April is an in-between month for seasons. It’s not really winter, and – generally – not warm enough to be truly spring in the Laurentians.

At our home in Brébeuf, we call April flood season.

Water world

My husband and I live at the end of a 900-metre dirt road. With about a dozen others, our home sits beside the Rouge River. While it’s about a 100-metre walk to the water’s sandy shore in the summer, that all changes in April.

Some of you have Ski-In/Ski-Out homes in the winter season. During flood season, our place is Canoe-In/Canoe-Out.

As April sunshine melts away winter, flood season commences. The river quickly overflows our dirt road, crawls up our front yard, and makes its way hundreds of metres to Rang des Collines.

A few years back, a skunk misjudged how quickly the water rises, and found himself stranded on our front porch for a week. I fed him cat food and raspberries; he snuggled up on an old cushion and waited it out.

Unlike Mr. Skunk, we plan in advance. The last week of March, we tie the canoe to the front porch. Waist-high waders come out of the storage shed. Fresh water is stored. I could have used a wetsuit the year I tipped the canoe over… but that’s a story for another day.

April playtime

When the flood water eventually recedes, the sandy shore has shifted. Winter has been washed away; there is a lot of mud and some very large puddles. In other words: it’s playtime.

Puddles beg you to jump in them. Whether you live in a flood zone or happen across some puddles after a rainstorm, jump in. Make a splash. Get muddy. There is a reason kids jump in puddles. It’s fun.

Take time to play in the puddles.  Your body (and your brain) will thank you.

More from this author by clicking on her photo below.