So, I ask you ...

Family, Fine China & Foot Rubs

Does life get any better??

wildlife!

Yukon Wildlife!!

Pacific Coast Wildlife

Vancouver Island Wildlife

Exploring Old Growth Forest Wlidlife

Rattle Pup Wildlife!!!

We're BACK!

We've had a long break from our

usually up to date blogging...

but NOT with out a good excuse...

First we were on a family holiday :)

(TONS of photos to share with you on THAT topic :)

Then Mummy had to go back to work full time :(

(it feels like we barely see her any more!)

& then the silly computer stopped working !

(now THAT was truly harsh...)

SOOOOO

finally...life is starting to settle down.

We are back in our Northern mansion,

Mummy seems to be getting a handle on her schedule,

and the computer guy came to visit today & fixed all of our woes!!

In the mean time I've been busy collecting rocks for Mummy!

She saves every single one!

She just LOVES the spruce cones too :):):)

My sister Sarah is a great rock picker upper too!
Heck between the two of us,
Mummy will never have to look for her own rocks again! Oh won't Daddy be happy that HE won't have to
pick up the big ones for her any more...
Nope...
We can do ALL of the rock collecting from now on

while Daddy just sits back & relaxes ;)

!!!

On the rarest of breaks from rock picking...

I've been visiting with

our new puppies...

Well...

They aren't exactly OURS but they live with us

& we just LOVE them to bits!

Sarah & William Cat are great buddies...
After a long day of hunting bugs & rocks,
they often take a nap together...
I join them too,
but only when Mummy & Daddy
make me!!

SOOOO
As you can see we've been busy playing
outside this summer!
& now that Mummy can get back onto the computer...
you'll get to read all about our adventures!
Just remember to be easy on her when
there is a bit of a gap in the updates...
This full time working thing
seems to have her more tuckered out
than my sister & I have ever seen her before!
*********
Well,
that's it for now!
Stay tuned :)

Spring is in the air!!

Finally...

(purple the colour of the wild crocus)

With the mercury rising into the PLUS zone the icicles are growing on the cabin eaves.
This one is 56 inches already with no sign of shrinking !
...
In another 5 weeks,
we might even see our first wild Crocus,
that is, if the snow ever melts.
...
Remember, last June,
we had a fresh foot of the
white & not so fluffy stuff
fall on us!

...

But this isn't the time to remember such things,

thinking of Spring is far more pleasant

:)

Soft and Gentle Sarah Grace...

Some say she is shy...

I say she is soft & gentle.

This little wonder LOVES

to dress up
in Mummy's things...

Be that a beautiful scarf or

a practical down vest...

& Mummy's bright red hat is perfect

for dress up too!

Her own hat is fun to put on

& she even gets it on straight

once in a while!

Ahhhhh... at 16 1/2 months old,

Sarah is SO much fun!

She plays dress-up

and give hugs.

She shares toys

and laughs easily.

& when Sarah isn't summitting something REALLY tall, she is typing on the computer when I turn my back to pour a morning coffee!!

,,,,,,23,....../mml;'''''lmllllllllllllll//////////,,,,,,

(translation: Love Sarah Grace)

Burwash Bound & Back!!

The days are getting SO long now

and the sun is SO strong

that

I couldn't bear to be indoors
for one more minute!!

So...the girls & I

were Burwash bound!!!!!

No matter what time of year it is,I never get sick of these mountains!It's like they have a life and personality of their own!

I could live with out the ice on the highways though...

At one point I almost turned back

but chose to push on, I'llbeit, at a snails pace!

It doesn't look so bad from this photo, but trust me,

the ice is slick & not a whole lot of fun!!!

Views like this one made the trip
worth it :)
Hummmm....and to think,
THIS is my backyard!


I promised Courtney, Sarah & William,
to do my best to get Santa's autograph when I
arrived in the North...
As it turns out,
he's not an easy fellow to access!
but here IS proof that Santa & I
share the same neck of the woods!
Christmas Creek is only about 20 minutes
north up the highway!

On this trip I even saw his reindeer tracks!
I would have stopped to take photos of them but
the road is really icy & curvy there...
NOT a great spot for stopping!!


