Keeping Up With Laura

The Deep Freeze

2008-02-20T21:42:00.001-08:00

We had a really long clod snap hear. The longest I have seen in years, 18 days. The coldest it got was -45 c before the wind chill! It warmed up one morning to -26c, then plumitted again. Needless to say everyone had cabin fever.

The Phoenix rising from the frost

While stricken with cabin fever I had the pleasure of watching these great ice formations changing on my window everyday. When it warmed up they disappeared withing an hour.

The Forrest

Even frost has diversity

Ruffled feathers

Cars and cold! My car did not move for a week. It wouldn't start one day so I decided I could survive with out it. As for my room mates car (for ground) it made three trips to the shop.

Christmas 07

2008-02-07T14:08:00.001-08:00

Well I'm still doing catch up with the blog so hear is the Christmas Blog.

Yummmy Christmas pie!! This is the prettiest pie I have ever made. It was so pretty we didn't want to eat it. Ah the nature of impermanence. I kept telling myself that when my belly was full of pie and I'm still telling myself that as I'm working all that pie off my butt!

Getting th Christmas tree with Rick and Cheryl.
It was so beautiful out with trees all full of snow. Cheryl and I trekked off deep into the woods on our search. We wanted to keep going it was so nice , then Rick reminded us how far we would have to pack the tree.

My Charlie Brown tree.

And the tree at night.

My God daughter Candice and I Christmas day.

Hear we are again, going all gangster!

Khentrul Rinpoche's Visit

2008-02-03T13:54:00.001-08:00

In December Khentrul Rinpoche came to teach in Whitehorse after having been on a long tour in Alaska. I went to Juneau to go to his teachings there and picked him up. Paloma, Kim, Rinpoche and I were all squished into my car for the long, cold drive over a Mt pass from Skagway to Whitehorse. I then hosted him and cooked for him. I had such a special time with him. I also got to know a more mischievous side of him.

Rinpoche got out of the car to talk with some Links that were on the road. They are usually very illusive and this was the first time I had ever seen one. They seemed to hardly care that we were there. Unfortunately by the time I found my camera they were out of sight.

Greeting Rinpoche when we finally arrived in Whitehorse.

Rinpoche before teachings.

Rinpoche and my friend Nyla.
Rinpoche made a very nice connection with some of the local native people.

Just Because she's So Cute

2008-02-03T13:42:00.001-08:00

"Hmm my first food! Milk and Pie, this is the life!"

You can never get enough baby pictures. I never blogged many of my new niece this summer, so I thought that I would put a few more on of Isidora's visit back in August.

First time at a swimming pool, and loving it!

Out for a walk with Auntie Lola. That's the Yukon River in the background.

Playing in the Winter

2008-01-31T14:06:00.001-08:00

Playing in the snow with my cousins kids is always so fun. There is always something new to see ans explore when your with children. Hear is a frozen culvert that was great fun to play in.

Peek a Boo! I'll go in if you go to.

Waite for me!

Sun and Ice Fog

2008-01-29T12:36:00.001-08:00

It's another freezing day hear. This is the frost that was on my bedroom window when I woke up this morning.

Light through yonder window breaks!
The sun shining through the Ice Fog this morning.

These cold temperatures make for some of the most beautiful light.

Frosty Day

2008-01-28T22:56:00.000-08:00

Today it is -37 Celsius, that is -32 Fahrenheit.
The weather did however make these beautiful dancing frost formations on my window

Making Momo's with Rinpoche

2008-01-28T22:46:00.001-08:00

Jigme Rinpoche (Chugdud Rinpoche's son ) was in Whitehorse to give a Chenrizig Empowerment. Hear he is teaching me a nice vegetarian Momo Recipe. Stay tuned for more pic of Rinpoche's visit.

Professional Momo Amateur Momo

Anchorage Alaska

2008-01-14T14:40:00.001-08:00

Hello to all my friends out there. I know that I have been very neglectful of my bolg, I hope you haven't given up on me. I have decided to make a weekly commitment to updating my blog, so stay tuned on Sundays for my weekly entry. If something exciting happens in between I may even be inspired to do an extra entry. For now I have some catching up to do so will post some stuff from the last few months. Below is a trip I took in October for work to Anchorage Alaska. I had the cool experience of flying on a small six seater plain along the Alaska coast line. Wow it was beautiful! To see the snow capped mountains and glaciers meeting the Ocean. Hear are some highlights.

