Charles, Mathis, Lea, and Adrien Lajeunesse live in a wooded area of the township between the villages of Wendover and Curran. The sparse amount of snow so far this winter season, combined with the steady sub-zero temperature, inspired them to make some changes to an old Canadian winter sports tradition: pond hockey.
The drainage ditch running along the road past their house and their grandparents’ house nearby is nice and deep, with just enough water left at the bottom from last autumn’s rain to make a child-sized speed-skating track, with a little shovel work to clear off the snow cover.
The speed-skating Lajeunesse quartet, under the watchful eyes of their mother, Sophie, and their grandmother, Sylvie Quinty, and the family dog, Café, spent most of a sunny and crisp Friday morning, and part of the afternoon, January 7, zipping up and down the ditch. They had a few spills every so often but then just get back up on their feet and skate on to the finish.
During the months of January and February, many Canadians may suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The long, dark nights along with some gloomy grey days can result in mild depression for some people.
Health professionals recommend that people try to get outside during the daytime as often as possible during the winter. Sunlight can provide both a cheering effect on a person and also help create natural vitamin D in the body which will help with maintaining physical health.
The Lajeunesse children were quite happy with their homegrown solution to being SAD.
