ice over a water hole

Our waterhole is freezing, of course. Every day before I dip the bucket into the precious liquid, I have to use the axe and reluctantly destroy those wonderful ice crystals that have grown the night before. – Manuela

In the first few weeks of The Ice Cube’s eager search around the internet for personal stories about ice, I came across a cool blog called Every Day Life in the Northern Yukon Wilderness. At that time Manuela and Elias were cleaning up after this year’s unusually rough spring ice breakup (see my post here and, of course, their May posts directly).

I took some time to revisit the site last week to see what Manuela and her partner Elias are up to now that the cold season is really settling in.

It looks like both of these pioneers are now writing posts for the blog. The focus has been on building a gorgeous log house. Anyone interested in what it takes to live in the woods in a forest that’s close to the Arctic Circle will enjoy the blog for this info.

Along with the practical facts, I like reading the pair’s moments of reflection about the place they’re living. Also for the contrast to where I live: suddenly, Dawson, a town of fewer than 2,000 residents, seems a luxurious and bustling metropolis.

And I am always, always grateful for cold and hot running water. The above photo shows where Manuela goes to collect drinking water for the house each morning. Brrrr. You can read about it here: http://manuelaz.blogspot.com/2009/11/magic-of-water.html

Then, if you’re someone who does live in a place with fresh, clean snow, you also might want to enjoy Manuela’s snow ice cream recipe, here or as copied out below. Love this woodswoman’s sense of creativity and play.

Vanilla Ice Cream (Coffee Ice Cream)

¼ cup Maple Syrup
¼ cup condensed Milk (whipping cream, if available)
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract (or two Teaspoons Instant Coffee)
2 Handfuls of Clean Snow
Mix, Eat