Yukon Chatter Bug

These bear photos are for Moon & Mrs. M.:

Black Bear

Another Black Bear

Grizzly Bear

Mom & Baby (photo courtesy of a friend)

Bear Attack

This is my dog, Smidgen, after a walk a couple of winters ago. She was frolicking in the snow, as usual, and I was trying to capture her photo. Of course, she kept leaping out of the deep snow toward me to play.

Smidgen's Head

She finally popped her head out of the snow and was distracted long enough for me to snap this one.

My Fave

Finally, I get a good picture. I know it’s the wrong time of year to be posting these winter photos, but it’s cold enough to warrant it.

Here’s what I accomplished today on the other side of the walkway. I turned over the soil, added more topsoil, peat moss, and sheep manure in the hopes of revitalizing the two trees, then I put the fabric down and the bark in. In case you’re wondering, the wire mesh against the fence is to prevent our dog, Smidgen, from jumping over.

Today's Yard Work

Here’s a view showing both sides of the walkway. You can see in both pictures a portion of decking that we still need to fix.

Both sides of the walkway

View coming in from the gate

Last year, we fixed some rotted boards on the walkway from the street to our door to make it safe and gave it a coat of finish. It looks like we’ll have to give it another coat again this year, in addition to fixing the rest of the decking. Some previous owner did a lot of experimenting in building this, and I love the diagonal lines and different levels.

We finally got a couple of nice days recently, and it’s about time. It was announced in the news that the Yukon has been the hardest hit with a bad summer in all of Canada. Really? Gee, who knew? Our warmest day was back in May, according to the report, and we’re supposedly in for a very cold winter. You’d never know that the Yukon is semi-arid with all the rain we’ve had this year; add to that the cold, frost, and yup, I agree…pretty bad summer.

For the last three years I’ve tried to do something with part of my yard, but I can’t seem to get anything to grow. Our yard is on a north-facing slope, and most of anything I want to grow is in the shade. I guess it doesn’t help that I have zero gardening experience, and the Yukon isn’t exactly the best place to learn, what with our short summers and being in a plant hardiness zone of 1 or 2. I was so shocked when a friend of ours on Gabriola Island mentioned that his basil (or was it rosemary?) in his outdoor garden comes back every year. I can only dream.

Needless to say, this year I wasn’t really in the mood for gardening. We’ve had frost in July on more than one occasion this year, so when I decided it was time to do a little something with a small part of my yard, I decided that a low-maintenance landscape was in order. It looks kind of plain for now, but it’s a start. You can’t see it in the photo, but I also planted a new tree that doesn’t mind shade (according to the lady at the nursery). It’s hidden behind the flower pot. Today, I’ll be doing the other side of the walkway.

If you’re wondering why we didn’t just didn’t put grass, the usual semi-aridness of the Yukon translates into people here using inordinate amounts of water for their lawns.

Where the Buffalo Roam (near Watson Lake, Yukon)

Can you say “buffalo burger?” MMMmmmm

Teslin Lake, Yukon

Can you say “c-c-c-c-c-cold water?”

Liard Hotsprings, BC (on the Alaska HWY coming to the Yukon)

Can you say “AAaaahhhhh, much nicer!”

Yukon River (near Wolf Creek)

Can you say “Gold Rush?” Many a boats navigated these waters in the day.

Shreddies

Can you say “Na-na-na-na-boo-boo?”

Well, I meant to post more photos, (Kluane, sheep, bear, etc…), but like I said, I’m having technical difficulties. So this is the end for now.

When driving along Second Ave. on Thursday afternoons, you can always spot the peaks of white tents in Shipyards Park. This is where locals set up their wares at the Fireweed Community Market. Aside from the ol’ faithfuls that are there every week, there are always little surprises tucked in here and there. I love farmers’ markets.

My friend Deb got me into going to markets when I would visit her at her cottage at Sauble Beach. Before moving to Whitehorse, I never imagined that there would be a farmer’s market, let alone any farming here. We do live north of the 60th, after all. How naive. It’s almost as bad as people down south thinking we live in igloos and travel with sled dogs in the Yukon.

At our little market, you can get elk burgers, bison burgers, freshly-squeezed orange juice, fireweed jelly, fresh vegetables, plants, and the list goes on. This past week, I indulged in two local specialty items: morel mushrooms and wild rose syrup.

