A Spring Hike

Last week, on April 30th, I went for a hike with my brother, our cousin, and our dog. We left in the morning and came back in the afternoon. The weather was actually pretty great for a hike. It was a bit cool in the morning but it warmed up as the day went by. It was a good thing we went hiking on that specific day since it ended up snowing the next day. Yes, we had snow on May 1st. Welcome to Northern Ontario. The hike and the snow have me reflecting even more on Northern Ontario and why I feel so connected to it. I was born here but some people are born here and don't want to stay. They want to move somewhere warmer where there are different opportunities for them. I am one of the people who actually wants to stay. Although the weather can definitely be a downer sometimes, I like the vast difference between our seasons and the occasional unpredictability in the weather adds a bit of excitement. More than anything though, I love the landscape. I have been feeling a strong connection to nature more and more in recent years and I have been thinking about what the Northern Ontario landscape means to me and what it can teach me. There is a lot of rock and a lot of trees. There is also a lot of peacefulness and mystery. It is simply magical.

During our hike, we did a lot of bushwhacking, visiting areas that my brother has found during his extensive exploration in the bush that he has been doing lately. I had visited these areas but hadn't been bushwhacking to them while our cousin hadn't seen the specific areas at all so it was a new experience for both of us and my brother led the way. My brother loves going out in the bush. He loves bushcrafting and exploring. I am so happy that we share a love of nature. Our family on our mom's side has a passion for the outdoors and I am so grateful to have grown up in this family and to have grown up in Northern Ontario. Cities can be fun but they also drain me. It isn't good for my heart and soul. I need rock and trees as well as the roughness and beauty of the land. That's where my heart and soul reside.

We decided that our ultimate destination for our hike would be an area that my brother refers to as the cliffs. They are not very tall cliffs like the beautiful yet scary ones on Manitoulin Island but you still wouldn't want to fall down them. The area is a beautiful place to have a picnic so we brought along some snacks and lunch. I had just made homemade iced tea and cheese biscuits that morning for the occasion, my brother had bought some dry snacks the day before, and our cousin brought some cans of soup. We built a small campfire, making sure that we were being safe, and used it to cook the soup. It felt very Northern Ontarian to be having a little campfire in the bush and seeing the smoke wisp through the air with pine trees in the background made it feel even more mystical.

That hike was such a powerful experience. It reminded me to just let go and be free. Although the bush is very complex and can also be dangerous, slowing down and enjoying nature makes life seem a lot simpler, at least for a little while. I was able to let my heart and soul open up and explore the beauty and teachings that the land has to offer. It is so hard to describe in words. It is truly something that you need to experience and feel for yourself. I thought that hike was just going to be a fun day out with family but it was so much more. There we were, just three young adults and a dog, hiking through the bush. For a little while, we got to escape our everyday lives and just take some time to breathe and explore. Life moves so quickly and growing up can be tough but nature teaches us to slow down and enjoy the journey. There is definitely some kind of magic there in the bush and I want to explore it even more.

Cheers,
Kaylie

Living in Northern Ontario

With the changing of the seasons, I have been spending more time outside which got me thinking about this wonderful part of the province that I live in. Living in Northern Ontario is not the easiest thing to do but it is definitely worth it if you love the outdoors and like getting away from the big city life. There are still cities here but they are not the same as cities like Toronto. There is a totally different feeling to them here. The Northern Ontario people are also different. It seems like we have a more relaxed but also rough and tough personality to us. I guess that's what happens when you live in areas surrounded by bush. Here is a list of a bunch of things that Northern Ontario is known for and make it what it is.

Winter: I have a love-hate relationship with Winter but it is definitely a huge part of living in Northern Ontario. Pretty much half of the year is Winter due to how long the snow is around. Outdoor Winter activities are popular but there are also people who like me who mostly stay inside during the Winter. I personally think that we should just have snow for Christmas and then it should all melt away but Mother Nature thinks otherwise.

Bears and Other Wildlife: Seeing wildlife is perfectly normal here in Northern Ontario due to all of the surrounding bush. Black bears are especially common and I'd be surprised if someone living here never saw a bear. I have seen a bear while walking down a trail along a creek (thankfully it was on the other side of the creek), while biking (thankfully it was far enough down the trail that I was able to get away from the area without it seeing me), on the front porch of my family's house (it was trying to get seeds from the bird feeder that we put out in November thinking that the bears were hibernating), and in my family's backyard (it would come in the middle of the day to eat grapes from our grapevines). Us Northern Ontarians therefore grow up learning about bear safety and what to do if we encounter a bear. Other wildlife that we have seen just around our house include birds, squirrels (including flying squirrels), chipmunks, raccoons (there were two living under our porch for a while and one Winter there was even a raccoon with no tail that would come to the bird feeders), foxes, snakes, frogs, toads, groundhogs, mice, and more.

