Time Flies…
June 22, 2015 12:00 pm Leave your thoughts
Prior to my arrival in Saskatchewan, I stereotypically pictured a completely flat terrain composed primarily of farmers’ fields with scattered small communities. When I initially told family members and friends that I would be working in Saskatchewan for the summer, the common response I received was “are there even trees in Saskatchewan?” As silly as this may sound now, at the time I wasn’t sure myself of that particular answer.
I have been living/working here in Saskatchewan for exactly one month now, and I can honestly admit each day I am surprised how little recognition this province receives when compared to other Canadian provinces. With a vast boreal forest, shocking amount of rolling hills and the most beautiful skies I have ever seen in my life, Saskatchewan is nothing like I had anticipated it to be.
So far I am thoroughly enjoying my job and the people I have gotten the chance to work with, talk to and know. The opportunities I have received thus far are very different than what I have previously done, but have all been relevant to what I am learning in school and hopefully will be a part of my future. I have had the chance to be involved in many different projects/tasks such as a culvert installation, regeneration surveys, road layouts, buffer layouts and basic timber cruising which all have allowed me to spend most of my time outdoors. I love the fact that I have the opportunity to spend my summer days hiking through the forest, although there are certain aspects that I could do without such as the constant dread of running into ticks. Luckily in the past I have been able to avoid these disgustingly useless creatures, but unfortunately my luck has come to an end. Last week while working at Star Lake (one of our most southern areas) Logan and I were most fortunate to walk into what must have been a tick nest of some sort. Having what must have been over 50 ticks on us we took panic and tick checks to a whole new level as I saw them crawling all over me. Luckily we both were able to remove any ticks from our coveralls and clothing before any latched on, but needless to say I have developed a strong dislike for them.
I honestly cannot believe how quickly the past month has flown by – it seems as if yesterday I had started my first day of work. Although it has only been a short period of time, I feel as if I have experienced and accomplished many obstacles and personal uncertainties I once had in myself. Like anything in life there has been some ups and some downs, but all in all I am thoroughly happy and feel the most relaxed and stress free than I have in quite some time. If these next three months are anything similar to this past one, I will most definitely be enjoying what will seem like a quick summer!