News from the Yukon

Some recent photos. Been seeing tons of bears. That big mama next to my van was by Frog Lake on the Skagway Road. We have gotten out at the lake for a pitstop and my dog was really sniffing around. We had just pulled out onto the road when I saw her black yearling cub on the road and fatty mama busy eating by the side of the road. She was the largest sow I have ever seen.

The other two brown guys are twin yearlings that everybody around here has been seeing. I watched them playing on the road, batting each other and shuffling around. Looked like they were having a good time until I interrupted them. The other day they were seen in the bush behind our place. Luckily they run away when they see people.

Fired the kiln. Best ever. It is supposed to be smokeless. However, sidestoking makes big billows of black smoke.....it is a magnet for any planes flying sround. They like to circle around and see the fun!

Last of all an update on Jazz, the orphan pup. After a winter in which he used up more lives than a cat, the unbelievable has happened. He is now a real sled dog!!! He got run over by an ATV, got into a fight with the other pups and got abcessed bites in his neck, and worst of all, ate up two dog fur hats and wouldn't be house trained. He finally got exiled from the house and chained up in the dog yard. Then he was put into training with the rest of the pups from last year. Now we are running him in teams at the dog ride. A nice ending to that saga!

Kiln Clean-up

Getting my kiln all cleaned up and ready to fire either tomorrow or next weekend. Been waiting for this for too long. With economic things being how they are I couldn't say no to all the new orders I got. Took up all the time I had reserved for fun. The weather continues to be wonderful and the snow is going fast. I found these two wild crocus blooming by the edge of the kiln shed! Right next to a huge cardboard box I use to keep all the little pieces of wood in. I'll have to be careful not to step on them. Those animals you see the rear ends of are woodland caribou. They were standing in the middle of a curve catching some rays yesterday afternoon. Of course the ones who just stand there in the road are always there when I don't have my camera along! These guys weren't in too much of a hurry. They will be trekking up to the high country to calve at the end of the month. There has been a pack of four wolves spending the winter in the bush behind our place. They cruise out to hunt the area then return. Guess they are looking for easy pickings (loose dogs) around here.

Heat Wave!

After all the complaining I did last summer about the weather I finally have something good to say. Heat!! All week we have been having record heat, over 20 C. Warmer than most of last summer. We did have record snow and a cool early spring. Seemed like the snow was never going. Now almost all the yard is bare. We were able to put a shovel into the ground, it is defrosting.
Here are some photos from our first trip to take goods to Skagway. We went down to Yukatania Point to get a bag of seaweed for smoke firing pots. It was really hot on the rocks. Some guy all dressed in black was catching some zzz's. Also got a shot of Taiya inlet, the head of which is the Chilkoot Trail.
Luckily we spent the entire afternoon in Skagway visiting and just walking around. When we went to leave the road was closed....after a few minutes of waiting it opened up again. There was an avalanche at mile 8. Glad we didn't get in that! On the way home we passed lots of small slides. We were carrying 1,000 lbs. of clay for the school and still had to unload it by hand by ourselves. Getting waylaid by falling snow didn't seem like a good idea.
Next post will be about the greenhouse. Cucumbers are flowering, so are tomatoes and zuccinis. We have been eating mesculun for quite a while. Right now I am getting crowded out by too much greenery. If this weather keeps up it won't be long before most of this stuff goes outside to live.