To Loesje, My Savvy Loveable Wilderness Cat
We name her Loesje (pronunciation Lousia). We do not want to leave her home alone, so she just goes with us everywhere we go. Ours […]
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Why They Bike
We hear them before we see them; they squeak up behind us on the snowy trail or sidewalk. A muffled “on your left” as they
Lessons from Lady Di
Prince Harry turned 30 this year. Besides continuing as Britain’s most eligible bachelor, this milestone entitles him to receive his share of Princess Diana’s estate.
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Home Grown
The phrase “food security” is becoming common, and it can be interpreted in several different ways. Whether it is a lack of food due to
Craft Boss
The Yukon is known for its craft fairs. From Dawson to Faro to Teslin, each community has its own craft niche. But when you get
The 72 Challenge
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
Tax Free Savings Accounts
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
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Knives For the Hunt
Generally speaking, a hunter should have two knives — one for camp chores, such as cutting rope, whittling a wiener stick, or cutting up vegetables.
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Saving the Harvest
Trying something new with peas One of a gardener’s goals at the end of summer is to preserve the food harvested. This takes many forms
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Traveling with Janet
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
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The Victims of Halloween
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
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Nuts to you
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
It’s All About the Candy
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
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Neck Deep in Nostalgia
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,
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Looking for Yukon love online, still
In his last article, Charles discussed feedback from his previous writing about online dating. In this article, he nears the end of a really short
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Get Some Witnesses Up in Here
Handwritten, unwitnessed wills — also called holographic wills — are valid in the Yukon as well as some of the provinces. One of the more
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Cowboy/Camp Coffee
A little research shows me that “camp coffee” and “cowboy coffee” are the same thing, but maybe originated in different locations. Basically, each involves a
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Butcher Day Death with dignity
Death is a part of life, without death no one could live. Even vegetarians’ diets put an end to life. By eating a carrot, for
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The Sopranos, the Camino de Santiago, and How the World Hangs Together
Last night I watched episode 1 of the Sopranos, the mafia-family television series that became hugely popular at the turn of the century . It
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Bargain Hunting: The Sport
The Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club (WCCS) will open its doors for the annual Winter Sports Swap and Fair this October 18 at 9:00 a.m. This
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Two Decades Of United Way Yukon charity begins campaigning to celebrate its 20th year.
Time to celebrate with the United Way Yukon; October marks the 20th year of the organization’s Yukon headquarters. The United Way is responsible for donating
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Yukon Party Culture
I walk into a “September Scramble” party at 1:00 a.m. on a Saturday, late and completely sober. It’s been a while since I was at
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Ferments
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
October is National Occupational Therapy Month
We are pure potential. The exigencies of life kicks in and a tragedy, an accident or an unexpected occurrence side-swipes us; But we are still
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Human Interaction at the Library
It’s not a dating service, or a counselling session. It’s a conversation. It might lead to other things, who knows? It’s the second time the
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A Family Affair
Peggy Duncan wasn’t the oldest member of Team Yukon in the recent Canada 55+ Games in Sherwood Park, Alberta. That distinction went to 90-year-old Irene
Unexpected Encounters on the Farm
Working outside is a given when gardening. Planting, weeding, and harvesting all are labour-intensive jobs, which are done manually on our farm. Most of the
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Life Long Learning
Some say that dogs of a certain age can’t learn new tricks. Sue Starr can’t speak for the dogs, but as a community organizer, adult
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Geezer’s Tea
One of the more frustrating aspects of getting older is the way time becomes distorted. A simple task like making the day’s first cup of
Mardi Bras for Karen’s Fund
Mardi Bras is a booby ball — but you don’t need boobs to come. Though this fundraising celebration for Breast Cancer Awareness Month may have
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Exploring an Arm
As she reached for his arm she saw it become tense; it was an involuntary reaction on his part, caused by the palsy affecting his
Firewood: Then and Now
Firewood was a least-loved childhood chore, everything to do with firewood, but especially the process of getting it from the forest into the woodshed. The
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Naturopathic Medicine in the Yukon
Still have that sore back? How about those headaches? Do you dread spring and autumn because you just know your allergies will start again, and
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Piggy Bank Politics
An allowance is one of the joys of childhood. Free money! Every week! Until I’m 18! For parents questioning the wisdom of shelling out, don’t
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Grievous Seas
Being human is to love, and to have, and to feel — deeply. Everyone will experience the loss of a loved one at some point.