Leaving the small town of Skagway. Whitehorse is a 2 hour drive across the mountain pass behind Skagway.

Beautiful snowy mountains and clouds.

The Mendinhall glacier behind Juneau as seen from above.

More snowy mountains. Below is a mail box that looks like R2D2.

Halloween

2007-11-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

My spooky porch on Halloween

Feed them sugar and send them home! Ahh the joys of other people's children.

Cool Pumpkin!

More San Fransisco

2007-10-26T09:59:00.001-07:00

This was one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen, and it smelled Divine!

This is one of the blossoms up close. It was as big as my hand. I still don't know the name of this amazing tree.

I think the bees on these flowers were intoxicated. They wouldn't even move if you poked them. Do Bees get drunk?

Neon moss on the trees.

A beautiful Blue Heron.

My Trip to San Fransico

2007-10-12T09:23:00.001-07:00

Hangin with Yoda!

The famous Haight and Ashbury. This is the corner where the hippy movement was known to have started. I wounder how it wound up starting on a street corner?

Alcatraz!
the most notorious prison in the United States.

This is a lake on a wonderful hike I went on in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Winter is on it's way

2007-10-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

The first snow on the Mountains I woke up to this on August 16th

An interesting site?
I saw this on a fairly remote Yukon Lake. I wounder what this guy is up to?

Hmmm... Chocolate covered Almonds?
Sorry, some gifts left behind by a Moose near my house.

Some Yukon Summer pics

2007-09-29T16:38:00.001-07:00

My Shrine in the woods

We had some flooding in the Yukon this year. The lakes became very high because of the heavy snow that we had last winter.

The fog rolling in in the Mt. pass to Skagway.

View from one of my meditation spots

Could that be a cave in the distance?

Isadora

2007-08-08T11:26:00.001-07:00

My sweet little niece came to visit me from Alert Bay. Finally another blond in the family! It's hard to beleave that her dad is half east Indian.

My parents sure are happy to finally have a Grandchild and she sure is a happy one.

Changing water

2007-08-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

The Yukon is semi arid and has less precipitation than the driest deserts in the US. It is really common to see it raining on only half the street.

What a difference 2 months makes. Hear is the beaver dam in June and hear it is at the end of July. It looks like Mr. Beaver was evicted.

More Yukon Nature

2007-07-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

I went for a hike with my god daughter and her pal Roxi.

I had not been on this particular hike all year. A Beaver had been very busy and changed things dramatically.

I used to be able to jump across this creek, it was about 2 feet across. Hard workers those beavers are.

On our walk we noticed a den. There is something unidentified that looks like a bear right above it. I will have to go there again with my binoculars later and watch the den more closely.

This was taken on another walk out to our Swan observatory. I made this apple swan, the little boy told his his Daddy "Make it look like that one Dad"

My god daughter was playing with my camera and thought that her distorted image would make a great photo, and it did!

Another Trip to Karmapa's Land!

2007-06-25T15:31:00.001-07:00

We went up Montana Mt. to renew the prayer flags again. The road is getting more and more difficult every year as it is not maintained. This winter was particularly hard on the road because we had a record snow fall. The group had to hike over a large land slide as the back road still had snow. Hear we are on the decent at the bottom of the slide is where Karmapa's land starts.

And the new flags go up!

Is that Lama Zangpo or a monkey?

A Monkey I think

The roof of the old Dharma house amidst a beautiful back drop. In 1977 the 16th Karmapa came to this building and named the land Karma Gyurme (spelling) Ling. Kalu Rinpoche also taught hear that same year.

This year prayers from the native tradition were offered in the fire puja as well. It is truly an amazing place and I hope that all my Dharma friends will one day see it.

I took this one for my teacher. He loves wild flowers, just like in Tibet, so I always think of him when I see them.

All creatures great and small

2007-05-29T12:37:00.001-07:00

I went to Juneau last weekend. It was such a great trip. I got to see whales leaping in the ocean during my Ferry ride. No pics of them though.
I spotted this little bird on a walk in Skagway. I think he was as curious about me as I was about him.

A little warbler I cough on a walk in Juneau.

A porky pine! They can be very funny to watch.

