Winter in La Macaza
Jan. 10th, 2004 02:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taxladyAll this talk of cold has reminded me of when I lived in La Macaza. La Macaza is about 160 km north of Montréal, up highway 15 in the Laurentians. It's between Labelle and L'Annonciation on a small highway to the east of the 15. I lived there in the early 80s in a log cabin. We had a wood stove and indoor plumbing in summer. Well, we had running water for the first half of the first summer, then the level of the spring well dropped too far. We flushed the toilet with wash water. We could only do that until winter, 'cause the drain froze.
There was an incredibly cold winter. We had many nights with temperartures around -50C. The piddle pot froze (of course we had a piddle pot, you didn't think we were going to the outhouse more than necessary, did you?). We wore long underwear under our jeans, boots, two sweaters, and tuques inside. Well, that made it quicker to get dressed for a visit to the outhouse. You'd be surprised how quickly you can do your business in a frozen outhouse. We used to listen to the radio a lot. We giggled when we heard all the adverts for "regularity" on the U.S. stations. "Those folks just need a good Québec winter and an outhouse."
At Yule, our friends, Button and Axel, gave us a puppy. A mixed breed - mostly labrador and cocker spaniel. He had been born outside in late September or early October and had never spent any time indoors. He was used to outside. Well, the puppy didn't like to be inside. He wanted to stay outside in the old shed. It was outrageously cold (in the -50C range with plenty of wind), so we dragged him into the house. The poor little guy just didn't like the heat (remember, we were dressed in lots of clothes, so it wasn't exactly warm inside). He whined so much to be let out that we did. Amazing what adaptation can do. If it weren't for the fact that the puppy really wanted to be outside, I would have considered it cruelty to an animal.
I cut most of the wood for the woodstove with a bow saw. When you cut a lot of wood with a bow saw, it becomes a form of meditation. I rather miss it. And, it was good exercise for the boobs. Also, work outside in winter isn't nearly so sweaty as when it isn't cold.
And, in spite of the cold, I love La Macaza in winter. It's truly beautiful. If it weren't for the need for firewood, I might not have gotten outside as much. I used to put on my snowshoes and go find a tree to cut down. I only took standing dead wood, because we didn't have the time to wait for it to dry. On my wanders to find a good tree to cut down, I would see the trails of deer and snowshoe hare. On the really cold days, the bunnies would leave lots and lots of crisscrossing tracks. Their fur isn't very good, so they have to bounce around to keep warm. Another funny thing about winter in the country is that the dirt roads are much smoother in winter - no ruts, no dust. Since they sanded all the hills and curves, you could actually drive our dirt road safely faster in winter than in summer.
There was an incredibly cold winter. We had many nights with temperartures around -50C. The piddle pot froze (of course we had a piddle pot, you didn't think we were going to the outhouse more than necessary, did you?). We wore long underwear under our jeans, boots, two sweaters, and tuques inside. Well, that made it quicker to get dressed for a visit to the outhouse. You'd be surprised how quickly you can do your business in a frozen outhouse. We used to listen to the radio a lot. We giggled when we heard all the adverts for "regularity" on the U.S. stations. "Those folks just need a good Québec winter and an outhouse."
At Yule, our friends, Button and Axel, gave us a puppy. A mixed breed - mostly labrador and cocker spaniel. He had been born outside in late September or early October and had never spent any time indoors. He was used to outside. Well, the puppy didn't like to be inside. He wanted to stay outside in the old shed. It was outrageously cold (in the -50C range with plenty of wind), so we dragged him into the house. The poor little guy just didn't like the heat (remember, we were dressed in lots of clothes, so it wasn't exactly warm inside). He whined so much to be let out that we did. Amazing what adaptation can do. If it weren't for the fact that the puppy really wanted to be outside, I would have considered it cruelty to an animal.
I cut most of the wood for the woodstove with a bow saw. When you cut a lot of wood with a bow saw, it becomes a form of meditation. I rather miss it. And, it was good exercise for the boobs. Also, work outside in winter isn't nearly so sweaty as when it isn't cold.
And, in spite of the cold, I love La Macaza in winter. It's truly beautiful. If it weren't for the need for firewood, I might not have gotten outside as much. I used to put on my snowshoes and go find a tree to cut down. I only took standing dead wood, because we didn't have the time to wait for it to dry. On my wanders to find a good tree to cut down, I would see the trails of deer and snowshoe hare. On the really cold days, the bunnies would leave lots and lots of crisscrossing tracks. Their fur isn't very good, so they have to bounce around to keep warm. Another funny thing about winter in the country is that the dirt roads are much smoother in winter - no ruts, no dust. Since they sanded all the hills and curves, you could actually drive our dirt road safely faster in winter than in summer.
