As leaves start to fall and I swaddle my garden in rows of spun plastic to protect it from night frosts, I am exploring my family connection to gardening. Perhaps it’s because I feel a little alone sometimes, a spur way out on the family tree with little connection to roots that lie in other countries and cultures.
I feel tumbled up against the advance of winter. All summer, the sun pulled me on with the force of a tearaway sled dog and, when the days shortened into fall, it was as if she slowed suddenly to sniff out a piece of news and I hurtled into her. I sit on the trail …
A couple of weeks ago, I was stayed in my tracks as I was strolling by one of our apple shelters. They’re coming, my nose told me as the fragrance of ripe fruit wafted out of the open door. I poked my head in. As luck would have it, beneath the laden branches lay a …
Mysterious are the ways of plants, and when it comes to trees, we wait until they are well and truly dead before we cut them down.
One thing that thrives up here is the humble spruce tree. Now before you shake your heads, let me clarify: I’m not talking about just any ol’ spruce tree.
Yukon fruit growers have work to do in all seasons to ensure a successful harvest come fall. In the spring this involves two main strategies: avoid early bloom and watch that weather.
Raspberries, blueberries, crowberries and cranberries: being on Yukon time means planning your weekends around where to pick once the – dare I say it? – latter part of summer rolls around and hints at fall. There is one berry fairly new to the Yukon scene that is well over and done with by the time …
The light returns to the Yukon long before the heat and we’re still in the prime season of huge oscillations in temperature between day and night. Mornings dawn crisp – but early – and as of yet we feel no compulsion to head outside until it warms a little. Midafternoon brings mud and even t-shirt …
The warm winds of spring have brought with them the promise of little green shoots popping out of their seeds to generate the stuff of salads. There is a brief moment in our northern spring between the holding cold of winter and the heady 24-hour daylight, before our winter habits – frozen into trails through …
I was making a carrot cake this week for one of the Jack Russell’s birthdays (he gets the carrot ends, we get the cake, seems like a pretty good deal), and the subject of peeling vegetables came up. I have always been reticent about sending the outer portion of my fruits and vegetables to the …
It struck me a couple days ago that I have gotten out of the habit of baking, and was missing having nibbly bites about for those mid-meal moments that require just a little something. I briefly mentally bemoaned my lack of muffins, before remembering that this is one of the things that I can actually …
If I were to search out the exact opposite of local, homegrown food, I would pass through the security gates at an international airport. The sportsbars, food courts and even neo-eco-healthy cafés are part of an isolated microcosm that I’m sure has allowed for evolution in isolation of the trends towards local, fresh food that …
Potatoes, kale and cabbage is a pretty common answer to the question, “What can you grow up there, anyways?” For those of us who get excited about growing, however, it is easy to go kind of crazy even within the parameters of a single vegetable family and the brassicas (also known as coles or crucifers …
The circle is often used as a symbol of perfection. The delicious combination of sweet or savoury filling and flaky pastry at its best when round is known as “pie.” The magic number that tells us everything we need to know about a circle is called “pi.” Coincidence? I think not. Perhaps this relationship between …
I was reminded of the importance of seedling density as I wandered away from my usual mung beans and lentils into tiny seed territory recently. While I do enjoy the little sprouts – alfalfas and mustards and the like – I normally can’t be bothered when I am quite satisfied with what I see as …
Jennifer Tyldesley has spent her life behind the controls of aeroplanes: in the Air Force, flying search and rescue and most recently for Air North. I imagine her in a crisp white shirt with epaulettes gleaming, watching the Klondike Valley sweep away beneath an old Hawker Siddeley when she is struck by an epiphany: “One …
“The dark and the cold are conducive to creativity,” says Carly Woolner, one of the co-founders of Dawson’s (S)Hiver Arts Festival. Blair Douglas, the other half of the team, chimes in with a smile: “They are also conducive to everyone staying home.” Together these sum up the motivations behind the festival, which has a mandate …
You know that thing you’ve had for years and haven’t been quite willing to part with, though you haven’t yet discovered its particular niche? Mine is a small hand-crank cast iron meat grinder, and the niche has been found. Two in fact, in the disparate realms of ferments and ice-cream. I’ve been on a pretty …
