So…For those of you who don’t know what is going on; let me fill you
in.
I am, at this
moment, in Alberta, Canada spending the summer with my husband, Richard, who is
tree planting. We got married on May 22nd of this year and decided
to spend the first few months of our lives as a married couple, living in a
tent in the back woods of Canada. Sounds crazy, right? It’s a blast! (At least
for me J)
During the day,
from 7 am to 7 pm, Richard plants trees, with a bunch of other crazy people, in
the surrounding area while I stay at camp and work in the kitchen. Because I
wasn’t able to get my worker’s visa I can’t be paid. So, my “chores” cover my
camp costs (25 Canadian dollars a day). These chores consist of: washing dishes
after breakfast, cleaning up the lunch prep area, wiping tables, sweeping, mopping,
and helping out in any other way I can (I’m not allowed to cook food because I
don’t have the necessary training/safety certification).
As you can
imagine, life in the woods is interesting and there are a lot of things that
can go wrong...or funny…or both. lol
The animals also
add to the fun. We have bear (grizzly and black), moose, elk, deer, squirrels,
and ravens…just a sample. Thankfully, there are no venomous snakes (unlike my
home state of Alabama) or spiders to worry about.
Because I am such a long way from home, and
because I have a lot of people who want to hear about how we’re doing, and
because calling everyone would be very expensive (a call to the U.S. is
considered international! What in the world?!) I decided to write this all down
and send it out.
At this time I do
not have internet (we’re in the woods and it hasn’t been installed yet) so by
the time I get this out you guys may be behind. Sorry.
As you navigate,
you’ll notice that I numbered all the entries. The first part (Tree Planting
Day _) tells you what working day it is for us (me and Richard). The second
part (Shift _, Day_) tells you how that day fits into the grand scheme of things.
Let me explain.
Each shift is 5
work days long with one day off at the end (except for Shift 3 which for some
reason only had 4 working days). So then, Shift 6, Day 2, would be the second
day of the sixth shift. There you go. It was originally supposed to be 5 days
on, 1 day off, 5 days on, 2 days off…(repeat) but for some reason the powers
that be decided to take out the 2 day break. Oh well.
You’ll also notice
that I start my entries on our second day. It was our third day at camp (day
one we spent un-packing) but the second day of work. No, you’re not missing a day;
I just didn’t have this idea until I got to Day 2.
Alright, well
that’s all the info I think you’ll need…enjoy J
Tree planting Day 2, June 5th, (Shift 3, Day 4):
So today started
out with rain. Richard and I woke up to the sound of it pattering on the tent.
From the sound it was making you would have thought we were in the middle of a
thunderstorm but no, just a drizzle. We went up to the cook shack (a converted
trailer home), had breakfast and I helped Richard get packed and ready for work.
This involves refilling the water cooler, taping hands, packing lunch, and
making sure he refills his coffee bottle (he says that when it gets cold it
tastes just like a frap, then looks at me and says, “It’s probably not good for
me though.” I say nothing lol he drinks it every morning).
The trucks leave at 7 with Richard in them. I
hate seeing him go. After being with him every day for almost 2 weeks straight
I got used to him being around. That first day I was lost when he left and I
felt like crying (which is dumb because I knew I would see him again in just a
few hours) I told him at one point that I was going to miss him but then
laughed and added, “At least you’re coming back this time.” He laughed with me.
J Thankfully I do have
something to do when he leaves, so that keeps me occupied for a while. I head
over to work in the kitchen.
My job is breakfast clean up. I can’t actually
cook food or anything like that because I didn’t take the Food prep training
but they have no problem with me washing dishes and sweeping and mopping the
floors. lol I also help clean up all the lunch fixings that are left over after
the guys ransack it for their packs.
While I was washing the dishes, water started
coming through the roof above the sink. Well, we couldn’t stick a bucket under
it and it was dripping into my washing water so we pulled out the duct tape and
stuck a measuring cup to the ceiling to catch the water. After a while though,
the water traveled up the seam in the ceiling and began dripping on my head. We
figured we’d just move the cup, right? Wrong. As we pulled it down off the
ceiling the tape held fast and began pulling the white coating off the ceiling.
Now I will say that the coating is not holding
up very well anyway, it’s cracked and peeling everywhere. This cook shack is
slightly falling apart at the seams (Ms. Jan would be appalled at the lack of
sanitation lol after meals the guys clean their own plates buy wiping them off
in semi soapy water, dip them in rinse water and then in bleach water. Oh man!
I could go on but I won’t lol). Use too many appliances at the same time and it
blows a fuse! Right now it’s powered by a generator that randomly decides to
stop working when it wants a break. But somehow the cooks (April and Lesley) are
able to pump out enough food to feed 20 some odd hungry planters. (We’re
supposed to get another 20 some odd, next shift, that’ll bring our total up to
about 50, boy will that be interesting!) But I digress…long story short, we
taped the coating back up to the ceiling so the drip moved further out still
and now has a bucket under it.
