be done.  The days work cannot be left unattended.  A day off with illness was appalling for people who relied on the land for their survival.  Day after day after day, toil and work.  A days work was never done.  Plant your crops, tend to the animals, forage in the forest, sheer the sheep, knit your blankets, chop the wood, stoke the fire, day after day after day.

Salves and ointments sooth sore muscles.  Extracts and tinctures to ingest for your health.  Medicines from the great wild, from flowers, trees and grasses.  The soothing forest, the healing plains, find your medicines in the wildlands, there are cures out there.  A fine flower like Lungwort, a pretty daisy to ingest, a mighty spruce for your winter tea.  Plant your garden with healing remedies, to bolster the immune system against the constant threat of life threatening illness.

Plant your garden well, with vitamins, minerals, essential enzymes, herbal remedies.  Plant your garden to keep yourself healthy and to make you well.  A prized patch of Queen Anne’s Lace, showy Chicory for breakfast tea or coffee,  The careful selection of medicinal plants.

7 Evidence-Based Benefits of Wheatgrass (healthline.com)

The life of a homesteader in early Canada was filled with trials and tribulations.  A community of people, reliant on their courage and expertise to survive in a harsh, sparsely populated land where wildlife and livestock, collide.  The peace of the people, although essential, is not enough.  The forest and the land are filled with deadly surprises.  The forest and the lands are filled with healing and cures.  Venture out into the land, for it’s remedies that will save you.  Care and caution every day of your life, for what lurks in the shadows of the trees and tall grasses.

Hunting for wildlife is shared between wild predators and hungry humans. Livestock must be saved.

It’s an interesting life of essential skills and education.  How to build a house, how to build a fence, how to forage in the forest, what to plant, where to plant it.  Soil conditions, weather patterns, cold, stocking up for the winter, how to dry food, prepare meat, basic first aid,  sewing.  The list of requirements for homesteading goes on and on.  Build your cabin in the woods, beside cool waters, on fertile land.  A society of far flung people, a few kilometers apart, being the next door neighbour.  A neighbour right there, right beside, to help out if necessary.

In our minds that neighbour lives a long way off, but to an early homesteader, it was close by.  Their health and vitality was different from ours.  Cure yourself, you awesome human.  Plant your garden well.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

December 6, 2021

 

 

My Master
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My Master

Hail Brave Hearts

 

The world is changing, washing itself away.  The oceans are rising, eating into the shoreline, seeping into the forest and meadows, changing the land.  The water table is rising, salt water is creeping into the soil, changing the habitat.  Some ecosystems are failing, forested areas now becoming ghosts of the land. The ecological integrity of these areas is in such peril that the trees succumb to salt water infiltration and die.  The Earth is the master, retaking it’s land.

The global warming, with ice sheets breaking off from Arctic ice flows, crashing powerfully into the oceans.  The water table has risen significantly in the past several decades.  New species of sharks have been discovered.  The  oceans are changing and providing for more water for more ocean life.  Seeping itself inland, the salt water is claiming it’s territory.  Once thriving forested areas, home to many land dwelling creatures, succumb to the tide of destructive salt that washes it’s way into the soil and ruins the land for the native species that dwell there.  The new legacy of our world is water.

Water, the life source of our planet.  Without this we all will surely die.  Now, this very life source is lurking too close and consuming areas that were inhabited by beautiful land dwelling creatures.  The rising water table is salt water, which is good for the ocean dwellers, but no so for us.  But how do we stop the tides?  In so many ways, water is better than sand.  In every way.  Water is a life sustaining force that protects the natural elements that depend upon it.  Water is essential.

