Keep Cool

Again, I haven't posted in a while. I won't promise anything anymore, let's just say that when it comes to my use of the "Information Highway", blogging is now on the unfrequented bushroads...

We'll see though.

As the season looms, and with weather patterns quite different from last year's, here's a reminder of the extreme conditions one might face while on planting blocks:



Can't wait for the season. But I apparently can wait to blog, so see you in a year or two!

Guitars Around the Camp Fire

A treeplanting-related musical project?

That's the idea behind Peppermill Records' album, Hi and Ho, We Plant Trees, a "collection of old and new songs done by treeplanters, about treeplanting, and for the most part, for other treeplanters."

Check out their website, you can get the music and artwork for free. There's also plenty of other treeplanting goodies, from a lingo dictionary to a video gallery, passing by the rare, remarkable animated short by Frédéric Back: The Man Who Planted Trees.

Definitely worth it. As for me, it will be part of my playlist for the long drives between Eastern Saskatchewan and Western Alberta this spring/summer.

For those who missed the link posted above, here's Hi and Ho, We Plant Trees website (I also posted a permanent link in the multimedia section):

http://www.peppermillrecords.com/pm007
Next, treeplanting-related origami! Until then, browse and enjoy!

Tup

Ten (and a few more) Reasons To Hate Treeplanting

1) Your buddy, who went planting last summer, won't shut up about it!

2) You wonder what you're doing here while meeting fellow planters, first getting to camp, setting your tent and learning how to plant. Then, you regularly wonder what you are doing there for another month or two.

3) You start thinking about that girlfriend of yours, fucking other guys in Australia, while standing alone in an empty field, kilometers and days away from the closest mean of communication. Paranoia ensues.

4) You slept on the floor in your motel room because some dude felt asleep in yours, trying to hit on your roommate and another one lost her keys. You miss your tent.

5) You started shopping at Wal-Mart.

6) You brag about what you bought there.

7) There's not a lot of Belgians doing it.

8) You look, feel and smell like shit.

9) You had to wipe your ass with a leaf...to dire results.

9a) You fell in the same pond twice in one day.

9b) You don't remember what it feels like to be dry.

9c) You started considering that labour laws might only be a suggestion.

9d) You know every kind of pain, on every layer and any part of your body.

9e) Weather is your enemy, no matter what are the conditions. Wind, on the other hand, is okay.

10) You started to somewhat love treeplanting...and you won't shut up about it!

Rooted Lives

Here's the trailer for Rooted Lives, a documentary directed by Erika Drushka, depicting the lives of three British-Columbia career treeplanters, known in the business as "lifers".

B-C's treeplanting season can start as early as February on the Pacific Coast (highly rainy at that time of the year) and last over 6 months, thus earning the workers wage highly sufficient to not work for the rest of the year if they want to, allowing them to pursue any personal interests and venue, ranging from arts to travelling, passing by full-time parenting. (Some treeplanting outfits gathering to veterans and lifers will even offer children daycare services)

Here's the website, a better-quality Quicktime version of the video is available here.

Slowly Awakening...

While some places on the Pacific Coast, in British-Columbia, are starting their season, for most tree-planters, this period means the first crew emails about contracts and camp information, what to expect for the rookies and a few online forms to fill.

For others, like me, it means updating all my management training, sending driving records and various licences and certification. Getting in touch with regional managers and camp supervisors, getting details on how contract negotiations are going, what to expect as far as camp management will be concerned.

All are slowly waking up to face the upcoming shitstorm. Getting a few hints of what's to come, and getting ready to make it worth the personal investment. Time to get slowly back in shape, time to get more information on what we signed up for. Slowly at first, then more and more time will be spent on the matter.

For others, finally, they are starting to look for a job. There's still openings, but most are hiring veterans only. If you'd still like to try your luck, the best place is probably Scooter's job market at replant.ca's forums.

As for me, been busy, but I do start to smell the dust, bug repellent, diesel, mud, forest, cook shack and sweat that will be part of my next season in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Summer Plant

Usually, summer planting is a little more casual, chill. I signed up for a summer plant contract in Alberta in order to be a regular tree planter, not have any responsibilities and be done my day by 7PM max.

I showed up in Edson a week ago, not knowing anyone in my new camp. After planting roughly 100 trees and making an awesome 10 bucks, Byron, the camp supervisor came to me to ask me to help with tree delivery, as his tree runner needed some time off.

So I took on the delivery duties for the week, accepting many repsonsibilities, stress and very long days. Their work area is gigantic, and it's been normal for me to drive for 45 minutes to get to a few planters, then drive another half hour to get to the tree cache, then another 30 minutes to get to another crew. I logged at least 400 kilometers a day this week!

The other interesting part about the forest between Hinton and Edson is that it's heavily industrialized, with pipelines and oil rigs everywhere (Alberta having the second largest reserves of oil in the world after Saudi Arabia, mostly in the oilsands of the north of the province) and I've never seen so much heavy traffic on bush roads! So we basically have to radio our position every 5 kilometers or so, to make sure not to be hit by a wideload in a turn!

I got some pictures, but I didn't take the time to load them unto my computer. As I should have more time this week, going back to regular planting duties, I'll try to upload them so I can post some next week. Interestingly enough, Steve, a crewboss who just arrived from another Alberta camp in Fort McMurray and visited this blog before noted how blogging while planting finally ends up being apologetic for not blogging and not having time to post pics.

Well sorry guys, that's about all the time I've got, more next week!!!

Time to go lie to someone else...