Red Squirrel midden

Good morning! The half moon is shining over a sprinkle of fresh snow covering Fridays snow.
With all this snow came my friend; Jose van de Ven, from Regina Saskatchewan, where it was 17 C. yesterday.
She comes here to walk wild places with me.
First she walks around the place in awe, We do get out for a real walk, the regular for me , but I am very happy to share it all.
In the fresh snow we see many tracks of the little animals.
Thank you all for the response on the squirrel storage place. I also did some reading up on wikkepedia. Apparently red squirrels make food caches underneath tree trunks away from the source of the food. The cache i saw was old (I like to find out
how to determine ;how old). And included many caches for Spruce cones. The field created by the left overs(non food part of the cone)
This is all is now called a squirrel midden.
By the way; Moose Skull is frozen over again, in a that beautiful blue green color.

Saltflats

Oct. 15 2008
Last day of Fall weather! and a beautiful one. Mary and i met at 9 am at the Takhini Saltflats. Blue sky and pink clouds above the barren ground. All color of the flats have disappeared. the first pond is frozen. The water of the second one, by lack of other colors, looks an incredible light blue green. Coming towards it looking through the bleached dead fall.
There's is some ducks in the pond, Oh, I forgot which ones.
In the distance on the other side we see something white. Ducks? and we imagine all sort of things. Till Mary resolves the mystery when at the the third pond we see white foam at the edges. There is more waterbirds, but they are weary of us.

The weather man predicts snow, but on this sunny walk it seems unlikely, not so ,next morning the world is white and wet snow falls all day.

squirrels

This is a squirrel...place. Please help me out, if you know a name for this phenomena.
Around here it is a common sight. For apparently many, many years the squirrels have been bringing their spruce cone harvest here.
I took this photo this afternoon, on the north side of our 'crocus hill'.
The Spruce trees you see, are actually alive, you can't see their green tops.
on their branches hangs Old Man's Beard.

Yesterday i went for an early morning walk, today a late afternoon one. Both times
the weather was incredible. It has been above zero all that time.
Plus 6 C, i believe.

I did actually set off earlier this afternoon, it was so still and soft, suddenly i felt one drop. Somewhere in the woods here i still have some logs for my very future sauna, i lifted them of the ground, so i can move them this winter, with a sleigh.
By the time i was done more drops came down, i returned home to bring in the laundry.

Then at 3pm the sun came out, and i set out for 'moose skull lake'.
Yes, it is totally not frozen!
I checked out some cranberries, but you know, what ever the reason, this year lots fell off. Most years they remain on the bushes till next summer.
From the cranberry patch i went straight up the back of 'crocus hill' and that's where I came up the ancient squirrel nest.

Salmon fishing

Just before i took pictures of Eagles, i saw people walking around with incredible big cameras, i laughed, erroneously, at the sight of it, now standing here amidst the eagles i can see their point. I wonder if i could have gotten the perfect shot.

Oct.12 2008
In the middle of the night, Don wakes me up to see the Northern lights.
when we wake up again it is raining. We drive around town a bit; one of Don's favorite pastimes, buy a fishing licence, have coffee. And finally we settle at the Chilkat river. Here is where i was supposed to make breakfast but first i walk out in the river on a spit, towards some eagles that just sit in the low water. After that, i climb the rock across the road. It is the second time now, that i come upon a little trail, made by a kindred spirit. I like that; somebody going nowhere,just exploring.
Actually it does not and up nowhere; It is a lovely spot overlooking the river, and as i work myself through the bushes, i see more and more Highbush Cranberries. I go down to get a bag and pick over a litre of berries. Don must be getting hungry, not really, we both don't really care and snack if we feel like it. And after i visit him a bit, no fish, i walk towards the eagles again.

It is at the Chilkoot river, where i make, what is now called, lunch.
As always we have a good time at this beautiful river, but no fish.

Somewhere in the afternoon we will have to go back, as we want to be home for thanksgiving. I don't want tell you again that i was laughing at people, what a nasty person i am, but Don and i always try to stay away from the crowds. And it is interesting to see how they congregate. On our way home we drive past 'the crowds'
And finally settle on a spot where to try a few casts on more time. I am not telling
where this spot is, as it is where we got a big salmon! And you know fisherman, they don't like their favorite fishing hole broadcasted.

The Eagles are telltale anyway. Right where we park, there is one sitting high up in the tree. Later i see bear prints. All weekend we only had Seagulls fishing with us. From now on i will watch for eagles and bears , when it comes to salmon fishing. Oops, i am not the fisherman, who cares what i think.

