My life in
Da Bush…
Ok so there are a couple of things you need to know as you
read this:
- 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.
- 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 -30ᵒC to - 40ᵒC 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…