Camps: In Southern Ontario, people tend to have what they call cottages, but in Northern Ontario, we have camps. What we call a camp is basically a wooden cabin. Some people have electricity and running water in their camp while others, like my family, do not. A lot of camps are also by a lake but some of us, like my family, have a camp that is simply in the bush. My family also has a wood stove in our camp so that we can use our camp all year long.

Saunas: There is a large Finnish population in Northern Ontario. Two cities in Northern Ontario with larger Finnish populations than others are Sudbury, where I live, and Thunder Bay. A quarter of my family is actually Finnish so I am a part of that Northern Ontario Finnish population. My mom has explained to me that many Finnish people settled here in Northern Ontario because the landscape is so similar to that of Finland. Since there is such a large Finnish population, it should be no surprise that saunas (Finnish steam baths) are very popular here, especially for people that have camps by the lake. It should also be no surprise that my family has our own sauna in our backyard.

The Bush: Here in Northern Ontario, and perhaps in other areas of Canada, we refer to the forest as "the bush." I feel like it is probably because our forests are often more wild than what you might think of when you imagine a forest. Also, when it comes to the outdoors here in Northern Ontario, we are fine with "roughing it" so I suppose "the bush" just adds to that roughness that we associate with the outdoors.

Campfires/Bonfires: Having a fire pit in your backyard is popular in Northern Ontario and yes, my family has one. Even though you may have to fight off a ton of mosquitoes, there is nothing better than inviting family and friends over for a fire to relax and listen to someone play guitar while you roast marshmallows under the stars.

If you don't live in Northern Ontario, I hope this helps you understand this part of Ontario a bit more and I hope it encourages you to visit this area sometime to experience it. If you're from Northern Ontario, then you probably just nodded your head in agreement throughout this list.

Cheers,
Kaylie

Our Flowering Crabapple Tree

The property that my family and I live on, along with the house, pool, garden, and everything else on this land, belonged to my grandparents on my mother's side. When my grandparents were still alive, my grandma once received a flowering crabapple tree in the mail from Quebec. She hadn't ordered it. It was a bit of a mystery. She planted it in the yard and it ended up growing into this big beautiful tree that grows gorgeous blossoms every year.

It used to grow blossoms all over it when it was younger but now it only grows blossoms on one half of it. We had some family portraits taken beside it when I was younger, back in its days of looking like a big snowball. The tree has spread to grow another tree right beside it and that one leans and sort of acts like an umbrella. I'd like to put a small table and chairs underneath it someday.

When it blossoms in the Spring, the flowers first grow as little pink and magenta balls until they start to open and they turn white. It's a really beautiful sight and I love clipping some of the branches to put in vases inside the house, especially if some of the blossoms on the clippings haven't opened yet and can open in the house.

There's usually a lot of bees around the tree when it flowers so I get a bit scared when going near the tree since I have a severe phobia of bees, hornets, and wasps. I'm thankful for the bees though (I love honey!) and I'm glad that this tree provides for them.

This tree is so lovely and the mystery behind it only makes it lovelier. It only blossoms for a certain amount of time in the Spring though, so we have to enjoy it while it lasts.

This tree is really a very magical sight and I'm so glad that it's in our yard. I don't know if this tree being sent to my grandma was a mistake but I like to think that it was destiny. I like to believe that my grandma was meant to receive this dreamy tree and that it was meant to be here.

The garden decoration that I bought at the Sudbury Gardening Festival this year looked perfect in the crabapple tree while it was blooming!

We have a little garden area set up underneath the crabapple tree. We have a bench, a swing, a birdbath, various garden decorations on the ground and hanging in the surrounding trees, as well as a few plants that grow well in the shade. We call it our "zen garden" even though real zen gardens look completely different.

The area looks so pretty when the petals from the blossoms fall on the ground. It's like Springtime snow!

Thanks for letting me show you this magnificent tree!

