A Marathon and a Quick Tour
As March begins, there is excitement in the Yukon Night Sky. It is time for the Messier Marathon. This is an event that most amateur […]
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Spring Forward With Flowers
It has been a long time since we have seen the colour outdoors. For most enthusiastic gardeners, we await that day, when we can embark
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Dear Mister Ed
Omigosh, I cudn’t hardly beleave my eyes when I seen yer name in the paper. Are you the Darrol Hockey that sold me an icebox
Yukoners are bigger than the snow
It almost happened. That one sickening moment when we Yukoners look out the window and say, “That’s it … no more.” It was the morning
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Cosmic Invaders and Leo the Lion
The constellation of Leo the Lion definitely seems to be where all the Yukon Night Sky action is. Starting with Ceres, the smallest dwarf planet
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Is There Life After the Yukon?
Perspective – use it or lose it. Words I’ve been pondering quite a lot lately. Recently I was noticing how much I dwelt on things
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Misadventures & the Quirky Pair
Sometimes, night-time excursions do not always go the way one envisions them. Case in point, the other evening the Moon and Venus were supposed to
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Good for What Ails Ya
I’m a walking mass of contagion. Well, if I were honest, I’m currently reclining on an IKEA futon, propped up precisely so that I don’t
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An Aishihik Family Fishing Tradition
There are many reasons why Yukoners enjoy fishing. I believe my passion for fishing started with a positive experience on the water with my Dad.
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Those Frosty Night Skies
It is Friday evening, the sky is crystal clear and the temperature is a balmy –23 degrees. Add to that a 30-kilometre wind from the
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Opening That Bottle Again
I have a confession. After encouraging friends and readers to participate in Open that Bottle Night, I remembered I had committed to attend the Rotary
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Doing What Breweries Do Best
As we get nearer to our upcoming and excellent adventure, distilling, we get more and more questions about the process. So we thought we would
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What’s Bubbly Without the ‘Buzz’?
For some time, my editor has been urging me to explore the world of non-alcoholic wines and I have to admit that I put off
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Burn this winter away
This could be the most-anticipated Burning Away the Winter Blues event in its history. says Arlin McFarlane. “It has been a long winter.”
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A View of the North in the East
Comment ca va? It is amazing how many people from the Yukon that Grant and I have seen or met while living here in Montréal.
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Beer and Beautiful Music … Together
What goes together even better than peanut butter and chocolate, Laurel and Hardy, or ice cream and dill pickles? We think it is beer and
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Fit ‘n’ Healthy: Roadblocks Are No Obstacle for This Trainer
One thing I talk to all of my clients about, when they are first starting on their fitness journey, is goal setting. And with goal
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Winter blues will burn
there is something infinitely satisfying about being a part of a torch-carrying mob on its determined way to burn a false god
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Doggy Do’s and Don’ts
Cher Yukon, Comment ca va? Today’s letter is going out to all of you dog lovers and owners. Before we came to Montréal, we gave
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What Could Be More Canadian Than Snow and Ice?
It has come to my attention that Canada is cold. Or, more to the point, people have needed to direct my attention to this fact
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Fit ‘n’ Healthy: To Indulge or Not to Indulge: That is the Question
Five weeks out and things are getting rough. It was my birthday this week. Now is the dreaded question: Do I cheat and go out
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Cat-oral Defence
Huh? What? Oh, it’s you. Good morning. Excuse me while I stretch and yawn. I had a long night last night and didn’t get very
Dear Mister Ed
Holey Old Moley, it seems like things ain’t rite in the Youcon skies. I first took note of it a few weeks back when I
Fit ‘n’ Healthy: My Road to the Arnold
Back in November I received a phone call from my trainer, Jen Hendershott, offering me an opportunity to compete at the Amateur Arnold Classic 2009.