After finishing my
chores for the morning, I head to the tent to grab Richard’s socks so I can
rinse them out before he has to wear them again. Now, our tent has a little
vestibule on the front where we keep our shoes and two lawn chairs. It looks
like a little porch on the front and makes everyone else jealous. However, rain
can penetrate a mesh wall, duh…so when I arrived at the tent the drizzle had
been going heavy enough and long enough to create some rather large puddles on
the floor. Thankfully none of the shoes were soaked or anything but the floor
was completely wet. (Don’t worry about anything inside; there is a nice sturdy
tent door between our bed and the outside. Everything in the main room was
dry.) So I pull out our tarp (thank goodness we remembered to by one) and
draped it over the entrance to keep it from getting any worse, and then went
off hunting for sticks.
I had kinda scoped
out the woods the day before (these people have never heard of a controlled
burn!) so I knew exactly where to look for the sticks I needed. I headed to the
spot and broke off two branches about as tall as me, from a fallen tree. I then
carried them back to the tent where, soaked from the trees and shrubbery in the
woods, I whittled a point onto the end of one of them (the other was already
pointed).
Next I went
searching for string. I knew of certain places where I had seen scraps of rope,
and other things you use to tie things with, so I headed for those places
first. Later, armed with my scraps of string, I returned to the tent and began
constructing a covering for the entrance.
I took the two
long poles I had cut and tied them together in an upside down “V” shape and
then used them to prop up the tarp hanging off the front of the tent. I
remembered how, with reenacting, the tents are held up by the force exerted on
the poles by the taut fabric after it had been staked into the ground. So, I
looked around for the bent and discard tent stakes I had seen the day before. I
found two that were relatively straight and used them to secure the tarp to the
ground.
My little addition
was pretty sturdy but not as good as I would like so I found some more string.
I tied it to the apex of the tarp, pulled it good and taut, and then secured it
to a root that was sticking up out of the ground.
After that I set
to cleaning up the mess. Thank you Ms. Michelle! Not only are the towels she
gave us amazing at drying you off after a shower, but they are also very good
at soaking up water from the floor. I would sop up as much as I could, wring it
out, and do it again, until the floor was dry. It never got soggy and would
almost completely dry each time I would wring it out. Once that was over, I
stood back to survey my handiwork. I won’t say I wasn’t proud; I wanted to show
someone so bad! lol But oh well, Richard will see it when he gets back.
Once the “house”
was clean (bed made, pjs cleaned up), I grabbed Richard’s socks and bandanna
from the day before. I brought them up to the sinks that the planters use to
clean up with before dinner, after work. After some scrubbing and wringing the
water finally ran clear so I hung them up to dry in the bus and headed in to
the cook shack to relax with April and Lesley (this is the only regularly
heated structure in the camp and it’s cold here…I have worn my long johns for
the past two days and they’ve kept me warm. Gotta love military issued
clothing! What they lack in style they make up for in capability.) April and I
watched Dinosaur (Richard made sure I was loaded with movies before we came, he
didn’t want me getting bored lol) as she made a pear/apple pie.
By noon the rain
had stopped. I sure hope the ground is ok for Richard. I heard that rain is
supposed to make it easier for the planting but I wonder what it does to the
planter…he is going to be soaked and muddy tonight! But, I will be ready. J At least I don’t have
to worry about him overheating lol
~I forgot to tell you about the Raven! We have this huge bird, about
the size of a small dog, that continually raids our camp. Yesterday it took off
with an entire loaf of bread from the lunch prep tables and the day before it
stole two entire boxes of granola bars and a box of cookies (our snacks for the
next while.) Thankfully it didn’t get the fruit-by-the-foot or the Aero bars. J I guess the rain is
keeping it away today, I haven’t seen it yet…
Tree planting Day 3, June 6th, (Shift 3, Day Off):
Yesterday Richard
comes home limping. Apparently he had pushed himself too hard for too long and
pulled a muscle in his right thigh. Thankfully today was the day off (we came
in in the middle of a shift) and we spent it taking it easy. It helped that it
rained all day so we couldn’t do much anyway.
Most of planters
left for the day and went into town, all but 5 or 6. We watched movies, read
books, and just enjoyed each other’s company.
I wrapped his leg
in an ace bandage, we iced it in the morning, and then I massaged it off and on
with something kinda like Aspercream. He’s still trying to figure out if he
should work tomorrow or not. We’ll see how he feels in the morning.
Tree planting Day 4, June 7th, (Shift 4, Day 1):
Richard decided
not to work today. His leg was really stiff when he woke up and he didn’t want
to make it worse. So, he stayed in the tent and slept, after breakfast, while I
worked in the kitchen. After my chores were done we hung out for a while and
went for a walk through the woods to the river.
