Heide, I am blown away by your courage and endurance! Tell us more about the people you work with. Are you together much? As an extrovert, I don't know if I could stand being in that cabin all alone very much (cute as it is). Do you share meals together? Do you have Phones, internet, TV? What do your evenings look like? Days off??? Ok enough question s from me. Sending love & prayers. Cindy
Hi Aunt Cindy, again sorry for answering so late. I also feel guilty for writing so little. Usually when I find a internet connection I have a limited amount of time to upload and post pictures. I use every chance I get, either at the library, which is a good 20 minute drive to Tagish, the nearest “town” or when I’m at our second property (Seahorse), but we rarely get to do that. Or when I’m shopping (there is one store with free wifi). So I don’t really find the time to write.I think life here is best described as “North of Ordinary”. You have to have a certain personality and willingness (and you definitely have to be an introvert or at least ‘ambivert’ to make it). When something breaks down you have to find a way to fix it yourself. I remember my Ski-doo getting stuck in deep snow and it was too far to walk back,so I had to shovel snow with my hands for two hours to clear a path. It was too cold for phones to work so I had no way of informing Annette back home. The usual thought process of Annette was either Heide will return sometime or she’s dead. It is how it is. And you know what? I kind of understand it now, but you have to live here some time for it to make sense. Accidents happen, that’s just a risk you have to be willing to make.
The horse fence has now started to rot and again there is no one who can help us so we have been spending all day and night digging holes, adding posts and setting up and electric fence system. All the while trying to keep up with our regular work and maintaining the horses. We don’t have a stable so we locked them in the riding arena and have to drive hay and water down twice a day. And since they don’t have any more room to run, we have to make sure that wildlife stays clear, like porcupines, bears and wolves. It is overwhelming at times but you can’t afford a break down so you push through and just work on.We don’t have days off with animals. 7 days a week from 8 am until 10 pm we are working, with little breaks in between. We try to go to town once a week for groceries, but since it’s over an hour away we have to get lots done on our city days and they seem to be the busiest. And once in a blue moon we leave for half a day and go hiking, riding, canoeing or something else nice.
Annette and I usually eat together and like spending time with each other, which surprises us both, since we are both people who prefer privacy and alone time (there’s a reason why Annette moved so far out in the bush). I only spend nights in my cabin and spend my breaks in her house or go for walks. We don’t really have evenings where we sit and relax, we work until exhaustion and then go to bed.
Ok, so far this isn’t sounding too inviting, but it isn’t a fairy tale life. It’s expensive living in the Yukon and everyone I have met works two, three jobs to afford it. But you do it because the nature here is unbelievable. The mountains and endless wild forests. The trails you can walk for hours without seeing a single person. There is no pollution, so the sun shines brighter and warmer, you can supply yourself with water from the lake and eat wild berries in the mountains. Everything is pure and untamed. The people here are fascinating. I’ve met a couple who have raced dogs for 25 years, living in their car half the time (one of them also has a serious dog allergy), our farrier used to own a bison ranch with over 300 wild buffalo, our customers who bring us their dogs are Ornithologists (bird experts), bush pilots and RCMP’s (Royal Canadian Mountain Police). We went to a bar one night and met an 80 year old guy named Scott, with his walking stick, who had worked in broadcasting for 30 years and knew every famous celebrity in canada and that’s something that I have also noticed. You don’t retire here. There are people in their 60s, 70s, 80s still going strong, working hard and enjoying life. They don’t fade because they still have to chop their own wood to stay warm or walk 8 miles through the bush to get to the store etc. Life is intense, but beautiful.
dededos
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