The tides of the oceans swell and claim more coastal land.  The lakes and rivers rise and claim more shoreline for themselves.  Island nations are vanishing to the rising sea levels.  It’s a disaster to those who live in these lands.  So much is changing and so rapidly.  Environmental studies are showing an increasing loss of land, in a world where there has always been so much ocean to cross.  All of the experts, striving to control the loss of land, in a world without end.

https://apnews.com/article/7a8b498f60034a8eb960900e08f7b4b8  Ghost Forest along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

More conversations in regards to the receding glaciers, indicate  other theories for the fast vanishing ice.  Exhaust.  Vehicle traffic too close to the glaciers might be causing them to retreat.  Some glaciers in more remote areas are still intact, without noticeable change in their size or density.  Increasing numbers of boats in the Arctic regions, warming the oceans through exhaust.  There was a report last year, that with fewer boats travelling these waters due to the pandemic, there wasn’t any calving off of ice  and the northern ice shelves remained intact. The icebergs in some areas remained intact as well.  The water is these locations stayed cold.

Rising water temperatures is dangerous to many forms of sea life.  Sensitive creatures such as coral need  consistent water temperatures to survive.  With the loss of corals comes the loss of sea life which depends up on it.  Rising water temperatures in lakes is dangerous to cold loving animals and plants.  Heat from industry and travel, warming the water, spoiling the pristine in nature, supporting some life forms and killing off others.  The Earth is the master.  What mankind can’t resolve for itself, the Earth will decide.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 22, 2020

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Your Backyard Holiday

Hail Brave Hearts

Survive we must! In this blistering heat of summer with the quiet lakes to ourselves. The calm, the serene, the peace, the solitude. An unusual turn of the times. In this fine scenario of beach, less is more. Fewer beach goers to take over the sand, fewer families to splash and play in the water, fewer pets to avoid. Instead, it’s all for us. The Canadian holiday tourist is the new normal.

During a season which is constantly full of international guests filling every room for rent in the community, the chance for a Canadian summer holiday has been hard to come by for some. Last minute cancellations are rare.

The highways are quiet, we own the road. Drive to those scenic locations, there’s no one in sight. Easily find a table at the restaurant, there’s room for us. It has it’s beauty. We have our own special places to explore, unhindered. It has it’s beast. Finance.  It has another beast.  The bustling, busy beach scene is anything but quiet.  Our thoughts that this is for us is true, but so many of us!  

The quiet, the solitude, the peaceful Canadian get away, so special, so serene, so back to nature, so much to ourselves.  The jam packed tourist industry is all us.  All us!  The rush to save our relaxing and serene holidaying selves drives us to vacation madness on Canadian beaches.  Every inch is claimed.  Save us almighty dollar.  Spend your money at home this year.  The economic crisis of a pandemic virus has curtailed all of our luxurious international travel.  The resort haven of an idylic tropical getaway, forsaken for the vast remoteness of our own Canadian dreamland.  

https://www.parklandcounty.com/en/index.aspx

The food is divine.  Culinary delights abound.  There are endless opportunities for the sports enthusiast.  We meet and exceed international standards in so many ways.  Run  the trails, climb those mountains, paddle the lakes.  This year has been a pasttime of recreation and leisure, for those who were able to go out.  The great Canadian get away has been a pleasure, right outside your own back door.

A drive along a remote country road to a surprising little shop in nowhere.  A clean, immaculate hamlet way off the beaten path with surprising prosperity.  The endless recreation of lakes, parks and adventure.  The thrill of discovery of the history of this land, of who we are, who settled this place, who comes here.  The discovery of diversity, a mixture of agriculture beside industry, of recreation beside a bustling city, of unique culture  and diverse peoples all occupying the same land. The mixture of wilderness and sport, of wildlands and human populations.  This is us.  We planned it this way.  We planned this fun and enjoyment, we planned for the relaxation, we planned this unusual adventure.  A drive along a dusty gravel road to a restaurant in an unheard of village.  The pleasure of the local cuisine and the local people.  There are so many places to go, so many roads to travel, rails to ride, people to visit.  To spend our hard earned dollars in this magnificent country that has so many delightful treats for us to find.  

