I've Been Stung

by a damn wasp. They seem to be all over us today...both A. and I took one off our body, along with the many other carcasses around the cabin. And she took the one off her and put it in a tissue, squeezed it and then flushed it, gagging the whole way to the toilet about the awful crunch. I had just been tossing them into the toilet as I figured they would sting me if I squeezed them...that is, until today.

Today was my day to shine. and get stung. I squeezed and he stung. can I just say OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHH!

fucking wasp.

Yukon River Quest

T'was a cold and wet day, but nevertheless, the Quest must go on...Yukon River Quest that is. It is known as the longest annual canoe and kayak race in the world. And I was at the start line today when they began by running from the start line in downtown Whitehorse, just a block away from their canoes at the riverbank of the Yukon River. From there they left to paddle all the way to Dawson City where the race ends. There were even people designated to guard the kayaks, as shown here. I watched the last one head up/down river...it's weird because they are heading north, but with the river's current.

The Absent One

Here is Irelyn, A.'s cat she left behind with her friend S. A. hopes to get her shipped out sometime later this year when she finds out where she is going to settle down.

As The Stomach Turns

I mean, as the cat pukes...like Via did in the centre of my bed yesterday, shortly before company arrived... Anyhow, the point is there is still harmony amongst the cats, with Via spending a great deal of time with McGee, however not as much time as Stormy spends with McGee...A. is questioning their sexual orientation. They get rough sometimes, but usually when one squeals, the other will let go. Stormy rarely gets after Via now too, which is a relief. The boys won't keep on their nail caps though, the little bastards, however they do not damage anything with them, and they don't scratch one another with them...and rarely me. They love looking out the windows and my house is filled with them. I have 8 that they get in regularly to see what's going on outside. They aren't permitted outside, especially after A. paraded McGee out a few weeks ago and moments later a fox showed up...they love the birds and squirrels that are constantly out there in the feeders. Often the birds stay in the feeder while the cat is in that particular feeder, and it is attached to the house beside the window. I'll have to try to get a photo for that.

Nighttime can still be rowdy, but I sleep with my earplugs in most of the time now, as it is so very random when they choose to fuck around for 3 hours at 1 am on a work night. As long as they don't run over my face while I'm sleeping, I can usually sleep through it now. The blinders are working wonderfully as well, very natural except the velcro on the back strap hooks my hair, and often leaves knots in my hair by morning. Not a good scene with my curly frizz...it's like the other half of the velcro.

They all share litterboxes and food bowls and of course, the real social gathering spot, the water fountain. What pigs they are though, as they drop food into the water fountain so it clogs the filter that runs the water down the slide...along with cat fur, fake mice, water container rings, whatever!

more photos from our nature walk

they took longer than they should to upload...blogger has some glitches I reckon. However, here is a closer look at the wildflower bouquet, and the fence at one of the property lines.

Sunday Hiking To The Wire

A. and I went for a nature hike today on the property and could only go as far as the barbed wire fence, but it was about a kilometre I guess, return, over rough country. We saw tons of wildflowers, as shown here in the bouquet A. picked for me. There are many different vibrant colored flowers growing up all over there, and the trees are all in full leaf, bringing the dull forest to life! We also saw gopher holes all over as well...but no gophers. They may have left the area...

Bullet Biting

so I did it...I made a final decision on the car situation and started the process of buying a 2006 Toyota Corolla, shown here. They have a Special Edition that has some nice extras too, such as a "Dust and Pollen Deodorizing Air Filter", Power Windows with Driver Side Auto Down, Power Moonroof, Keyless Entry, and Power Door Locks. I am most excited about the moonroof and the power door locks and windows. I had the base model Echo, with only air comditioning for an upgrade. This one already has air. I should be driving this beauty by mid -late July. My lease is up next month, and I don't have to turn it in until the end of July...but I just KNOW that if my car is in (it is enroute) I WILL want to be driving it! My car payment goes up by about a hundred bucks, but for me it's worth it, as I will now begin OWNING my car. I think the major factor in helping me decide whether or not I want to buy my current lease out, or a new one was that my leased Echo was driven for 3 years in salty winters. They don't use salt on the roads up here AT ALL so cars do not tend to rust easy. My Echo already has some rust on the bottom due to the salt use on the east coast. So I thought if I am putting all this money down to own a car, I don't want to own a rusty one. I also REALLY wanted the upgrades I couldn't afford when I first graduated, and can afford now.

