I've always loved the woods. There's nothing quite like it, being in nature, the green

or brown foliage, the skipping rivers and streams, the birdcalls and winds and the

trees. A beautiful world, alive with animals and plants, majesty around every corner,

from the smallest sprout to the tallest mountainous peaks. The whole forest is one community

in a way. Tree roots like hands holding each other beneath the soil, sharing memories

and spoken. Sorry, I got a little carried away. I'm rather passionate about nature.

Since I was a kid at church camp and I went hiking for the very first time, I found myself

a total outdoors nut. And, earlier last year, I finally got my dream job. A park ranger

position at the biggest National Park in Ontario, Pocus on National Park, working at the Northern

Most HQ. When the virus hit, it was hard for all of us. The park ended up closing to visitors.

Luckily, I kept my job. I ended up staying at the HQ for the first portion of lockdown

with a few colleagues. Normally, National Park's closed to visitors

for the winter, which obviously makes sense. It's the most dangerous time of year for hikers

and campers. Quarantine kept us closed the entire year, so it wasn't anything new.

Pocus on is no different in terms of its closing policy, but it was different in the sense

that some of us rangers ended up having to stay at the HQ over the winter. There was no

fear of fire, obviously. We were shaping up for a frigid and snowy winter. But, as I was

confused about the reason, my co-workers didn't raise a fuss. They knew exactly what we were

in for. I asked Chris what was going on, and he looked at me with an expression like,

you don't know? Don't sweat it max. There's nothing to worry about. In the past,

we've had people jump the fence to get in during the off-season, so other management just

wants us to keep an eye out to make sure nobody gets in and gets themselves out. He assured me.

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