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It’s ‘sick’ to be healthy
Adrienne Marsh is pumped. The interview takes off like a sprinter from the starting block. In a voice charged with enthusiasm, Marsh explains SOGO Active,
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The Way of a Warrior
“I have been many years training in the Way of Strategy, Ni Ten Ichi Ryu, and now I think I will explain it in writing
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Plant-Propigating Possibilities
Plants are natural self-propagators. Along with producing seeds, plants have a unique ability to allow for broken stems and leaves to re-root themselves and produce
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Dear Mister Ed
Just had another read of the touchin’ note you sent about my sister Wilma goin’ down to glory, and figgered I’d best set the record
What a difference a day makes
What difference can one day possibly make? To the homeless, to the poor, to those who have fallen on hard times, a day can make
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The Bull Behind the Karate Man
On the island of Okinawa, there is a cultural sport called bullfighting. It is quite different from bullfighting in Spain. There, the bull takes on
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Tiny Little Pieces of Life
I got my seeds today! Seeds … tiny little pieces of life, stored until spring arrives to awaken them. It is this miraculous life that
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Plantscaping with Cacti and Succulents
Cacti and succulents make for ideal indoor plants. In their impressive forms, cacti and succulents offer a broad range of exotic varieties. Whether designed in
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Closing Time … Time for Beer and Good Cheer
When I was a wage slave, the call of Friday happy-hour escapism was like aural honey to my ears. After a few years in the
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‘Forward, onward, says the wind.’
For our children: Tashina, Alysia, Aprile and Joshua My eyes are closed, but I can feel the gentle wind blow my hair lightly into my
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The Ancient Cloth from Which Taijiquan Was Cut
Breathing is probably the single most important aspect of the martial arts. We can all learn. Earlier, I wrote about the time and the area
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Deep in Snow and Going to Seed
When we moved to Whitehorse, from Saskatchewan, I had been led to believe that gardening here was next to impossible. Then I visited Yukon Gardens
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A Little Persistence and A Patch of Clear Sky
So how was the Yukon Night Skies Star Party, you ask? The plan was to go Friday and Saturday evening, if the weather co-operated –
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Potting Up & Potting On
Sooner or later, plants outgrow their original pots and need to be transplanted. Many tropical houseplants thrive by being planted in proper-sized vessels with regular
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Dear Mister Ed
Thanks kindly fer returnin’ the $2 I sent you. With the hard times on us, I’m grateful of the free inscripshun. Drew a small map
Perhaps we aren’t doomed …
Early in January, I received a press release that excited me greatly. It was from Yukon Energy and it announced it received $125,000 in funding
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Yukon Night-Sky Action
Let’s start today’s column with Comet Lulin, which is blazing its way across the Yukon Night Skies. This small and bright comet is really moving
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Why Wait for Spring?
There is great excitement to starting plants from seeds. By selecting ornamental and preferred plant varieties, while giving favoured flower and vegetable varieties a head
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Get a Pooch and Find a Pal
So, I’ve mentioned it before: I’m lousy at making friends. Growing up a quiet geek doesn’t lend well to the pal-collecting abilities and now that
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Musical benefit for Richard Godson
A man who has helped Yukon musicians for years — as a key organizer of the Alsek Music Festival and as a music teacher at
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Star Party, Yukon Style (Formal Attire Optional)
The month of March and the Yukon Night Skies Star Party at Grey Mountain: these are exciting events that reminds us that spring is on
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Safe Solutions for Plant Pests
At some point, many gardeners will experience plant pests and diseases. By selecting all-natural, organic products such as the popular neem oil to care for
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This Hour Has 45 Minutes
“You can’t please ’em all.” Now there’s an oft-spouted aphorism from the comedy world, lemme tell you. This is a general kind of excuse you
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A Yukon Welcome to the Nations
At first glance it’s difficult to know whether the large yellow beast is a dragon or a lion. Upon further inspection, looking closely at the
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Dear Mister Ed
I was fixin’ to tell you last week more on the trip I and Wilferd took to Skaggway, but then Merna came by unexpeckted and
Pondering the Propensity of ‘Place’
This recent Easter long weekend, during the longest bout I might have ever had exclusively wearing pajamas, I had an interesting revelation. I mean, there’s
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Getting Kids out of Pyjamas and into Ice Fishing
To a large extent, the past four months have featured long stretches of bone-chilling temperatures, blustery weekends and mind-numbing wind chill. After a few weeks
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Law-Abiding Beer
The Liquor Corporation in New Brunswick has created a wee bit of a stir lately (pun intended). It seems it is losing a lot of
Dear Mister Ed
You recall how last week I was tellin’ you how I sowed up a mess of bootys fer the poor swans coolin’ there heals down
The National Championships
The Cross Country Nationals are in Whistler, B.C. this year along with the Downhill, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, Biathlon, and Para-Nordic Nationals. To cap things
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Spanish wines? ¡Si!