So when I get it, I shall post a photo here, for sure, with me in it, hopefully!

Not In My Backyard

wasps...huge ones. And then A. found this nest today. It's only tiny so I know there is more...this is the nest of a wasp/hornet...something with a big ass. They are in the house all the time, but haven't stung us thus far...fattening us up first I reckon.

Of course, the cats chase them all day. And the carcasses, oh the carcasses. A. rolled around in bed all night with one without realizing it...gross. I don't know what kills them so quick, unless it is being separated from the nest? Who knows...

another lovely sunset tonight...moments ago.

Short Nights and Long Days

I haven't written recently about the whole sunlight thing we experience here in the Yukon. Yesterday was the longest day of the year, with sunset happening at 11:36pm, and sunrise at 4:27am. With such short hours between dusk and dawn, it is light all night long, just not sunny, although the sun is often up when I go to bed. I've been surviving quite well with just a sleep mask and some earplugs. The sleep mask I bought on eBay, and blocks out all light very well. I need earplugs because the resident felines, all three of them, do not always recognize bedtime anymore since it is so very light out and fuck around half the night. The earplugs appear to be working well as the crap they knock over in the night as they prance along the loft rails and fly up and down the stairs, as well as up and over any piece of furniture, including my bed, certainly makes tons of noise. At first I tried to sleep without earplugs since McGee got here in early May, but that proved to be simply aggravating, and getting up to curse at the cats at 2am was not popular with my roomie...speaking of which...

my home has become a college dorm. There is clothes from one end of it to the other, piled in the bathroom, stairs, dining room table, you name it...everywhere. The house is messy and chores often go undone...not mine, mind you, but my roomie aka my adult daughter has been slacking in pulling her end of the bargain. I won't disgust you with the rest of the grimey details but suffice it to say, management is unhappy about it.

So summer has been and gone. Remember that warm spell we had over a week ago, lasted nearly 2 weeks with temps up to 25-30C each day? Well, apparently THAT was summer. It hasn't cracked above 20C since, often dipping down to 3-5C at night...it would be even colder if the sun went completely down, I reckon. Roomie even felt the need to turn the oil monitor heater on yesterday morning when she showered. Then again, she is always cold...I weather it quite well as most of my friends and co-workers know by now.

There is a longest days street fair at this time of year too, so we hope to go check that out this weekend. It goes on for a month until July 21st.

The mosquitoes are as bad as people say they are, but no worse than anywhere I've lived. They seem to LOVE Amber and have her bitten to pieces in minutes. I have gotten bit just once or twice maybe. Our real problem in the house though is WASPS! We have two or three live ones in at any given time, and will find dead ones daily, often 6-10. The cats go nuts after them and I have given up trying to trap them and set them outside. No one has been stung yet, thankfully, but I am sure it is just a matter of time...we are not sure where they are coming from, and have checked around for a nest, but no sign yet. Oh, and they are HUGE. Upon scouring the net for photos...they may even be hornets as they look more like a bumble bee, but not quite as fat. Ick.

And if you thought Cape Breton saw tons of campers...come to the Yukon where 70% of what I see on the road now is campers. Hell, you can't swing a cat without hitting one (not that I would...of course). Anytime I get into my car, it is mere seconds before seeing one, 5, 20 campers...I am referring to of course, RV's, motorhomes, truck towed campers, etc. Wal-Mart parking lot has become a maze of them, ick.

Desert of the Yukon

After leaving the first dogshow we've ever attended, we were game for a road trip...destination desert...the Carcross Desert. Neither one of us had ever been to a desert, and thought this is not what some would consider a traditional desert, it has been termed as the smallest desert in the world. It was pretty cool, we walked across it in our bare feet and ascended the biggest dune to the summit...pant, pant...thankfully it wasn't too hot, or the sand might not have been as pleasant to walk in. It was nice clean, fine sand. No garbage in sight, and a beautiful wind blowing across us, taking the mosquitoes away. A. rolled down the dune, and I scored a snip of that on video...she recovered well and despite sand in her teeth, she had fun. If anything, this little expedition has let me know I am not ready for the Chilhcoot Trail this year...at least not on foot...heh heh...remembering the horse I rented in Guatemala for the trek up the volcano...

