Painted by Fire

Warmed up

2012-02-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

As usual the weather has taken a dramatic change. But this time toward the warm side of things. It was -17 this morning and almost to 0 C right now. Wind shifted from the North to the South and brought in all that 'warm' air from the Pacific. Our wood pile is still in pretty good shape. Each of the rows are over 2 cords and we have 3 and a half rows left. Every day that it stays warm is more wood saved.
Spent the day baking bread. We don't eat very much of it so this will last for quite a while. The lazy time of year is almost over. Pretty soon it will be full on work so all the stuff I can get into the freezer is time to fill all my orders. And garden starting is just around the corner, only a couple of weeks away!!

Call This a Cold Snap??

2012-01-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine sent me this from North Pole, Alaska this evening. It was the 10 am reading. Celsius or Fahrenheit, who cares? Hope it warms up for them soon. It makes our -30 seem like a heat wave.

Firewood for the Day at -40

2012-01-20T15:52:00.001-08:00

If you wonder how we can possibly stay warm when it is -40 and colder here is the answer! With our two wood stoves and an ample supply of wood. This wheelbarrow load is the daily dose at this temperature. Although we both go outside and do things everyday no matter how cold, it still is a drag when it stays cold for a long time. Pottery is also cancelled at school because I hate to put my vehicle through the stresses at this temp. Aside from being on an almost deserted road in the dark! Hopefully next week will warm up and life will get back to 'normal'.

Canning Moose Meat

2012-01-09T23:05:00.000-08:00

Time for some domestic activity! The day before we left on our trip to Alberta one of my friends brought us a front quarter of a moose. I only had time to cut it in pieces and freeze it. Today seemed to be a good one to can up the tougher parts. Amazing what 75 minutes at 10 pounds preasure can do to tenderize the toughest cut! Having these jars of meat are really handy for those times I am too busy making stuff to cook. This is real bush food. Potatoes from the root cellar, vegies from the freezer and a jar of home canned moose meat! Talk about eating local......hard to beat. Latest on the weather front-it went from -4 this morning to -25!

Hat Factory

2012-01-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

Looks like chaos, but it isn't really.....Right in the midst of filling an order for 60 dog fur hats. They are all in natural colours which makes it a bit of a bore for me. Almost 40 are in this big pile. This is how I keep myself occupied when it is too cold to make pottery. Of course this winter happens to be one that I could have keep my studio open and warm! Very warm weather for us so far. It is supposed to change next week though. Last week was -51 in Tanana, Alaska. That cold was supposed to come down here but we lucked out. Another Pacific storm was big enough to displace the cold. While waiting for Spring I'll just keep slogging away on these hats.

Texas Hats!

2012-01-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

This photo was sent by one of my loyal customers in Texas, USA! These are some of the dog combing hats that I make. Thanks you Harriet, for the business and for the photo. I hope they get enough cold weather and snow to enjoy their hats.

Knitting Quiviut

2011-12-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

Making the last of my Christmas projects. For those of you who aren't familiar with Quiviut, it is the undercoat of the Muskox, a remnant animal from the last ice age that lives in the Canadian Arctic. It has curved horns and a very long outer coat. The undercoat is a couple inches long and lighter than a feather!

The people on Banks Island hunt them for food and sell the undercoat of the slaughtered animals for their cash source. It is VERY expensive! To buy a 28 gram skein the price last year was $70 Canadian!! The yardage is very high, from 180 meters to 245 meters. This piece is being knit on 3 mm needles and it is killing my eyes.....no matter! It is for a very special person and I hope they like it. The piece is a cowl, a very flattering head garment. This one has four lace panels of twinning flowers that is very complicated to knit. An inch to go, then blocking, and I am finished.

Red Sky in the Morning

2011-12-14T17:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of mornings ago we had a fantastic sunrise. At this time of the year the sun is very low on the horizon and takes forever to come up. Then it goes down about as long. Only a few hours of actually sunshine. Of course we live in the mountains so they block the sun too! Never mind, once January is behind us the days will start to lengthen dramatically and the true glory of living up here will once more shine out.

Christmas craft sales are finally over. I did four of them over three weekends. They were very successful. I would like to thank all my wonderful customers. I hope you enjoy owning your new pottery as much as I did making it.

Today was the last day of school for three weeks. Last evening the last after school pottery of the year. Back here at the ranch I am carding dog fur and wool and trying to get all my orders finished. Can't get into making pots again until the weather warms up in the Spring. Takes too much wood to keep the shop going and getting up in the night to go out there and put wood in the fire is a non starter for this kid!!

I hope everyone has a nice and safe holiday and all the best for 2012!

First Sale of the Season

2011-11-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

Some pictures of the pots I had for sale this morning at Tagish. We had packed them into the truck last night.......then it got to -29.....needless to say they were FREEZING COLD when I unpacked them today. Yikes, was afraid of getting frostbite. They didn't take that long to defrost thank goodness.

For a very short time and small customer base it was an amazingly good result. Thank you neighbors and friends for the support!! We will be at Marsh Lake next Sunday morning and then at Carcross On the 3rd of December.

Kiln Opening

2011-11-13T09:28:00.001-08:00

We have some seriously melted cones here! And this was from the top of the back shelf.....that Aussie flamethrower technique really works. Dumbo here forgot to wad the conepack so I am hoping a hit with the chisel will take it off. Lost two pieces to ugliness and two big ones to cracks. One of those was a combo of crack AND ugly.

The pack was fairly light. I did the classic pear shape that works best for this kiln. Also lots of little pieces. For only 12 hours there was plenty of ash, too much in places. Now I have some glued on wads to grind off feet. Never a pleasant task, but more so when it is supposed to get in the -20's this week.

The cage on the table is a chipmunk and squirrel size Havaheart live trap. We had a plague of them and their friends the voles and deer mice this past Summer. An ermine has moved in so that should help.

Did It!!

2011-11-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well, the mouseholes are still open but the rest of the kiln is clammed up and waiting for the couple of days it will take to cool off. This was the fastest firing I have ever had. Weird too as it was -12 this morning when I started out at 4 am. When I looked at the cones at 4 pm both 8 and 9 were down!! I am really tired but HAPPY!! Lots of stuff for my Xmas sales are in there.......

The amazing thing is all the wood I still have. I used some different spruce from the bush across the road instead of just straight slabs. Seems like lots more 'punching power' in that wood. Anyhow there are tons of dead trees that are just a fire hazard so I will be doing a good deed by burning it up to fire my lovely pots.

Got some good shots of the flames coming out of the chimney in the dark....all in all I am glad it is finished and am looking forward to my nice bed.

Another Visit to the Slab Pile

2011-11-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

I spent the day glazing pots, getting ready for another firing. Actually it looks like two firings back to back...... It takes a while to recover.Be nice to have some help.....guess I am lucky to have some in getting the wood.

This pile used to be lots bigger. I thought I had a lifetime supply if no forest fire got to it first. However it now seems like some of my neighbors have discovered it as a handy source of firewood. We need someone to do some saw-milling, too bad the government makes it so difficult!!

Snow has come and gone a few times. It probably won't be long before we get some that stays put. More later!!

They Call It Termination Dust......

2011-09-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

Blogger has gone all wonky with the order of my photos! The full moon was up the Takhini river on a fun fishing trip last week. We fished a big eddy FULL of grayling. You could see where the fish were holding and watch them feeding. Lots of fun putting a fly right over them and then to watch them refuse your offering....but that's fishing! We finally found some irristable flies and caught some. We saved two for a very tasty dinner.

All the big peaks have snow caps. It might melt off, but I doubt it! August turned out to be a lot like a normal September and September has been about right. The long-range forecast doesn't look good.....so if it turns out cooler than normal it won't be unexpected.

We are off to the Hot Springs at Liard River, last taste of warmth for a bit! Nice way to celebrate the end of the tourist season.

Coming to the End.....

2011-09-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since I have updated this blog. Been a very busy Summer, with weddings, a couple of wood kiln firings back to back, teaching, watering the garden everyday, chickens, and the list goes on and on. Finally started to rain, just at the tail end of gardening season.

We saw a huge number of bears this year. Every time we went to town or Skagway we saw at least one. Usually more than one. They haven't been in the yard thanks to Cassie the dog. Also it has been the year of the mouse. An amazing number of the little devils have met their maker thanks to our traps and the trusty mutt. Voles, deer mice ugh!! One night we caught EIGHT in our root cellar.

My next task is to fill up the wood kiln for another firing (or two) before Winter arrives. Yep, the fun never ends around here!!

Bears!

2011-05-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

I saw this pair of black bears on the way to school and the way back. A couple of miles down the road there was another very small black bear sitting on it's rear watching the road. These guys were munching down the dandelions that are coming up on the verge of the road. they were paying zero attention to me.

Avalanche!

2011-05-11T21:53:00.002-07:00

On Monday we went to Skagway to deliver the first shipment of my products. Every Winter there are several avalanches in the White Pass area. This one was a smaller one near Fraser and the Canadian customs station. The most interesting thing was that the younger understory trees were all still standing. They will now get a headstart on their growth with no competition from the older, now chopped trees. These are Sub Alpine Fir......the air was perfumed by their scent. Some of these trees were uprooted. It is amazing how much power the moving snow has. Several years ago there was a monster avalanche at the south end of Tutshi lake. It was so powerful it took the ice out! It was a quarter of a mile wide and was estimated to be moving at over 200 km per hour.

Avalanche!

2011-05-11T21:53:00.001-07:00

Avalanche!

2011-05-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

First Tomato Flower Opens!!

