Soapberry soap

There is always something to pick, this time of year. I probably have said it before; i could spend all day gathering ( but i am not).
And really picking soapberries is not high on my list, so when dishes have piled up i run out of the house and gather a handful.
Because they do get my dishes clean!
and shiny really.
I was quite surprised.
This is what i do:
i use a small handful of berries, crush them in some hot water, add some more hot water , whip them up with a whisk, add more hot water, sieve the water, add more hot water.
And you have this reddish dishwater, it doesn't look very clean, but it cleans the dishes!
and i have to say when you use an old plastic brush or dishwashing tub it will stain old plastic red like tomatoes do.

It works for me and probably as long as soapberries remain on the bushes, i don't think i get into storing them for future use.

Anything to reduce trash. This morning on the radio  i heard something that irritates me. A study has been done and what they found out is that organic food is not more nutritious. Dahhh! That is not what it is about for me. It is that we can actually grow food without poisoning the planet. And i like to take it a step further, not to grow things, but harvest what already grows in abundance.
and reduce waste for that matter, i am on a mission again, that whatever i do buy is not wrapped up or packaged etc, not at all. It's possible, google it, people do it.
More on this as my cousin in France is trying to make a picture of  a baguette walking around naked in town.

swans migrating

what are the swans doing? Before we good even see them we could hear the swans trumpeting and making a lot of racket in the water.By the sound it seemed there were a lot of them,.As i approached them, there appeared to be only four of them.

I think one was already laying with it's wings flat on the water.

 then one (unaware of me in the trees) came flying towards me flying towards the takhini river ( they are on the mendenhall river.)

 two took of in the other direction, and came back soon after.
 the first one, circled around and came back too

 suddenly two seemed to be fighting

 I think two took off again, and two remained

One still laying with it's wings flat on the water.
And i think swan no. 4 remained calm throughout the whole time.

What was going on!?

mnt.Sima

http://mountsima.com/

I had so much fun today,
I rode the bike park, and i loved it!
One day  a week i am at mnt Sima to make a hiking trail, i volunteered my self to do some wildflower markers, which will happen! For now i am just working on the trail, and i am very excited about it.

The crew working at mnt. Sima is fantastic! I love the energy there and the way they work.

And after walking up and down the mountain quite a bit over the last few weeks, today i decided to take my bike and they let me ride the bike park, after i worked.  I took the easiest trail. There are 2 trails for the bikes. But Austin, the bike trail designer/builder, said a third trail will soon be open, this weekend maybe.
I took the easy trail , which i read is intermediate ( it's 'ridey tidy' i think) Anyway i did it twice, and the second time already more smoothly. I do have some past experience. I took a lesson in Kamloops years ago and what i was told, keep your pedals horizontal and  hold on to the brakes.,60% on the front brake and 40% on the back brake.something like that. ( meaning, press the brakes at all times, only releasing them a bit  when you want to go faster.)

And what i learned today; when you see the yellow sign CAUTION. go slow very slow....
There is only one such sign on the trail i went one, and it seems to be there for a good reason.... that's all i say :)

Austin  and Alexander worked two weeks ago on these trails http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Crankworx-Whistler-2012-Red-Bull-Joyride-Slopestyle-Video.html
This is not scare you, at mnt. Sima Austin designs trails, that are possible and fun to ride even for me.

red admirals in the nettle patch

Thanks to Christopher i found out that my two babies are Red Admiral caterpillars.
I phoned Bruce Bennett the Yukon Botanist, to see if that was the case. He knew of the sightings of Crispin Guppy.
As Bruce himself is more of a botanist (well he is) then a lepidopterist. we started talking plants, stinging nettles in this case. Utrica dioica.
As the nettle is not very common in the Yukon, i always wondered if my nettles had travelled here with me from Holland 20 years ago.  I look after my  patch diligently, otherwise it would be overrun by Fireweed.
Bruce told me the European nettle is actually different then the North American one.
the European: Utrica dioica ssp dioica
ours in the Yukon: Utrica dioica ssp gracillis
Which one  is the one that grows in my garden?
I found the following article: Similar Species: The uncommon European variety of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica var. dioicaor Urtica dioica spp. dioica, often referred to simply as Urtica dioica; European stinging nettle, common nettle, hokey pokey, devil's leaf, naughty man's plaything) is more branched and sprawling, with more densely hairy leaves and stinging hairs abundant on stems and both leaf surfaces. Leaves of the European variety are much broader and heart-shaped. Unlike the native stinging nettle, the European type is dioeceous, meaning its male and female flowers are found on separate plants. Small stinging nettle seedlings might be confused with mints, which also have opposite, serrated leaves and square stems, but no stinging hairs.

at http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedguide/singlerecord.asp?id=210

sooo it appears to me,i am glad to say, that mine is the native one. And! attracted some butterflies not so native to the Yukon.

Thanks Christopher and Bruce

Colourful butterflies make mass migration to the Yukon | Yukon News

Colourful butterflies make mass migration to the Yukon  |  Yukon News

Seed harvest

As i was harvesting lamb's quarter seeds, i remembered i had read somewhere that stinging nettle seeds are good to eat too. Now i do know, that there are butterflies that do have a connection with nettles.
"okay" i did harvest the lamb's quarters but left the nettle patch alone when seeing that these creatures  claimed them for their food source already.
Now the question is, will they hang their pupa in the nettles too and which butterfly will emerge and when?

after yesterday's rain

all is wet, the sun is out again today and in the slight breeze all sparkles like the tanzanite stones i saw in skagway
no this post is not going to be nice
but first i have you find the pika and the ptarmigan

in the spirit of all is not what it seems to be

Recently i heard a bad story, and yesterday some facts where confirmed by a friend of mine, who had been a victim in the story. I have no idea how to write about this, because if you know, my outlook on life is; all is good. Do i have a responsibility to speak up, when i am aware of someone harming innocent people?
I can't find any facts on the net. Yet this story is so.... like....awful.

This can't be happening in the Yukon.

I remember the villain as beautiful blue eyed and very charming, i liked him a lot when i met him.
And i do wonder what makes someone act in such way, was he deeply hurt once?
And i have known 'bad' people and seen their beauty, even spoken out for them in their favor. but these are other stories maybe for an other time.

So let me start this way, asking you, if what i heard is true. Is it really true?
That two beautiful men, Jonathan and Matteus have started up beautiful restaurants in the Yukon and left a trail of tears. Not paying their bills, their employers, stealing and taking people to court . I  am really not in a position to write about this, i don't know all the details.
The feeling i get here, is that most people believe in the goodness of people. These two men approached them and they trusted these guys, believed that they would pay later, went out on a limb for them because it all sounded so beautiful to be part of....

I heard  Carcross now, i heard things are falling apart already around them.

I hope they find their peace, i don't wish them harm. And i can only hope for them and all involved there is sunshine after rain.