Undesireable Guests

What would you do if you found out someone was reading your blog that was an undesirable guest? I know I am putting myself out there anyhow to the world anyhow, but it has come to my attention that an undesirable person who knows me, and certainly doesn't like me, has been reading my blog. Not too sure how he came across it, though I do have a few ideas...

I don't feel like I should be forced to move my blog, or censor my content. He is probably just looking for fault, something negative to talk about...which usually doesn't bother me anyhow. If that is his reason, it's pretty shallow and tells me he has too much time on his hands. I guess if anything, it feels like an invasion of privacy (I met this person through my previous job). In any case, I was just looking for input from others who may have encountered a similar situation, or if anyone has any suggestions. And as for YOU(you know who you are), get your own life and stop reading about mine. It won't help your situation. It just makes you look like a stalker...and the last time I had one of those, I called the police on them...he turned out to be a crazy man who lived in his van and like following people around.

so, other than for negative reasons, why would someone who doesn't like you waste their time reading someone else's ramblings? Life is too short to waste it on pettiness.

Signs of Summer

Pollen in the air from these little buggers, and fresh laundry on the line in the late evening sun...

Here I Sit

in my backyard. The house warms up pretty good during the day and I can't seem to get enough breeze in there, so have moved the show outside again. I was out earlier in the sun, and now that it's nearly 8pm, the sun has moved beyond the trees and left me with a nice shady patch in the back yard. Ahhhh...

I do miss the creek by my house in West Bay Road though. It was good for a nice wade when things became hot. Although the air is dry here and the heat not nearly as oppressive as the humidity in Ontario and Cape Breton, it was still 30C after all, so hot enough. I suggested going to the Takhini River for a little wade, but Amber wasn't up for that...yet...

Perhaps a splash pool is in order...
(photo taken two weeks ago before tremendous backyard growth)

Virgin Garden

The plants have just been set, and now for some light misty rain and hot sunny days...in a couple of weeks it will lose that just been planted look.

Garden of 2006

We have the garden complete, now it needs to fill in over the next couple of weeks. I think it turned out quite well, and my gardener worked very hard (Amber, the resident twightlight). This photo was taken while the garden was in progress...stay tuned for updated photos when sunlight comes around to that side of the house again.

The Scourge of Wal-Mart Campers

I'm sure you're all familiar with it...the scourge that Wal-Mart has invited in the past few years. No, it isn't the Wal-Mart greeter you all love to hate, but the campers filled with cheap American tourists. You know the type...dressed like they are going on safari, only they are wearing khaki shorts with black socks hauled up to their knees while wearing SANDALS, and dumb ass hats on their head. These cheapskates are filling up Wal-Mart parking lots everywhere while the local campgrounds are going broke. The Yukon has some truly beautiful scenery, and it can be found at any of the many campgrounds, yet these cheapos choose to park their gas guzzling beasts for free in the parking lot of their American giant instead of contributing to the local economy. The $2.93 they spend on digestive biscuits in Wal-Mart barely contributes to the cheapass wage this money hungry corporation pays out to it's employees.

Now I'm no fool, I knew the campers would be circling once the frost lifted, as they do in any part of Canada. Cheap American tourists are not limited to the Yukon, although I honestly have seen more here than I ever saw in Nova Scotia...and when I was there it seemed like I was ALWAYS behind some dumb fuck who didn't know how to drive within even 20kms of the speed limit (below, of course). Now I have these air choking beasts all around me, and I have to weave through them to get to Wally world...(I know, I am a Wal-Mart whore addict...)

It's not hard to tell they are American, besides the ridiculous get-up they all seem to wear, and the environment UNFRIENDLY hunks of metal and plastic they bulldoze all over town, you can usually HEAR them from a block or more away, as they whine and complain about prices and their pitiful exchange rate this year, or about the service, or about the weather, or about just about anything.

I nearly got smoked by one such beast the other day as I ducked into Wal-Mart for some cat food...sheesh...me thinks the borders need some tightening up...