Yukon College is expanding their offerings in one the hottest (pardon the pun) arenas today: climate change. Often described as one of the greatest challenges of our time, human-induced climate change is already having major impacts on northern communities and ecosystems. Many factors will determine how the trends we are witnessing now will play out …
A square, two-storey guest house with bare, small rooms and a simple kitchen is snugged in between the trailer-cum-farmhouse and the sheep barn. The collection of buildings looks tiny against a sweeping backdrop: a deep valley that winds away from the mouth of the fjord, hemmed in by high cliffs. A woman perhaps in her …
Finally, it’s here! The season I’ve been waiting for, the season when each day invites a further excursion to extend the trail beyond yesterday’s stopping point. It’s ski season. I got out for my first ski this year on a visit down to Mount Lorne before Christmas, and the next shortly afterwards on my new …
Although Iceland has been getting a lot of press lately as a hot – metaphorically and geologically speaking – tourist destination, it hardly seems a likely go-to spot for an agricultural experience. That however is exactly what landed me in the middle of the blustery North Atlantic in October along with seven other Yukoners. We …
(Hot) Water Water Everywhere (Iceland Age part 1) Read More »
Benkert is quick to underline this aspect of the project. “The Yukon Geological Survey has been really critical (to the project) all the way through,” she says, and goes on to cite the important roles played by the Universities of Ottawa and Montreal as well as each of the seven communities that participated in the …
Hippocrates alluded to the gut as the source of all our ills, and Katherine Belisle, a health practitioner in Whitehorse, couldn’t agree more. Working in the relatively new field of functional nutrition she has been doggedly working to introduce the benefits of eating fermented foods to an increasingly willing audience. Functional nutrition differs from a …
I extracted a small tub of raspberries from the freezer yesterday, comforted to see it near overflowing with the season’s harvest. Though saskatoons and blueberries came in in droves this year, the raspberries that made it to the freezer were few and far between – their perishability and spotty cropping this summer made them all …
Ok, so when I hear the words “pelvic floor” the folks I think of are pregnant women and the elderly. It’s also a term that has come up in yoga classes, usually in the context of maintaining strength en route to joining one of those groups of people. Shows how much I know. Sophie Villeneuve …
‘Tis the season where giant vegetables are being harvested from gardens and potentially prize-winning jams are being churned out for display in the hopes of gaining a ribbon. This was the case at Dawson City’s horticultural exhibition as part of Discovery Days last week, but you won’t find large or entertaining vegetables adorning the tables …
Kid Vicious, Starbuck’s Revenge, Goat. No, not my favorite B-movies, but mountain bike trails christened by those who build and ride them. All of these routes, some gnarly and others more family-friendly, can be found up on Mount McIntyre, where years of volunteer labour is culminating this summer in a grand venture by the Contagious …
One of the fun things about fermented foods is passing on bits to others, knowing they will grow and spread like a great idea. It required a bit of a mental leap to go from creating my first ferments to seeing this possibility, kind of like going from growing your own lettuce each year to …
Music-industry types mingled with arts funders and a few musicians at the Yukon Transportation Museum on June 15 for a different kind of brown-bag lunch event – a team from the Polaris Music Prize was in town to announce its long-list of 40 candidates for this year’s win. The prize aims to recognize “artists who …
I’ve put a lot of miles under me this spring between Victoria, B.C. and the Klondike Valley, and had thought I would be riding the green wave north. It is true that there were more leaves out on the Gulf Islands than there were when I arrived at home in Mount Lorne, but in between, …
Traveling always gives me a new perspective on commonplace things. Daily activities become challenges as I figure out the basics of food and shelter all over again, not to mention which tap controls the water out of which spout in the shower. Sooner or later, nature calls. While my Japanese language lessons often begin with …
“‘…but gracious me! It’s getting light! Good night, old Turnip-top, good-night!’ A nod, and he was gone.” So ends the sixth canto of Phantasmorgia by Lewis Carroll (better known for having written the topsy-turvy classic Alice in Wonderland), with the parting sally of a young phantom as he leaves the residence of the …
I am tempted to call building your own house the ultimate DIY project. I don’t mean selecting from a range of floorplans and materials and managing your contractors. I mean learning the basics of design, framing, finishing carpentry, electrical wiring etc and then putting it all into practice to get a roof over your head. …
I have mined to come up with activities that might make Valentines Day as awesome as any other day of the year, even if you’re flying solo.