The pandemic has given many of us time.  Time to explore.  Discover it for yourselves.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 26, 2020

 

 

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Keep Your Cool

Hail Brave Hearts

It is with gladness and praises that spring rolls in. The blanket is tossed and the sun pours in. Tiny shoots of spring plants and tiny dear little animals, mating parents and song, all sing to the praises of spring. The chorus of joy to be free, the song of beginning and new again. The Earth sheds her warm winter coat and the sun plays warm, hide and seek games. Today the heat, tomorrow the rain, and all of a sudden it’s winter again. The magic of the emotion, the fire, the pestilence, the storm, all of us sheltered from the elements of changes in the weather. Today it’s hot, tomorrow it’s cold, fluctuating frequently, the great planet changes. The winds of change can be perilous and the world we know challenges us. What once was a fine science has become difficult, back to the world of pioneers. Where once there was reasonable accuracy, now may be more imprecise.

It snowed in July, but that happens sometimes, with localized storms and squalls. A gust of wind, a freak of nature, uprooting the forest and it falls. Soon we’ll be planting our gardens, with the promise of springtime warmth. The frost and temperature dropping, could change this habit too. The trees are budding, the sap is running,the snow is starting to fall. A test of these plants hardiness as natures imbalance collides. Warm, cold, warm, cold as the daytime temperature rises and falls. No heat from the sun on this blustery, wintry, spring day. Stay inside and enjoy the comforts of home.

Climate change is with us, in all of its unpredictable disturbance. The spring came in with warm sunshine, now the wintry season is back. The frost is too deep, the ground is still frozen, the spring buds are taking their time. Where is the song of the migratory birds? So happy and joyous to sing, mating songs of gladness, joy to all, it’s spring.

It’s quiet in the mountains, the ducks and geese fly by, but the accompaniament of songbirds, is still to fill the sky.

Finally it’s warm enough, in the merry month of May, to hang our winter jackets up, roll out the bikes and play. The rivers are slowly filling, the torrents will soon roll in, grab bathing suites and towels, for the beach to wander in. It took a long time this year, but finally we’re free, of winter’s icy cold grip and it’s snowy mastery.

https://www.joboneforhumanity.org/

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

May 12, 2019

The Mystery Planet
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The Mystery Planet

Hail Bravehearts

Come into the new.  The day is dawning and it’s rescuing you.  The plan is made, the adventure unfolds, life is fleeting, grab a hold.  Your plan is made, start your day, get out from your covers and you’re on your way.  This is the world that’s made for you, come and enjoy it, it will surprise you.

A grand notion is planet earth, life giving force of the universe.  It’ s awesome and fantastic, with splendor of it’s own, magnificent in creation a world of the unknown.  Unknown to you.

Rise sleepy head, each day is passing, the great planet awaits you, in it’s awesome fashion.  This is the mighty life giving orb, a speck in the universe of the great devoid.  Lush with splendor, life and light, color and darkness, day and night.  The spell of the Gods of magic,mystery and myth, of creation so awesome it’s mind blowing stuff.  Focus on reality, stay in the game.  Don’t let this life pass you, you must make a change.  For this fabulous planet is the world of the Gods!  A creation so mighty, it’s grandeur, it’s splendor, it’s inexplicable power.  Rush to enjoy it’s magnificent gifts.  Live your life fully, this is bliss!  It’s wonder, it’s sensational, this great planet Earth.  Care for it dearly, cherish it’s life.  It gives so relentlessly, merely survival won’t suffice.

You must take it seriously, this is your life.  You must take a stand to protect this planet of wonder and life.  You must be with us, you must join this cause, to protect the planet at all costs.

Come adventure with us and enjoy our days,filled with hiking and mountain climbs and breathtaking scenery.  Come to the wilderness, into your past, to a life where the gods send messages of beauty and fitness.  Come healthy ones, and those in need of rejuvenation, the Earth spell wonders of Gods creations.  Praises and thank you’s for life giving forces, of nutrient and remedies, of restfulness, peacefulness, song and sound.  Stand in the wild meadows and breath in the air, the smell of the Almighty is all around.  Herbal florals, weeds and bushes, the ointments, the concoctions, the remedies, of holistic fame, come from the wild lands, some bear these names.  The magic is tantalizing, luring us in, come to the majesty that the Earth soaks us in.

