Things have been pretty routine here - we are contending with the warm weather - it is really not as welcome as you might think! The warm weather has made our beautifully groomed trail very hard packed. The sleds run a risk of overheating on this so we decided not to chance it and go for mail this week. Luckily, friends from Germansen decided to come for a visit so they brought out mail and much appreciated fresh eggs. There are no great amounts of snow in the forecast, but we could use a pretty good dump to put the trail in good condition again. We have received our "less than 1cm" as forecasted today already.

I have finally hooked up our Sirius satellite radio in the cabin and I am loving the clear, commercial free music that doesn't cut in and out with the sun or cloud, a light breeze, or a squirrel changing trees a mile away. The most reliable station we get is 890CJDC out of Dawson Creek which is where my parents live near so it is nice to hear what is going on there. We have though, tuned in Nome, Alaska and a station out of Washington. We also get 790 CFCW, 800 Penticton, INEWS 880, St. Paul, Drumheller plus more stations speaking Mandarin and Punjabi than you would think there would be out there! There was also a station that sounded like it was coming from the Vatican... It was definitely Italian with a "message." I don't know if it is possible but I think I may have also tuned in a station from Russia one night...

I have given up my rye bread making career almost as fast as it started. What I wound up with were loaves that could have passed for bricks. I will write my aunt for a recipe - she has offered her sourdough starter recipe and I will see if she has one for rye bread too. I might hurt someone with the ones I have been turning out!

In a BC Trapper's Association magazine I was reading recently, there was an article about Fisher Stoves, particularly the "Baby Bear" model. Apparently this particular stove is much sought after among BCTA members for trap cabins. It is small, easily modified, and puts out good heat. Fisher Stoves were originally built in the US during the Arab Oil Embargo as an alternative way to heat your home. There are models called the Baby Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Grandma Bear and Grandpa Bear (that makes me want to go to A&W!). In the cabin we are in here is the Mama Bear, identical to the Baby Bear, just bigger and it can definitely cook us out of here if we let it! I hope I didn't bore your socks off with this - it was interesting to me. I like to know all I can about my surroundings - including the fixtures in them!