2011-04-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

The photos speak for themselves. Green, green, green! Won't be long before we are eating all the good stuff. Still plugging away at the flies, only about 500 left on the first order. Made a few pots, time to start heating my workspace and getting to it. Snow is taking it's time going, temps are still below normal. It is melting, but way behind what it should be. The days are so bright, stays light until almost 10:30! Nice.....

Is Ice Fishing the Most Boring Activity on Earth??

2011-04-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Yes!!! We actually went ice-fishing twice this past week. No wonder I am behind in pot making, flies and hats. After all the beautiful sunny days we picked the cloudy and windy ones to go down the lake. Ken brought his fish finder along.....totally annoying listening to the fish beep when you aren't even getting a bite!
The best part is eating lunch. And it wasn't fish either. First you ride a snow machine 20 kms down the lake, then you drill holes through almost three feet of ice, scoop out the ice chunks while standing in the overflow coming out of the hole, put in the fish finder, THEN you get to 'fish'. The second time we got a little brighter and brought our camping chairs. Our friend had a tent.......good thing as the wind was howling at 20 plus k. from the South. After about 5 hours Dave got a fish!!! My husband says it is the first one he has ever seen pulled out through the ice.
And can you believe this???? We are planning on more trips. Next time I am going to bring my book.

Caribou in the Cold

2011-03-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Nice warm morning! March 2, 2011, darn close or else new record low. Probably much colder at some other choice places near by. The silver lining is that it is totally sunny and once the sun comes on it will warm up nicely.
These caribou were eating calcium chloride laced sand off the road. There were three of them, but the smartest one went off in the bush once I stopped. I just kept creeping up little by little until I got really close to them. You can see the tiny spike antlers on the little guy. I have 7 kms to drive home once I turn off the Tagish road. These were a couple of kms off the main road.

Hat etc.

2011-02-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a hat I made. And another -40 sunrise a few days ago. Last photo is Jock, grade 5, with a bridge he made of about 20 lbs. of clay. He made some cars too. Then he bombed and smashed the whole works......must have been a frustrating day at school! He had a big smile on his face after he cleaned up the whole thing and put the clay back in the bucket. Good stuff that clay!!

End of January in Sight!!

2011-01-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

My least favorite month of the year is almost over. Only that one bit of really cold weather....and we survived it!! The past week has been warm (0 C for the high and maybe -3 C at night). Now it is cooling off, but nothing too bad.
Had lots of people out for afterschool pottery. The youngest was 10 months. He spent most of his time in his Nannie's backpack. There are two 'littles', one 17 mo. and one 18 mo. They both are making things. It is amazing how quickly they start to learn to manipulate clay.
It is lots of fun to come out and socialize while you make things. There is a really nice atmosphere to our clay space. We have people just dropping in to talk and see what everyone is making.
Although seeing a deer is not thought of as exotic in most places, it is here. they have just recently colonized our area. 10,000 years ago there was a mile of ice and now trees, people, deer etc. Actually there were 4 deer in the heard crossing the road. My camera batteries failed from the cold after the first photo!

Keeping Warm at -40 and Below......

2011-01-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

We are just coming off one of those dreaded cold spells. We only got to -42, but had neighbors down to -47. In Fahrenheit degrees that is somewhere in the -60 range. We are on a 5% south slope about 80 feet above the lake so the cold air rolls past down into the hole. Also we are getting some sun in the afternoon and it is shining right into the house!!!! Everyday is getting longer, yippee!
As you can see, we have a nice wood pile. My favorite Pacific energy stove cranks out the heat. We have to hang around close to the stove adding more wood every couple of hours. Luckily for us the cold weather only lasted a few days. It is only -29 now....heat wave!!

Afterschool January 6, 2011

2011-01-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

Today it is snowing again. Can't see the mountains. Good day to be inside making things. Looks to be getting cold again too. What can I say??? It is January. Some photos from yesterday afternoon. We had a good time and stayed until 5 pm.

First Sunrise of 2011

2011-01-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

These photos were taken around 9;30 am on January 1, 2011. Yes, the days are starting to get a bit longer. 97 seconds today! We have had a Chinook, so good bye to the -35 etc. At least for a little while. I am sure we will see their return sometime this month. Meanwhile we are enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.
Happy New Year and all the best to my customers, faithful readers and friends.

Freezeup/Breakup

2010-12-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

Took these photos around 3 pm. After the -35 C it looked like we had freezeup coming along nicely. Then one of those huge storms from the Gulf of Alaska moved our way. The temperature went up to 0 C and the winds howled. Some of the ice held, but there is going to be quite a mess at the edge. The sound is amazing, all that bashing and crashing of the ice chunks.
Cooler weather is on the way....won't take long to refreeze and hopefully stay that way.

Guess It Is Winter

2010-12-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

We had to go to Whitehorse on Wednesday to deliver the first part of the hat order. We saw these three caribou on the road on the way in. I have been seeing them closer to home. At night of course! Luckily they have a nice big white patch that reflects light. I donèt care how many people complain about my slow driving, you sure don't want to hit one of these guys. Woodland Caribou are BIG. And really stupid too. If they are in the ditch they like to jump up on the road right in front of you. And if they are in the road they like to run down it instead of getting off.
It was getting colder when we got home and bottomed out at -35 C on Thursday morning.

After Firing, The Clean-up

2010-11-26T11:07:00.000-08:00

After the ash has settled and the pots removed there is still a big job for a wood-firer. Cleaning up the kiln and kiln shed. This time I have to remove the sand from the bottom of the kiln because it is so full of melted ash that it is stuck together. It protects the floor of the kiln from glazing. There are wads to pick up and the worst part, shelves to clean. They weren't nearly as bad as last time. Start with a sharp chisel use the angle grinder as needed. The truck load of wood is now down to a five gallon pail of ash. The ash will be spread in the bush and the wads and sand become fill beside the shed.
No photos from the last firing....cleaned the pots up and off they went to a sale last Saturday. Sold almost all of them so won't be going to the sale this weekend, not enough stock! No time to make any more pots this season either. The dog fur hat factory is now back in operation.
Once the kiln is all cleaned up and the shelves are clean and washed it will be time to go out in the bush and get wood for next Spring.

Beating the Cold and Snow

2010-11-14T20:54:00.000-08:00

It was supposed to snow today and then get -30 by the end of the week. No snow today and a very manageable -1. This evening I see that they are only calling for -22. Not that bad either.
Had a pretty pleasant firing. That is if you think staying up until midnight and getting back up at 4 am is pleasant. Being out in the dark was a bit of a bummer, did have a trouble light on with a VERY long extension cord. Usually I am firing in the Spring and Summer when it is daylight all the time. Anyhow it is all over now but the waiting....
Ken cut the ends off some pieces of wood I had cut about an inch too long. Don't know how that happened. Much bad language when I found out they wouldn't fit...flames coming up etc. etc. then trying to get the wood out. yuck.
Okay. I hope I'm not the only one who likes to see the flames coming out of the chimney. All wood firers are pyros, it is a given. You know who you are!!
Will post some photos of the results later in the week. At least three days before we can open up. If it gets -30 maybe sooner. Total time of firing 8:30 Saturday evening to 6 pm Sunday. Left the mouseholes open for another hour while I made dinner to cut down the coal bed. Worked well.
I had some human guests and two avian guests. A very large Hairy Woodpecker landed on the chimney for a second before he took off. A Northern Three-toed woodpecker did a very through investigation of my wood looking for bugs. He was about two feet away and I got a really good look.

Work and More work

2010-11-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

Back from my latest adventure to the lower 48. Time to get back to work! Just finished four days of pit-firing in my two trashed wood stoves. They work much better than a pit in the ground. Because they are lined with soft brick they hold the heat better and it is much easier to get the temperatures needed for good and consistent colour development. Out of 48 pots fired 46 were good to sell. One cracked and one got a piece of the ratty stove dropped on it....of course it was a large bowl, now on the shard pile.
Spent the afternoons glazing a load for the wood kiln. This afternoon I made the wads and glued them on. Every square inch in my shop is covered with pots. Tomorrow I get the pots from the firing I did before my trip ready for a sale on Saturday. Saturday evening load the kiln and start the fire....guess what my plans are for Sunday, beginning at 4:30 am???? Not to mention the 110 hats just ordered....

Bears? Who would have guessed?

2010-09-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

When I go outside the first thing I do is check for 'wildlife'. My trusty dog Cassie is first out and she lets me know who else is out there. She has a major hate-on for bears......we think she was a Karelian bear dog in another life. It is just an assumption you make, living in the bush, that a bear could be outside your door. Usually they aren't, however the possibility is definitely there.
In the last couple years these bear warning signs have started to appear. Some of the new people call the Game dept. every time they spot a bear! They must think they are downtown and this is someone unusual for a bear to walk along the road. There have also been reports of one of them demanding that they try and relocate the bear! Hate to tell them, THIS is the bear's home and you are the invader. If you are respectful to them and don't call them into your yard with your mess they are more than willing to leave you alone. And for the ones who have other ideas, that is what our guard dogs are for.
A couple of images of the changing Fall colours. As we go South it will become Summer again. When we get home it will be Winter.

Jessicaès Birds

2010-09-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

Here is Ken's comment....''They look better than they do in the pictures". i agree! Wish I had more time, would have made several different pairs to choose from.

Pots from Latest Firing

2010-09-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

Not really set up for nice photos of my pots. Just quick snap shots. Really happy with them all. The one really crusty gut fell off it's brick right into the edge of the firebox and got lots of everything! A bit of quality time with the flapwheel should smooth out some of the rough spots. Kind of wish I was staying around the next couple of weeks and getting ready for some more firing fun. Next one hopefully in October.