The rose syrup I tried in a spinach salad with strawberries, pine nuts, green onion, and bacon (the spinach and green onion also courtesy of the market). It was a little on the sweet side, so I’ll have to adjust my dressing recipe for next time. I’ll also have to whip up a cool drink of rose syrup and gin on our next hot day, if it ever comes. That and a little drizzled on ice cream sounds like a nice afternoon with my feet up in the yard. Come on sun!

As for the morel mushrooms (which were at a really good price), I finally tried my friend’s cream of mushroom soup recipe. It was delicious! I mixed them with a couple of portabellos and button mushrooms.

For those of you who don’t know what morels are:

• look like brains fried on drugs
• usually found in areas where burns occurred the previous year
• hollow
• They’re used in French gourmet cuisine (very expensive mushroom)
• May cause poisoning symptoms for some people when consumed raw and/or with alcohol, though I’ve had them (cooked) along with a glass of wine in the past without any reaction

You can go to Wikipedia or Shroom Boom if you want more info on morels.

Aaahhhh!!! The mushroom soup soothed me, comforted me, and helped me forget the rain.

Lately, I’ve been whining about the rain in Whitehorse, or more specifically, the lack of sunshine.

That’s what I always liked about Yukon summers: glorious sunshine. Except this year. Not only are our summers short, but now, we don’t even get sunshine? What’s up with that? And to make matters even worse, Yesterday morning, on the Carcross Road, we woke up to -4C. It’s mid-July for crying out loud.

Every time I look up the weather forecast, all I see is rain, rain, rain. Except, look at the icons below. This is the same forecast, same city (Whitehorse), same days. Which would you rather have? Even though the chance of precipitation is the same, I think The Weather Network is more pleasing to the eye (and my brain), and it preserves sanity.

On CBC Radio, they interviewed the owners of Sourdough Sodbusters this morning, and they haven’t been able to sell sod because of the rain. Too much rain isn’t good for business. One of the owners, Vanessa, who also hosts the Lotus Paperie blog, still sounded so cheerful though. I should call her up to find out what her secret is.

Oh, and did I tell you that, according to one expert, Juneau didn’t get any rain in June?

CBC Weather Forecast

The Weather Network Forecast

The headline in this morning’s Globe & Mail caught my attention and got me thinking about our own airline. It’s a story about WestJet and SouthWest, both discount airlines, agreeing to sell seats on each other’s flights. To read the above headline in our local paper would be, to say the least, a dream come true. Why? Immediately, I can think of at least of three advantages to this kind of arrangement.

For starters, with one phone call, or one click, you could book your trip across North America.

Imagine being able to go to Air North’s website, and book a flight to, say, Halifax, Thunder Bay, or Regina, with just one click. Of course, it’s still possible to do so with services like Expedia [Expedia doesn't list Air North as an option] or through a travel agent, but I’m not a business traveller, and prefer to book my own flights.

Also, an agreement between airlines has the advantage that their connections would be better synced.

When booking a flight out of Whitehorse and across the country, the problem usually encountered involves connections and wait times. It’s easy enough to get to Vancouver, Edmonton, or Calgary with our beloved airline, but, unless you only have one connection, (i.e. travelling to a major city centre), it’s next to impossible to connect to WestJet without spending a night en route. Air North doesn’t get to Edmonton and Calgary until late in the evening.

Maybe it’s just my problem, because I usually have to connect at least twice to travel home. Plus, the only airlines that travel south from my hometown (Timmins) are Air Canada (to Toronto) and Bearskin Airlines (to Thunder Bay). Last year, when I travelled to Thunder Bay to visit relatives, I had to go through Toronto on the way there (further east) and had a 9hr wait on the way back in Edmonton. I ended up going to THE Mall for a bit and visited a friend, but it still was a long wait.

Finally, an agreement between airlines would surely include the service of baggage transfer.

When booking my mom’s and mother-in-law’s flight to Whitehorse for my graduation this past June, I booked with Air North for the YVR-YXY portion of the flight. Little did I know that Air Canada recently pulled out of the agreement between the two airlines to transfer luggage (shame on them). For most travellers, it’s an inconvenience to have to leave the secure area to get your luggage and check-in again. Plus, you have to allocate more time between connections to do this. I hadn’t considered this when scheduling connections and thinking about wait times, because I was under the impression that the luggage would be transferred by the airlines. As a result, I ended up sending her luggage home on Greyhound to avoid the hassle. This is the only issue I’ve ever had with Air North, as I felt that these new requirements (updated link June ’09–They’ve revamped the page, and I’m pleased to see the information more clearly laid out.) for travellers to transfer their own luggage (when connecting to AC) wasn’t made clear enough when booking the flights.

I HAVE A DREAM!

