Hunting

Wow-2 blog posts in two days. This will likely never happen again but the topic of hunting has come up here in the Hanna household and I am sure you are all dying to know my opinion on it.

I like to think that I am fairly self-aware person. I knew that coming up north and living in small community would be an adjustment for me but I had NO idea that I was such a city girl. I swear the people up here must think I am stupid at times.  I have a lot to learn!

Anyways-lets talk about hunting. I never really gave hunting much thought before coming here. Sure I knew that some people do it but I didn’t understand why or just HOW many people hunt. For a small fee you can purchase your “tags” for particular animals. You load up the truck and away you go. Right? WRONG. Once you shoot the thing it doesn't magically appear in your freezer-there is work involved.

Recently, 3 of our friends have gotten a moose and from that I have learned about the process. I will save you the details- some of it is pretty nasty but Mark went out yesterday to help a friend with the HUGE moose that he shot. The took it all apart, skinned it and brought it home where it will provide meat for their family for a good long while.  

So after Mark got home from doing this and telling me all about it (and not sparing any of the gross details I should add) we got to talking about the draw to hunting. He wants to hunt to provide meat for the family for the winter.  First off-he does provide meat for the family. He goes to work, makes money, we go to the grocery store, buy some meat (99% of the time boneless, skinless chicken) and VIOLA meat for the winter provided. He looks at it differently apparently. Maybe it’s a guy thing?

So after we have lived here for one year, he is able to get his tags and go hunting himself. That means that by this time next year I will most likely be looking up recipes for moose meat. I will admit that I have never tried it because I never really wanted to nor have I seen it in the aisles at Loblaws. I am going to try and keep an opened mind and give it a try because I’m told it is delish and I am sure there is much more of it to come in my future.

Mark also informed me that he would like to get the antlers mounted and hung on a wall. I am not sure whose house he thinks it is going to be hung at but it certainly isn't this house! But if Justin Bieber has taught us anything “Never say Never” Maybe by this time next year I will be hunting my own moose?

Wait- where do I live?

Welcome to my blog about living in a small community in the Yukon. I am writing this to keep my family and friends connected to our new life here in Ross River. By no means am I great writer and if bad spelling and grammar annoy you-leave now. You have been warned. J

For the past 3.5 years we have been living in Penticton, one of the warmest, sunniest places in Canada. Although we loved it and thoroughly enjoyed our time there we always knew that it was the first stop of our RCMP postings. We had long talked about trying a limited duration post to see what it was like. When we talked about this I was picturing a quaint little town on Vancouver Island. It didn't quite work out that way.

We were offered a posting in Ross River, Yukon. Never heard of it? Don’t worry-either had I. Ross River is about 4.5 hours north east of Whitehorse. It has the huge population of about 340 people and a general store. Needless to say, it is a far cry from Kanata (where I grew up). Once we decided that we were going to take the posting I began to worry what my life was going to be like there and if I was going to get eaten by a bear. I started learning everything I could about bears. I may just be the most bear aware person in Ross River. I dare a bear to come looking for me…actually maybe not-they can stay far away from us.

 I will say that although Ross isn't the most desirable place to live in Canada it is a beautiful place and so far I am happy here. We have only been here about 3 weeks so I am still getting used to the idea of living in such a small place. No more coffee dates at Starbucks with friends, movie theatres  shopping or eating out. There are many things I will miss about living in a city but there are many things I am gaining by living here-once I figure them out I will be sure to let you know.

We are living in government owned housing which is turning out to be an adventure of its own. More on that at a later date.  Another HUGE change for me is our internet. We now have a cap on how much we are on the net. That may turn out to be a big problem. I do love surfing the web. I will say that I am shocked with the internet service here- I was expecting it to be much worse.

I am sure that over the next few months I will have many more stories to share and will try to keep this blog updated as much as I can.