Warm weather and a shining sun can play tricks with your mind. A few days of balmy goodness and bright skies was all we needed to get outside and bask in our lovely countryside.

We're definitely blessed to have such a great landscape on which to build our community and, most importantly, play. As Northerners we're supposed to indulge in the lifestyle. Grab a snowmachine and spend the day working on your wind-tan.

Playing around is fun, but it should go without saying that we need to be smart and safe. Take a lesson from the Canadian Rangers. They live their lives responsibly and make sure that everyone is safe. They recently returned from an exercise on the land and were out there for a few days. Hopefully they were able to do some fishing while they were in the bush.

While joining the ranks of the local Rangers would be the best way to get acquainted with on-the-land safety, I think we can all just live a little smarter. Call this pre-empting an accident, but it's been quiet around here lately. Maybe people around town have learned to be safe when going outdoors. Oh, hang on. Was that kid on that snowmobile wearing a helmet? Nope. Sorry junior, but your knit toque will not help you here. Get properly fitted for a helmet and gear.

In Fort Smith, a teenage girl is comatose because of an accident involving a Ski-Doo pulling an inner-tube. Wham. It can all become horribly real within seconds of an accident. Nobody cares whose fault it was, all they care about is the victim.

If people would take just a few moments to think things through before acting, a lot of harm could be saved in the world. Please, wear a helmet. I see so many people on their snowmobiles, cruising around and speeding down the river bank. I'm not even just referring to young people. I see old men bombing around with hundreds of pounds of wood in the back of their sled, but no helmet! What sort of example are we setting for our youth, if even the elders don't look after their own skulls? All it takes is one good roll to crush it. Maybe even just a strong whip to one side.

Life changes when you wind up in a hospital. Some people experience that pain and get to walk away. Then there are those who are permanently seated because of accidents. Nobody is to blame in an accident, right? Wrong. Someone is always to blame, most of the time for being careless.

I have caught myself driving without a seatbelt before. (I don't have access to a sled, so I drive a truck.) The same question always runs through my head: Would it be worth it if I was to get maimed or worse for lack of a simple precaution? Of course the answer is always no. Taking that second to secure a seatbelt or a helmet can mean the difference between being shaken up after a close call and being carried out of a church in a casket.

We don't need to add to the list. Don't be a fool, follow the rules and stay safe when you're out on that souped up Bravo.

I'm sure you'd much rather tell your own stories about being on the land rather than have your best friend talk about them during your funeral.

© Northern News Services, used with their kind permission. Visit their website at http://www.nnsl.com.