We even had the
bright idea to fix the bathrooms. Because of the rain, the ground inside the
stalls had gotten really muddy and it wasn’t drying despite the light wind and
the warm weather. So, we cut off some pine branches and covered the floor with
them. Not only does it fix the mud problem but it also makes the stalls smell
slightly of crushed pine. J
By the end of the
day Richard was pretty much back to normal. Lol We watched Tron and helped the
cooks clean up after dinner.
Tree Planting Day 5, June 8th, (Shift 4, Day 2):
We were up bright
and early (Richard had decided the night before that he was ready to work
again, I hope he takes it easy). We had just finished packing his lunch and he
had taken off to put it in his backpack. Next thing I know, he comes back
laughing and asking for some more trail mix (he never finishes all the trail
mix and the extra normally stays in his bag). Apparently the Raven had unzipped
his backpack and eaten all the trail mix inside. lol So we packed him some more
and then I sent him off to work… and then sat through the kitchen meeting.
After the meeting
I did the laundry, which pretty much consists of me soaking and scrubbing,
whatever it is that needs to be cleaned, in the outdoor sinks. Then I hung them
out to dry (it is so beautiful today! Perfect temperature and a slight breeze).
Man I got a lot
done today! Once the dishes were done (which took forever because the cooks
started baking while I was still cleaning) I headed out to the tent to clean up
a bit. I’m trying to figure out the best way to organize the tent so that it’s
easy to keep clean. So far the clothes just kinda end up in piles at night and
I sort them out later. lol We also have a problem with water from condensation
pooling under our suitcases and stuff. So, I took the lid off of the black
rubber maid and stuck it under our suitcase to elevate it off the floor. We’ll
see if that works. I hope it does. lol After the tent was reorganized and
everything put where it belonged, I swept up. Now it’s all clean and it makes
me happy. J
Once the tent was settled I headed back up to
check on the laundry. By now they were all dry so I picked them up…and noticed
several large holes in the t-shirts. Out comes my handy dandy sewing kit from
reenacting. I spent the next while mending his shirts while I watched Tarzan
with April, it was kinda fun. J
About half way through the movie we pulled out the left over waffles and ate
them with ice cream and chocolate syrup! Mmmmm.
Oh! I also took
some pictures of the camp to include with this so that you can see what it really
looks like here.
Now I’m just
waiting on Richard to get back. We’re also supposed to get that other crew
today, it’s gonna get very crowded here, very soon. Oh boy!
*
Not very long
after I finished this entry I was walking through camp when I heard a strange
tearing, scratching sound. I froze and just stared in the direction that the
sound was coming from. I noticed that one of the tents was moving quite a bit
so I headed that way to see what was going on. As I approached the tent I saw
that the movement was originating from the front left corner. At that second I
saw a little claw tear a hole in the side of the tent, and then a little nose
poked out. I almost laughed out loud, there was a squirrel stuck in the tent! I
was extremely tempted to just watch the animal work its way out but then I
figured it wouldn’t be very nice of me to allow someone’s home to get trashed
if I could do something about it. So I went over and opened the zipper…nothing
happened. I poked my head in and jumped when I saw the squirrel sitting at the
top of the tent, staring at me. It took me about 5 minutes to convince the
fuzzball that it wanted to leave the tent. After he left I looked around to
survey the damage. The squirrel had chewed through the netting at the roof and jumped
in from there, then I guess he panicked because he couldn’t get back out and
started chewing another hole. The whole reason he was in there: the person had
left trail mix in their tent, along with several toiletries. None of which are
supposed to be in the sleeping area because they attract bears…and squirrels.
So, I would feel bad for them but they were breaking the rules. (That same
squirrel broke into the dry bus and ate two sides of a tupper-ware lid so he
could get to the sunflower seeds inside. So much for that idea…)
Once the whole
squirrel thing was taken care of, I got Richard’s and my clothes together so
that we could take a shower as soon as he got back (he had asked me to do that
that morning). Right as I finished and was taking then up to the dry bus, the
planters pulled in (about 20 minutes early). I hurried to help him unpack and
we headed for the showers.
Remember how I
told you there was a long process in getting the shower started? Well, we got
the generator going but it was just about out of fuel so we had to refuel it.
Then we turned on the water, but wanting to be good stewards we didn’t let it
out in the shower, no wasting water while we finished the process. Then we
turned on the propane and tried to start the heater but it wouldn’t light. We
tried and tried but it just wouldn’t catch. So I headed out to see if I could
find someone who knew how to work it better than we did. I found Rhett (one of
the more senior foremen). He told me that the water had to be all the way on
(even running into the shower). Once we did that, it started right away. lol So
much for conserving water!
Richard was sore
that night, and his leg was still stiff but I massaged it and wrapped it and he
said it was feeling better this morning.
