Sunday, June 27, 2010

.
.
Life is like a salad...
a real mixture of moments
all tossed together,
.
from solitary moments...
.
to quiet moments with friends...
. and not so quiet moments...
.
to moments of exploration...
. (Who ever knew that
FISH had moment making
magic?
)

. to the anticipation of
new teeth moments...
.
and hugs between
best buddies moments...
.and then even more sister snuggle momevts...
. then there are the
"we're hiding"
moments...
.
and the
"Daddy I've got Mummy's camera"
moments...
.
and, of course, the
"Like it or not,
it's your turn Mummy!"
moments..
.
.
And each of the moments that
make up this family
are perfect
& precious
.
& ours!
.
.
.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

.
.
Canadian
Tiger
Swallowtails
are everywhere!
.
.
And the beautiful creatures keep
finding their way into my greenhouse!
I do my best to catch and release them...
. .
Adelaide loves to see them
before they fly away
.
Daddy goes for the
up close & personal farewells
.
while Sarah decides that
she likes this thing on
Mummy's hand quite a bit
and rather
NOT AT ALL
on her!
.
Seems to me,
the closer look you get
the more interesting they get!
Apparently these delightful creatures
only live for 10 to 14 days
in their adult butterfly form...
Such a short time to enjoy them,
don't you think?
.
And as they age,
their wings become
tattered and worn.
hummm....not unlike ours!
.
Time to rescue another one ...
.
And while Swallowtails are
gracefully lilting about
happily fluttering from flower to flower,
this rare & delightful species
takes time to
flutter about our soil pile

as only a
beautiful little
Yukon Butterfly
can.
.
.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

.
.
The First FitzGerald Family
Camping Trip!
.
.
Not more than a kilometer down the road
Adelaide asked, "Are we there yet"?
How is it that ALL kids ask the
SAME questions?
.

Then, when Sarah asked
"Were are we were going camping?",
Adelaide answered,
"Down the Haines Road!"
Note to self:
Never assume they don't hear
what you are talking about...
.
.
Every time our little monkey saw water
she asked us to stop so she could throw rocks in!
Daddy found a great little spot to stop.
There were no rock on that sandy beach but,
thankfully,
the sticks seems to do just fine :)
.
Further along,
the Willow Ptarmigan were
entertaining to say the least!
They have, by far, the funniest
call I have ever heard!
.
With Adelaide still raring to go
and Sarah sound asleep
we made it to the pass
and found a flat spot to park the camper
.
It was after midnight & still, the sun hung on,
along with this little one's excitement about
her first camping trip!
I didn't think we EVER get her to sleep!!
.
Well into the wee hours of the morning,
with tummies full of Grandee's banana Bread
(carefully reproduced by me, aka: Mummy)
& we are off to bed!
.
.
With such a late night behind us,
it amazes me how
we all woke up in fine form!
.


.
But then again...
wouldn't YOU be eager to get out of bed to
play in the June SNOW!!
.
.

.
Especially the PINK June snow?
.
& not to mention the
colourful little rocks
that were happily waiting to be chosen,
and that we
NEVER seem to be able to resist!!
;)
Adelaide created this piece of rock art all by her self!
.
.
& then there were the slightly larger ones
that both girls chose to pack for our garden :)
I LOVE my Mighty Munchkins!!
.
Along the hike we came across a friendly
Semipalmated Plover.

What a cute little fellow!
Silly me, I mistook him for a Killdeer
Who was to know that this plover only has one strip
& the Killdeer has two?
I'll not forget now :)
.
We couldn't get close enough to this river
to throw rocks into it...
The snow was just
too deep & dangerous
with the river running under it!
But it really was beautiful
and worth the hike to get to it!
.
With our pants soaked from snow
and our arms tired from hauling rocks
it was time for a PB&J lunch
and a bit of quiet time...
then,
we hit the road home...
.
Does anyone else find the names, of these
two little alpine lakes, to be as
endearing as I do?
.
An number of Arctic Terns were diving
on one of the Twin Lakes.
There was a Pacific Loon amongst them,
and a mating pair of Trumpeter Swans
just down the road!
.
With our new found feathered friends
behind us
and a truck full of beautiful rocks
we finally return home from a...
.
fun filled,
nature enriched
and,
especially cozy
family camping trip
:)
.
.
Mum: "Who wants to go camping next weekend?"
Adelaide: "MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
Sarah: "I'm thinking...is there Banana Bread?"
.
.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

.
.
Yukon wild flowers are the best
:)
.



.
And this is just the beginning....
.
I wanted a garden...
.
I thought of a few raised beds...
I thought of a simple form of a greenhouse...
I suggested using some old logs that were lying around...
But I married a carpenter
and he happens to love me immeasurably:)
So began the birth of
my Greenhouse!
.

Adelaide collected the joins for the roof trusses
.

and because every fine carpenter need a helping hand,
she found her hammer!
.
and Sarah supervised the entire project
.
actually, they both did ;)
.
and they both got their hands dirty too...
Let's hope they hone their skills
in time for us to build our new home !
.
Daddy got to do the high stuff
The girls are still a bit young for climbing ladders
(not that they would necessarily agree with me on that one)
.
Wow...
Things really started to take shape :)
.
And at 7 a.m.
what a yummy place to curl up with
a hot cup'a'java
and a snugly toddler
to welcome the morning...
.
.
and to Skype Aunt 'Reen !
.
But, remembering that this was not intended to be
a "java hut"...
and with the growing season well underway...
it was time to call in the
Mighty-Machines
You can't have a greenhouse
if you can't plant things!
So...
It was time to bring in the soil!
.
I've never seen two little girls
turn into such dirt mugs
so quickly!
.
So it was time to turn our new little coffee nook into
a proper greenhouse !
.
Yunic had a blast hanging out with me
while Sean started bringing in the dirt!
.
He just hunkered down
with a contented look about himself...
So much so that,
I'm thinking he could be my new watering buddy!
.
Veggies?
They are NOT
but what a great place
to keep my new Hostas
until I feel safe enough to put them in the ground!
Actually...
I'm not sure I will EVER feel that safe in the Yukon
considering this past winter killed off all that I had!
To lose a Hosta is a horrible thing...
.
.
Well there she is
in all her glory
My
Greenhouse
!!
.
Wow...
I have the greatest Hubby
&
truly,
the most amazing kids
.
Time to watch our dinner grow!!
.
.