The Wait Begins

2010-09-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Finished up at around 8 pm. last night. Started the campfire in the bottom of the kiln at 9 pm. the night before and filled it up with wood every half hour until 11:30. Shut the damper and went inside for a couple of hours of sleep...big joke, too excited about the firing too have much shut-eye! Alarm rang at 4:15. There were some coals still burning so filled her up and off we went. The bottom opening is covered with an old door I got off a wood stove until I change to firing on the hobs.Then I put in 6 bricks and clam it up so no air can enter. Hobs are brick shelves inside the firebox that hold the wood above the coal bed. You have to have a really good hot coal bed before the wood ignites on the hobs. Once you do it is pretty cool to hear the wood explode and the flames get sucked into the kiln and then out through the chinmey!
When it is still dark there isn't much I can do between stokes except stare into space and think about what other jobs I should be getting done in the garden. Once it gets light I can read, drink tea and yesterday, work on a sweater order that is very late.....the hardest part of the firing is just waiting for the kiln to cool. Three days and I get to look at my work! Sure hope I didn't knock any pots over this time.....last time I lost the best 5 pots. They ended up all glued together with melted glaze where they were touching.
Didn't get as hot as the last time, which was grossly over-fired. All wood firers love to brag about how hot they've managed to get their kilns. Yes, getting to cone 12 and holding for 12 hours is really great! No, glaze all over the shelves, slumped pots and wasted wood is NOT! Anyways, let the waiting begin.......

Pincherries

2010-09-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here in Tagish almost everyone is suffering from berry picking fever. This time of year we pick everything we can find, even if we don't really need it. The conversation is all about berries, how many you've picked, how thick they are (or aren't) without disclosing your favorite location. Being a bit bolder than some of my neighbors I pick pincherries that are planted as landscaping at a government building in Whitehorse. We juice them and then can the juice in quart sealers. This year we have picked over 40 lbs. Some yucky cold day in Winter I'll go out and make jelly with my canned juice and think about this nice warm and productive Summer we just had.

It's a Dirty Job, but Somebody has to Do It

2010-08-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

Finally we have had some rain and the ground is now damp again. That means getting my kiln cleaned up and ready to fire. First on the list of undesirable jobs was cleaning the shelves. In an electric kiln you only have to do it if you have a runny glaze. At school I make sure that NEVER happens. Anything questionable goes onto clay 'cookies' that catch any drips. However..when you are firing with wood the ash becomes an airborne glaze that lands on everything. Of course that is why your pots turn out so great, but it also makes a huge mess of the shelves. Last time I got the brilliant idea to use some Aspen wood, a noted ash maker. Pots were outstanding, even got a dragon's eye pot ! The shelves were another story. Of course going to cone 12 instead of the usual 10 didn't help.
Enter my trusty angle grinder and a sharp chisel and a rock hammer. Safety glasses and the respirator for the dust. It only took about an hour and a half, but couldn't do it before because the grinding causes sparks and there is lots of dry grass around that could have caught fire. After the shelves are clean of glaze drips they have to have a good coat of kiln wash. This is a really refractory mix of kaolin and alumina that sort of helps protect them. Now we are good to go.
Next task was taking all the ash out. Did that. Then taking out the old silica sand on the floor. It also gets hard from all the melted ash, but does a really good job of protecting the kiln floor.
Brought out a bunch of pots and washed them. The glaze will 'crawl' if there is any dust on the pots. Tomorrow is glazing and loading. But before I can load I
have to make wadding.
Wads are used to separate everything, otherwise it would all get stuck together from the melted ash. You use kaolin, some alumina and sawdust dampened with enough water to hold them together without crumbling. You make little balls for the pots and big ones for the shelf props.
This really sounds like a lot of work just to get some pots fired! Wood firing is more work, but more fun too!
The last photo is of the cone packs drying out on top of my wood cookstove. For a treat I put up the spoonholder made for me by one of my best students. Actually he didn't make it for me....a leg fell off and he was going to ditch it in the trash but decided to give it to me instead. It is of a road kill crocodile with the visible tire tracks on the stomach!! That kid has a cool sense of humour.

Picking Blueberries in the White Pass

2010-08-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

To start-these aren"t really blueberries but blue huckleberries. All are species of Vassininum and the berries look very simular. No matter, they are really tasty! And for the first time in a few years there is a bumper crop. Not to mention that the place they grow is the most beautiful in the Yukon and one of my favorite places to go. It is about an hours drive to the White Pass, a wild and exotic place. Often windy and the weather can be pretty wild. LOTS of bears (duh...bears and berries go hand in hand in this part of the world).
We only picked for about three hours and got 27 lbs. I now have two huge bags of dried berries and about a gallon to eat each day for breakfast. I don't really need more berries but am planning on going back and exploring for some new patches. The area around the Alaska/Yukon border is above treeline, full of huge rocks, glaciers and hidden glens full of berry bushes. It is a really neat place to go to.

Collecting Seaweed in Skagway for Pit firing Pots

2010-08-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

Pictures from top-White Pass train at Bridal veil Falls, a couple of cruise ships, the ore terminal, looking up Tyia inlet toward the Chilkoot pass, down the Lynn canal (south),rocks on the beach at Yukatania, and two young women collecting seaweed. Okay, one young and one not so young!
It was a beautiful day, in fact the last one of a series of record highs.
I use the seaweed to wrap around the pots when I pit fire them. Along with salt and copper carbonate they help to create an interesting surface design.

Gardeing in the Yukon 2010

2010-08-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

I will let the photos speak for themselves. It has been a really successful garden this summer. So far 83 pkgs. of frozen vegies, lots of jars in the root cellar and berry picking has begun. These Stargazer lilies are fabulous! And they have the bonus of smelling great. This yearI left some room for my table....a nice place to sit and eat all our meals. Can't get much better than this!

Fishing at Tagish

2010-08-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

If I can't fire my kiln think I'll Dye!

2010-07-25T20:47:00.001-07:00

Same old fire hazard rating. The wind hasn't stopped blowing for months it seems. I have a load of pots ready to meet the fire, however.....not that keen on starting the bush on fire so will just have to wait a bit. In the meantime there are other things to do.
Here we are in the wood shop in the school in Carcross. The pottery area is also in there.Because we are a community school the local people can use the facilities. People come in to plane wood, cut boards, make picture frames etc. using the school equipment. All our pottery stuff actually belongs to the local Rec. board. We have no other place to use it so it is in the school. They pay the power and the heat. Thank you to the Dept. of Education! Of course the school gets the benefit of using it for the classes. Also the Rec. buys all the clay and glazes we use for school. It all works out fine.
Today I held a rainbow dyeing workshop in there. We had a crazy time! First one of the microwaves kept tripping the breaker. Pulled the plug from one of the wheels and moved it, worked fine. Too much laughing! Lots of really good colour combination's made up. I think all the participants were happy with their yarn. In fact we are doing it again next month.

Bear with a Broken Leg

2010-07-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

We saw this brown phase black bear on the way home from Whitehorse. One nice thing about making a 226 km round trip for groceries is all the wildlife we see by the road. Dall sheep, caribou, moose, bears, wolves and deer. This guy looked like he had been hit by a vehicle. His left front leg was wasn't working and he was all hunched up. Unfortunately for him he was hanging around an area used as a corridor for grizzles. Without the use of his front paw he won't be able to climb and probably will end up as food before he has a chance to heal.

Four Bears!!/Kiln Firing

2010-06-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

On our Friday trip to Skagway we were lucky enough to see this sow black bear and THREE cubs! We watched them playing on the road for quite a while before they went off into the bush. The mother seemed to be having a bit of a time getting them all in line! Ken said that we will probably see them again soon. Yep, while we are back up here picking blueberries!
Some nice photos of the last firing of the wood kiln. The fire hazard had gone to moderate from extreme so took the chance to fire her up. The firing starts at around 9 pm at night and goes until midnight. I fill up the firebox and shut all the dampers and go for a 'nap'. Alarm rings at 3:30 am and all hell breaks loose. This kiln gallops off like a racehorse. Then it is stoke away every 10 to 15 minutes until 8 pm. Side stoking commences after noon. All the black smoke is from that.
This firing got a little bit hotter than planned.....I was reading the cones from the middle, which turned out to be the coolest place, something that has never happened before. Cone 11 was melted in the front and the back. Usually the back is the coolest place with cone 9. Not this time!! I got to spend some quality time cleaning shelves, my least favorite task.
Only lost five pieces to my over enthusiastic side stoking. A chalice got knocked over into a teapot, which fell into a pitcher, which fell into the top of a butter dish. I zapped this four piece sculpture with my angle grinder and saved the teapot for myself. It has a bit of a scar, but is beautiful and serviceable. The rest of the pieces are mosaic material. Also a bowl got knocked into a brick. It now lives in the garden.
By the way, the flame throwing technique really works. Too good! Towards the afternoon the wind came up and starting blowing the flames around a little more than I was comfortable with. Then it really started howling. That was the signal to call it a day. It was still pretty dry out and I didn't want to be the cause of a bush fire.
Good news, almost all the pieces have been sold! Time to get ready for the next firing.

Trip to Skagway

2010-05-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was beautiful. Both Windy Arm of Tagish Lake and Tutshi Lake were calm! At least on the way over they were. Took a photo of the tourists taking photos of the landscape up at the top of the pass. This bear was trying to get away from Cassie the dog. She must have been a Karelian bear dog in another life. She hates them and will try to jump out windows to make them move.
All my pots are now in Skagway getting sold, I hope!