I also stuck the
memory foam sleeping bag back in the tent (it had become wet with condensation
and we had to stick it in the car to dry). Oh man! It felt so good! We both
slept pretty well (though he will tell you that I stole the thing all night and
I will tell you it was his fault for moving so much! lol )
Tree Planting Day 6, June 9th, (Shift 4, Day 3):
Today was our
first day with the whole crew, 50 people. They started arriving at about 6:30
last night and were still coming in around 4 this morning. (Whew! Those guys
need some rest.) We also gained 3 dogs, Reese (Brett’s, the head man’s, dog),
Sawyer, and Lexi. It was kinda cool to play with them this morning.J
We woke up this
morning and the air horn sounded about 15 minutes early for breakfast. We
finally decided that it was for the Ft. Mac crew (the ones that came in last
night) so we carried on with our morning routine.
At about 6 (normal
breakfast time) Richard and I got to
the cook shack only to find that…
[ahhh,
onions! Bonnie is chopping onions while I’m writing this. Man, I can’t see! Ahhh],
…we weren’t supposed to be there until 6:15. Thankfully the cooks
allowed us to go ahead and get our meals so we could eat.
We found out as we
were eating that certain people were to eat at certain times. We figured they
would break us up into: our crew and Ft. Mac crew. But then we had Ft. Mac
people eating with us during the later shift.
Later on in breakfast we heard that it was
broke up by who your foreman was. But we had had only one or two foremen before
and they had taken care of all the planters so Richard had no clue which
foreman was his now. It turned out that David (a Frenchman from Quebec who knew
Richard from planting last year) was his foreman. So, that was cleaned up. But
there was still one more surprise before the end of the morning…the people who
eat early, leave early.
Many a planter was
left scrambling to get everything together as they rushed to the trucks to head
out. Second shift, the one Richard is in, spent about 45 minutes after breakfast
trying to figure out what vehicles they were taking and where they were going.
lol Apparently all the foremen were so tired the night before that they decided
to leave it alone until the next morning. Oh man, it was a mess! lol Such is
tree planting…
-the night before, it had been decided that
the meals would go in shifts, with certain crews eating at 5:45 and others at
6:15. This, however, was not passed on to anyone else so only the Ft. Mac crew
knew what was going on.-
During breakfast
clean up we found two mice caught in our traps (that makes 5 since we moved
into the shack) so I got to clean those out. Then I did the dishes. By the time
my morning chores were done the light drizzle - we had had since the night
before - was over and the sun was struggling through the clouds. (It warmed up
a bit too.J)
Now, for some
reason, the fridge isn’t working and we can’t get ahold of Brett to figure out
why. So the milk is in the freezer. We’ll see what the rest of today holds…
*
Well, I did the
laundry, and finally was able to do the mopping and sweeping. Because of all
the extra people they have to cook for (not to mention the fact that the fridge
is room temperature and they don’t know how to fix it) it took them a lot
longer to get the meals ready. There also seemed to be a lot of paperwork to
do. I think they were trying to make the grocery list for the next shift.
We did have a
couple of weird things happen though. At one point some odd man just sauntered
up into camp asking for water. We’re not quite sure where he came from. He
didn’t have a car and he was on foot. April thinks he was one of the planters
from Ft. Mac but we’re not sure. Then we had these “bear hunters” drive in.
They hopped out of their truck, approached Bonnie and asked if there were any
bears in the area. She gave them a puzzled look and told them that there were
but she didn’t know where. Funny thing about these “bear hunters” was that they
were in a red pick-up and wearing nice clothes (especially the jeans), no camo.
Not quite sure what they were up to…
Then out of the
blue a huge thunder storm rolls in. No high winds but quite a bit of thunder
and lightning. I hope Richard and the other planters are ok and that they
aren’t stuck out in the middle of this.
*
They made it back
fine. Wet and tired but fine. Richard wasn’t able to work until noon. It took
them forever to get to the piece and then the four-wheeler carrying the trees
kept getting stuck in the mud so him and another guy sat around for a couple of
hours waiting for their trees. He got a half day in though, so that’s good.
From what I hear the ground was extremely difficult. I guess that’s what
prompted the company to pay them 11 cents a tree instead of the usual 10.
Tree Planting Day 7, June 10th, (Shift 4, Day 4):
“Rain, Rain, go
away….”
It won’t stop
raining! lol Again, this morning, we woke to the sound of rain on the tent
roof. We got ready for the day in the rain and then began the daily chores in
the rain. I will say, because of the new breakfast schedule, we did get to
sleep in another 15 minutes this morning (yay!), it was nice. lol
Do you remember
that leak in the cook shack I told you about? The one right above the sink?
Well, it’s back and now it has three friends. lol I felt hemmed in on every
side! I had a leak dripping in front of me, one behind me, and one directly on
the back of my neck. This time we taped zip-lock bags over them but again the
water just moved. Thankfully it moved off my neck and onto the counter beside
me, so only my arm got hit every now and then. I was starting to get a huge wet
spot on my shirt. lol
We also finally
got someone to come in and work on the fridge, thank goodness! It wasn’t
working anymore and all the stuff that had
to be kept cold was being put in the fridge outside. Some things, like
mayo, were not deemed important enough and were sacrificed to the garbage can.