Cheers,

Kay

I Shall Have Some Peace There

My family owns a camp, a little cabin in the bush (woods) with a small wood-stove. It is like a second home. When we started using it again regularly this year, two years had passed since we had last visited it. I checked my journal and found out that the last time that we were there was September 22nd, 2013 and we had arrived on September 21st and stayed there overnight. The day that we finally visited again was September 21st, 2015, the day which, two years ago, had been the last night that we would spend there for a while. Of course, some of our relatives who also partly own the camp may have visited it during that time, but it didn't look like it had been used very much.

We have been trying to use it more now. It feels good to go back there, where it is quiet and relaxing. Where we are surrounded by nature. Where there are less distractions. Where we are away from society, away from civilization. I could go on and on but the point is, it's peaceful there. When I am there, I am surrounded by nature and I am also surrounded by my family since we go there together.

I also find that it is easier for me to concentrate on various activities like reading books and working on various projects. I like writing there and working on crafts like my loom knitting. There are so many distractions at my family's house and there are just so many things to be done there. At our camp, however, life is simple. There aren't a million things to do, only a few. That leaves time for working on other things. The quiet of the bush and the warmth of the wood-stove provide a great atmosphere. We sit quietly and read or work on whatever we like. In the mornings, we meditate, and on Saturday evening, we listen to Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap on CBC Radio, a radio show where Randy Bachman shares songs that fall under a theme (a different theme is chosen for each show) and shares stories from his experience as a musician and his experiences meeting various other musicians.

Of course, many experiences of mine remind me of songs or literature and my experiences of staying at my camp are no different. In William Butler Yeats' poem, "The Lake Isle Of Innisfree," he talks about going to Innisfree and he describes Innisfree and describes what he will do there. At one point in the poem, he says, "I shall have some peace there." For Yeats, Innisfree is where he finds peace. For me, my family's camp is where I find peace.

Cheers,
Kay

My Plans for 2015!

Lot of people like to make New Year resolutions and I am no exception. Instead of making only one or a few, however, I like making several goals for myself. It's great to make a list of goals or plans because writing it down and seeing it, whether it's attached to a bulletin board or fridge or it's in a notebook, can really help you stay motivated! So, here are my personal goals for 2015 as well as my plans for my blog in 2015!

Personal Goals

A lot of the personal goals that I have for myself for 2015 (and 1.7 years after that) are in my 101 Things in 1001 Days list which I already talked about in a post and which you can follow updates on through the 101 in 1001 tag.

My main big goals for 2015 are the following:

• Put my Crohn's Disease into remission (or at least heal the inflammation in the end of my large intestine)
• Go geocaching more
• Read more books for fun!
• Start doing more meditation, yoga, and exercise
• Spend more time outside

Blog Plans

I also have new and exciting plans for my blog, one of which is to blog more! Also, I want to have a proper blog schedule (which I still need to work out... this is in progress).

I will also have new content (or I'll be talking about some things that I've talked about before except I will talk about them a lot more): 

• Geocaching (news, stories, and tips): I'll talk about my own geocaching adventures and share my thoughts on news as well as share my own tips! For example: what to pack in a geocaching bag, tips for creating creative geocaches, etc.
• Nature/outdoors: I like geocaching, hiking, and spending time in nature so I want to spend more time outside and write about it too! I'll write about outdoor adventures that I have and also my feelings about nature (because it's such a beautiful thing!)
• Book/poem reviews: I will review and share my thoughts on books and poems that I read. Some of the books that I will talk about include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Inferno by Dan Brown, as well as Shakespeare plays! Yes, I'll be talking about both classic and contemporary literature!
• Journal prompts: I'll share journal prompts that my readers are welcome to use. I'll use them too and share some of the things that I write.
• Eleanor: During the summer, I bought a wooden mannequin. It's an artist's mannequin used for figure drawing. I named her Eleanor and she gets up to all sorts of crazy shenanigans and I'll share stories about her!
• Gratitude lists: I want to write many more gratitude lists! Gratitude lists are amazing!
• 101 Things in 1001 Days updates: Every month, I'll be sharing updates on the progress that I'm making with my 101 Things in 1001 Days list.
• Sharing my journey of living with mild Crohn's Disease: I have mild Crohn's Disease so it's a part of my life. I have been trying different things lately to try and heal the inflammation in my intestines. At the same time, I try not to let it get me down and I continue to work at living a life full of positive energy.

Of course, I'll also be writing more about living a life full of positive energy and I'll also still be sharing photos of my dog, Finnlegh!

What are your plans for 2015?

-Kaylie