Nesting

Moving to Mt Lorne has been such an exciting adventure already, and we are still just moving in and getting to know the place. Coming home to this place feels like being on vacation, and I have a little feeling of disbelief that I actually get to stay here for a while.

I have gone from being a mass transit commuter in Toronto, to a 15 second walk to work from the hospital residence, to a 30 minute drive along the Carcross Rd and Alaska Hwy! Today was my first day to drive alone to work (which will hopefully soon change to participating in a neighbourhood carpool). It was kinda exciting to drive by myself, and the mountain ranges and endless boreal forest has not ceased to amaze me yet. My drive consists of one stop sign, one round-about, one bridge and a mix of gravel and paved road. The Carcross Rd is under re-surfacing right now, so it is pretty gravelly and dusty. While we were moving our stuff here on Saturday, we got a nice little chip in the windshield. That's a Yukon drive for you.  We have not seen any more caribou around here since our first visit to Mt Lorne, but today the sky was smoky and the smell of fire was in the air. The CBC news was saying that there are 17 fires in Yukon this morning, and closest ones are in Watson Lake, where we visited on our way to Whitehorse and snowshoed through the signpost forest. and chatted up that trucker dude... I wonder how he's doing!



When I got home from work, Colin and I went outside, reviewed our imaginary priority list, and started cleaning up the dog pen in the backyard to get ready for our future pal. Boy, is hard work ever fun. We pushed over and cut down a few standing dead trees, and cleaned off the branches of a spruce that had fallen over in the pen. A dog house that we found on the property was moved into the pen, and Colin came up with some plans for reinforcing the door. Now we just need to fill it with a dog or two! The next step is finding Norman and Karine, the people that offered us their retired sled dog, and meeting up with them.

Heading out to work with a hatchet and a beer

Putting on the finishing touches

Just needs a dog! (or two)

We have also been enjoying the company of some baby red squirrels, living in a bird box on a poplar beside our house:

Cute!

Well, now we're off to survey the vegetable garden and plant some seeds. We have another solid 3 hours of sunlight still (at 7.50pm), so there is lots of outdoor time to enjoy. The bugs have gotten a bit more bitey, but they're still at a manageable level, and our excitement for gardening should keep us protected for a bit.

Bye for now,
Lauren