Thus the planters were missing out on a few sandwich fixings this morning,
though, it wasn’t too many.
When the guy came
he was kind of amazed at how old the fridge was (from the late 70s, they bought
it at an auction) and was surprised he had parts that fit it. It took him about
5 hours to get it working right again. Meanwhile, he’s blocking the sinks,
which means I can’t do my chores! lol I’ve been watching as the dishes slowly
pile up on the counter (the cooks are still working). Wonderful Bonnie,
volunteered to help me wash them once he leaves, that should help out a lot.
It stopped raining
a little before noon, so I ran outside and washed Richard’s clothes. Now I just
have to keep an eye on the weather so I can grab them if it starts up again.
Looks like they’ll be ok, the sun is shining! As we were washing dishes Bonnie
started singing, “Mr. Sun, sun, Mr. Golden Sun….” and now it’s stuck in my
head. lol
*
The guys came home
(late, they were all 30 minutes to an hour late) completely soaked, with mud
caked all over them from head to foot. Richard and I were able to hop in the
shower pretty quickly. For dinner he ate a heaping plate full of fettuccini. He
was so hungry that he didn’t even bother to pick out the peas (which he does
for every meal…he hates peas). After dinner we hung his stuff in the dry bus
and prayed that it would dry.
Tree Planting Day 8, June 11th, (Shift 4, Day 5):
Sun! We woke up to
the sun! It was wonderful. J
We were both so tired though. I tried to be upbeat to help wake him up but, as
soon as he left, I sat at the table in the cook shack and took a nap during the
kitchen meeting.
The dishes took
forever! (or at least it felt that way). At noon they finally said that I could
leave the rest and go get some other stuff done before I had to sweep at 1. So
I headed out to my tent, put the sleeping mat back in its place (it had gotten
damp again so I pulled it out that morning and stuck it on Richard’s car to
dry) and fell onto it. I laid there for almost an hour. Not sleeping, just
listening to my music and not moving. Then I got up and straightened the tent.
Got our clothes in a bag for our shower tonight, and grabbed the laundry.
I did learn
something new today. Richard’s clothes had a lot of mud on them from the day
before and I couldn’t figure out how to get it all off. Then I noticed the
little scrub brushes the guys keep by the sinks (they use them to get the caked
on mud off their hands). They worked perfectly! A little scrubbing and the
shirt and socks looked almost as good as new. J
After making sure
all my chores were done, I headed back inside the cook shack and talked with
April for a while. We talked about David Platt and Secret Church, Voice of the
Martyrs, U.S. and Canadian History, the stories that grandparents have to tell,
and the differences between the U.S. and Canada. We also discussed the border
situation between our two countries and laughed at the absurdity of it. (For
those of you who don’t know, our border with Canada is more secure than our
border with Mexico. The Canadians have noticed…lol)
Then I sat back
and enjoyed my long lost friend, the sun. lol The weather is very pretty today,
though it looks like the clouds are moving in now and there’s a cold breeze
blowing. “Tut, tut, it looks like rain…” (Little Bear) lol
*
It did rain, off
and on for the rest of the day. Apparently that’s perfect tree planting
weather; a little light rain here and there to cool you off and then the sun to
dry you out.
After finishing my
chores I went off to watch a movie and then when it got to dinner prep time I
headed into the cook shack. Once everything was set up I went off into the
woods for a bit. It was so nice! Everything was quiet and there’s so much moss
covering the ground that you can’t hear your footsteps. J
After walking
around for a while I realized that Richard should be back soon so I headed back
to camp. Once there I saw Eldon (one of the foremen) and he told me that
Richard would be a while, like an hour (he was already an hour late). So I went
back to the tent, finished my movie and then went off to find something to do
with myself for another 20 minutes. lol
They finally came
in at about 9. I had gone in to the cooks at one point and warned them that the
next shift wouldn’t be in until about that time, so they pulled food aside and
kept it warm for them.
So he got warm
food and then a hot shower (after getting eaten alive by mosquitoes while we waited
in line) and we headed to bed.
Tree Planting Day 9, June 12th, (Shift 4, Day off):
Today was our day
off, so basically we slept in until 8:30. We watched movies, read books, slept
off and on…pretty much just hung out in our tent. I did wash his pants though
so he could have clean clothes the next day. It rained off and on again, though
I think there was more sun than rain. Just about all the other planters headed
off into town so it was really peaceful and quiet.
Bonnie went
shopping for kitchen supplies and they weren’t done with all that clean up and
organizing (they have to fit food for 50 people in a place equipped to handle a
max of 35) it was about 1 am…then they had to be up at 4 the next day, so they
got a max of 3 hours of sleep; normal “day off” for the cooking staff. When
they had the two day breaks they would do the shopping one day and then have
the next day off. Now that they only get one day they really don’t get any time
off.