This was taken at the Canadian border crossing. It is pretty high up in the mountains. I counted about 4 humming birds at the feeder.

Fire and Ice

2007-05-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you leave your sprinkler on all night to early in the spring. I happened upon this lovely landscaping on my way to work the other morning.

The same night as the sprinkler incident this old house burned down. I used to get babysat hear by a lovely old lady when I was about 4. At that time it was a huge beautiful house with the nicest garden. It slowly became delapidated over the years and started to get a reputation as being haunted as it had that classic haunted look to it.

The icecicle tree

Buds on ice.

Crocuses

2007-05-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

The first flower to bloom of the year in the Yukon is the crocus. I remember going on crocus hunts in the spring when I was a kid. I always look forward to their arrival. I came upon a hill full of them this morning.

Leaves and branches in a frozen pond.

Nice little birds.
I was with my friend's 4 year old daughter Maya when I took this photo. At first she was excited to see the little birds, then her enthusiasms wained and she said "Lowa it's time to go stop playing with the birdies now"

Stick Gambling

2007-05-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Stick Gambling was one of the events I managed to take in during the Canada Games. It's gambling game that is played by the Yukon First Nations. It's great to watch as they play to a specific drum beat. It's a game that has rhythm and you can't help but move to the beat. Again this is another blog where I wish I could blog sound.

There were about 20 drummers at one point and the beat was making passerby s come to see what was going on. My friend was in charge of drumming so I had my hand at for a while as well. Stick gambling drums have string across the top of them (as you can see if you look closely). This gives the drum a particular sound.

Each player has some kind of token or good luck charm in there hand and when it is there teams turn they hide there hands under blankets and come up dancing and waving there hands at their opponents. The opponents have to guess what hand the tokens are in and they win sticks from a pile in the center.

There is a lot of taunting in this game hear they are showing off there hands for the opponents caller to make her call. Meanwhile the opponent team makes dancing gestures and whopping calls to call the sticks back to them.

Hear the caller has made her call and is debating with a player as to what hand she had her token in. Looks rather intimidating. The North West Territories team ended up winning the championship.

Dani, Drips and Dogs

2007-05-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

A Flower in the Mud!

I went back to the ice cave that my cousin and I made. It had sunk considerably and was melting rapidly. The ice formations still looked cool but the best part was the sound. The dripping water and the creek beginning to flow. Must learn to blog sound!
Drip, Drip, gurgle, gurgle

Dani bonding with my new dog. Yes that's right I got a dog. It is a trial basis for one month to see how my allergies do. She is the cooolest dog. She is very smart and very gentle natured. I'm trying not to fall in love with her to much in case I can't keep her.

Kentrul Rinpoche's visit to Whitehorse

2007-04-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Kentrul Rinpoche visited Whitehorse at the end of March and the begining of April. Rinpoche has 3 Khenpo degrees (the equivalent of 3 doctorates). He is a wonderful teacher very happy and full of energy. He drew a really large crowd. Over 200 people came to his public talk and 60 people took refuge. It was quite amazing to see.

This trip to the Yukon was Ripoche's very first visit to Canada. He said he really liked the Yukon because the snow and the Mountians reminded him of his home land.

Rinpoche taught the preliminary Ngondro teachings. Although it is in the Nyingma tradition and I am practicing a different Ngondro I found his teaching very beneficial. He teaches for people who are new to the Dharma and really emphasizes the basics. He spent a lot of time talking about Refuge, Bodichita, calm abiding and Tong Len. I found the teachings very inspiring and beneficial to my meditation practice.

Hear is a young native man singing and dancing for Rinpoche. There were several First Nations people there and they were very touched by Rinpoche and the empowerments ceremonies that he gave. It made me very happy to see the Tibetans and the First Nations people come together. These are the two cultures I was raised amongst. It was the strong spiritual back bone in both these cultures that gave me refuge and made me resilient. They gave rise to what is good in me and I owe them my life. So it was a dream come true for me to see there love for one another.

I'm an Auntie!

2007-04-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world Idasora Elaine Datt!

Hear is my beautiful niece at the hospital with her very happy Mom and Dad

Isadora during her first week of life.

Isadora six weeks old, at home in Alert Bay, giving us a smile. Nothing like first smiles.

Isadora and her Mommy, my sister Jennifer. They got to watch a pod of whales out there window that day.