I, and the fellow wine enthusiasts I know, seem to have wandered from country to country in the process of discovering wines. We have familiar
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Canada Delivers the Knock-Out Punch
Did you feel it? Once again, the nation shared a moment of polarization. We were all united in our disdain for the States. And it
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Raising A Cheer with Our Beer!
Congratulations to the Yukon government, in general, and to the Yukon Liquor Corporation, specifically, for passing regulations that put the new Liquor Act in play.
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Dear Mister Ed
It was nice to see the Easter Rabbit treated the Anny Lake area so good last week. From the piles of little round malt balls
A tsunami of love
How do we stem the tide of AIDS in Africa? Linda Hallet of Victoria, B.C. is working with the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) and with
The tweets of one twit’s twittering
Silly me. I thought the public wants intelligent discourse, all sides of a story and alternative, respectful arguments. So, I go to journalism school, I
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Everything Old is New Again (or, ‘Pump It Up’)
Brace yourself, Yukon. There are strange things coming to the North this summer, and I am not just speaking of the various transients descending shortly.
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A Plastic Pest
Cher Yukon, Comment ca va? This will be my last article from La Belle Province as, by the time this gets out, I will be
Dear Mister Ed
With any luck Old Man Winter has took his last gasp, and ain’t jest lurkin’ around the corner fixin’ to blow another cold one up
Fit ‘n’ Healthy: Lee and ‘Arnold’ – Together at Last
Part 1 of 2 My first Arnold Classic was, in one word, unbelievable … Over 17,000 athletes with over 150,000 people in attendance. The experience
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Putting hope in the hands of children
Imagine children, some as old as 17, who have never held a book – never read a book in their own language … Liesel Briggs
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Ode to the Dépanneur
Cher Yukon, Comment ca va? In any urban centre, on the island of Montréal, or in any neighbourhood, just about anyone can go to their
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Cool Container Combos
Many gardeners are exceptionally eager, at this time of year, to create hardy planters that will withstand the cooler, Northern spring temperatures. Take a fresh
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Dear Mister Ed
Will the mirackles never end? I finely got the electrick. Not that I need it so bad now, with the daylite gettin’ longer. The power
Fit ‘n’ Healthy: Six-Pack for Summer
With only weeks until school is out, summer is just around the corner. Want a six-pack? The American Council on Exercise has given us the
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Weaker Than Our Resolve
BY IAN PARKER Playing over 20 cities from east to west to north, in less than two months with multiple gigs in most stops, is
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The Best of the Yukon Night Skies
Springtime night skies offer an endless bounty of galaxies, nebula and star clusters, waiting to be explored. Whether you prefer binoculars or a telescope, there
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‘Working Out’ in the Great Outdoors
Working outdoors can tone your muscles and your mind. This spring, get a power workout from lawn and garden exercises. Getting fit in the garden
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The Lament of ‘Dorkdom’
It had to happen. After all, it was only a matter of time. This is the sad lament of someone’s subculture becoming even more dorky
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Moments That Teach
Chop wood, haul water … It was the very simple movement of mopping the floor that taught me the circular motion and energy needed to
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Grey Mountain Adventures
The second Yukon Night Skies Star Party was fun and eventful. The skies cleared for a short time to give us some good viewing. As
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Savoury Edible-Plant Gardening
Edible-plant gardening is a doubly exciting venture. We all know that food tastes best when it can be consumed soon after harvest. By growing edible
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‘Fat-Tire Fever’ Is a Winter Illness
“When, oh when, can we ride again?” Fat tire bikes make unrideable surfaces – unrideable without hike-a-bike & colourful language– rideable
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‘Honk, Peep (Oink?) or Gobble’ If You Love Spring!