Tree Planting Day 10, June 13th, (Shift 5, Day 1):
I think I’m
getting used to waking up to rain. lol It was so cold! We dressed as quickly as
possible and headed to the cook shack to get warm. Everyone was tired. For some
reason they always stay up really late on their day off, so they’re all dead
the next day. A couple of planters slept in too late and ended up packing their
lunches at 7 so they could hop in the truck. For those guys we stuck some eggs
and waffles with syrup in zip-lock bags so they could have at least a little
breakfast. There was one guy who slept in an hour past the departure time! He
came in a little after 8 and asked us if the crews had left without him. lol We
told him, “Yeah, they left without you…about an hour ago.” He had no idea what
time it was! There was another planter who was told to stay at camp; he was so
out of it that he would have been a liability out in the field.
Anyways…After
having breakfast we headed out to get Richard ready for work. He looked around
at one point and realized that his water bottle was missing. So, while he taped
his hands, I took off to look for the Nalgene. Apparently he had left it in one
of the trucks so when it was cleaned out they just took the water bottle and
tossed it on the ground. I took it inside, washed it, and then filled it with
water.
At this point, one
of the cooks (Lesley) told me that Bonnie (another cook) was sick with Strep
throat and that I might be asked to pick up her slack. Oh boy! lol We’ll see
how that turns out. Thankfully we’re supposed to be having a Mexican soup that
I am very familiar with, seeing as it’s the one my mom used to make for me all
the time. J I
suggested it as a good Mexican dish and they liked it, so they put it on the
menu (I found out later that it was a huge hit! J).
There weren’t many
dishes today (yay!) so I finished those quickly and kept April company while
she chopped up the ingredients for dinner tonight. We had a blast! We talked
about ancient man J
a lot, you guys know that’s one of my favorite subjects. lol I told her about
the youtube video with the stars and the whales that shows the music that all
of creation plays. I hope we get internet soon, I could show it to her then.
Man, I hope we get
the internet soon. Then I could get some “after wedding” stuff done and several
other things that need attention. Not to mention, then I could talk to my
family more! That would be awesome. J
Oh yeah, and I could get this out to anyone who wants to read it. lol The guy
who’s supposed to be getting us set up is here but for some reason he’s
dragging his feet. He keeps going out with the planters in the morning. Doesn’t
he know that the cooks want some new recipes?!
But I digress…We
made chocolate shakes with the left over ice cream and then talked about snow
and storms in the south. Next thing we know people start pulling into camp.
Apparently one of the crews had finished their block early and didn’t feel like
starting another. lol I wonder if Richard will come back too…
*
He did come back. J Around 2 he came
walking into camp with his planting bags thrown over his shoulder. I was doing
laundry so he hung around and we talked about his day. Then we went and took a
quick shower, after which I had to head into the kitchen.
I put my soup
together and got it on the stove. I had to improvise with a few ingredients
because the store didn’t have some of them but oh well, it still tasted good. I
was using a whole BBQ chicken, and fajita sauce (instead of enchilada sauce).
It tasted a little different lol but everyone loved it and it was gone within
the first 5 minutes (it was a small pot). {By the way, for some reason here in
Canada, everything is written in French. So I had the hardest time finding what
I needed because the majority of the packaging was written in French. I even
found some in Chinese but you have to search the wrapper to find what it is in
English.}
Dinner was crazy
hectic. Since all the planters were home early they were all sitting around
waiting on their food. At one point we had some of the girls come up to the
kitchen window and ask when dinner would be ready. Then a bunch of guys lined
up a few minutes before we were ready and tried to walk in the door. We assured
them that when the food was ready we would blow the horn. lol I had told
Richard earlier that if he wanted a choice on what he got to eat he better be
one of the first in line; that food was going to go fast! lol
After dinner
Richard and I went to bed. We sat up for a while and talked about JHBC;
reminiscing about our friends and our favorite classes.
Oh! We also had
heli training today. J
Tree Planting Day 11, June 14, (Shift 5, Day 2):
It is not supposed
to be this cold in JUNE! It is the middle of June and I can see my breath! This
is ridiculous. lol My hands and feet were frozen by the time we made Richard’s
lunch and retreated to the warmth of the cook shack. Even Richard was cold, and
that’s saying something! He went to get ready for planting and I was pushing
him to change his hoodie and put on his work one (I wanted the one he had on
lol). He just laughed at me and told me absolutely not, he was cold and he was
keeping his hoodie for as long as possible. lol (I had on a jacket so I wasn’t
in dire straits but man, when I finally got that sweater I put it on under the
jacket…and I was still cold!)