We gratefully dropped our packs in the well-appointed bedroom of the houseboat. After one hour and five boats we had settled on the first we had been shown, and, not having found anyone with whom to share, were looking at two nights of what seemed like ridiculous indulgence: an entire houseboat complete with air-conditioned bedroom, …
Whenever I travel to cities I seek out green space for the familiarity of trees and the relative quiet. While Day 1 in Delhi was a lesson on how it’s true, everyone is trying to scam us, and the best artists make you feel like they’ve done you a favour, on Day 2 we gamely …
Ah, arnica. Renowned for its power to soothe sore muscles, sprains and bruises, and a common gateway drug into the wonderful world of the do-it-yourself apothecary. Most often it is in the form of arnica oil, where the bright yellow flower heads are wilted and then used to infuse oil that can be used in …
Yes, a new form of torture has been developed, involving an unrelenting repetition of a single passage from the Myth of Sisyphus – what? C-A-M-A-S? So, not Albert? Oh…sorry about that. Let’s begin again. I love the flowers of death-camas. I love their Dr. Seussian protuberances, like false noses in bizarre and marvelous shapes. This …
The Potluck Community Co-op is ready for its next step. For the past year and a half the Potluck, focused on ‘good food’ beginning with local and organic, has run a weekly pop-up shop with online ordering. While ‘breaking even’ according to board member Bernie Hoeschele, the little business has been challenged by wanting to …
When I first began eating wild mushrooms, I was studying squirrels. I watched which mushrooms they picked to stash in trees, and figured that whichever ones they ate were probably not (or not very) poisonous. These days I know a little more and am glad I didn’t base my entire wild diet on this type …
Nitrates, nitrites, nitrous… makes me think of big industrial fertiliser companies, laughing gas, and that wheee sound the cars in videogames used to make when you gave them an extra burst of speed. They also raise a flag as something to be consumed in moderation, or not at all, because of various reports over the …
Pike are notorious for being boney. As a child, I developed an intense fear of choking on fish bones. Not from any horrendous experience, but probably from my little-girl brain taking an off-hand comment from my mum to be careful way too seriously. Don’t get me wrong, choking isn’t any fun, but it doesn’t mean …
Festival season is in full swing, and every weekend sees crowds descending on another Yukon community for a bit of all-night sun revelry. My personal favourite, and often my only festival of the summer, is the Atlin Arts and Music Festival. This year’s festival had an impressive array of food vendors who seemed to be …
I was visiting a friend down on Lewes Lake last week and was delighted at the profusion of blue and pink lining his driveway. Wild roses and lungwort — which he told me deserved to be called bluebells, their prettier name — were both in full bloom. The bluebell is an interesting flower in that …
Well I hope that sundrenched stretch wasn’t summer. It was glorious, hot, and beautiful — what a tease. I’m sitting inside with the rain lashing the windows under our first precipitation since Environment Canada’s icons changed from snowflakes to water-drops; I actually lit a fire today to ward off the chill and damp. Nothing outside …
Arriving home after time away, without stopping by the grocery store, may seem overly optimistic, but I was rewarded by finding the freezer just as I had left it. While the remnants of last year’s harvest are certainly dwindling, there is plenty to keep me going as the new crops begin to poke their heads …
Returning home after traveling can bring culture shock that’s just as discombobulating as that experienced when heading off to the far side of the globe. I’m learning that staging the return helps ease the transitions of climate and jet lag, as well as culture. One of my main reasons for traveling is the fresh perspective …
The title is a misnomer. Perhaps it is ironic, but I’m not literary enough to remember the nuances of such terms. At any rate, it is inaccurate. The moose ribs I cooked up last week were anything but fast food, and that’s one of the reasons they were so good. The cooking itself took time (ten …
I was having dinner with a neighbour the other day and she asked me if I needed any dried greens. She was referring to turnip tops and kale. She had just come across a large, forgotten jar and with the onset of spring it was high time to use them up. I declined, because her …
