Fifth Season

Most likely in elementary school you learned about the four seasons we have in Canada. In case you need a remedial lesson they are, of course, spring, summer, winter, and fall. What shocked me when I moved to Fort McMurray is that here in this northern Albertan city we have an extra season. Yes, that's correct, a fifth season, just for us! It occurs between winter and spring. In my house we like to call this season "Brown".

"Brown" isn't my favourite season. It occurs just after all the snow melts and before the trees and grass have clued in to the fact that the temperature has warmed. Everything is brown. The trees are brown. The grass is brown. The roads are brown with dirt and gravel from the winter sanding. The siding on the houses is brown. The boulevards are brown. The cars are brown. And, if you aren't cautious, your mood can become quite brown, too. The promise of spring is there - the sun is shining, and the snow is gone - but it seems elusive. Soon enough the first green leaves will appear, and the grass will begin to take on that subtle green sheen. Then the brown season seems a distant memory until it reappears again next year, between winter and spring.