Pit Fired Pots

2010-05-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

Finished my first order of Pit pots for Skagway. Got the one out for Whitehorse a couple of weeks ago, this one kind of dragged on. Got some really nice ones. Now they are all priced and packed for a little trip tomorrow. This week sees the tourist season in full swing. Another exciting summer for us. Our quiet and sleepy little (mini) town of Carcross wakes up at least for a couple of hours in the afternoon! When you add a thousand people to a population of 250 it is rather noticeable! Now I have to get my wood kiln loaded and fired before fire season gets happening. Then it is back to spinning up dog fur to finish the orders I already have. Not to mention the GARDEN.
Just an update photo of the greenhouse. It is so full you can hardly walk in there, let alone water it. I have the other greenhouse full of the plants that don't mind it cold at night. Another day or two and I can transfer Tomatoes and the other heat-lovers into it. Then I'll have two over full greenhouses. Leaves are at the squirrel ear size so planting outside seeds can happen any time I have the time...when is that?? Also getting to the end of the fly orders, finally! Only about 100 to go. When you start a 5,000 fly order you count the ones you've finished, not how many to still make (otherwise you'd just be depressed). These last ones are the most difficult to do. Not to make, easy patterns, it is just that the weather is so wonderful I don't want to be inside anymore.
This moose I saw on my way home from school Thursday night about 8:30 pm. His mom has given him the boot and he isn't sure about what to do. He should have run off when I stopped if he wants to stay alive! The cows will be having their calves in the next two weeks and they don't like the calves from last year hanging around. Tough world out there in the bush.

Baby Chicks and a Bear!

2010-05-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

An exciting trip to town today. We have spent the past few days fixing up the chicken barn. Ken had to put new roofing on it and I had the inside detail. All the goodies that come out will be the food for my garden is a couple of years (remember, this is the Yukon and it is bloody cold, compost takes time up here).
The chicks came in on the 5 pm plane from Edmonton. They have thankfully changed their schedule, it used to be on the 10 pm one. Then time to get the chicks to the feed store, sorting bills etc. We live an hour and a half from Whitehorse so made for late nights. This is much nicer. The chicks come in a cardboard carton with 25 to a section. We got 78 altogether. They usually give you an extra one for each 25 you order. Last year I got 100....it was too much work for not much reward.
When we get home we take them out to the chicken barn and put each one's bill into the water so they get the idea of drinking. They are pretty amazing. It takes them about a minute to find the food and start drinking, eating and exploring. They are born with incredible instincts.
If you look closely you can see my stumpy-tailed cattle dog Cassie looking very alert. She is so happy to get her job back. She herds the little ones with her nose if they get out of the enclosure. When they are larger she helps me get them back inside for a lock up. Any dogs that come around when the chickens are here are in for big trouble! She attacks them and drives them away, even the few dogs that are her 'friends'. She takes her job very seriously.
Unfortunately these super cute chicks turn into really ugly adolescent chickens in a couple of weeks. Sort of the opposite of the ugly duckling story. But let me tell you, they are super tasty!!!
Then the bonus, a black bear that sat still for a couple of photos on the way home. It was very busy eating newly sprouted dandelions by the side of the road. This time of year you see lots of bears doing the same thing. I saw another one on Tuesday going to school. It stood up on his hind legs to get a good look, but then it ran away before I could get a picture.

Gardening in the Land of the Midnight Sun

2010-04-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

The picture of the plants under the grow lights was taken 23 March. They moved into the greenhouse later that week. Next one was taken 9 April. These summer squash are in the beds and have babies now. Outside shot taken same day, wow, what a change! Not only is the snow gone, some tiny green things are coming up.
My Mister Lincoln rose has it's first bloom!! It smells wonderful. The entire greenhouse if full of perfume, a really strong rose this one. I took this photo today, as well as the ones of the plants. As you can see, my new greenhouse has a nice crop of pots in it. Great place to dry them, shop is cold and I am sick of making fires. It has been 30 C all week in there, got to get them sanded and terra sig'd to fire by Thursday. First ship of the year comes in on May 5 th, won't have these guys smoke fired by then, but by the next weekend.

Parents at School Today

2010-02-11T21:21:00.001-08:00

Had a great day at school today. Moms, Aunties and Grandparents came to the K-4 class today. Sometimes I think the adults have more fun than the kids. We had our class pets out too, Dino the T-Rex and the snakes. Kids made lots of stuff, we went through 50 lbs of clay! In fact some stayed for afterschool pottery.

New House Pet

2010-02-10T22:59:00.001-08:00

I have been really busy making stuff for my Summer orders. Tonight we had some people in for dinner and one of them brought their new pet....Not really! Billy is the guy who traps the line behind our place. He parks his truck at our house and takes his snow machine out on the trapline. They had been out for the week and we had dinner for them when they came in. He had caught this wolverine. This is about the only way you get to see one of them. They are very interesting animals. They are really powerful for being so small. This one was a male and weighed 22 lbs.
By the way, the news from the school's Bison hunt was that they have been successful! Yippie!! A Bison feast this Spring. They will bring it into the school and cut it up. All the elders in the community will get some meat.

Will the Lake Blow Out??

2009-12-18T16:16:00.001-08:00

You can see the ice on the shore, the remnants from the latest freeze up. A couple of weeks ago it blew pretty hard and took out the waterhole. Then it got cold and froze up again. Today it got really windy and warm. Almost freezing! -4 C. We walked down to the Lake to see how close it was to going out again. You could hear the noise all the way up at the house.
There was overflow all over, luckily just a few inches of snow so not too sloppy. The open water was bashing and crashing away. Still 8 inches of ice though. You could also hear the water under the ice, just a wee bit creepy.
Ken went back and got his snow machine and the water pails. Filled everything up just in case.
This is typical weather in a year when there is an El Nino. Most of our weather comes off the Gulf of Alaska, primo storm breeding grounds. Makes for a warmer than normal and cloudier than normal winter. The forecast for next week is in the minus teens and sunny. Yippie! My favorite winter weather.

Kids at Work!

2009-12-18T16:02:00.001-08:00

Some images from my after school pottery group. There were more boys but the girls started to tease them and they couldn't handle it. So they went home! Chickens.
Most of them were making Christmas ornaments with cookie cutters. Nice presents for Grandmas and Moms. However....my one little buddy is a real dinosaur lover. He makes them just like they'd look in the ground. If this isn't cool I don't know what is.
Now for three weeks off, time to make my own pots and start getting ahead for the summer season.

More Photos from the NWT

2009-11-03T19:33:00.001-08:00

Top is the Lady Evelyn Falls, outlet of the Kakiska River. The falls are about 10 km off the highway. Kakiska Lake is pretty good size, supposed to be excellent fishing in the summer.
Next is a very interesting place with a great story. It is called McNally Falls. Where the road crosses the creek you wouldn't have a clue what is just feet to the North of you. It is what we call a 'three step creek'. While they were doing some location work for the highway they were crossing it with a canoe when the current pulled then down. The two guys managed to jump ashore, but their canoe went over the 50 ft. fall! Apparently it's skeleton was visable for many years after.
The last two waterfalls are the Louise and Alexandra Falls on the Hay River. They are only three km apart and there is a very nice walking trail connecting them. They are only a few km. north of the Alberta/NWT border. As you can see, all the water is brown.
Last photo is of Great Slave Lake, the northern inland sea. It has waves and a sandy beach and driftwood!
I would recommend this trip to anyone who likes the great outdoors. In September there is almost no traffic, bugs-well we won't go there. Doesn't matter though, they weren't that bad. It was really neat seeing all these places we keep reading stories about. I am so glad we did this trip.

Trip to the NWT Part III Waterfalls and the MacKenzie River

2009-10-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

Top photo is Jean Marie River. It is a neat little place 27 km from the Mackenzie highway right on the river. 90 people live there. This is the old school built in 1953. Next is the highway....and then my trusty van 'hotel Montana'. Actually it ended up way muddier before we were finished.
Sam Baa Deh waterfall is right on the highway. There is another fall called the Coral Falls about a km upriver that we hiked up to. So strange to have then just pop up in this flat place. Found some neat fossils here in the road crush on the side of the highway.
Next pic taken from the ferry on the Mackenzie river. They are building a bridge that will take 3 years to complete. Last pic is Fort Providence on the other side of the river....we got to ride the ferry twice the same day. This place had the worst black flies I have ever experienced.

Trip to the NWT PartII Water Everywhere!

2009-10-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

Top Photo is where the Petitot River joins the Liard. Lots of water in each river. Then a riverboat at Fort Liard. 100 km downstream the river is crossed by a large ferry. Last pic is looking upstream at the ferry landing. These rivers are huge and we haven't gotten to the Mackenzie yet! I am so used to seeing the Liard river where the Alaska Highway crosses it, big for the Yukon, but one of the clear, blue rivers. Here it is really muddy. In fact even the rivers that the people here call clear are brown to me, like the Blackstone. It is because they all come out of the muskeg, dyed brown with tannin. It looks impossible to travel in this country overland, much too wet. However in winter with all the water frozen it must be a dream. Totally flat!

Trip to the NWT, Part I:Liard Highway

2009-10-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

This September we took a trip into Canadian fur trading history. Even though we live in the Yukon, the NWT is seen by many people as the real North. All the early fur traders hung out there and the drive to find the North West Passage took place there.
We also just wanted to see some more wild and unpeopled places. Well, we came to the right spot! About a mile over the border we saw this huge bull buffalo. Later on we saw several more of his pals grazing on the side of the road. The Liard Highway starts out by fooling you that it will be an easy drive-fresh pavement (not even chip seal!!) for the first 30 or so miles. Then chip seal and THEN good old gravel.It is 97 kms through B.C. to the NWT border. And once you cross the border it goes into 37 kms of potholes and ruts. Made us realize how spoiled we have become in the Yukon with our now good roads. The bridges are one lane.
There is a photo of the crossing of the Nelson River. At the pull off on the north side there was a poster proclaiming a 'no idling zone' "Keep Our Air Clean". Must say I laughed my head off on that one. The entire trip to Fort Liard we saw one other truck.
The top photo is of the campground (free) at Hay Lake at Fort Liard. That is where we spent our second night of our trip, of course Liard Hot Springs was the first stop.

