Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! And many happy holiday wishes to you all!

We have been thinking of you, our family and friends often. For those who got a Christmas card this year, I hope it arrived in time. For those that didn't, our apologies, Christmas arrived far more rapidly than we were prepared for! Yes, I realize it happens the same time every year, but 2009 has certainly flown by. We even took a special photo for an e-card, and even that didn't get sent!! So here it is.

I don't think this week has been a "typical" Christmas, but it was a lovely couple of days. Good food, good friends and great company. We enjoyed old and new traditions and way, way too much food. We've played games and taken doggie walks. We've probably had more to drink than we should, and we definitely gave each other too many presents! (yay!). The weather has been perfect - blue, sunny skies, a bit of snow and moderate temperatures.

It was definitely different without our family and friends back east. But as we sit here at the end of a very, very lazy Boxing Day, I can't help but be grateful for all of the hospitality we have received over the last few days. And am grateful for how lucky we are.

Best. Christmas Tree. Ever!

Last night we went and cut our Christmas tree from the woods behind our house. While surrounded by trees, finding a Christmas tree is no easy feat. For starters, several of the varietals up here smell like cat pee which, essentially, one just has to accept. Also, we're in the very northern boreal, so trees are generally very, very skinny and sparse, so you are really looking for the least sparse as compared to a full one. Finally, it is dark by like 4pm, so you are nearly always looking in the dark.

The alternative is a traditional tree for $60 at Canadian Tire. Sixty!! Again, we're like 90% boreal ecosystem.

And so, for several dog walks this week we scoped out trees. Few were even contenders, but we did find two and decided on one. We went out to cut it last night and Mike changed his mind - we were going after the other, significantly more challenging to reach, tree.

So off we went so Mike could hand cut a tree on the side of a cliff from underneath - with essentially no method but holding the tree to stay in place. Fun! Until the hand saw snapped. We trecked home, got the reciprocating saw and returned with a tree. Dragging it through the woods all old school and fun!

I would never suggest that looking at a tree from underneath, particularly one in a somewhat dense patch, may overstate how many branches there are on the top of the tree. I wouldn't say that, but I will add photos.

Regardless, this is our tree and we love it! And the hunt was a lot of fun!

Olympic Training

Today, we had a film crew at the preserve to get some Olympic footage. Each province and territory is responsible for a pre-medal ceremony production. This is a combination of live action and video and the Yukon will be on February 20th. (Mark your calendars).

I am pretty sure they are sending half the territory to be in the show, and the other half is represented on film.

Today, the artist creating the video was at the preserve to interview Bou. There is a funny balance with animals that have been bottle raised. They are perfect in that they are not afraid of people and they will let you get quite close. Having said that, they get really, really, really close and it is nearly impossible to get any kind of shot when they

are nuzzling against you, the camera, the vehicle - anything.

Bou spent a great deal of time nuzzling Celia and seemingly smelling her boots, legs, coat, arms. She nuzzled and nuzzled and nuzzled and I can only imagine how the footage is going to turn out. At one point, Celia was lying on her back in the snow with Bou rubbing her head and antlers across her belly.

Fortunately, no one lost an eye, and despite some antler/sweater/coat/ arm/leg tangling, nothing got damaged. I also think, the crew had a lot of fun!

Being loved by a caribou, there ain't nothing like it.

(Here are some photos of me and Bou with Bou behaving a lot like she did today)

No messing around

So, the ground has been relatively white since the end of October - but we have gotten very little cumulative snow. In well over a month, we have had no more than a centimetre or two. However, this is no way has slowed down the road work that takes place all winter long.

I have the impression that there are conditions particular to the temperature and the type of snow that we get that are different from Ottawa and require different road clearing techniques. For instance, leaving any snow

around at all, especially if it has been driven on and tracked will ensure it stays like that, frozen all winter. No thaw, no chance to fix. At least that is why I think I have been warned to get rid of the snow, any snow.

Yet still, when I came wheeling around the corner to our street this week, I was surprised to see an enormous pile of snow and ice resting in the middle - and was very glad to have been going slow enough to miss it!

As I mentioned, we haven't had any accumulation for weeks, but this has not prevented the city from scraping down to the core. Frankly, it kind of makes the streets like ice rinks, but they sure are smooth.

Hoar Frost

Every week our northern life seems to have a new surprise in store for us. Ice fog and hoar frost are just two of the newest additions to our Yukon vocabulary. Ice fog, it turns out, is literally ice-depositing fog. Think of it as the arctic equivalent of freezing rain with the added bonus of being as thick as pea soup.

Hoar frost, though related to ice fog, is a little more appealing. Yes, it makes the roads a bit slick and is virtually impossible to scrape off your windows, but man, is it beautiful. It ranges from fine and fuzzy like a peach, to coarse and feathery.

Hoar frost happens when exposed objects rapidly lose heat, becoming colder than the air around them. Moisture from the air is then deposited in the form of leafy ice crystals. Okay, I'm no meteorologist so here's a link to a good Wikipedia explanation. And here are a few pictures from a recent walk in our "back yard".