“S” is for “Seasons”
The Four Seasons, their Weather Conditions and their Temperatures within the St. Maurice Valley
This blog is part of a very special series created and written by Phyllis Knox, “Alphabetic Musings”, whereby she chooses a word starting with a particular letter from the alphabet and injects it with her storytelling magic.
Each season has it own remarkable beauty and its challenges. Google explains the phenomena this way:
Spring (March, April, May) The weather becomes warmer and snow gradually begins to melt…
Summer (June, July August) The days are longer, and the weather is hotter…
Fall (September, October, November) Tree leaves turn yellow, orange and red…
Winter (December, January, February) (my words...it’s really, really cold outside with lots and lots of snow!)
We Quebecers somehow have been able to acclimatize to the coldest nights of the deep of Winter
(-29.5C) to the blazing hot days of Summer (29C+ an extra 5 degrees when factoring in the humidex). If my arithmetic is right, our population must be ready to face up to an incredible 60-degree Celsius change in temperatures over a one-year span. We certainly are a robust people, EH?
Canadians talk about the weather ALL THE TIME! If the trees are showing clusters of bright reds, and yellows, and oranges and the snow is disappearing, we mention those events wherever we go and to whomever we meet. July 2023 was overly hot and we complained. Then, August brought an inordinate amount of rain and, we complained. September has, so far (I am writing this on September 4th), has been wonderful, and we mention it in our conversations...”It’s a nice sunny and warm day and here it is, September already.”we say! In less than a month, we will all be complaining about the cool winds and the short days. It’s the Canadian in us...we really have nothing else to complain about for we live in an enchanted land of marvelous dips and rises of temperature, of bright greens and fabulous, luscious autumnal colours, of warm waters for us to enjoy swimming in our lakes and icy sheets covering those same waters then to become such a pleasure for our much-loved ice skating and ice fishing. What more could we ask for, EH?
First on the list of seasons is Springtime. It is sugar time in the St. Maurice Valley. People from La Tuque down to Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships rejoice as the sap flows from the Maple trees. Cold nights and warm sunny days make it all happen. People are thrilled to get back into the woods (a part of our heritage) and rejoice together as Nature fills the pails (which are hooked onto Maple trees) with its delicious seasonal gifts. The sugar shacks once again ring and awaken with song and dance and music as well as story-telling of days gone by. Oh, did I forget to mention the food? Eggs, bacon and pancakes smothered in freshly-produced maple syrup with a side order of Oreilles de Crisse (no translation need be used here). Soon, tulips will cover our gardens in wonderful hues of yellows, pinks, reds as well as so many more tints of beauty. Then, one can promenade through parks in absolute awe of the scenes and with a new-found gait in our step as we breathe in the landscapes with their glitter and their sweet smells and their hope for the year to come. The awakening is in full force for us to enjoy! La Mauricie National Park is highlighted in: Tripsavvy VACATION LIKE A PRO. The sentence that stands out to me is: “When the leaves reach peak color---- usually around mid-September----the golden hues of the maple and birch trees blend with the green of the conifers for a truly dramatic display.”
Late May finds our Valley to be a very different place, a different world. The warm (hot) season lasts “for 3.7 months, says Google… the precise dates are May 28 to September 17”. However, there have been some wild if not incredible incidents that have surprised even the province’s meteorologists. For example, not so long ago in 2018, we, here in southern Quebec in our Valley, experienced the hottest Summer (on record) in 146 years. Opinion: We don’t do so well in that kind of blistering heat! We tend to look for places where the air conditioning blasts colder air around us or we simply stay home and sit in a room with either a fan or if we are lucky, the air conditioner set to its maximum cooling air flow! One could say that extreme heat is not our thing!
In August one can enjoy the Grand Prix since 1967...“Trois-Rivieres”, according to Google “is (has) one of the oldest street races in North America and has become something of a Quebecois racing tradition, having seen countless up-and-coming stars fight it out for victory round the small but challenging track.”