Late Night Sunset

Here was the sunset from last night at about 11:15pm...gorgeous! We saw this on our drive home from town.

Maiden Voyage

Yesterday I managed to get my filthy kayak onto my car, strap it down and head for Lake Schwatka, where upon my arrival, it promptly began to rain. I didn't care, I was getting my boat in the water, come hell or high water at that point. There were others in the water, about 5 other kayaks, so I figured I was safe enough. I went for a short paddle in the green waters, and couldn't help but think about the guy they fished out of the river that feeds into that lake(which is actually a reservoir created by the dam), just last week. He had been in for about a month...ugh...

I would have taken pictures, but Lake Schwatka is nothing to write home about, so I will wiat until I put in at a more scenic location, or perhaps I do some more paddling around the lake, as it does go into a cool canyon, called Miles Canyon...pictured here. We were through it on my canoe course, and it was pretty cool, although not as deep as I remember from the early eighties when I walked across that suspension bridge.

My landlady knows the area well, having lived here for 20+ years, so I am going to get a good map of the local area and have her mark out the good spots to put in the local lakes for me. I still want to get a canoe as well, however it's a big ticket item for my budget and will have to wait until I see just what in the hell I am doing with my career first...until then, the kayak is it, which is also fine, as I enjoy paddling around in that as well.

Rainy Days and Rainy Nights

Summer may have arrived in the Yukon, but the weekends have not yet caught up...they appear to be stuck in the spring! Rain, rain, and more rain. The weekdays are lovely, and since I've been off, I have been able to enjoy the sun, however my friends who work look forward to the weekends and it's been pissing rain most weekends.

The temps go up with the sun of course, but really drop with the rain, about 10-15 degrees less when it rains, making it chilly enough to light a small fire. I have turned off the oil monitor heater, as it was not necessary to maintain heat in the house now...no chance of freezing pipes now! The only thing freezing now is my fridge...there is something wrong with it, and most of my vegetables have frozen so I have had to throw them out, along with all of the eggs. Also frozen is cheeze, but it is still edible, and all the beverages, which is just plain annoying. The milk has been frozen and half thawed so many times...my landlady is aware and has promised to replace it with either another used one, or something new. In the meantime, my fridge is looking a little bare since tossing so much food and I don't plan on restocking until it is replaced...

Speaking of rainy nights, I am disappointed that I can't hear the rain more on the roof. There is no attic as the ceiling is opened right to the roof (cathedral type you might say) but they likely have tons of insulation between the roof and ceiling, thus absorbing the patter of rain...drat! There's nothing like a steady rain on the roof to lull you to sleep...

And then we have the tomcats of the house who love to play at night it seems...stirring you out of a dead sleep with their antics. Yes, the little bastards are at it again/still. Last night it was a game of hide and seek in the kitchen cupboards. I came stomping down at one point and found Stormy in the kitchen standing outside the cupboard under the sink...I opened the door and there was McGee, sitting there, waiting to be discovered. How can you get mad at them when they look that cute...it was a stretch but I DID. The noise was coming from Stormy opening and closing the door with his paw, so I left it wide open and suddenly the game was over...then they attacked a cardboard box and played a similar game until I stomped downstairs once again to put it away...seriously guys, you are driving me nuts. Finally I was able to locate my ear plugs as it was clear they were not in the mood to settle down just yet and although I really don't like the ear plugs much, I did manage to sleep until about 11am at which point my friend K. in Yellowknife called and was shocked to find me still in bed...I used to be up at 7 am, weekends and all...those days are gone.

So I will head to bed with my blinders on to shut out the midnight sun, and my earplugs in to shut out the prowling tomcats...no wonder I sleep alone...

Remember The Canoe Course?

Well, I finally got my hands on some photos from one of the instructors...

Here we are, my friend R. and I, canoeing past the steamboat the SS Klondike, in the Yukon River. The Klondike is a museum now in Whitehorse.

This is a photo of us going down the Takhini River with the mountains finally coming out of the clouds somewhat...

The next one is the resident teen, standing onshore as her mother paddles into the eddy before the jaws of death rapids...

and then there I am, paddling through the jaws of death with Bob, one of the instructors...we made it just fine!

And the last one is Bob Daffe, our instructor...very funny and skilled guy...we learned so much!