"Sometimes the most beautiful travel moments are the ones we don´t edit, only witness."

In the North, childhood follows the seasons. For most of the year it´s snow, ice, darkness and wind.

Then suddenly, summer arrives, and everyone runs toward the water.

Northern Childhood

Seasons & wonders of nature in Quebec and Manitoba
by Tina Kukharchuk

Tina, a visual essayist, shares photographs and reflections, and a visual essay, from adventures, inviting you on a journey, starting in Quebec and arriving in Manitoba - a place many know very little about. It is a journey of images and words that share the experience of diverse weather, changing seasons, and the wonders of nature in this special place on Earth- what Tina calls the True North.

Quebec City. Ice drifting on the St. Lawrence. Wind cutting through the air. That quiet joy of going somewhere new. With one backpack. Always.

Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City during a winter evening.

Ice drifting on the St. Lawrence

Quebec. I personally love winter. It has Christmas, my birthday, winter sports, the coziest warm memories can be made at home, and the most magical moments when you take your skis and head into the winter forest.

Snowy Winter Forest

In Manitoba, we have this winter phenomenon many times across the endless prairie sky. For a moment, it seemed as though life had carried us to a corner of the world where reality itself becomes a little less ordinary - and wonder needs no proof.

Sun dog phenomenon over a winter sky in Manitoba

Proof of Wonder

Manitoba. Have you ever seen the tundra bloom? After months of snow and silence, life is returning again. And yes, tundra blooms do have a smell. Usually soft, slightly sweet, mixed with cold air, moss, water, and plants. If you felt it once, you can never forget it.

Purple wildflowers bloom in a sunny Manitoba landscape.

Lavender Tundra

Moak Lake, Manitoba. The name, Pisew Falls, comes from the Cree word for "lynx", an animal deeply connected in northern Indigenous stories with silence, intelligence, and the unseen world. Standing there with almost nobody around is one of the northern memories that will never be forgotten.

Waterfall in the boreal forest of Manitoba

Where The River Breaks

Manitoba. The boreal forest is one of the largest forests on Earth. The Canadian Shield shaped this land. The forest gave it a soul. Somewhere out here, after you drive for a few hours on the lost road you can't see on a map, phone reception disappears. The noise grows quieter. And after a while, you begin to hear something you almost forgot... your own thoughts."

Lush green forest and stream in Manitoba.

The Heart of the Shield

"And there it was. In slow ribbons of green, the sky was dancing. The dance was as ancient as the night itself."

Aurora Borealis

Visual Essay "The Night That Sang"

Quietly, so no one in the house would wake, Ellie searched the

old wooden shelf. At last, she found the warmest neck warmer.

The boots came next.

"Never whistle beneath the northern lights," Grandma used to say.

"They may think you're calling them closer. Listen to the sky on nights like these. The sky sings."

The old door gave a gentle squeak before letting her into the northern night.

One hundred steps forward. Fifty to the left. Through the bushes and the sleeping trees.

And there it was.

In slow ribbons of green the sky was dancing. The dance was as ancient as the night itself.

Grandma always smiled whenever they appeared.

"Some songs," she would whisper, "are meant to be heard only by those willing to walk into the dark."

Ellie stood still... and listened.