Fitness by firewood
A Yukon retiree, 75, has three readily apparent options for a productive summer fitness program: 1. Fishing, 2. Golf or 3. Firewood.
The weight of Firewood
We averaged wood-buying sites. The approximate weights of a cord of Yukon firewood: 4,250 lbs for green and 4,050 lbs for seasoned.
Cataract Surgery: A modern medical miracle
There are only two things you need to know if you are considering cataract surgery to prevent spending your retirement years like Mr. Magoo
My favourite Johnnie Johns hunting story
He said his cow moose call was so sexy, it could make the bulls stampede. The reopening of the refurbished Caribou Hotel in Carcross this summer brought the names of two Yukon legends back to mind, Johnnie Johns and Polly the Parrot, both of whom frequently entertained in the Caribou. Your humble correspondent never had …
The pine marten aka the sheriff of squirrel country
“I can’t believe I just got myself trapped inside a damn squirrel cage.”- Doug Sack’s perception of the pine marten’s thoughts.
The lost camel of an ancient Persian fairy tale
In Persia, there once was a wise king with three sons. He mock-banished the young princes from his kingdom so they could go out and test themselves against the dangers of the real world. Their journey became a fairy tale known as “The Three Princes of Serendip.”
Words are a writer’s tool box
People who write a lot have different perspectives and relationships with words than those who simply read or say them. If the pen is truly mightier than the sword, (as said English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839), a writer’s tools could be favourably compared to the mightiest of weapons if he or she was out …
The ballad of “Buck” Choquette
Buck Choquette spent his last days and hours in Dawson telling Jack London true stories of his long pioneering life in the Northwest. Is it just coincidence, then, that the main character in his most successful novel, The Call of the Wild, is also named Buck?
2019 World Series Primer
Based on their 107 regular season wins, the Astros should meet the Nationals in the 2019 World Series. Yes, the Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners are the only two MLB franchises currently playing which have never won their league’s pennant and have therefore never played in the World Series. The Nats, which Grandpa refers to …
The Joy of Northern Kleptoparasiticpredation
There are two sides to every story, sometimes more. Entry-level journalism students are taught, ad nauseum, by wizened old editors to strive to present both, or all of these sides, to their readers in order to honour the elusive literary gold standard called “objectivity.” Of course, there is an opposing viewpoint which proclaims that objective …
Saved by The Caribou and wolves
Considering the Caribou RV Park at km 1403 of the Alaska Highway was established in 1974 and your humble correspondent lived in Atlin from 1977 to 1984, I must have driven right by it hundreds of times over the years without giving it a look or even a thought. I knew it was built by …