Eating from Close to Home

2009-08-12T21:16:00.001-07:00

Here is our dinner for tonight. Bear meat, cooked with homemade berry wine, carrots and parsley from our garden. Also the first potatoes! Super tasty and eaten in very nice surroundings. One of the best things about summer, eating out of the garden.

Firing the Wood Kiln

2009-08-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

My little kiln is made out of very used hard brick. They are AP Green Ozark and Empite bricks. They came from an old boiler that belonged to the Federal Government housing in Whitehorse. A friend of mine got a contract to tear it down and took the bricks for salvage. He had plans to build his own boiler, piled them in his yard and forgot about them for many years. He wanted to clean up all the accumulated 'stuff' so he had a big auction. Luckily for me I bought 1800 bricks for $200. Getting them back to my place 100 km away was a bit of a challenge. They weigh in at 8 lbs each. Got my neighbor's 3 ton Bobcat trailer and one of my 15 year old students and after three trips got them stcked on pallets at my place.
Thanks to Clayart on line pottery forum I found out about Steve Harrison's Laid Back Wood Firing. Bought it from The Potter's Shop and found the design of my dreams! Only took me a week to build. The first set of cone packs was from the front in the very first experimental firing. The pack was 8-9-10-11. All totally melted! Didn't side stoke so the back was between 6 and 8. For the next firing I plugged up some of the upper flues of the checkered flue. After I switched to the Hobs I started to side stoke and carried it through after every fill of the Bourry box. When cone 10 went down in the middle I called it quits. The most interesting thing about side stoking is how the flame in the kiln behaves when you put in a bundle of wood. It causes major turbalance. Instead of the flame flowing like a thivk river, it roars back towards the FRONT and goes in circles.
I have never used the damper while firing. I tried it, but it really causes it to slow down. I am firing by my self. I start at 4:30 am and seem to be finishing around 7 to 9 pm. Last time I didn't bother with a preheat and it went off faster. Go figure. Before I triend the side stoking it took until midnight to get done. Too long for me!
I can hardly wait for it to rain and the fire weather index to go down. I have some neat new pots to fire made from new and diffrent clay.
By the way. I top off my kiln with shelves, a layer of block insulation, a layer of soft brick and top it all off with fibre.

The Original Smog

2009-08-07T08:15:00.001-07:00

Forest fires are a fact of life in the North. It has been several years since we have had a bad summer full of them. We seem to be making up for it now! Not as bad as Fairbanks. At least when the wind comes from the South and West we get respite. There they are surrounded by fires.
Too bad the colour of the sun washed out in the photo. It was the classic forest-fire orange. The full moon was also orange instead of silver. Luckily the smoke only lasted a few days. Our hot spell is over (for how many years??) and we are back to the Costal flow, but still no rain.

Heat Wave II

2009-08-01T22:39:00.001-07:00

It has been more than unseasonably warm. Records have fallen. Temps have been in the 90's, its awful! I am running out of pots at the stores. Can't fire anything, kiln, pitfire, even the sauna. It is scary when it is so hot and it hasn't rained at all since the snow went. The White Pass had 25 ft of snow last winter so at least the lake is full. We can pump water and keep our garden going. It is the best in years. I have been canning tomatoes and freezing loads of veggies. The flowers are fantastic. One good thing about all this heat is that it has fried most of the mosquitoes. Yippie!!
Some photos of the dog yard showing how we manage the dogs in the heat. Lots of water. We finally had to shut the whole works down last Thursday. Instead of rides we gave kennel tours and talks. By the way, the dog pictured is Allosaurus. If you'd even tried to feed him a snack you would know why he is named that. He is showing how he stays cool at work.

Results from Latest Firing

2009-06-29T16:46:00.001-07:00

Here are some not too good photos from my last wood firing. I was being consumed by mosquitoes so didn't take much care/backgrounds etc. Love those flambe and other copper glazes in the wood. The smallest greenish vase was an experiment with cone 6 clay at the back. That is the place that usually produces refires. It is Plainsman M340, my favorite pit-fire clay. It did make it through cone 8 no sweat, no melting etc. Next time will try it with some Ravenscrag glazes. Instead of busting my behind trying to get it up to temp might as well just go with its natural bent. I started the fire at 4:30 am and fired till 7 pm. First time I didn't do a preheat and it got to temp faster!! Don't know what that means....got my normal cone 11 down in the front and 10 in the rest (except the back shelf).
My pottery classes haven't had the greatest attendance since school is out so have the time to make for my next firing and get paid at the same time. Once the summer people arrive will be busy again.
In the gardening department been eating lots of cucumbers, zucchini, Chinese greens and yummy red tomatoes! Had lettece and green onions for months now. Flowers starting to look good too. A few flower buds on the potatoes too. Just need some warmer weather.

News from the Yukon

2009-05-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-03T08:58:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-05-01T18:41:00.001-07:00

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.

A Visit to the Trapline

2009-04-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

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I will try to edit this post....Last Saturday we took a snowmoblie trip to our friend's trapline. Trapping season is over, but they were still staying in the bush. Spring weather is fabulous! Warm, bright, perfect for traveling. The lake was rough, tons of snow still and after all the wind full of deep drifts. Hard on the back.
We sat in the sun and BBQed bison burgers. Talked about the Winter and plans for the Spring. On the way home we got into some overflow but made it through okay. It was a great trip!

Lonf Time, No Write...

2009-04-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since I have added to this blog. Lots of things have happened. First and most important was the death of our Principal in early January. Things are still in an uproar at school and I haven't made my final decision about staying or going. Brian was such a dynamic persona. Kind of crazy and wild, but that is what made the situation so attractive for me. I could get as creative as I wanted as long as it helped the kids. Their needs came first before any career aspirations. Not your normal school!!!!
I drove some of Michelle's yearlings in two small local 12 mile races this winter. This was lots of fun. It was a girl's day out for the three of us. No pressure and a beautiful trail. Both days the weather was excellent, the trail perfect and the dogs went well. The way it works out you have headoners with almost every team. This is an excellent for the young dogs. We aren't really racing them. They are out for a 'learning experience'. Both times we placed in the middle of the pack-not bad for not racing!

Road Trip

2008-11-09T19:58:00.001-08:00

What is the most important thing to take on a Yukon roadtrip?? It's your bathing suit. Liard Hot Springs is the greatest. 105 degrees, natural surrounding and a herd of wild bison. Will write more later. This is the busy season, pre-Xmas sales, school, still getting the wood in, wishing I was still in something warm....

Puppy Update

2008-09-10T20:05:00.001-07:00

Time for an update on the puppies. They are all weaned and running around like crazy. They are trying their best to eat this sled we have on display. You can see one of them trying to eat the runner shoeing off! They ripped this piece of fake fur off the 'photo op', a plywood cutout with holes for people to put their heads. It is of a couple of mushers and a team.
Jazz the orphan pup, only surviver of his litter, is not only still with us, he is finally starting to grow. Still under sized and scrawny, but hanging in there. He is really tough. His big bully cousins occasionally beat him up, but lots of the time he is in the middle giving it back pretty good. Saturday night we will be having our staff party.....the entertainment will be picking the names from our name the puppy contest.

Kiln Food

2008-09-10T19:54:00.001-07:00

What a cool birthday present! A great big trailer load of fat slabs. Looks like enough wood for three firings. In fact there is my darling little kiln in the background. Hopefully I'll get some time this weekend to get the old chainsaw limbered up and fill up the kiln shed with food. I have a load of pots all ready to go, just need to free up a couple of day. Next week will be the end of tourist season for us. Dogs will all go back home and start training for the Quest. They are all in great shape and really strong, they need long miles now. Even the yearlings have started to settle down and have spent a good summer learning their jobs.

This Time Is Serious!

2008-08-29T20:44:00.001-07:00

The summer that never was!! First we have Caribou Mountain on the way to work this wednesday. The clouds just lifting off, letting us see MORE new snow. Then this evening after torrential rain showers all day a glimse of Jubilee Mountain from our yard....ugh. Let the whole thing be over and let real winter begin so we can await next year and hope summer returns.

Mud Bogging in the Yukon

2008-08-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday after working in the dogyard I went to Whitehorse to have the oil changed in my van. Of course I had the family mechanic do it.....while there I got to see the latest incarnation of the mud bogger. It used to be blue, with a windshield and was named 'Thunderbox'. Excellent name-hearing damage when that thing roared into life. They put Bobcat tires on it for the trips thru the mud. Right now this thing has a broken piston in the motor, saw the new bigger motor on the floor of the shop. They are going to Dawson in two weeks for the new challenge. Also will be putting heavy duty axels in. They broke one in the middle of the 5 ft thick mud, got towed out and it only took them 15 minutes to change it!

Not my cup of tea but those young guys at the shop think it's a blast!

Coldest July on Record

2008-08-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

I went to Skagway last Sunday to deliver some pots and hats. Weather seems to be almost the same as last time except a bit greener and a little less snow. On the way home there was MORE fresh snow on both Nares and Caribou mountains. Did not bode well for the overnight temps. It froze at the bottom of my lot, but didn't lose anything in the garden. Some of my neighbors had a diffrent result, and not a good one. I would be willing to bet that some people lost their potato crops.

The lake in the upper photo is Summit Lake on the top of the White Pass, headwaters of the Yukon river and source of the water we pump out of Tagish Lake. One side is regulare 'lake blue' while the other is 'glacier milky' where Summit Creek roars in.