In February I had the privilege of running a workshop on cheese-making for the Learning Lions, a homeschooling group that meets out at the Mt. Lorne Community Centre. What a fun time. A farmer friend generously donated the milk, and I delved into my cheese books to come up with a lesson that would pack …
Over the last few years I’ve been gathering the components for a makeshift “solar system”, relying heavily on generous donations from friends for parts. Many of these gifts have found their way into the current version, though a few have been cycled out as they were less than functional, and this winter I finally completed …
If you peruse the 365 poems that make up the Tumblr feed from Lori Garrison’s latest poetry project, Today, In the News, you won’t find much in the way of introspection or outpourings of feeling from individual experiences. But you may find lines that resonate, even if you aren’t really into poetry. That was Garrison’s …
Seasonal eaters, whether they are gardeners, foragers, or locavores reading the labels at the grocery store, know that the lean time of year isn’t during the dead of winter. Then, storerooms are still stocked with plump sacks of potatoes resting contentedly beneath jars of pickled beets that glow like rubies in the dusty shine of …
Ah, stuff. Sometimes my life can feel way too focused on the next thing I think I “need”, as precious hours are spent reorganizing the ones I already have in order to make room. When I get fed up and hop on my anti-materialistic horse, my mind is split between rationalizing what I have and …
Right on schedule, my sprout craving has arisen from where it lay quietly dormant since the fall, nestled snug beneath the desire for stews and roasted root vegetables. The herbs I’ve kept in the house are responding to the same cues, with tiny pale green leaves emerging from the nodes of their twiggy stems. I’m …
As the days lengthen and I embark on ever-longer forays out into the world, I remember wistfully the easy goal of foraging. Foraging itself is not effortless, but during the snowless seasons the decision to do so is. It is simply part of the reason I wander — both the carrot and stick that goad me onward. In the winter, it takes extra effort to get away …
This fall I attended the Yukon Biodiversity Forum, a yearly round-up of biology goings-on in the territory. I reunited with old friends and met new ones, and was overjoyed to hear that an old mentor of mine was planning on coming back to the territory. Alan Baer had taught me the art of strapping antennae to …
Is it really true, is another holiday season has come and gone? So much anticipation, preparation, anxiety or eagerness, and then once again time plays its disappearing trick and we find ourselves in January. Whether you love the Christmas/Chanukah/New Years/solstice season , or hate it, it seems to whizz by. Well , I refuse to …
Ah, Christmas — the time of year when magazines abound with recipes promising taste sensations derived solely from rainbows and snowflakes. At least that’s my assumption because they are the only things not on the list of excluded ingredients. Consider a delectable chocolate cake that carries no sin because it has no fat, sugar, or, …
Superlatives aside, I did just finish a pretty amazing sandwich. First, let me describe the creation that, to date, is the pinnacle of my gustatory experience in the realm of that iconic thing: the grilled-cheese sandwich. It was consumed perhaps a month ago, when I dropped in on my friend Lori, who is a dab …
In chapter six of A.A. Milne’s classic, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore has a birthday. Miserable to begin with, and sure to become so again soon after, we leave Eeyore at the end of the tale at perhaps the happiest we’ve ever see him — because of a useful pot, and something to put in it. …
The first snow is a long-anticipated event for me. It is not only eagerness, but also apprehension, that keeps me company on my tenterhooks. Either way, there is relief when the white stuff finally flies. I missed the first two snows that came and went, so I was truly chomping at the bit by the …
The rain was turning to slush against the windows of the plane as we scooted down the tarmac a few weeks ago, on its way to becoming the first snow of the season in Whitehorse. I was headed south and in good company —it seems that seasonality is a trait shared by many Yukoners, feathered …
If our external environment is a reflection of what is happening within, I must be going through a deep transformation. My little cabin is filled with aromas emanating from myriad sources — jars and jugs of various ferments, baskets and bundles of herbs hanging from every available hook and corner, and an ever-present pot of …
