Wednesday, November 26, 2014


 





 My life in Da Bush… 

Ok so there are a couple of things you need to know as you read this:
  1.            I am from a First Nation Community in Saskatchewan Canada.  The housing in our community is owned by the Kawacatoose First Nation Band Council.  I am able to live in the house that I am talking about because I am a band member.  The house does not belong to me, however the habitant of these houses are required to report any problems of the home to the local housing authority, as it is their responsibility for general maintenance, much like a rental agreement.
  2.         Also… so for those of you who know me, I mean really know me, you will be aware that I have a Major phobia of reptiles.  Yep kind of strange facts that I’m letting you all know about me.  I mean I have such a phobia that I am prone to hyperventilating and passing out from fear when I suddenly encounter one such critter.  That being said, my story begins…

Chapter 1               The Move...



Last fall my mom decided that she no longer wanted to live in the house that I had recently renovated for her.  (see “update” blog entry)  Soooo… I said Hey what the hell, I always liked that house!  So we switched houses.  I moved my belongings to the house in the Bush and she moved back to the Ghetto’s of Kawak.  That was in September of 2013…
When I moved to the house I began an unintentional pet rescue mission… I think… To begin with we had a nice lil family of 2 cats (Mooch and Peebs) and 1 crazy Husky (Ms. Meeka)  all of whom were also rescued in some way.  Meeka stayed back at my mom’s house, as she currently resides in the back yard of my mom’s house and apparently loves to chase cars!!!  Thank Goodness there is a fence between her and the cars!  So I decided to leave her there until I could have a proper Fence installed for her safety and my sanity!! 
Anyways  the unintentional pet rescue mission…
My sister asked me to take in her cat Jackson, while she looked for a new home.   I did and she (the cat not the sister) promptly got pregnant!!! ( Ugh… sadly shake my head, I am the worst pet sitter ever!) Jackson had 6 kittens! I ended up taking the kittens and the momma cat to a local shelter as it was way out of my capabilities to feed and provide proper care for them.  I realized I was in over my head when the kittens began doing their business where ever they wanted and Jackson began hiding the kittens from me….  It was very stressful.  I tried to find homes for this group but was not successful, never the less I feel as tho I did my best in that situation, It did however cause a ripple in the family, as my nieces were mad at me for letting their cat go. 
During this time we also acquired a dog named Happy, we rescued him from a local Gas Station.  Happy became part of our family as my son fell in love with him.  Also living in the bush I needed a dog for a companion to my son, who undoubtedly would be exploring the bush… And so they became a team.  A dog who would be taught not to chase cars!! 
When I got settled into the Bush house, It came to my attention that the house had issues.  The furnace broke in January, For 4 nights my son and I endured the cold in -30C  to - 40C  conditions.  All we used for heat sources was the Oven from the kitchen and candles… Lots of extra bedding…  Good thing I had experience living in an unheated RV for over a year in the winter! 

Once the furnace was fixed… We resumed life as usual.  It seemed nice, picturesque.  Too nice… I should have known!!! LOL  Next in February, our Sewage became a problem, The line froze and our sewage backed up into the basement.  Not once, Ohhh no, that would be too normal.  7 freakin times!!! Count them 1, 2, 3, 4… 7… Uhhh huh!!!  So we lived from February to April without using the plumbing… I lived as though I did not have plumbing…When I had a bath I baled water, when I did dishes I baled water, when I used the Loo, I did what my cats do… LOL  yup once again like I was in an RV… I used a bucket and cat litter!!!  That stuff does indeed work tho… In case you were wondering!

During the winter my sister lived with me briefly, I and she were able to have some much needed sister bonding times… I think of those peaceful mornings hanging out with my sis listening to music and learning to twerk and I just giggle and shake my head… Love ya Muxxy…
So that was the winter… Good times, good times… 

Chapter 2               Spring has Sprung

With the thawing of winter, I yearned to do a Cleanup of the Basement from Hell!  The basement had not been cleaned thoroughly or properly since I moved in the fall.    My mother had yet to finish moving  all her beloved treasures over to her house and my sister had  some items left over from when she was living with me briefly in the winter months including furniture and belongings from her last home… With all the floods and crap there was in the basement I knew it needed a damn good cleaning!!!  Thus I began my daunting task….   

