Coming to the End.....

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!

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.

Four Bears!!/Kiln Firing

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

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!

Baby Chicks and a Bear!

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.