Getting Water in the Summer

2008-07-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

In the summer we get our water from the lake by pumping, no more pails on the snowmachine. We have a black plastic line from our 'swimming' pool down to the beach. 660 ft long. The vertical rise is 80 ft. The pool stores over 4,000 Canadian gallons, probably around 5,000 US ones (a Canadian gallon is 140 fl. ounces). Depending on the weather this chore is done as often as every third day or as long as every third week. Needless to say, when I am running the show I pray for lots of rain!

First you have to load the wheelbarrow with the pump, however much hose you need to connect from the water level to the black pipe, preassure valve so the back preassure doesn't blow out the footvalve, the intake hose with the footvalve, a bucket for the intake hose, misc tools and last but not least your waders. I also bring hearing protecters, bug dope, tea when it is cold, a book or some knitting and my watch. When there is lots of water to pump you also have to bring a can of gas. Then you get to push all this down the hill. there is one part that is so steep you have to put the back of the wheelbarrow down on the ground and slide down. When you get to the lake you push the wheelbarrow into the lake, string the hose, lock in the intake hose, prime the pump and away you go. This new Honda pump almost always starts with the first pull, not like some of the others we've had over the years.

Now the boring part-sitting there for a couple of hours. One day two years ago I was sitting there staring into space when I thought I saw a log with a couple of branches on one end floating around the White Rock, a huge Glacial erratic just off the shore. Then it turned around and I saw that it was a moose. It zeroed in on the pump sound and started swimming right toward me. Great. I called my dog and told her to lay down and quiet. When the moose was hauling out I stood up and yelled at it, luckily it ran off down the shore. They like to stomp on dogs so I was glad she left!

Once the pool is full you get to do the worst part, getting back up that hill. I usually rest twice, hey, I'm not in a hurry. When you come to the steep part you have to go up as far as you can then turn the wheelbarrow around and pull it up in spurts. I always am happy when I get back and put all my gear away and see I have lots of water for my garden.

These photos were taken on Friday, the first calm day in about a month. It was drizzling rain and cold. Not nice!!

What Month Is It???

2008-07-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

This could have been titled 'Snow in July', just a bit depressing. On my way to work yesterday I saw this dusting on the top of Caribou Mt. Took the photos through my windshield, a few dog nose prints and squished mosquitos make it kind of blurry. When I got outside to take a clearer one my camera batteries died. You can see that all the snow from last winter hasn't melted off from the avalance shoot in the cirque.

The temp in Teslin was 0.7 for the low. It was around 5 at our place because the wind was blowing all night. Think the wind has blown almost steady from the W/SW for a month. Gets up to the 20-30 K mark almost every day. We had a high of 12 yesterday to really make it a good one. This is nuts! According to the Anchorage newspaper this is looking to be the coldest summer recorded. Lucky us!

Note on the orphan puppies-the little girl has died and Badger isn't looking like he'll make it. Monster Boy is still eating and looks okay at this point.

Name the Puppy Contest

2008-07-17T22:00:00.001-07:00

On the days when work is slow we really don't have much to do but sit around and talk to each other. Sometimes we come up with the most brillant ideas, and I think this is one of them. Name the Puppy! For the small sum of $1 you can buy a slip of paper with spaces for six names. Each of the puppies has a diffrent coloured collar to identify it. You fill out the names and when we do the draw for names you get six chances to win the great prizes. They are a poster, a book and a stuffed baby husky toy, all visable in the photo.

The most difficult part was getting those guys to hold still for a picture. I got Rika to try and hold them...fat chance! They will be five weeks old on Saturday and are big enough to go the way they want. We woke them up from a sleep so I thought they would cooperate, not likely.

These guys should be super dogs. their mother is Patti, the sister of Axel, another excellent leader and quite the personality if you like dogs that have small dog syndrome. She is small and tough and thinks she is a pit bull. Right now the puppies are a pretty big hit with our tourists. Being raised at Caribou Crossing is wonderful for the socialization process of baby dogs. They are handled by tons of people and turn into excellent cookie beggars....yes, we sell healthy treats to people so they can feed the friendly dogs. When they grow up and are working at the dog ride they love being petted and handled. we are now working last years yard pups and they love all of us. Not a kennel shy one.

Last week Franchesca, another white leader and previously freatured on my blog on a winter camping trip, had four huge puppies. Will post a shot of them when they come for visits.

Orphan Pups

2008-07-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

We had a tragedy at the kennel. Taz, a beautiful white leader with bright blue eyes, died four days after giving birth to five puppies. The grandfather of these pups was the foundation dog of Ed's kennel so they really wanted to save them. The father is Axel, one of the main leaders of the Quest team and a great dog. Out came the baby bottles and puppy milk replacer.

Puppies need to feed every two hours in the daytime and every three in the night so this is like having cranky triplets! Hello sleep depravation. Until today Ed has been the prime caregiver. Today he needed a break so we had them at work and got to take care of them. Ed is just posing for the picture, he left to cut lawns as soon as I took these. He is feeding Monster Boy who is always starving and is twice the size of the other two survivors. He has developed the habit of sucking on the other two and has to be seperated from them lots of the time. A couple of night ago Ed and Michelle brought him in bed with them in the night when they were just tired of dealing with him (hey parents, remember those days??). Michelle got to wake up to him crawling on her head and peeing in her hair!! Fun and games....

In the photos Michelle is feeding the little girl and Maren is practicing for parenthood feeding Badger the holstein guy. Their eyes are now open and they are starting to eat some solid food. We hope that they will catch up in size once they get to eat meat and other goodies. Right now they are thin but pretty vigerous, bodes well for their continued survival. As they grow I will update the blog.

Getting There!

2008-07-16T21:04:00.001-07:00

Finally! Sid the electrician and his helper/girlfriend Brianne are almost finished with the wiring of the new shop. Won't be long before I can get my electric kiln in there and can bisque fire at home. No more tender packing and transporting greenware over the bumpy gravel road. It is nice that I can fire for free at the school, but a total pain in the rear to pack them up, drive slowly for the 5 km to the chipped road, then unpack, fire, repack blah, blah, blah.....

Then there is the pugmill I bought last winter. Got a 20 amp circut dedicated for it. Can move it in once I get the place inspected and the power hooked up.

Of course we still don't have the doors up, have to insulate, do the floor, figure out what we are putting on the walls (thats a big one, too many options and I hate drywall). Still it is exciting to see some more progress.

Painting with Fire

2008-07-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

I had a couple of fairly big orders for pit-fired pots to fill. A couple of years ago I got this old beater wood stove in a trade for some fishing flies. It has lots of fire brick in it and it weighs a ton. The damper is broken and inside it is a bit of a mess. Would be VERY dangerous in a building. I put a three foot chimney on it with a spark arrester and parked it by our new shop (and close to the door of my pottery). Works great for the 'pit fires'.

The photos tell the story. Wrap the pots with their goodies, salt, seaweed, copper and handfuls of fireweed, place on a good layer of ash, add lots of thin wood, newspaper and light. I prop the door so it is open about half an inch. When the first batch of wood is burned down a bit I refill it. Takes about three hours for the burn, then about 8 to cool enough to take the pots in the house. I stack them on my cookstove until there are 50 or so then wash them, leave them overnight to dry, then apply a coat of Future floor wax. Then they are signed with a permanant gold marker pen and priced, the most difficult job of all.

It was nice to take them into Whitehorse today after work. Hopefully I can take the ones to Skagway on Monday. Time to start making for the next wood firing.

Rainbow

2008-07-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

Took this photo off my deck a couple of days ago. Pot of Gold?? Hey, this is the Yukon! There is gold almost everywhere. As I have mentioned before this is the third rainy summer in a row. Temps have been about 5 degrees C colder than normal, in the 15-16 range. Occasionally there is a semi-warm day. Only good thing is that I haven't had to pump water very often. Also the dogs at work like it very much. Only one day so far that we have had to shut down early because of heat.

Outside vegies are looking good. Summer turnips are ready, some chinese greens are already finished, spinach is in the freezer, sno-peas starting to bloom, lettece and herbs are beautiful, potatoes are huge. Of course it is raining again so will post a garden pic when it stops..don't know how many days away that will be.

Photos from Kiln firing

2008-06-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos from todays fun. All that smoke comes from sidestoking. Fried mosquitos on the firebox lid. Sky at 4 am. Side shot of kiln with crummy fibre on top that will be experiencing its last use. The red truck is a 1977 Ford crewcab three quarter ton four wheel drive, my husband's pet. It is our wood truck. Shop in the background, siding is on, windows in, ready for the Electrician!!!!

Mosquito Death Trap

2008-06-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

Just got in from the latest kiln firing. I started at 9 pm last night, fired for three hours, stuffed the kiln with big logs and went inside for a four hour nap. At 4 am it was nice and warm with lots of coals, ready for small slab pieces.
It seemed to fire faster than the last times, probably because it is above freezing this time! Now I have to wait a couple of days for it to cool down. Oh yeah, an airplane came by to see what was going on. One of the photos shows what happens when you sidestoke. The 'smokeless' kiln puffs big time. The fire hazard is low (from all the water in that snow) and we had a couple of showers during the day.
Because it was so humid the mosquitos were daunting.....only high point was watching them kill themselves on the firebox lid. Instant frying.

Beautiful Begonias

2008-06-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

I Can't believe that it was just a few days ago that we had snow. Today was 20 C. We had to run the soaker hoses on the dogs at work, this cools them down when they come back from a run. Of course we also get all wet and muddy when they jump on us. What the heck, it comes off with water!

I had pulled the begonias out of the greenhouse the same day we had the snow. It turned cold in the night and the rest is history. They were covered with old sheets and row covers. Not one fried leaf, luckily. I guess enough heat comes off the house windows to keep them from freezing. I really had no choice about bringing them outside, it was too hot inside, then too cold outside. Poor plants.

