Living the Dream

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Winter also allows us more time to explore our wilderness. During the day, the frozen river becomes our highway and we travel on foot, on skis, or by sled. Jay uses a snowmobile to haul firewood and supplies. During the long winter nights, Jay and I often take turns reading books aloud.

Our lifestyle is not for everyone. Each person has to choose his or her priorities. For me, a relatively pure environment is more important that a world of gadgets. We delight in the wilderness around us, and in the comings and goings of animals, weath er, and seasons. But people who don't understand still shake their heads and say that we live "in the middle of nowhere.

" We also value the self-sufficiency that comes with our pioneer life. Sometimes, as I look out at the clothesline and see diapers, blinding white in the sunlight and washed on the scrub board in the tradition of my grandmother, I imagine her smile of approval. I experience a sense of accomplishment. And when I watch our cupboards fill up with jars of berries, pickles, meat, and trout, and know that they will see us through to the next harvest, there is a satisfying feeling of security.

Granted, it is difficult to live without friends and neighbors. So we sometimes dream of a friendly community springing up around us-people who share similar ideals. Unfortunately, most people who come north are a transient breed. They seem to be holdovers from the gold rush era, and they want to head north, strike it rich, rape the land, and flee south again to the rewards of civilization. Meanwhile, we'll continue to live in harmony with the wild, respecting the thousand and one creatures, understanding our own insignificance in the great scheme of things and loving this land that we have chosen to call home.

Jay and Deanna Kawatski gave up the city lights for a handmade log cabin in northern B.C., 120 miles from the nearest town. Their family of four lives on less than $3,000 a year.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print