Richard was
waiting to leave, freezing, so I ran up to him, hugged him and let him put his
hands up my sleeves. He laughed. J
Ok, so, I left you
hanging yesterday (or maybe not since the internet isn’t up and you get to read
all of the days one after the other once I get the chance to post them…so, not
as suspenseful as I would like but…oh well…lol). Anyway, what I meant by heli
training is a safety briefing on how to ride in a helicopter. The blocks that
the planters are going to now are so far out and away from roads that the most
efficient way to get to them is by helicopter. So they all had their first ride
today on the helicopter! The girls were so excited, lol it was hilarious! I
don’t think I’ve ever seen them more enthusiastic to get to work. They were
skipping to the helicopter, laughing all the way (not kidding).
Since Richard was
moved to the first breakfast crew in the morning, I had about 30 minutes to
twiddle my thumbs and wait for the second crew to leave. So I talked with April
and Meghan (a planter/cook who took Bonnie and Lesleys’ places this morning
while they slept in). Clean up went quick, all except the dishes. When the
cooks were finished they left and went to bed so I had the whole cook shack to
myself! I tried to listen to a sermon but David Platt is so soft spoken that
even with the speakers turned all the way up I couldn’t hear him at the sink.
Instead, I rocked out to music for an hour or so until Bonnie and Lesley showed
up to start dinner prep.
It was at that
point I realized there was hardly any hot water. It was coming out of the tap
lukewarm. So Lesley told me to stop washing dishes and wait a while. I was
slightly disappointed; I was so close to finishing! But I went and finished
listening to the sermon, looked through some pictures, and started writing on
this. After quite a while the water still wasn’t warming up so Lesley started
boiling water for me lol. About that time someone got the idea to check the
pilot light at the hot water tank. Sure enough, it had gone out. Forty-five
minutes later, we had hot water again. By then the dishes were done….lol
Now I’m sitting
here contemplating what to do next. I need to do laundry but it’s so cold
outside I really don’t feel like standing out there. I also need to clean my
tent but again…it’s outside…arggg! Why is it so cold!? lol (When I ask Richard
he just smiles condescendingly and says in the sweetest voice he can muster,
“That’s what happens when you get 13 hours from the border into NORTHERN
Alberta.” Then he laughs at me…. :P lol)
It finally warmed
up at about 1 so I headed out to do the laundry. I brought in all the clothes
that were drying from last time and then put out the ones I just washed. Then I
headed back to the tent to clean it up a bit.
Richard had asked
me last night to air out the sleeping mat again because it was getting damp. I
put that out on his car (the best place to get some sun) and then, while the
floor was clear, I swept. The floor had started to bug me so I looked to see
how many days it had been since I had last swept…a week! I had no idea it had
been that long. (Ok for all you moms out there…and other people…who are shaking
their heads because it took me a week to sweep the floor again; yes, I will
sweep my HOUSE more often but right now I’m in a tent and you don’t think to
sweep a tent, especially when all you do is sleep in it!) [And now my mom is
probably shaking her head because of the horrible grammar in that last
sentence! lol Oh well J]
*
The night was
normal. Richard got home right after the helicopter, we ate dinner, took a
shower, and headed to bed.
Tree Planting Day 12, June 15, (Shift 5, Day 3):
This morning was
warmer than yesterday, thank goodness. Richard headed off in the helicopter
right from camp this morning. It was cool to watch him fly away.
While the cooks
finished cleaning up after breakfast…I took a nap. I fell asleep sitting up in
my chair. lol Oh man I was tired! I don’t know how Richard does it with all the
work he does all day.
After dishes I
cleaned the tent, did Bible study, and then did the laundry. Then I had the
bright idea to watch The War of the Worlds…now I’m slightly jumpy. lol
We had an
interesting conversation with Brett today. First he told us that he was going
into town to pick up Marie (which means we will have internet within the next
couple of days, and you will finally be able to read this…I won’t be talking to
myself anymore…lol). Then he said not to be surprised if our Raven disappears.
Apparently him and Rhett have had enough and really want to shoot it. However,
Bonnie and Eldon argue for the bird. They say that since it’s so old we should
let it live and try to outsmart it (which isn’t working lol). Bonnie said,
“It’s old and wise.” I said, “No, it’s old and crafty. There’s a difference.”
We found him eating someone’s lunch that they left in the dry bus today.
So….we’ll see what happens. April is all for shooting it and I agree, it makes
good stories but it’s not afraid of people, it keeps eating our food, and
trashing the camp by dragging garbage everywhere. I told them that if this had
been happening where I live, the thing would have been dead a long time ago.
Like the day after it stole an entire loaf of bread. lol They just laughed.
Bonnie said she was surprised it had lasted this long, “After all we are in
Alberta and there are a lot of guns here.” Then she took one look at my face
and added, “Compared to the rest of Canada.” Oh my goodness! That’s not saying
much. lol
Oh, today is
Logan’s birthday. I will have to be sure and call him.