Clandestine Crabapple Caper
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
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Still Looking for Yukon Love Online
In my five-part article “Looking for Yukon Love Online” published here in June and July 2014, I outlined my experience as a 50+ man investigating
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A Female Perspective: Looking for Love Online
A while ago, What’s Up Yukon featured Mr. Charles Green’s articles, “Looking for Love Online”, from a male perspective. I am writing from my perspective,
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Where There’s a Will …
I’m at that age where my friends are getting married, having children and, for some, getting divorced and doing it all over again. In the
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Market Season Ends as the Seasons Change
All good things must come to an end. And the summer outdoor market is no exception. Over the years we have enjoyed getting to know
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The Joys of Reading in Beaver Creek
This year was Beaver Creek Library’s first year participating in the TD Summer Reading Club (SRC). The summer reading program is a joint initiative by TD
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Spellbound at Kelsall Lake, B.C.
It always seems that for other people things happen quite easily. They have an idea and voila — there it is. I don’t know; maybe
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Terry Fox was a heck of a man
“It’s like the Yukon scenery — I never get tired of reading about Terry Fox.” George Maratos has never had cancer, and nobody in his
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Seed saving
Seed saving is a time-honored way of keeping certain plant traits growing. It used to be a common practice among gardeners. This year we have
Get Pickled!
This is my favorite time of year. The harvests are in, and whether you garden or purchase from local farms, this is when you can
Off The Beaten Path
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
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Rethinking the Northern Lights
If you ask visitors for adjectives describing the northern lights, they might say beautiful, mysterious, auspicious, captivating, haunting, inspiring, and magical. But I’m no visitor.
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Northern Exposure
My first time skinny-dip comes among a swirl of firsts. It happens in Atlin, my first time in that pretty town, in my first month
Driving
The peninsular city of Halifax isn’t a safe place to bicycle commute, but that sure makes it fun. The streets in the hilled port city
Fall
Living in the Yukon, people want to enjoy summer to the fullest, “summer” being those 14 to 21 days randomly sprinkled across June, July, and August. Gardeners
Crunch Time
As summer wraps up, many of us tense up. At this time of year, memories of lazy summer days (if you were lucky) give way
Killing My First Fish
The day I kill my first fish I eat a tuna sandwich for lunch.I’m on a bush excursion, assisting a field biologist. On our lunch
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Salmon in the Morning
When a gate opens to fresh Alaska King salmon, you simply must walk through. There are many types of salmon, but Alaska King is always a
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Home writ large and small
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
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Back to School Photos and Other Traditions
Back-to school shopping trips were special, it was just my mom and I. We’d have time to pose for the back-to-school picture.
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High School
High school is possibly the five longest years of your life. You spend the first year coming to grips with the fact that everyone has
Whirlwind of Yukon Flavour
It all began with fireweed pepper jelly. I did not know such a thing existed, but I am very glad I discovered it. I arrived
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Set the Summer Calendar, as Fireweed Begins to Bloom
What can one tell a Yukoner about fireweed? Isn’t it like talking to an Inuvialuit person about ice? Fireweed’s colours, height and flowering times are
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The Saga of Hole 17
Preemptive clarification: The targets in disc golf look like baskets. However, due to the culturally dominant influence of regular golf, disc golfers will often refer
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“Thinking About the Tomorrow”
It started with a death in the community, a suicide last November. Young people close to the deceased asked each other why it came to
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Set the Summer Calendar, as Fireweed Begins to Bloom
What can one tell a Yukoner about fireweed? Isn’t it like talking to an Inuvialuit person about ice? Fireweed’s colours, height and flowering times are
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Beginner’s Mind
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
Cake, Baby
“Let them eat cake”, is the famous saying, attributed to Marie Antoinette. After all, what could be a more delightful thing to do? For Heather
Rise of the Nerds
If you didn’t know that the Yukon has a thriving nerd community, you aren’t alone. Given both the North’s reputation for robustness and the long-ingrained
The Collector in Tagish
His name is Douglas Roy Rogers Dupont the 3rd. That’s what he’s known as on the water around Tagish at least. It’s his two-way radio handle.
