It's been a long, long time since my last post and the title of this one is fitting in more ways than one: strong winds this months spread a wildfire that had been smoldering since July at the end of our lake into our direction. Living right on the water's edge as we do, the fire wasn't too concerning as far as potential danger to our lives goes, but obviously neither one of us would like to see the trees and bushes, the wild meadows or animals we love so much burn. Chances of the fire still advancing all the way to our place are slim, given how late in the year it already is, but a struct ..read more

So I finally finished slapping stucco on the inside walls of my hexagonal studio and have turned this work space into a living space that breathes light and scenery:    ... and as far as work spaces go, I've extended mine by thousands of square kilometers! I bought a 28W foldable solar panel which allowed me to go on a couple of kayak trips while working on my novel and a book translation. Yes, it did feel weird and somewhat "wrong" to be using a laptop while camping. But it would have felt decidedly worse to be stuck at home the entire summer! This way, I still got all this: Well ..read more

There are many heartbreaking things about being alive at this time in history, experiencing the incredibly rapidly changing climate and the 6th mass extinction. One critter that's spreading rather than taking the exit is the winter tick, a parasite that can cause severe hair loss in moose and even death due to blood loss if a moose is extremely impacted. There used to be no winter ticks this far north. I'd never seen a moose like this cow just past our place, only in pictures. Not only the moose was suffering from parasites. After two summers of extreme aphid infestations, the aspen in our ar ..read more

March is usually a good time to walk into town - the waterways are safely frozen, the snow is packed. But as climate change plays havoc with our winters, my trek back home after visiting with friends was an exercise in walking in meltwater, on thin skins of ice the melting snow had scabbed over with, and ... walking on glare ice. *imagine snowy mountains, a cheap plastic toboggan loaded with camping gear and food, and a glare ice surface* (picture won't post) Breakup was the earliest we ever had: May 2nd ..read more

As our thoughts slowly turn towards home, I look forward to 2019, a year full of possibilities that looks like a creative mix of the computer keyboard and the chainsaw. Writing and carpentry are a happy combination for me; one activity frees up the brain for the other and each puts a strain on very different muscles. I have a feeling sore muscles are waiting for me! My wildlife orphans from my time at Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter are still on my mind almost every day. My second crew of 11 black bear cubs was released back into the wild this summer, and I hope with all my heart that most ..read more

I’ve always felt the most connected to sparse, harsh landscapes - the high alpine, the far north – where life is fierce and tenacious, and the play of sunlight on the mountains is like a drug. The Sonoran Desert embodies all this, each cactus and thorn bush thrust up from the sandy ground like a proclamation. Landscapes are not an extraneous thing, something apart from us - we’re part of them, human particles moving around in the larger organism. I lose myself in walking as the dust and air and scents become absorbed by my body, fill me, fulfill me, and for moments at a time I almost ce ..read more

We finally did shake winter off our heels! It didn’t happened somewhere in Utah, when we also managed to break our routine of two days of travelling followed by three days stuck because of a major snowstorm/car trouble. People have been super friendly and helpful all throughout Montana, Wyoming and Utah, but Wayne who runs J.A.R.R. towing and auto repairin Choteau, Montana, eclipsed everybody with his helpfulness. We broke down in this picturesque if deserted spot: Turned out the fuel pump of our pickup had decided to die in the windswept fields of western Montana. We ended up s ..read more

It looks like I may have waited a bit long with long-distance hiking. C injured his knee in spring and after months of gradual improvement it's now got worse again. So we're putting the Arizona Trail on hold - the knee might heal over the next months, but due to weather hiking the trail in winter isn't really an option. We're hoping to do at least a couple of sections though, assuming elderly joints will cooperate enough for that. But hey, there are worse things in life! We're making the best of it and are currently enjoying the record-breaking snowfall in Canmore, Alberta, after hiking up to ..read more

Life is full of detours. There’s one I didn’t take one eighteen years ago: I had applied for a piece of crown land to build myself a house, and my plan B, in case the application was denied, was to hike the Pacific Crest Trail – a 4,240 km (2,650 miles) long hiking trail that stretches from the US-Mexico border all the way to Canada. I got the land and shelved the PCT for later in life, but my life choices then saw me adopt more dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, and move further out into the bush with my boyfriend away from roads and human neighbours.  My PCT hiking guides (actual books because 1 ..read more

Well, we left the potatoes and carrots to fend for themselves, turned on the electric fence and set off for a canoe trip on the Big Salmon River. I pretty much could have worn my toasty outfit motorboat for the first week on the river as well because it was that cold: So here's my confession: while I'm an experienced flatwater kayaker, whitewater strikes fear in my heart. Especially when sitting in a canoe instead of a kayak, and even more especially with our nervous ninny of a dog in the canoe. I have had no whitewater experience before this trip, and the most difficult section of the Big ..read more