In order to raise funds for our graduation soirée, our group of students hosted a silent auction at the Boiler Room in the Yukon Inn. It was a bash and a huge success. So, thanks to the following businesses and organizations who supported the Yukon Native Teacher Education Program in our fundraising efforts, including direct monetary gifts:

• Air North
• Clean Choices Carpet Cleaning & Rentals
• Coles Bookstore
• Eagles Landing Log B&B and Historic Cabins – Crag Lake, YT
• Earls Restaurant
• Monica Barr – Feng Shui Consultation
• G&P Steakhouse & Pizza
• Gray Fox Media
• Kluane First Nation
• Mitzi’s Closet Pet Boutique
• First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun
• Pizza Hut
• Shoes R Us
• Shoppers Drug Mart – Main St.
• Starbucks – Chilkoot Centre
• Sundog Retreat Carving Program
• Tokyo Sushi
• Wharf on Fourth
• Wines by Design
• Yukon Inn
• Yutopia Bar & Grill

YNTEP logo designed by
Vernon Asp

Since I’ve been in YNTEP, these are the most common questions I am asked.

1. Do you actually get a degree? YES! You get a Bachelor of Education upon completion.
2. Is it Yukon College that issues this degree? NO. The program is done in conjunction with University of Regina, and that is where you get your degree from.
3. How long is the program? The program is four years long, full-time.
4. How many people from your year graduated? Eight students (out of an original fourteen) graduated, plus one student from a previous group. Two students from our original group are still studying, one still within YNTEP, the other in a different program.
5. Do you have to go out of town for some of your studies? Absolutely not. Students can do the whole four years of studies at Yukon College, plus every practicum here in the Yukon. It is strongly recommended that students do at least one practicum in a community outside of Whitehorse. Also, with special permission, some students may choose to complete some courses at U of R. One student spent last summer on U of R campus.
6. Where can graduating students teach upon completion of the program? Students qualify to receive their teaching certification in the Yukon and Saskatchewan.
7. What level can they teach? The program is K-12 with an emphasis on K-8. Depending on their skill set, some graduates end up at the secondary level, but most work with K-8.
8. I heard that non-Aboriginal students can apply into the program now. Is this true? Yes. As of Fall 2004, there are six (out of fifteen) seats open for non-aboriginal students. Our group was the first!
9. There was so much controversy surrounding the decision to open up seats to non-Native students. Since you were the first group affected by this, how did it go? It went extremely well. In fact, our group was very tight-knit, and students learned a great deal from each other.
10. I guess you applied for one of those open seats? Actually no. I have Métis ancestry, which means I could apply for a regular seat in the program. However, my cultural heritage, the one with which I identify, is French-Canadian.

The sky was clear, the hot tub was ready, and we were out in the country. What more could one ask for? A meteor shower had been announced for last night, which prompted us to keep our eyes stuck on the sky. We didn’t see many shooting stars though, probably because we may have not been out during “peak time.” But the sky was so clear and starry, that I was mesmerized by the celestial scenery before me.

The only feature I could ever identify with certainty in the past was the Big Dipper. But looking up, way up, on such a clear night from the comfort of a hot tub, it was amazing to see the flickering lights before me. All of this prompted me search the Internet the moment I walked through the door. I got so excited that I ended up going outside with my laptop (a bit too bright even with the lowest brightness setting on my screen) to try and identify some of what was before me.

Looking southward, we saw Taurus, Orion, Pleiades, and most excitingly, Mars. I always knew that some of the brighter “stars” were planets, but I never knew which one, or whether it was just a very bright star. So when I discovered that what I thought might be a planet was actually Mars, I literally jumped for joy. I’ve never been so excited about astronomy before.

When I first spotted Pleiades, I found it too small to be the Little Dipper. It looked like a mini-dipper. Pleiades is also known as M45 or The Seven Sisters. It looks big on this photograph, but it’s a tiny little thing, relatively speaking of course.

Westward, we were able to identify Perseus and Cassiopeia.

The site I referred to for information about the skies was Sky and Telescope: The Essential Magazine of Astronomy, and it has an interactive sky chart. You enter your location, and there you have it. The nightsky as you see it. You can drag the picture in any direction, view it with or without lines and labels.

For the experienced skygazers out there, I’m sure none of this is news to you, but think back to the first time you actually “saw” a constellation in the sky. Remember the excitement of being able to identify something? Post a comment to let me know.

Hot tubs, clear nights, stars, January, the Great White North, and my hunny…What more can a girl want? Oh, and Yukon skies.