 

Within a week of working on the basement,  it began to rain, and rain, and rain…. So began the flooding… All the things I was compiling and sorting and  going through… all my work, all my cleaning ruined!!!!!  Arghh!!!  I was sooo frustrated!!!  I decided at that point, Fkk it!  I would not do it! I couldn’t!!!  At this point my slip disk in my back was yelling at me to stop anyways… So I stopped my work…




Within days it began molding!!!  Ohhh no, my asthma was acting up!!!  Geez-whizz what next???  This was the final week in June…

In July without any notification or warning a work crew showed up at my home and began to remove mold from my basement… within 2 hours they came and went!  
 





I am grateful they took out the walls, I was not happy for the mess they left tho… All my furniture and belongings were left piled up in the middle of the rooms in my basement. All the Garbage and trash from my work before was also piled with my furniture… All the Gross wet things that were on the floors were now on my couches, on my dressers… My power tools were just tossed anywhere, I found this out when I almost stubbed my toe on my chain saw!!! Shaking my head… My Wooden basement currently has no walls and no insulation as I write this… (today is November 26, 2014)

Chapter  3              Snake Manor

Ok regardless of what you have read about me and this house, I truly and most affectionately came to love this damned old house!  I guess we had been through a lot!  From reviving it with renovations to going through various floods, I became very attached to the house.  I almost, almost reconsidered my notion of living full time in my RV, in favor of putting down roots and building a permanent life in this house…  That being said I continue my tale…

We had a very late fall with the weather temperatures  reaching the high 20’s (ᵒC)  By the end of September I was getting things ready for Halloween, my most favorite holiday ever!  My sister and her children came to visit for a weekend.  I went into the basement to do a load of laundry when I made the most horrific discovery I could make.  I stepped on a small baby SNAKE!!!!  OMG!!!  I thought it was Rubber at first, then I realized that it was dead!!!  I Ran… straight out my door and out to the lawn!!!  I was shaking and terrified!!!  And… On the way out of the house I seen another one!!!!  (know this, as I write this my skin is literally crawling… eeesh..)

Thankfully my sister and her eldest daughter are not as squeamish as I am.  My niece removed the tiny snake bodies (they were about  5 inches long – black with green stripes – garter snakes).  My loving niece (who by the way when she was 5 years old (innocently) tried to kill me by presenting me with a rubber snake as I was in the bathroom having bath, old house in the hood with no locks)was killing herself laughing her butt off!!!  I however failed to see the humor!!!!  

My immediate concern was where did they come from?  Did someone leave them there?  Did they get born there?  Were there more?  ( My Brain is screaming - My home has snakes… My home has snakes… My home has snakes… )  My niece and sister go back to the basement to investigate, they bring out a shedded snakeskin approximately 2 ½ feet long…  that means 1 thing… The mama snake is a big bitch!!!  OMFG!!!!  I am freaking out!!! 

My sis and niece help me gather some clothes… I go to my mom’s house!!  I call the housing authority; the lady is very nice and concerned also.  She works diligently & calls in an exterminator… Ok I am ok with this…. We can get rid of them… Can’t we?????? 

NO!!!  Apparently it is not just some little snake hole, it is a hiber-den…   This means that these snakes have been in this area for hundreds of years!!  My house is built on a snake habitat that has been used for hibernation forever!!!  The exterminator said that even if we gassed them, or dug them up that they would still come back.  There is no getting rid of them.

Un-freakin believable!!!  Just my luck!!!???  I think not!

I have not been listening, this…  all of this…. Was the Universe telling me to move on…  But where I dunno…  As I write this I am back in Snake Manor, Day 2…. I figure they are hibernating and we have been getting our usual -20's (ᵒC).   I have decided that I will pack up my house, dispel any of my material possessions that I do not require and hit the road!  As for my pets, they will come along!  I am taking my truck and I am going probably in January or February… I am going before my neighbors wake up!

So that’s it folks… Life in Da Bush… 

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