Yesterday the sun sank behind the mountains at the same moment as the final round of applause burst forth from the tents lining the roundabout at Shipyard’s park — a poetic end to the farmer’s market season. Well, the end of Thursday markets at least; this year, the Saturday affairs will continue through the end …
I was re-routing some electrical cables through some bushes the other day, and what did my little eye spy? Not one, but two beautiful Agaricus mushrooms, one quite large and already flattened out like a pancake, the other with its veil still intact. This combination is ideal for identification. I promptly sliced them off at …
Ah the glory days of a Northern summer!It’s the few short weeks when I take the covers off of the garden beds (always ready to run out at night should the temperature dip), and the days when the lakes are swimmable (not just dip-able). It’s the season of outdoor festivals, hiking and camping trips, and …
My lack of birding skills used to be a secret shame. When it did come out, it was with an embarrassed acknowledgment that despite a background in biology and an intense love of nature, I was at best a “crap birder”. That, however, was inaccurate. I was no kind of birder, for I had given …
I feel a bit like Gollum. I am squatting on my haunches, slurping delicious juices from my fingers as I delight in a fresh pike. Perhaps muttering to myself a little. Except I’m picking out the bones, whereas Gollum relished them with a crunch. And my fish is piping hot — J.R.R. Tolkien’s pity-worthy character …
I was shopping at my local free store the other day when I stopped in the middle of a wave to a fellow browser. He peered at me, and I at him, for a good minute before I said tentatively, “Dom?” His grin affirmed my suspicions and as we caught up we shared a chuckle …
I walk the woods to remember and discover. I remind myself of what this land, and learn what new surprises it has in store this year.
An incessant beeping. I become aware of a pillow, and the sound becomes my alarm clock. I silence the offending device with more luck than aim. I feel out of sorts, extracted so roughly from my dreams. I am certain that the makers of alarm clocks engineer them with minute precision to attain the exact …
I was in the grocery store the other day with a friend. Picking up a bag of winter produce she said, “I wonder if they will taste like tomatoes… At least they’ll give the idea of a tomato.” This had never occurred to me before. Even though it is a mere shadow of the fruit fresh off …
Cat McInroy has experience wielding a spatula, though she doesn’t consider herself a professional chef. But the numerous weddings, parties and dinners she has catered for friends and family were enough to disqualify her from Master Chef Canada, a TV show that pits lay chefs against each other, when she applied last year. That, and …
Eating seasonally teaches long-term thinking I love watching tomato seedlings poke their tiny shoots out of the soil, eagerly seeking sunlight — or UV light from a bulb, as the case may be. With the coming of spring it’s easy to feel like there will be abundant food from the ground any time now, but …
“Spring has sprung,” cries my body as it soaks up the sun streaming through my window at two o’clock on a glorious March afternoon. It retracts the statement the following morning as I crouch, shivering to light the fire. But, ever hopeful, it repeats the whole affair each day, confident that soon, it will be …
I delight in winter travel, especially once the snow pack has settled. It’s early this year, and I’m already able to break away from the packed trails and wander the woods to my hearts content. Whether on skis on snowshoes, I inevitably follow the tracks of some other creature, and, given my proclivities, I look …
When I first arrived in Kluane as an aspiring biologist, it seemed fitting that I would land in the place where the famous lynx-snowshoe hare cycles had been studied since the ’70s. Famous – at least to ecology students and trappers – graphs showing their staggered 10-year oscillations had figured prominently in my university courses. …
When Ione Christensen invited me into her home to talk sourdough, I could tell she’s done this before. I hadn’t gotten passed “Nice to meet you,” before she handed me a printout of recipes and a sample of her famous starter. She looks out from the photo on the cover page clad in lacy whites …
It’s no secret that Yukon communities feel pinched when it comes to housing, employment, and capacity. Carcross/Tagish First Nation (CTFN) has an innovative program to address all three at once Between now and the end of May, 16 CTFN members will be counting hours towards their carpentry apprenticeships while building what are called tiny houses, …