Anyway this most amazing spot, we get to the river by walking through the forest. The forest here; big barren Poplars, big barren bushes, a thick layer of decaying leaves on the ground. It's a sight alright.
The beach; full of fist sized rocks. I gather a bag full of clear white ones, with or without lines of different colors.
The river; full of fish!
The trees across; full of eagles.
And as you see in the picture, in the background the mountains.

I continue along the river through the forest, as the beach is gravel bar.
What a commotion! Before i see it, seagulls and eagles are flying in front of me. I am approaching an inlet. On the ground are many remains of fish. I try to sneak up, but when i reach the inlet, the birds have gone, some still in the branches high up, all i find close by, right under my feet, are paw prints of a big bear!

Three Guardsmen

Oct.11 2008

Saturday afternoon Don and i took the orange van to go to Haines. Past Haines Junction we can see that it has snowed quite a bit,
but all is melting now. We drive into a little side road, where I have been told are red currants earlier in the season.
All ready, i forgot where exactly that road is. Was it before or after the beaver pond? The beaver dam broke by the way, the pond empty, a field of black mud channels,
still some water in it. Well I did find the road, now I have to make a note, next time, where it is. I didn't drive in it very far, it is very muddy, lots of puddles.

We pass Dezeadeash Lake, which is very grey and choppy. The lakes we pass today, none of them totally frozen, actually some still totally open.
But about their colors; Every shade of grey you can imagine, from black to light grey, and the Three Guardsmen Lake a shining silver.

We still see some ducks, definitely some Mallards. And Swans everywhere! The juveniles harder to see, as they have the color of the water today.
Some lakes just have one family, and on one lake we count atleast 24 adults, and while counting, once in a while, depending on the light,
we get a glimpse of the young.

On the Haines road, it is a drive back in the season, Back to Autumn. It is interesting how we come through winterscapes, then green grass, slush, rain, sunshine,
fall colors, back to snow. The willow is an interesting tree (bush) in this changing seasons landscape. Back 2 months ago it seemed the first
tree to change colors, but now lots are reddish brown, some still yellow green, and some barren.

We see a flock of Canada Geese and Don spooked a flock of Ptarmigan, when walking into the buck brush.

I said we came upon some sunlight. Glorious! I'll print a picture of the Tree Guardsmen, one of them peaking through the clouds.

Enjoying the ride as much as our goal, we always stop many times, and it will be dark before we get to Haines.
One place I always enjoy tremendously is right at the treeline, coming towards Haines. The forest here is magical. From the
road there is not much to it, you're on the summit and suddenly you're in the Spruce forest. But at any season I invite to
walk into that world there. One aspect encountered today. Bright blue blueberries on bright red stems, no leaves. Too bad they don't
taste as good as they look, they taste if they've frozen and thawed out a few times, they probably have.

The ascend today beautiful as ever, the big mountains highlighted by the almost full moon.
Still some 33 miles(the name of a settlement)to Haines along the Chilcat, it is dark when we park the van on the beach right outside of Haines, Moose soup out of the thermos is our meal and we retire early. Our matrass the bison hide i dried, it proves to make for a very warm bed.

Thanksgiving

Happy thanksgiving!

And i give thanks for all i got!
Waking up this morning our beautiful world here, had a dusting of icing sugar.
Sun and wind melted it quickly.

I have to say i would rather have been outside, but i busied myself in the kitchen. processing food gathered in the wild over the weekend and cooking a thanksgiving meal. I try to use as much wild and homegrown food as i can.

our dinner will be; grouse(wild) with walnut(my sisters garden) -juniper(wild) stuffing.
shrimp(Haines). roast potatoes(my garden). cooked greens and carrots (harvested today, the very last) Salad (only the carrots and onion from my own garden).
And dessert is mince meat/cranberry pie (home made moose mince meat mixed with wild cranberry preserve from Mary).
What abundance! How delicious!
Thank you Mother Nature!

Trumpeter Swans

Oct. 10 2008
3 Swans on the '911 pond'. What you see, might be what it is. I spend an hour at the pond and didn't see any other water birds and as you look at the picture, where the swans are is the only open water, their reflection is on the ice.
I don't know if these 3, are from the family that was raised at the pond, or 3 others taking a break from flying South. I also don't know if these are adults. Last month the juveniles still looked different, more grey, then the adults. These 3 where totally white.