The kindness that carries me through

Last night I took some time away from my books to watch the hockey game. I saw the last period of the awesome women's gold medal game and was so proud to watch our men fighting with their fingernails out to win the gold last night. It reminded me of how proud I am to be Canadian, to wear the maple leaf and to say that I will stand on guard for thee. Robert Service "I'll fight and you can bet it's no shame fight, it's hell but I've been there before, and it's better than this by a damn site, so me for the Yukon (Canada and Fort Nelson) once more." It's the longest I've ever been away from home, if I consider the country of Canada to be my home. I've lived in the east, grew up in the west and now find my heart the happiest in our great north. It'll be 2 months since I've been away from the maple leaf and it has gone by real fast, just like everyone says. It's been a month since I wrote up on this website, but to be honest, I've had only a few moments to catch my breath.

Today, I caught my breath quickly when I found myself back at the doc's office, dealing with a sore ear and head. I do not know how these resilient folks down here manage with the rapid change in weather and temperature. One day it's seriously +15C and the next it's back down to about -5C. Regardless, or irregardless depending on which word you take to be in the english language, I can say that I miss home but that I continue to learn and reflect and think about many good things here - I do not wish it away even though challenges are plenty.

I had the great opportunity to go to the Charles M Russell exhibit at the Gilchrease Museum on friday with Emily Hiatt, Ilana Bloom-Cornelius and Steve Winter (all fellow graduate students) along with our fearless leader Sam. Charlie Russell is a hero to me and it was a very impressive exhibit that they had of his work. There were also some very beautiful paintings of Native Americans and First Nations as well as moccasins and artifacts that we were allowed to see. The big country and the beautiful people in the paintings made me long for Canada. We live in such an incredible place and land and we are so blessed with the lives that we lead. I am leading a discussion on 2 papers tomorrow morning in my production ecology of forested ecoystems. Brad Hawkes from the Canadian Forest Service was kind enough to start filling me up with papers on carbon sequestration, fire, the boreal and climate change. We need to be talking about this more and questioning what role we think the boreal has in carbon budgets - sink or source or both at varying stages of forest and rangeland development? I put together a slideshow of some pictures over the past 4 years at work. I love my job.

Nobody does it alone and I surely am not here alone. What I'd like to say to those of you who are reading these words is thank you. From my good colleagues back in the Forest Service, or rather as I prefer to call it - the Ministry of Range - who are going through massive amounts of change at relatively high speeds, to my family and friends around the province and the country and my relatives from overseas, your words and encouragement, your kindness and thoughtfullness, your cheering from afar and your good thoughts over the miles, they are all what I find myself drawing on at this time. Having just received a package of my bills and mail from Fort Nellie from my mum, I also received some very lovely cards. Although at times, or perhaps everyday, I have asked myself what I am doing here and why am I here, I keep coming back with the same reasoning - to become an excellent scientist and to be able to bring back this knowledge to the north and the circumpolar boreal and to ensure that we use it to manage the land and the natural resource to the best of our possible ability while contributing to and respecting traditional ways of life. Thank you to all of you. Your kindness and support is carrying me through.