MAY
Packing up and leaving home, on our way to Meadow Lake.
Introductions, settling in, training days,
AED, ATV,CPR, etc.
Usually wet and rainy, this year dry,
temperaturesa record high.
Bears emerging from their winter dens, tiny cubs on new wobbly legs,
coltsfoot and greening grasses.
Peepers and frogs act as our guide.
Road inspections galore,
check under the troll bridge,
take note of beaverfloods, & erosion.
JUNE
Fire bans and high temperatures,
tan hands and sun-kissed cheeks.
Wild roses and dandelions bloom across the land.
Up north to the beloved cabins,
but the fires rage on.
Safety meetings, checking in, road inspections ongoing,
flagging begins for buffers and roads.
Stakeholder tours, public outreach, career days
& a school yard tree plant.
Baby bears on more sturdy legs, herds of wild horses running free.
Leaf out occurs and the beginnings of berries can be seen,
strawberries and Saskatoons.
Swarms of bugs,
blackflies, mosquitoes, & horseflies,
oh my.
JULY
Kilometres walked and flags placed,
nests sweptand tracks kept for records.
Contractors visited and quality checked.
The wood lilies begin to bloom, and fireweed is next,
the beginning of the end, the halfway point of the summer.
Wasp season, watch for ground nests.
Wildlife sightings continue to rise, a lynx & a cougar,
more perfect animal prints preserved in mud.
The blueberries and raspberries on their way in,
found alongside animal trails,
the only relief from thick aspen under story.
AUGUST
Thunderstorms and rainy days,
a gloomy way to end the term.
Hum of machines heard in the distance while in the block,
hunched eating the perfect blueberries.
Line Lake is our life,
flagging continues.
The roses are long gone, thorns left behind in pants and hands.
Less and less wildlife to be seen,
busy doing their own thing, the only sign - scat full of seeds.
Fireweed has bloomed to the top,
the classroom beckons,
and the crickets guide us home.
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