For now it wants to be summer. Who knows for how long. The saskatoons are finally in full flower too. Hope we get some heat so we'll have berries. I am off to eat some dinner (with tomatoes from the greenhouse) then start the fire in my kiln. Been waiting for this for a while. I have some new clay bodies in there and a couple of fun experiments. Let the fun begin.....

Over the White Pass to Skagway

2008-06-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

About every two or three weeks I make a trip to Skagway, Alaska. It takes about two hours to get there. While it is a 'business' trip, it is really a pleasure. My favorite scenery in the world is the White Pass. Always good for a little drama. If you like driving in snow and fog in the summer, it's the place to be! Sometimes the sun even shines and the weather is warm, not often but it does happen.

The bottom picture is from a trip at the end of April. The ones on top it it are from today. Not much diffrence in the weather! Less snow on the ground and the lakes in the pass are starting to melt. Lower down there is open water and some flowers were blooming. I saw two brown phase black bears on the way home. The big guy was about 5 km from Tutshi (too-shy) Lake. I spotted him walking up the road. When I stopped he got off the road into the ditch and started eating as he moved toward me. When he was right next to me he looked in the window and went back to eating! The second guy was half his size and beside Tutshi Lake on a pullout. I pulled in right next to that one and he never even looked up. Seems like there are lots of bears with that colouration in that area. A couple of years ago on the same stretch of road I saw a pair of yearling bears, one black and one dark brown, playing in the middle of the road. They were chasing each other, biting and wrestling around. A tour bus was stopped in the other lane, they paid no attention to anyone. Finally they got off the road and got a drink in the creek by the ditch.

The very top pictures are Tutshi Lake in the afternoon after it stopped snowing. All those mountains are full of Dall sheep. I also saw a marmot cross the road at the top of the pass. While I have heard them often while picking blueberries up there I have never seen one on the road. One thing I REALLY saw lots of were tourists. Tis the season....

Snow in June

2008-06-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to a big surprise-2 inches of heavy, fat snow. It started raining at 4:30 am so I went out and took the sheets off all my baby plants that were overnighting outside. I fell back asleep and when I woke again couldn't hear any rain-I thought it was our normal 'rain freckles' where we get 5 minutes rain. Not quite.....ran out in my yard shoes and a bathrobe and put all 20 flats back into the greenhouse. The snow melted off of them and there wasn't any damage. All the cabbage family, celery transplants and the seed stuff that has started were also okay. The night before I had put dirt over all the potatoes that had their heads up, so they were fine. Of course yesterday I took all the begonias out to the deck, geraniums out of the house for their summer holiday. Oh we love Global Warming in the Yukon. Looks like this will be our 3rd cold summer in a row. Always a challenge to garden up here!

Another Day at the Dog Farm

2008-06-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it has been an entire month since I last posted to this blog. A very busy one. I started my part time summer job on May 7th. It is just as much fun as last year. This year we have two young women working with us. Maren is 24 and works in the winter as a mushing guide and Bree is 27 and usually a wildland fire fighter. She is taking the summer off to travel to the Yukon and do something diffrent. She definately picked something really diffrent! These two gals are really hard workers, smart and fun to hang out with. The four of us make a good team and seem to be able to deal with all the usual daily disasters.

This is a great place to spend the summer. Lots of fresh air (sometimes too fresh!), beautiful scenery, sunshine, rain, dogs, dogs and more dogs. Also tourists from all over the world. Everyday you get to meet really interesting people. Plus the added benefit of lots of exercise. I work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11-3. Still have my afternoon pottery classes 3-5. Sometimes I get there on time, mostly about 10 minutes late. Carcross is only 2 km away.

In the photos you can see the puppy and 'friendly' yard. There is always a litter of pups running around and 6 people-friendly dogs. The tourists can buy dog cookies and feed them. It is pretty funny to watch them trying to make a sled dog on its day off sit. Or to shake a paw. All these guys know is to run and gobble down as many cookies as they can!

Some dogs live at CCTP all summer. Everyday Michelle brings 20-30 more from home. Maren brings her dogs every other day. All the dogs alternate working and rest days. Not that they want to. Some of them are totally crazy. We usually have 50-60 at work. The noise level when we hook up the cart is deafening. And sometimes things are really nuts. That is usually the time when some dogs figure it will be fun to fight. Then we all have to jump in and stop it. Usually happens when there are a couple of hundred people watching. Another day at the dog zoo!

2008-05-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

This is the busy time of the year. The new shop is coming along, slowly, but there is progress. The 120 hats are all in the shops and hopefully being sold. The flies are finished, all 4350 of them. The pit-fired pots all done and the wood kiln will be fired this weekend.

We are eating cucumbers and lettece from the greenhouse. Lots of tomatoes and baby eggplants and peppers. A couple of zuchinis almost ready to eat. A thousand or so flower transplants, some already flowering. The weather has been uncooperative, much colder than normal. It is Spring, but you'd hardly know it.

Getting Ready for Fishing

2008-04-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to twist some arms and buy some tools for fly-tying for the school. We were able to get 8 sets, thanks to our school council and some help from my materials supplier in Vancouver, Micheal and Young Fly Shop http://www.myflyshop.com/ .

The kids are using up hooks at a furious rate. It has exceeded my expectations for popularity. They force every adult that comes into the school to have a go at making a fly. Next week when we have the Bison Feast to celebrate the results of the bison hunt I will be donating a couple hundred of my hand tyed flies for sale. All the money will go into more fish hooks!!

We are using lots of materials that are native to where we live, grouse feathers, diffrent furs, hair from the bison hide and anything else we can find .When I told them to pick up any dead squirrels off the road it didn't go over too well.

The first two pictures are from afterschool. We have used one of our pottery tables for flytying only. The last one is from the Native Language classroom. I did the first lessons in there so I could use the chalk board. I got three of the bigger kids to help with the younger ones until they picked it up. Now everybody can tie the heads. Because we only have 8 sets of tools the kids have to group up and share. They really do help one another learn this way. As you can see by the pictures they are really having fun!

Return of the Swans

2008-04-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

On our way home from Whitehorse we went down to the "bridge " to pick up our mail. There were a few swans feeding in the 6 Mile River (it connects Tagish and Marsh lakes). These are just the first arrivals. In the next couple of weeks there will be so many of these beautiful huge white birds that they cover the river. You can see then flying over between favorite feeding spots in Carcross, Tagish and at Marsh lake.

The river is quite shallow and the water stays open most of the winter. Upwelling from the big lake brings up warmer water. It is NEVER safe to cross it, no matter how iced in it looks. These first birds are the Trumpters. The Tundra swans come a bit later. You can tell their 'kids' from last year as they are still greyish. Once, about 15 years ago, we got a very cold snap at the peak of the migration. The first birds couldn't move on and the later birds just kept on coming. There were over 2,000 big swans in the river at one time. I drove my dogteam along the edge and got a very close look at them. The noise was amazing. Snowmachines scare them so you aren't supposed to drive down there when the birds are in. Loose dogs are another very bad idea. Dogteams don't seem to bother them.

The days are really getting longer. Woke up to sunrise at 6ish, working outside in the light until 9:30 last night. Above freezing in the daytime, snow malting and we are finding all the stuff we forgot to pick up in the yard last fall, all things we needed during the winter of course. The sun is so bright and the sky so blue, the best time of the year, impossible to work in the house or shop.

Tomorrow will post some pictures of the kids at school tying flies, now that is some fun!

Stryers Pass, almost....

2008-04-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

If I ever wondered why I spent all those years on a dogsled I really knew the answer last Sunday. I took my first long distance trip on a snowmachine. It turned into an endurance test.

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear, beautiful blue sky and -25 c. We packed up our machine, putting in snowshoes, a cookable lunch, extra gas and a few items of emergency gear. Our friends and neighbors the Ofarrel family came with us. We had four machines, our big Scandic that the two of us were doubling on, another Scandic pulling a dogsled that one of their kids, Katie rode, an Arctic bearcat that Dave drove and a small Bravo that their 19 year old son James drove. With great good cheer we drove off down the lake toward the trail to Stryker Pass.

It was a bit cold on the lake with the wind chill of going 20 mph...I pulled my parka hood with nice warm coyote fur around my face. Half way down the lake Dave zoomed by us waving-he had sighted a wolf kill by the side of the frozen lake. We turned around to check it out. The tracks weren't that old, but there wasn't much left that was eatable.

Finally we came to the start of the trail, ohoh, no one had been in there this winter except a couple of snowshoers. That is hardly a broken trail when you have three feet of snow. Dave got out his GPS to inform us that the trail to Lime lake was only 2km away. Sounded fishy but what did we know?

We only got stuck three times on the way in. The valley that the trail follows is beautiful. It winds along a creek with lots of open water, animal sign was everywhere, lynx, wolverine, martin, coyote and wolf tracks. There were several tricky creek crossings, but we all made it up to the lake in good spirits. The longest 2k on earth (try 10k AT LEAST). After a nice fire and a good lunch we deceided to try for Stryker lake. After a fast trip down Lime lake the getting stuck began in ernert. Finally James figured out why he was totally stuck in a deep hole-a part of his machine had sheared off and it was dead.

Luckily we had our big skimmer along, just enough room for a disabled machine with the skis taken off. We got turned around, loaded up the Bravo and off we went out of there. Now the fun really began. Too many tight curves, narrow snow bridges over the creek, trail on sidehill, too many tips, getting off the trail and just plain bogging down. It took hours to get out of there. A couple of times I felt like laying down on the trail and going to sleep. Finally we could see the big lake threw the trees. We were all laughing like mad, it was so crazy. All of us had at least one wet leg. We didn't get back to our place until 8 pm.