Spring has finally sprung. The arrival of spring also brings with it new joys of farming – not just in the garden, but also in
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Three Easy Planets and Comet Cardinal
Springtime is finally here and, along with it, unstable weather. Our last outing to Grey Mountain was a washout due to clouds and strong wind.
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A Flower with a Timeless Message
The traditional flower of Easter is the glorious white lily longiflorum. Well-known as the Easter lily plant, this flower is symbolic of beauty, hope and
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Gardening: It’s About Knowing Where and When
Can you smell it? … fresh-tilled dirt. There is nothing like it to a gardener or farmer. It is one of my favourite smells of
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Of Gremlins and Star Clusters
Finally, the weekend has arrived; hopefully, the weather will be clear. All the weather-information sources, including Whitehorse Clear Sky Clock and others, seem to agree
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The Return of the Big ‘Dob’
I was suffering from aperture fever and was craving bigger and better views … fortunately, my 14-inch Celestron Dobsonian telescope finally arrived. These telescopes offer
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Comic Books – Fun and Free for All!
I once made the happy mistake of surfing on eBay, shall we say, under the influence. I say “mistake” as I found out, in a
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Winter: Time to Repair the Summer Toys
We all plan to spend part of the winter checking out and repairing some of our summer-use equipment. But just like New Years resolutions many
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Yukon Trail Building, Animal Tracking
All winter I worked on a trail going due south from the house. My initial goal was to reach a little hilltop in the middle
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Beef Wellington and Great Wines
Sometimes a dinner invitation can turn into a wine adventure. This past Saturday night was one such occasion. My partner and I had been invited
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Dispatch from Down Under
Dear Yukoners, Warm greetings from Adelaide, Australia! Bloody hot greetings more like it. Your very own Yukon Gold Comics (Jenny Hamilton, George Maratos, Stephen McGovern,
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The waiting is the hardest part
I don’t really like waiting but as a farmer there are some things you have to wait for. Like seeds to sprout or crops to
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Get Off the Couch and into the Wilderness
When Whitehorse was re-branded The Wilderness City it made me think of all the activities and events that are held here annually. As a director
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A Broom With a View
March 28th marks the 30th anniversary of the Yukon Broomball Association. “We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings playing on local community rinks,”
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Take it in stride: The mental game
The mental part of running is more difficult to train for and equally, if not more, important to your ultimate success than the physical aspect.
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The science and fun of Mining and Geology Week
Joanne Rice wants everyone to know that May 11 to 17 is Mining … and Geology … Week. “It’s because when people think of mining
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Goethe Would Rip on a Snowboard
Whatever you do, or dream you can do, begin it. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Far from sharing exhortations of obscure 18th-century German scholars, this
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Springtime Star Party: The Clock is Ticking
The month of May is a time of furious activity for Northern amateur astronomers. We are closing in on the time when the night sky
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Dig Those Diggin’ Pigs
They don’t dig like dogs, with their front feet, but with their noses. It is unbelievable how strong their nose muscles are. They can even
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Dear Mister Ed
Spring is sprung the grass is brown, think I’ll hitch a ride to town. I been ponderin’ of late that I mite take up ritin’
Who’s Watching Who …
I’m coming out of the closet – again. This time, for far-nobler purposes than atheism. Indeed, I have found a much-maligned part of society that
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Talk About Those ‘Craft-y’ Beer Drinkers
The renaissance of craft brewing in Canada all started with a single beer. We are not talking about the first bottle rolled out the door
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Desperate Northern Riders
How far am I willing to go to ride? Pretty far, apparently. This past winter, my favourite riding buddy and I travelled by truck and
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