Midwinter is rife with tradition. Celebrating, tolerating, or avoiding family gatherings and their associated rituals is part of many people’s December, whether they ascribe to Solstice, Christmas, or Chanukah. I have no blood relatives in the Yukon, but within my family of friends there are myriad traditions celebrated this time of year, and they all …
“There’s gold in them thar hills” is how Sharon Hickey, president of the Lorne Mountain Community Association (LMCA), introduced the special edition newsletter released last spring to celebrate the latest community project: documenting the area’s history. The gold she is referring to is in the memories of all those who do, and have, called Mount …
I am always amazed at the prevalence of advertising in town. Traveling to a larger city I notice it even more — posters and billboards everywhere, even sounds and smells that are geared to entice consumption. I wander about, following tantalizing aromas, becoming less and less interested in the lunch I’ve brought with me, and …
Ah, the lure of the open road. Horizons stretching off into the distance, no fixed schedule, no cell service, roadside coffee, and every other service station offering up the best cinnamon bun in the world. Little known fact: the cinnamon bun centre of the galactic universe is near Muncho Lake. At least, that’s what the …
As I walked about the property over the last few weeks, I found myself on the lookout for things that I don’t want to find melting on a snowbank in the spring. I did this in spite of the warm weather, and perhaps because of my steadfast refusal to listen to weather reports. Anyway, whether …
Red beets and sharp knives are to Agnes Seitz the pinnacle of fall produce and kitchen equipment, respectively. As the recreation director for Mount Lorne, her penchant for good, wholesome food runs throughout the programs and events she organizes at the Lorne Mountain Community Centre. Cookies and scones may be served while old-timers in the …
For much of this week the smell of hanging meat has been lingering in my nostrils, and my hands are abnormally soft. That’ll be because it’s butchering time. While I have never harvested a moose myself, I like getting up close and personal with my food and I value the experience of butchering – it …
Last week I spent a couple of days in Teslin doing some painting for a friend in a house we used to share. The leaves were still thick on the birches, willows and aspens – bright yellow against the dark stormy blue of the lake. The house sits at the bottom of a hill, with …
Harvesting in the wild often puts me into a contemplative state. Perhaps it is the repetitive action of the hands – the eyes moving slightly ahead of the fingers seeking out the next berry or leaf. Perhaps it is simply being unplugged from electronic and mechanical sounds. Whatever the cause, two things occurred to me …
With the beauty of the fall colours comes an increase in the ever-present danger of frost. For some, this is evidence of a balance between good and bad, for others it is proof that we can have our cake and eat it too. Ice on the puddles is an indication that a transformation is taking …
Golfers, fighter pilots and magicians all share two honours: being featured prominently in the half dozen VHS tapes we owned when I was a kid, and having their own peculiar vocabulary. Berry pickers share the latter and the frequency of words like windfall, galore, paltry, and slim-pickings in overheard conversation can help identify this common …
In June I patiently await each new plant that emerges from the forest floor along my daily walks. In July, I feast my eyes on colour and pick the odd mushroom or batch of greens for salad. By August I have felt the signs and allowed my inner ant to take over from my summer …
Aspiring fisherpersons soon learn that catching and eating are only two of many landmarks in the journey of fishing. While I see fishing as a food gathering activity, I also appreciate the hours spent alone in beautiful wild places, ideal for contemplation. On one occasion, instead of a brace of grayling I came home with …
Have you ever been transfixed by northern lights soaring in shimmering skirts of greens and blues? Watched mountain peaks glowing in the sun’s last rays? Been stopped in your tracks by a lone rosehip, deep red against the snow? In a land often painted with a backdrop of white, Northerners appreciate colour. In the spring …
Contrary to popular belief, mushroom hunting does not have the risk factor of Russian roulette. In fact, with a little knowledge and some common sense, it can be safer than many other hunts. I’ve met many Yukoners who forage avidly for berries and wild greens but draw the line at mushrooms, exhibiting symptoms of the …
