When I was living in northern Saskatchewan, my former boss took me out for a drive and said that I was 鈥渓ucky to be there during spring.鈥�

It was technically spring, but although most of the snow had melted, trees were still in their dormant stage, I hadn鈥檛 seen the sun in weeks and, of course, I was still wearing a winter jacket.

His remark brought back a memory from my childhood. When I was a kid in school we were asked to create a painting portraying what the four seasons look like. The spring that I saw in northern Saskatchewan did not look anything like my childhood painting, which had beautiful flowers, children (not wearing jackets) playing outside and the sun shining above them.

The Brazilian inside me wanted to tell my former boss, 鈥淣o, this isn鈥檛 spring.鈥� But I took the high road and posted my thoughts on social media.

Now years have passed, but I still feel the exact same way every March, April and May when people start saying that it鈥檚 spring but it鈥檚 still -1 C when you鈥檙e heading to work in the morning.

Let鈥檚 be real. Spring in northern B.C. doesn鈥檛 really start until the end of May. That鈥檚 when we鈥檙e finally able to start working on our gardens. To me, anything before that is really just the end of winter.

The end of June, July and early August oscillate between spring and summer. If we鈥檙e lucky - and there鈥檚 no wildfire smoke - we might be able to enjoy two or three weeks of sunshine and hot summer weather. The other weeks we鈥檒l see mild 19 C and overcast days, to which many refer to as summer.

But in 亚洲天堂 Lake I have noticed an even more interesting phenomenon - fall.

One day it鈥檚 the middle of summer and you鈥檙e canoeing (well, not me, but I鈥檝e seen lots of people doing it) and you notice a tree changing colour. At first you鈥檙e in complete denial, telling yourself that it鈥檚 probably just a random, confused tree. After all, summer can鈥檛 possibly be over in August.

But then the next day another tree changes colour, and then another鈥� And so you have to come to terms with the harsh reality that you鈥檒l be changing tires again in a few weeks.

But once you fully accept that the incredibly short summer is over (Cabernet Sauvignon usually helps) you start appreciating the beauty of fall in its full splendour, especially on a drive to Francois Lake.

Just when you鈥檙e getting used to all the beauty and pumpkin spice lattes, the leaves start falling at an incredible pace. You wake up one day and they are all gone, and there鈥檚 snow on the ground.

Thus begins northern Canada鈥檚 most predominant season - winter, which starts in October and ends in May.