March in the Yukon – it’s all about the sun
We’re having a wonderful spell of sunshine in Whitehorse right now, and like most Northerners, I’m embracing it. Temperatures at night are still a bit chilly but overall we’re a little above average, day and night, for this period.
The weather forecast for the next week calls for lots more incentive to be outside.
Most days, a walk with the dogs is the start of my outdoors day. Yesterday, Monty and I went on a much longer walk than Kayla can handle now. There’s a large piece of rolling forest land just up at the end of our road that’s marked “No Trespassing” by the Department of National Defence for their Cadet Camp, but they’re not serious about it – the main trail there is well used year round.
This trail gives both of us more exercise than our normal short route, and there’s lots of visual variety as a bonus.
Monty gets quite a ways ahead of me often, but is great about coming back when he’s called. The odds of seeing large wildlife aren’t high, but moose in particular are around, so I carry a leash just in case.
I spent some time yesterday trying to figure out which of my neighbours is up and around, and what they’re up to. Some, like snowshoe hare, squirrels and mice, I was able to figure out, while others remain a mystery. I need to take my book, Tracking and the Art of Seeing, with me next time.
The only long view along the trail is this old powerline access near the north end of the trail. It looks across the Yukon River valley.
This is a good trail to slow down and look at the small details of life. Watching for photo opportunities like these really increases my enjoyment of these longer walks, even if it does bore Monty 🙂
I haven’t made any big changes to our property for quite a while, but a couple of trees have been bugging me. One of the lodgepole pine trees is leaning towards the hot tub and would hit it if it fell, and both of them block the early-season sun from my lounging area. This was the view from my lounge chair yesterday morning – the 2 problematic trees are the ones closest to the centre.
With the leaning tree hooked to a winch to ensure a safe fall, the chainsaw gets fired up.
A few minutes later, those 2 trees are gone…
…and the sun now hits my lounging area for an couple of weeks or so. Adding another half-cord or so of firewood to my stock doesn’t hurt, either.
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