Reflection

I'm in that in-between place that I enter when I've just come back from a trip. I am entering my regular life again but I am still half in the place from which I have just returned. Janet and her family are still with me, as is the scenery of Whitehorse. I drank a good few cups of tea out of this pot and several glasses of wine. Janet dusted off her teacups for the occasion and here they sit in the low-slanting sun of the evening.

This is what I saw outside my window one night just before I went to bed at around 11:30. It was cold and very peaceful.

Janet is trying to get a jump on the growing season and has started a whole table full of seedlings. You can see them here in the family room window facing the morning sun. Christmas is still a little tangled up in there but sometimes we have more important things to do! Janet's planning a greenhouse and a vegetable garden and had a consultation with the guy who's going to do it. They can't be created fast enough for her liking! I'm so impressed with her ability to grow things, especially with the challengingly short growing season in Whitehorse - and I wish I could be there for the harvest.

Here, on the right, is a picture of the Yukon River at the hydroelectric dam on the edge of town. We went over the bridge from Janet's office (on the left is the front door) one evening so we could have a look at the fish ladder exhibit that's she's been working on revamping for the summer season. If you enlarge the photo of the river, you can just see it on the right bank, in the distance.

There was a cold wind that evening but the sky was clear. Later that evening there was a power cut, caused by some unknown person or people taking pot-shots at the power lines with a high-powered rifle. It was still on at this point but off by the time we got home. Not all of the snow has melted on the river yet and the water level is still very low.

Here is the river above the dam. You can see it better if you enlarge it.

Janet was dancing up a storm over the course of the week. One of the city's amateur dancer schools demonstrated what the students had learned over the winter, by performing for the community in three performances Thursday through Saturday. Here are Janet's jazz and flamenco shoes. She was one foot-weary dancer at the end of the day.

And to finish off for tonight, here are a couple more shots of Miles Canyon from yesterday. I highly recommend a visit to the Yukon. I haven't even scratched the surface yet and I've been to Whitehorse four times now. The scenery is beautiful and the people are friendly. Spring and summer are my favourites but the other seasons have their up-sides too. I feel like the local tourist board!

Hi honey - I'm home!

I feel sated, as I said to Janet today, because I've had lots of time with my friend. Normally, we catch time together whenever we can, a day or two here and there, sometimes only a few hours or a call form the airport, and it never feels quite long enough. Even though it was a busy week, we had time to chat and just hang out. We were walking along the trail in Miles Canyon in in the sunshine early this afternoon. It was a lovely day and time for me to come home after a wonderful nine days in the Yukon.

I have lots of pictures to share but I will only put a few on here tonight. It's late and I'm pleasantly tired - so time to turn in. Here's a picture out of the plane window early this evening. We had only been airborne for a few minutes so we're just outside of Whitehorse. I think this is still the Yukon River with the mountains on the other side.

To the left is Miles Canyon this afternoon. The sun went in and out as we walked and the cool wind came and went as we went around the bends. The river is a beautiful green and this was one of Janet's favourite picnic spots when the kids were young.

Below, although it's a little hard to make out, are juniper berries; blue and white. We picked some so I can cook with them. I was thrilled to find them along the trail.


And finally, for today, these wild crocuses (or is it croci, like hippopotomi) to remind us that it's spring after all.