We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard. Because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone. And one we intend to win.” — …
Since their introduction in 2009, Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) have become a popular savings vehicle for Canadians. TFSAs allow you to earn tax-free income through savings in high interest savings accounts, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other investment vehicles. Given the tax advantages of TFSAs, such accounts are quickly becoming one of the most …
Sid van der Meer is an antiquarian and a storyteller; he has many wild yarns to share with his family, friends, and visitors who come to his Bordertown Garage & Museum. One particular story he tells is how he found his Western Command military vehicle badge. Western Command military vehicles were used in the construction …
Generally speaking, a hunter should have two knives — one for camp chores, such as cutting rope, whittling a wiener stick, or cutting up vegetables. The second knife is for use after the animal after it is down. The general-duty camp knife should be a very convenient multi-tool as made by Gerber, Leatherman, SOG, or …
Writing a first draft of a novel is like the beginning of a romantic relationship: Everything is exciting, new, and there is a lot to explore. Your heart beats fast; you are in love with your characters and the world you creating. Every fiction author knows that feeling. Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo, refers …
This fox was photographed in Keno City. He was curious about what we were doing and obliged me by coming fairly close. I took this photo with a Nikon D80, using a 18 – 135mm lens.
Halloween is over, but don’t stop dressing up . On Saturday November 8, Open Pit theatre is giving you another chance; it’s hosting a 1920s-themed silent film night, and the directors of the company want guests sporting their Sunday best. It’s an art night true to the theatre company’s multidisciplinary mandate — to create space …
It’s been the toughest year to get motivated for hunting season. I’ve spent about 80 days over the last three years hunting moose and we’ve broken the Rhino, the truck, and the boat several times , trying to fill the freezer. The dull grey sky loomed over us like a curse as we loaded the …
One of a gardener’s goals at the end of summer is to preserve the food harvested. This takes many forms , from allowing a potato to set skin so it won’t dehydrate in storage, to the pickling root crops , to the canning of fruits , to the blanching of vegetables for freezing. One form …
With the new market’s worldly selection of food in Watson Lake , you might be apprehensive to buy something. The market looks very simple and small from the street, but once inside, I was really impressed, not just because it is bigger than it appears, but it has a lot of products from different parts …
Matthew Lien’s new album, Headwaters: Music of the Peel River Watershed, isn’t a protest album. “ What I felt about this project from the very beginning is that we’re not protesting anything , we’re celebrating,” he says. “We’re celebrating phenomenal Yukon, Canadian, North American, global, wilderness. We’re celebrating that country.” To celebrate the pristine wilderness …
A glance at the credits of a film reveals that it’s a collaborative art form involving a lot of people over a lot of time. Now imagine that there is only 48 hours to assemble a film, from start to finish. That’s the operating premise for the Yukon 48 Challenge, an event held by the …
Our house got turned upside down last Saturday. All the furniture in the living room was shifted , and a big table for sorting costumes was set up against one wall. The occasion was not an advance planning session for Halloween; rather, we were looking beyond that to Christmas Eve. As much as I dislike …
Cursive writing has gravity, compared to printed writing. Cursive is used for special occasions, like thank you cards and letters to lovers, or to grandparents at Christmas. It denotes formality. A letter written in careful, swirly cursive is a letter to save, folded up in a box with dried roses, collected, re-read. One has to …
Uncle Don Uncle Don was born at Bluefish and he always hunt and fish. Uncle Don is my mom’s brother an’ Clara Frost is his mother. Auntie Alice is Don’s wife and he worded all his life. I’ve known Uncle Don since I was a lad and Donald was friends with my dad. Uncle was …
I pulled out the flat, round, ceramic piece, which looked like a patterned cookie, and held it in my hand. Under glorious sun, I surveyed the stony shoreline and calm waters of Stewart River. This spot, off the Klondike Highway and linked to the Yukon River, was the perfect confluence of history, adventure, and wilderness …
On a cool Monday evening at the Old Crow Community Hall, up-and-coming country musicians Carli and Julie Kennedy played the last show of their first Yukon tour. The twin sisters were here courtesy of Home Routes, a Winnipeg-based company that arranges tours for folk-based musicians to venues and homes around Canada. Having spent nearly two …
As Halloween draws near, let’s honour the many victims of Halloween. First, there are the 139 victims of Michael Myers, the villain of 10 Halloween movies, including sequels and remakes. Rest in peace, screen people, and especially you Jamie Lee Curtis, aka Laurie Strode; you were there from the beginning. There are also the long-suffering …
This year wood was cut in March. Joseph does janitorial work at Chief Zzheh Gittlit School; this year he had two weeks off. As a family we quickly prepared our gear and headed up the Porcupine River to Blue Bluff. Blue Bluff is about 45 to 50 miles away, and takes about two to three …
Priest is diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and is not able to speak, but her eyes said it all: she was blown away by the Yukoners who appeared for the book launch. As her husband, Ben Parfitt, started reading a chapter of the book, listeners were transported to life in the mining town of …
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 …
There is an exciting new project underway near Dawson City. On September 19, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in (TH) and Yukon College to create a framework for the development of a teaching-and-working farm located in TH traditional territory. The project’s impetus is to secure a source of fresh produce in …
Our little apartment in Old Crow is in full Halloween mode; my mom mailed up decorations, and our crib is sporting the spooky colours, orange and black. It’s the first year that our daughter Emily is kind of grasping the concept of taking candy from strangers. The last two years, I basically made her my …
Control over heart rate and breath is an integral part of biathlon. It sucks learning technical aspects of shooting in the freezing cold.
I am, by nature, a sentimental son of a gun. I wear old shirts until they are threadbare because they remind me of certain times, places, and people; I listen to old songs just to feel wistful; I cloak the past in a golden sheen. I sometimes even catch myself feeling tender towards the most …
Why do people get so fired up about a little bush? In January, the British newspaper The Telegraph ran an article by Louisa Peacock describing the public response to a pubic display. Clothing manufacturer and retailer American Apparel is known for their controversial advertising campaigns, and this year the New York American Apparel’s Valentine’s Day …