https://www.cntraveller.com/spa/best-spas-in-the-world-2018

The power of these remedies, some so rare, gives us a chance to explore this fabulous planet we share.  And share it we must, pursue it with glee, for the spell of the mystery of this life is fleeting.  Born to this world with aptitudes needed, focus your mind on the pursuits that you’re given.  A fine mind, properly focused, will bring you the life in the world that you need.  Concentrate your mind, learn your lessons well, the allure of the planet will cast it’s spell.  Adventure and wisdom, intellect and more, focus your aptitude, define your goal.  This is your life, live it well, let the great planet cast it’s earthly spell.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 14, 2018

 

Here Comes the Morning Light
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Here Comes the Morning Light

Back to our roots, way into the past, a cabin in the woods, is the home all of us would seek.  A special place, small and cozy, wood burning stoves and privacy.  A retreat.  To live out on the land, to harvest crops, to drink from the river, to splash in the pool, counting the geese as they fly overhead, listening to the songs of the nesting birds.  Sharing the planet with nature.

The bright stars twinkle, the moon comes out, the flood of moonlight fills the path.  A heavenly band of celestial white, winds it’s way across the night.  Warm and gentle, the night breezes pass, bringing with them the scent of  fragrant lilac blossoms, close by.  Earth and night, warmth and fragrance, the delicate soothing quiet.  The songs of night are different to hear, the chirping chorus of frogs, toads and crickets.  Songs of the swamp, the marsh, the pond, all in their own beat and tune, all an orchestra of night song.

Oh sleepy dreams of castaways, aboard your own steered yacht.  The chorus of the lively night, to dream and dance upon.

Our own small world of escape to the land, to build that piece of a dream.  To dip your feet from the end of the dock, to splash and learn to swim.  The cottage on a lake of dreams, with fresh, clean water in which to swim.  Back to the land, from where we once were, with cabins in the forest, and the overpowering allure of fur.

Still the sounds of the city surround us in our sleep, while light is cast from lampposts and stars stay hidden in the dark.  The chorus of the evening is street traffic, the occasional voice or barking dog.  Far from the stillness and quiet of the evening chorus of frogs.

Leave your cozy nests of slumber, wander out into the light.  To capture that great moment, when the daylight enters the night.  A changing world in which to view, a captured moment of rest.  These are the times of the morning, when daybreak rises, that  the world is at it’s best.  So sleepy heads, don’t nod off, as day casts the night away.  Some of your finest adventures, start at the break of day.

The city still sleeps as the world renews itself, awakening with the morning sun.  Drinking tea in that splash of splendor, as color comes with the sun.  That moment, when the night fades and darkness becomes light, the world changes from the black and shade of night, to the brilliant colors of the pallet, with the dawn of new daylight.   Hearing the songs of rising songbirds, chirping and laughing together.  A fine new day of summertime, bring on the new adventure.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 26, 2018

The Mighty River Flows
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The Mighty River Flows

Hail Brave hearts

Yes, it’s here, the spring has arrived, in snowy, blustery style,  In like a lion, with  heavy snow falls, March has ended the winter with a cold snap, that keeps us bundled up and happy.  Of course, the summer will eventually come, but now the trails are white.  The forest floor is covered, a late spring, with no drought in sight.

The itch is on, to turn the seasons, pull out the canoe and test the current.  Ice flows passing with the water as the melting winter turns to spring.  Catch us in our history, as we wave farewell to winter, the icy highways turn to melt waters and the dangerous ice flows temp.  No  more the sleighs to speed us along the slippery, white rivers, now it’s canoes and boats and water craft, to take our time away.

Go back, fine fellows, to days gone by, to times of yesteryear.  To the fur trade and the brave at heart the times of the voyageur.  A dangerous time of year, this is, when winter turns to spring.  The trails are wet, the rivers are thin ice and the progress becomes slow.  Take a nap and wait a week, a well deserved holiday.  The harshness of this difficult time, will melt the winter away.  Soon the canoe will be laden, with supplies to take inland.  To visit with the natives and to find a brand new land.  Off come the winter fur coats, hats and mitts are stored.  Onto another adventure, to the watery highways of this world.