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Parking Lot Living
My first friend in Whitehorse is an older man I meet in the automotive section of Canadian Tire the day I arrive. He helps me
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Our Grand Yukon Canada Day Parade
July 1st 2014: What a beautiful sunny day it is amidst this not-yet very warm summer. My husband Don and I are off to our
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Mysterious Bicycle
You may have heard about the bicycles stolen from Cadence Cycle in July. But did you hear about the one that mysteriously appeared? Around July
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Not Easy Being Green
If you’re heading out to Circle D Ranch for a few days of music and food this weekend, you’d be well-advised to bring your own
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A Foodie’s Dream Come True
Birch syrup, fireweed jelly, juniper berry shortbread, and low bush cranberries are a few of the ingredients that will rise to the occasion for the
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Summer Insomnia
Most of us attribute summer fatigue to long days, late nights and too much to do. For some people, though, summer insomnia is more complicated
Forget the Generation Gap, let’s Talk About the Tooth Gap
In the winter of 1995 my family headed south to spend Christmas with our relatives in Denver, Colorado. Our accumulated crew amounted to eight cousins
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Your Goose is Cooked
Unlike the southern provinces where ducks and geese are around for a few months, migratory bird hunting is not a popular activity here. But those
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Hunting with and for Family
Around this time ever year I spend hours looking at maps and checking over equipment to ensure it can handle another hunting season. All the
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Pig-roaster with Serious Cred
Chris Irving has cooked for Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family of Spain. He’s made sushi and fried chicken for the four “just normal
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Fava Beans
One of the biggest animal raising expenses in the Yukon is feed. So I am always on the look out for crops we can grow
Give and Take
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.
Le Chien Gourmet
While hot dogs are not traditionally considered ingredients for classy dining, Carl Pearce of Antoinette’s Restaurant in Whitehorse begs to differ. Here are four of
It’s Not the Dog’s Fault
If you don’t like hot dogs, here’s an Internet trend you want to avoid: “hot dogs or legs.” People take photos of their bent legs
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Hot Dogging in Quebec
I was on vacation with my family in southern Quebec when I opened e-mail from What’s Up Yukon editor Peter Jickling asking me if I
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The Perfect Weenie Roast
As far as I know, electronic gadgetry hasn’t affected the humble hot dog. Having said that, I’m confident that somewhere out there there is a
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Hot Dogs
In summer, Stevens attaches her dogs to her bike with skijouring gear and takes them for long runs, interrupted by swims.
If You Can Sing, You are Intuitive
Perhaps you do not sing well, or enjoy singing, but nearly anyone can squeak out a tune when inspired. In the same way, your intuition
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Theo Fleury: A sequel of sorts
Here are the facts: On May 22, when my mom informed me Fleury was coming to town, I got pretty excited.Given this background information, and
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The Next Big Find
“Garage sale-ing” describes the act of heading out on a Saturday morning, coffee and local classifieds in hand, to find the next steal-of-a-deal. The feeling
Different Interests, Same Outcome
My oldest daughter Hayley and I have spent her whole life in the outdoors together; we hunt geese, ducks, moose, and caribou. We started hunting
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4-H is in Full Swing
Whitehorse Spirit Riders 4-H club kicked off a summer riding season with a three-day riding clinic at the North Ridge Indoor Riding Arena. The focus
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Ask For It!
You know who they are when you see them; they walk around festival grounds with dozens of colourful buttons pinned to them, smiles on their
Batters Up!
For the second time in six years, Whitehorse is about to host many of the world’s best young softball players in the International Softball Federation’s
Yukon Athletes are Prepared to Dominate
Vancouver had better be prepared. That’s where the Yukon is sending 24 Special Olympians, ages 13 and older, to compete in the Special Olympics Canada
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The Power of Enzymes is Now
If you’re pressed for time, as most of us are, summer is good news. Gone are winter days with their demand for labour-intensive, heated meals.
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What’s in a Name?
In approximately 100,000 years since we began to speak, we’ve classified and described plants. Carl Linnaeus devised a system of naming using two Latin names
Springing into Summer
There are so many things I want to do this summer. The very first thing I’m going to do is put my school books in
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An Odd Family: The Art of Bus Travel
At 3:45 a.m. we hear the local bus driver over the loudspeaker: “Good Morning. We will be arriving in Whitehorse shortly. The only restaurant open
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Let the Floral Show Begin
Yesterday I was amputating their little arms; Into a bag they went. If I worked fast, I could fill the bag in the hour. Delicate
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Feasting on the Forest
Miche Genest is up early, squeezing wild-rose-petal-infused egg whites into small twists on parchment-paper-lined baking pans. She’s making meringues in preparation for the launch of
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Can I Come Along Again?
Germany is green and clean — there’s not much garbage, and there are recycling bins everywhere. The people are friendly. Being on a train is
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Shades of Summer
A few days ago I met Cam Webber for an after-work drink at the Roadhouse. Cam is a gravedigger for the City of Whitehorse, and
Use and Care of Axes
On a recent visit to a friend’s place I noticed that his axe handle had a 10 to 15 centimetre warp, and the head was
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The Return of Salad Season
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
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