I don't care, I'd do it again in a minute. In spite of all the travail it was a great trip, a beautiful day to be outside and just plain fun. We are planning another trip soon before the snow goes. This one will be down Taku Arm, same place I went with the dogs, only this time we will go thru Jones Pass to Atlin Lake. Oh boy, Spring in the Yukon!

Spring Camping

2008-03-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Spring Adventure! It has been a few years since I went on a spring camping trip with dogs. There used to be a time that I went down the lake for exciting trips that lasted for four days and three nights. Didn't know how much I missed it. My summer employer, Michelle Phillips, asked me to come with her family for an overnight at Moose Arm. This is a place south about 40 miles on Tagish Lake. It is a few miles south of the B.C./Yukon border. There is a 10 mile portage to the east over to Atlin Lake and another 30 miles to Atlin, B.C.

The Southern Lakes are a giant frozen highway in the winter. We usually don't get too much snow and people are using snowmachines to go icefishing, leaving a nice trail for the dogs. Later in the Spring the snow level goes down and has a nice hard crust, so with good lead dogs you can go anywhere.

The top pictures are of the kennel in Tagish and a view south from our camp. Then a picture of my team, complete with some of my favorite dogs from the summer. Allosaurus and Optimus were my wheel dogs (those closest to the sled). Both of them are great pullers, honest and hard workers. The middle ones are Zappa and English. Zap is one of my favorite leaders, along with Patti (nicknamed Patti Wacko, a little 40 pounder that thinks she is a pit bull and fun as can be) his sister. The leaders I got to use were Daisy and Franchesca. Daisy is Michelle's main race leader and Frannie is a really driving speed leader that wants to pass everything in sight. She is Daisy's daughter. You can see good photos of all these guys at www.pristinewildernesstours.com.

The trip was wonderful and I had a great time. Going home the wind was from the North, blowing 30 mph right into our faces, temp -17. Brought back many memories of other times down there.

Dog Racing Season

2008-03-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

Yep. that time of the year again. All of the 'dog people of the North' are glued to our computers day and night getting race updates, reading blogs and the northern newspapers on line. The first race is the Yukon Quest, www.yukonquest.com. It started this year on Feb.9 in Fairbanks. Last year was Whitehorse's turn. This is my favorite. So many of my friends have run it, I worked as a handler in Dawson for a friend of mine one year, and my summer employer Michelle was in it this time.
The Quest was crazy. Temps were in the -60s in parts of the start on the Alaskan side. Then there was insane jumble ice on the Yukon river. Then it warmed up above freezing, complete with really deep overflow to swim thru!! Michelle came in 4th. These are the same dogs we use at the dog cart ride in the summer.
Now it is the time of the Iditarod. You can see it at www.iditarod.com. Lots of our neighbors are in it this year. They now have experimental GPS tracking units with 20 of the teams. This is really great. You can see exactly where they are, if they are resting and how fast they are traveling. They are always really slow on the checkpoint updates so this lets you know where these guys are. This year there are so many competitive teams that it is anybodies ballgame. Of course we are glued to the computer.....totally addicted!! Another first-the Humane Society finally realized that their energies are better used trying to help animals that are really being abused and leave the grandstanding they were doing about sled dogs. So no protest at the start.
Part of my summer job is giving the 15 minute sled talk to our longride clients. I tell them about all the parts of the sled, how to stear it, pull out all the gear and explain its uses. Then I get to answer their questions. This is the fun part for me. They all flip when I tell them that we camp out at -20 without a tent and spend up to 4 days on a trip. They always want to know how we stay warm. They think we are wonder-women, which really makes us laugh.
After the Iditarod the 100th running of the All Alaskan Sweepstakes takes place. Now this will be a cool race. 400 some miles with 12 dogs. No dropping dogs, take your rest where you want and winner takes all the $100,000 purse. It will go out of Nome to Candle and back. It will take place a couple of weeks after the Iditarod ends.
There will be a few mid-distance races in late March and early April. A few weeks rest for the dogs then the cruise ships magically appear and our summer cart rides start. Amazingly enough the dogs aren't the least soured by all this running. Those few weeks off put them back into crazy mode. That means that when they are hooked up they jump, scream and bark. They lunge into the lines (what we call banging), putting lots of stress on the brass snaps and lines that they pull from. It never fails, just as a team pulls out one of the snaps will break, have to try to hold the team while one of the handlers runs full blast getting a new snap in place, then off you go.
It seems like several times each day I get the comment "They really like it". The people are amazed by the fact that a working dog LOVES its job. Gee, I also love my job(s). Guess they have never experienced our fun a job can be. Learn from the dogs. Actually these dogs are lucky. They get to do what they were born to do. And that is run. If we don't keep them chained when not working most of them run off into the bush and can get into lots of trouble. Like being eaten by wolves, shot for chasing game and hit by cars and trucks.
I am really looking forward to another summer season. After getting out of dogs six years ago I can't pretend I don't miss it. After all, 30 years of doing something 5 days a week each and every winter becomes a big part of your life. Working with the dogs in the summer fills up that void. And getting paid for something that is so much fun is pretty neat.

Reminder of Summer Past.....

2008-02-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

After all the cold weather and the whinning I've done about it I thought that a couple of reminders of summer past would be nice. They are the two sides of my deck. I spend as much time here as possible, eating meals, taking my work out to do and just sitting out here with friends. The table is on the right as you come out of the house, all the dahlias on the left. That silver thing is the tarp over our radial arm saw. It is still there because this is the only level place where we can get enough power to run it properly. Hopefully it goes to the BIG shop when complete. Yippie, more space to put plants!

Right now I am getting ready to start seeds, proof the begonia tubers and just generally plan the garden and flowers for this summer. At least I have faith it will happen. Makes me warm just looking at these pictures. In past years when we've had a cold winter the summer tends to be warmer than usual. Sure hope it happens this year! As it was -45c again this morning.......

My Kiln:Naad aagi heen x'ann

2008-02-08T22:34:00.000-08:00

This is my woodfired kiln that I built last year. I am madly in love with it. Fires like a dream, uses very little wood and does fantastic things to my pots. The wood piled under cover is enough for two firings. I also have a big box full of small scraps that I 'drop from the top' at the start of the firing. There is also some side stoke wood that is out of the picture.

It is 25 cu ft inside, last firing there were 70 pieces, including lids . I counted them when I made the wadding. So far I have fired it three times, always on the full moon. Last time was in October. That night it got to -10c. Think that is my limit. Since then it hasn't been warm enough to do another firing.

Today when I took these photos it was a high of -30. Last night was -40, and right now at 11pm it is already -42.......so much for Global Warming. My kiln wood pile is in danger of turning into house wood if it doesn't warm up pretty soon. We usually like it to be -15 or above to go get wood. I need two or three days of -10 or above to fire the kiln, guess I'll just have to wait.

By the way, the name I settled on means flowing river of fire in Tlingit.

Back to School

2008-02-08T22:17:00.000-08:00

This is the space I have to teach my pottery classes at the school in Carcross. These kids are some of the afterschool regulars. There haven't been too many kids this week as it was about -29c at 3pm. Much too cold for them to walk home. During the school classes I give them a project to work on, but afterschool they can make whatever they want. Sometimes it gets a bit wild in there when all the little boys make their clay armies, tanks, bunkers etc and proceed to play war. They have a great time! When it is all over they ball up their clay, put it in the bag with some damp sponges and in a couple of days it will be ready for the next game. They have also made huge ships, pirates and sea monsters on the table at the rear of the picture (it is the ocean). I bet they have the most fun when they smash everything up at the end!

Although this isn't the best equiped or largest space, it fits perfectly. The largest group is the 4-5-6 class with 14 students. Our school only has 50 kids. They range in age from 4 to 15. I feel very honoured to be able to work with them. I think I have as much fun as they do.

Obcessed by the Weather

2008-01-30T12:40:00.000-08:00

This past week has been great for inside the house. Nights of -43 and beyond, days warm enough only to go out and get more wood in. Too cold to go skiing, going for even a walk more work than it is worth. Back when we had sled dogs we would have been feeding them two big meals with lots of fat and putting lots of extra straw into their houses to help them stay warm. Can't get out to make pots, keeping the shop around 10 c, just to keep the clay above freezing. I am even cutting school this week. Won't make me too popular with the kids, but driving is out of the question and going in for the entire day on the schoolbus, while possible, is a waste of time.

I get emails from my neighbors asking if we are going crazy yet, no one likes to be inside all day. So I am trying to concentrate on making yarn from the dogfur and getting all my hat orders filled. Right now they total over 100, almost halfway there.

Got a call from my flytying supplier, on Monday my supplies for this Spring have been shipped. Hopefully it will be warm enough to start one of our vehicles next week and go pick them up. Anyway, it is more fun to pickup a weeks mail. We get mail three times a week and it is a 20 km round trip to pick it up. We are one of the last places where a real, live human hands you the mail. Hang around the local Post Office and you get all the latest gossip. The main topic usually the weather.

Once things warm up I will go out and take some pictures of my kiln and write about the construction and firing. Until then will try to stay warm.

Keeping Warm

2008-01-26T21:01:00.000-08:00

This is how we get our firewood. The snowshoes are there in case the machines have problems. Once we get out on the trails we put them on and go looking for dead standing trees. If there is lots of snow it can be hard going, but excellent exercise in the winter. We bring a lunch and a thermos of tea and enjoy listening to the birds while we have a rest. Three trips are a cord of wood.

Daily Tasks

2008-01-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

This is a job we do every couple of days-opening the waterhole. Right now it isn't such a nice day as this...getting close to -40.