Kluane Lake is frozen solid!
She's the largest body of water in the Yukon.


And across the road from Kluane Lake is,
Sheep Mountain!
That was my office
(the tiny green dot at the bottom of the photo)
my first summer with Parks.
& what a summer it was...pregnant with the twins
and working in a remote setting like this!!


This old place was the home of one of the original
gold miners in the area!
He is buried at the foot of Sheep Mountain.
I remember peeking in through a broken window
one day...something moved & I was out of there
before you could say "Jimmy Cricket"!
Must have been an Ermine...


Now THIS fellow was far too friendly!
I'm not sure if he was watching over
a sheep carcass in the ditch,
or if he was hanging around
because people have been feeding him...
I really hope it's not the ladder!

He was so beautiful that I had t stop & take
a photo or two or three or four...

Too bad I cut off his nose in this one :(

After he circled the truck three times,

I was back on my way...

but not before I got the next shot!!

In the Yukon,

I'm always struck by the beauty of a Coyote!
I've never seen an Ontario Coyote

look so healthy!

Perhaps it's the colder weather...

a thick coat can do

wonders for any dogs

appearance!!

After a long drive the girls & I finally
arrived in Burwash Landing!!

Buddy & Ips

were there to great us!!

& Brenda was more than ready for a twin

snuggle :)

It's been SO long!!

Our visit wasn't as long as I would have liked it to be

but I needed to get home in the daylight

With the slick conditions & Dahl Sheep low on the mountain

& crossing the highway,

I'm leery about doing this trip in the dark!!

Besides, it's nice to be home in the evening

with family :)
.......

After a friendly hug & good time with my dear Friend,

and with the girls played out, feed & changed,

it was time for the long drive home!

Funny, a trip to Burwash is all it takes to

remind me that the Junction trees are

lush...even with 90% taken by Beetle kill!

The scars of fire have left this place looking

lifeless!! The trees that DO exist here, are also

tiny in comparison to ours 100 km south!
Burwash is also lacking any volume of snow...

It's amazing the difference between

the two communities!

My mountains back home!

& around the lake we go!!

an old dilapidated motel along the route!

A better look at the Old Minor's Cabin

I'll have to look up his name again...

I once knew it...

that & the dates that he lived

& died there...
What a life of adventure he must of had!

More lifeless building

along the Alaska Highway

Two cabins close to home

that have sat for some years

with out inhabitants...

There is a strange beauty & quality

to these old

structures!

Finally, over two hours on the road home...

we arrive in the Junction
The Muffin is there to welcome us

It's an interesting sculpture, not overly liked by locals,

with a dark & mysterious history

perhaps I should write about that one day...

I always laugh at the tipsy sign

over the local bar...

DaKu is a beautiful building

it's one of the admin buildings of the CAFN
It sits about 3 km from our cabin

Ahhhh...our cabin at last!

I love to go visiting &

playing elsewhere but...

like Dorthy said,

"There's no place like home"

I'm getting so big that...

I can put on my own hat!!

I LOVE hats!

They are SOOOO much fun!!

Mummy's old Tilley is just the right fit :)

Well, not quite...but I'm still growing!!

& this knit hat she found at the thrift shop...

SO fashionable...I'm ready for Tofino!

Twin friends came for a visit...
Their hats were rather small
you see my friends are only 7 weeks old...
but trust me
I got those hats on too!
Mummy just wasn't fast enough to get the photo!

Mummy's hat is fun to play Peek-A-Boo with :)

Now this is how you wear

the pink hat from Aunt Maureen...

Mum & Dad just don't get fashion!

They keep putting it on sideways!!

When worn properly, it looks SO pretty!

But then again...

my ears are cozy warm this way...

Maybe Mummy & Daddy

know a thing or two ?

This putting on my own hat thing

is REALLY fun :)

Ready for a hike in Kluane?

:)

:):)

If only I hadn't grown out of

my very own Tilley, the one Mrs D gave me!

Oh well...my Daddy said,

"When a little girl

grows out of her favourite hat

it means that her brain is growing"

and Mummy said

my brain is SO big already

that it scares her!!

Do you know what she meant by that?