A well traveled route, the St. Lawrence, filled with Coureur de Bois.  One of the most dangerous occupations of that lifetime, to travel, explore and trade in the great unknown wild.

http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=25887&type=pge     Trois Riviers, Quebec

The canoes are large enough, they carry several men.  All trained and skilled in many ways, to tackle the obstacle at hand.  Come from far away, in European style, to make a living the hard way, adventure, in the Canadian wild.  A fearsome, mighty river, the St. Lawrence is cracking up.  Pretty soon, it will be show time, pack your bags and liven up.  No more naps or holidays, the spring torrents are flooding.  It’s an adventure too dangerous for us,  spring break up is not even for the daring.  Icy flows and chilly woes, we’ll wait for another day.  This is not the best of times, for watery, river play.

But if you were an itchy voyageur, with bills at home to pay, perhaps the tempting season, would  cast him adrift anyway.

A lovely camping trip, with lakes and rivers to follow, the Canadian rivers of highway, still bind us to our past.  Traditions of camping and canoeing, following well traveled routes.  Today, we love this great wild land and praise the nations splendor.  Our ancestors did a very fine job, of protecting and implementing the heritage that we covet today.  A land of unspoiled wonder, with historical routes to travel.  This is our fine country we still travel in style.  From winter sleigh to summer canoe, the adventure has never left us.

written by Dr.  Louise Hayes

April 18, 2018

Northern Ontario Canoe Trip,  The Nat River

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6ie5jptrgY
Enjoy the Winter
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Enjoy the Winter

Hail Brave hearts

Oh to the lucky ones, who walk these paths.  The great mighty river has presented it’s wonder.  The uproar of nature, a beautiful site, it catches us off guard.   It’s so impressive and different and interesting.  A phenomena of sorts, with it’s unusual beauty, we walk these paths often and have never seen this before.  The freeze, the thaw, the freeze, the thaw, the mighty river flows.  The enormous upheaval of ice and water, breaking up huge chunks of ice, as the river starts to flow.  This is January and a mild spell during the winter has created an unusual scene.  This area should be frozen solid and the thickness of the ice proves that it was, but the mighty river flows.  These ice pieces are about one foot thick and have been heaved all along the river bank.  It was a marvel to look at and to speculate the dramatic change that would have caused this.  For us, this powerful act of nature is new.  It’s exciting and beautiful and the power of the water is awesome to see.    This kind of ice break up is what happens in the spring, but this is the dead of winter, with temperatures hovering around zero.  Too warm to keep the river frozen and to keep the ice in place.  We should be able to walk along this river, but we can only walk along the ice shelf by the river bank.  Global warming and climate change are presenting winter to us in a dramatic new way.

It was only  a few weeks ago that we saw that the river was frozen and planned for a winter afternoon excursion. There’s value to seeing the park from the rivers.  It gives us new photographs and a new perspective of the mountains and the terrain.  Sometimes the walking is easier and with careful consideration of the dangers of ice travel, we stay near the shore, travel in groups and pay attention to the changing surface.

The river heaves and swells and the ice forms in dramatic flows like waves.  It’s dangerous and we stick to the shoreline.

We need the winter, with it’s cold and snow.  The fluffy white stuff is full of fun and winter is a favorite season.  The warmth has made it more fun, with less inside time drinking hot chocolate and  more outside time on the ski hill.  We play more with temperatures like this and it still snows!  The winter activity is good for our souls.  It pushes us to outside sports and to cautious winter travel.  It teaches us about nature in a different way, about weather and avalanche, snow travel and preparation.  It teaches us to be hardy and strong and to learn survival skills.  We love it this way!  The great white north, with all of it’s beauty, it’s back country cabins, pot belly stoves, tracked trails into the wilderness.  All of this presents it’s own dangers, thrills, unique experiences and exhilaration.  It’s magical and wonderful and full of winter fun.

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/winter-camping.html  –  Winter Camping

But now, something unusual.  Travel cautiously, oh brave hearts and enjoy the great winter.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

January 30, 2018