*
After
Richard got back he let me turn in his stickers (they come from the boxes of
trees and you cut them off when you finish one then turn them all in at the end
of the day so the foreman knows how many you did). So I turned to David and
handed them to him. He started laughing and asked if I was going to initial for
them too. I smiled and said sure, thinking I had seen his initial thing before;
I could totally pull it off. Wrong again. lol It looked nothing like Richard’s
signature. David told me I needed to practice and try again tomorrow and
Richard responded with, “You know she will.” lol
Tree Planting Day 13, June 16, (Shift 5, Day 4):
Not much
interesting has happened today. lol Marie came in. So that was cool J She called me Veronica.
lol She knows my name but, for some reason, every time she says it it comes out
wrong…sounds like my mom…lol We talked about married life (Her and Brett just
got married in October) and family while she helped the cooks sort out their
grocery lists for this pick (what we call it when they go into town to get the
groceries).
Oh man, Richard is
getting burnt out! I’m so glad it’s getting close to the end of the shift; he
desperately needs a day off. This is the first shift we’ve had so far where the
planters have worked every day and it’s taking its toll. Thankfully he’s going
to get a nice break because we’re going to head into town that night and he’ll
get to sleep in a real bed. J
That makes him really happy. lol
Stuff for my visa
is moving along (finally). Apparently, the lady who works with the LMO numbers
(the thing that I’m missing in my forms) has been away on vacation and there is
no one who can do her job while she’s gone. So, when she gets back on Monday
they said that she would call Brett back. He was all excited, thinking that now
I would be able to get out on the block and start planting. I broke the news to
him that even if I did get the number now it would take 2-3 months for me to
get a visa (and that’s fast tracking it). Not to mention I would have to get
different paperwork than what I already filled out because now I’d be applying
for one inside of Canada. He still
wants to try and get me out there, he said, “Maybe I can talk to them and see
if we can get your paperwork done in a month.” lol He’s a sweet guy.
Oh yeah, do you
remember me telling you about what the outhouses look like (frame over hole in
the ground…yeah)? Well, it seems they were not meant to hold up for 50 some-odd
people, not for long at least. Whewy, they stink! lol They’re getting full and
us on the kitchen staff hope they decide to dig another one soon. I know that’s
gross but it’s life out here and you want to know what it’s like, right? lol
We saw the Raven
again today…getting into the garbage can. And…we now have a smoothie station.
(Yes, I know that has nothing to do with the Raven but I didn’t want to start a
new paragraph when that last one was only a sentence long. lol) At the end of
the cook shack, by the door, they put two blenders on a table with some frozen
fruit and yogurt and…other stuff to make smoothies with. The planters love
having them in the morning! They were so excited when they saw it was set up.
Apparently, smoothies are the way to get Richard to eat fruit. He’ll even eat
strawberries if their pureed and crushed into nothingness. lol
After the morning
chores were done, April and I sat down to watch a movie.
*
Everyone came home
early. Richard was in a fantastic mood. He had had a very productive day and
though the land wasn’t the best, it didn’t seem to faze him. We sat and talked
for a while and then went in for dinner.
Tree Planting Day 14, June 17, (Shift 5, Day 5):
Happy Father’s
Day!
Normal day today…except
for the fact that it’s our last one of the shift!!!!!! Oh my goodness, we’re so
excited to go into town. Hehehehe
So, while Richard
was out planting, I did my normal chores (dishes, cleaning the tent, etc.) and
packed for our trip. We found out yesterday that we picked a good day to go
into town. The cooks have to do their grocery pick today thus they will not be
in camp all day, so…no dinner. Everyone is packing up and heading into town
tonight and coming back tomorrow. Needless to say, they’re excited. Some are
upset to spend the money to stay in town but most relish the idea of a nice
bed, a long shower, getting back to civilization, and the possibility of
catching a movie.
After we were all
packed I helped Bonnie clean up the dry bus. It was so nasty! There were socks
just left in there everywhere and they smelled so bad! Bonnie put on some
gloves and gathered up everything that looked like it wasn’t specifically
placed to be put in a lost and found box. We swept the floor and got out all
the food that Rocky (the squirrel) had strewn everywhere. It looks great now,
but as soon as the planters get here, it won’t. lol
I put all of our
toiletries in zip-lock bags and stacked them all nice and neat in the white tub
Bonnie provided. Now it looks all clean J
I love the feeling I have after cleaning and organizing things, even if it’s
small. lol
*
After Richard got
off work we headed into town with Jonathan (another tree planter from Quebec).
We had dinner at A&W, which down here is a kinda fancy restaurant…hmmm. I
had poutine for the first time (Richard told me I hadn’t lived until I had
tried some), basically it’s fries with gravy and cheese on top. It was
interesting but I like our chili fries better (apparently that is a form of
poutine though…).
After dinner we
went out to see Snow White and the Huntsman. Interesting movie but I wouldn’t
go see it again. lol Then we found a hotel room for the night. It was amazing to have a long hot shower and then to fall into a
really comfortable bed! Oh man.
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