Then, comes Fall. This is a time of extreme change in our fabulously beautiful Valley. School starts back up just before before Labour Day...yellow school buses seem to be EVERYWHERE, lower speed limits around school areas are put into law, and the sound of children’s voices and laughter fill the air. It is a right of passage that marks and touches all our lives. And, it feels like, overnight everything we see in Nature is somehow altered. Mid to late September brings on a whole new landscape as Nature prepares for its long (perhaps a 5-month-long) hibernation.
But, there are still many wonderful things to do right now. Google explains the yearly canoe race this way: “From September 1 to 4, 2023...
Flowing through the beautiful region of Mauricie, located in Quebec, Canada, the St. Maurice River has been the home of the historical International Classic Canoe Race since 1934. These thrilling races, including the 124 miles in 3 days race, take place during Labor Day weekend.” Three hundred plus athletes participate in this much-loved sports event. People watch as the Classic passes by their towns and villages and cottages all along the banks of the world-renowned river. What a proud moment it is as we watch the participants arriving at the final destination at Ile St. Quentin within the (Three Rivers) Trois-Rivieres city limits at the mouth of the (St. Lawrence River) Le Fleuve St. Laurent.
And, finally, Winter is upon us. Cold days and colder nights with shorter and shorter daylight hours. Doesn’t sound so great but, I wouldn’t miss it for anything! Once the streets and roads and highways (and our driveways) have been plowed and cleaned, once again, we are able to get out there in the fresh, clean and healthy air! We simply dress in winter coats, snowsuits, boots (with crampons), tuques, scarves, mittens or gloves...no problem, EH? Downhill skiing, skating, tobogganing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and many more sports await us on the rinks and mountains and in the forests that surround us. Hockey games dominate people’s schedules. Whether we go to the brand new hockey coliseum called Le Colisee Videotron (2021) to see semi-professional games or to neighbourhood arenas to watch our boys and girls play in the city juvenile league, hockey is an integral part of our lives here in the Valley.
The benefits of getting out there far outnumber those of staying in (although, some days are particularly difficult to really, really enjoy oneself... for example, when the temperature is way below zero and the winds are howling). One might choose a plan B on those days! You need only DRIVE (not walk) downtown to des Forges Street and then, quickly roll down your car window and look out onto the St. Lawrence to see the ice and the snow drifts and the cold steam lifting from the frigid scene then, quickly roll the car window back up to then, decide to head back home to the warmth of HOME. (Written by a soon-to-be 75 year-old woman!)
Let me now go back in time (60+ years)...to a time when I was a child enjoying every single moment of all four seasons, to a carefree time of acceptance.
As a child, I never felt the cold nor the heat! I swam in the Summer (never complaining about the temperature of the water whether in a pool, in a lake or in a river). I never worried about nor complained about the weather conditions in Winter either. The seasons were never ever too hot nor too cold nor too warm nor too cool... they were simply meant to be enjoyed the way they were. I would skate at the Colisee de Trois Rivieres at the Fairgrounds in Wintertime and swim in the Piscine de l’expo also at the Fairgrounds in the Summertime. Truly wonderful memories of a care-free childhood filled with laughter, joy, happiness and friendship. Spring meant Girls’ softball practice and then, weeks of games which we liked to win. Fall meant back to school and basketball practice and many games over many months...so much fun!
P.S. Seasons come and seasons go and each marks the end of one portion of our lives and daily experiences and the beginning of other adventures. As an adult, I have come to understand that each season brings its own pleasures and its own challenges, its ups and its downs, its joys and its sorrows. Seeing the world through the rose-coloured lenses of an innocent child is incredibly wonderful. A child doesn’t worry about nor question nor hold back when life isn’t quite the way it COULD or SHOULD be, they just seem to roll with the punches and accept the inevitability that his life hands him or her...a delightful way to move through the world, n’est ce pas? But, we must all move on in a world full of changes while accepting the changes which happen during and throughout the four seasons!
Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts about life during all four seasons in our terrific Valley.
On this beautiful Monday morning, the dominant factor for our weather here in the Valley is:”Heat Warning until 8:38 P.M.’, partly cloudy with a high of 28C and a low of 18 D egrees...the sun rose this morning at 6:29 and it will set at 7:35 this evening...it all sounds fantastic to me!
Keep well and “Don’t worry, be happy!”
Phyllis (Knox)