The Crystal Cave

2007-04-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have blogged. I was having computer difficulty. I finally got some help, although we never fixed the problem we did find a way around it. (Thanks Dan) I plan to so some catching up. Hear is an adventure under the ice from March. Enjoy!

My cousin Matt and I found a spot on the creek beside his house that he figured had a large air pocket in under it. So we copped a hole in the ice and Walla, an ice cave! Hear I am going down the hole.

Hear is my cousin's daughter Dani standing standing below the hole.

It was really cool to see all the different ice formations that had developed under the ice. So much hidden beauty.

Canada Games

2007-03-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Click image to enlarge

We held the Canada Winter Games hear in Whitehorse. It was the biggest event that this community has ever held and it went very successfully. Unfortunately I was sick so never got to go out and see much of it. This is my friend's daughter Jessa in front of one of the many beautiful snow sculptures that were done for the games.

Here is a close up of the Raven our territorial bird. It is also one of the main moieties of the Yukon First Nations. They are all divided into either wolf of crow clans. The clan system is a very complex and rich system that governed the way they lived and still dose in many ways.

Hear is my god daughter Teneesha. She was the goalie on the Yukon Women's hockey team. Even though they got there butts kicked, it was great to watch her play.

Making a great save, Teneesha the Wall Merkel! I was really proud of her great attitude. She was really getting pummeled with pucks. Not an easy job to be a goalie, yet she remained positive and really enjoyed herself at the games.

Ravens and Momos

2007-03-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

A Yukon Raven enjoying his day. They are much bigger than Crows and bolder.

Teaching the Lady's how to make momos at Losar.

Trip to Nanimo

2007-03-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've been having difficulty with my computer ans haven't been able to blog. I will do some catch up in the next few day. Hear is a picture of my sister and her baby belly.

A pretty little island in Departure bay where I went for walks.

Lopon Giving Ma a Thumbs Up!

2007-02-13T15:09:00.000-08:00

His Eminence Gangteng Rinpoche

2007-02-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

My Mother making offering to her teacher.

Winter Fun!

2007-01-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

Cole and Laura having agreat time sleading.

New Life

2007-01-11T23:59:00.000-08:00

I helped Mom bring this little guy into the world yesterday! It was amazing to watch a baby being born.
Dominick Sebastian

Born Jan. 10 05:04 am
8 lb 10 oz.

My God Daughters and Cookie

2007-01-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

Hear are the god daughters that I talk about so much with there dog Cookie. This was taken at Christmas.
Teneesha and the light.

A Tall Late With a Shot of Merit

2006-11-21T22:21:00.000-08:00

" Om Cup Ah Java Java Joe Ahhh"
I was all set to quite coffee, then I found this magical brew! Little did know I could actually be accumulating merit while sipping my favorite addiction! My morning practice just became so much easier. Om Cup Ah Java Java Joe Ahhh.. Do you think this stuff is fair triad?

Very Cold Fire Puja

2006-11-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hear is What a Fire Puja looks like at -20 or about -5 Fahrenheit
Yukoners with many layers

"Buddhist Bluff" A lot of Buddhists have places on this bluff. It is very beautiful. The lake looks like it's getting ready to freeze.

Some more Dharma Pics.

2006-11-04T10:12:00.000-08:00

My Teacher Khenpo Rinpoche, with a lively flower on his lapel.
Rinpoche and Khenpo inspecting some new toys. Very important Rinpoche activity.
His Holiness, my Mother and me Whitehorse, 1977.
Jamgon Rinpoche, Whitehorse 1977
Mary Jane (another Yukoner at KTD) and Bardo Rinpoche, 1979.

Signs

2006-11-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

Danger Hell Realms Ahead!
Watch Your step Your In Samsara!

My New Car

2006-10-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hear is a picture of my new car! It's in Vancouver now and will be shipped up soon. It's from Japan so it's right hand drive. My friend runs an import company for used Toyota's and is now giving me right hand driving lessons, then he is taking me out to do controlled skids (Yikes!). It will be good to learn so I react better and don't roll this car!

Ice And a Grouse

2006-10-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

I went for a walk at a near by lake yesterday. It was really cool to see how the ice is starting to form around things.
An old man with bushy eye brows and a big green tear running down his cheek.
The trees by the water were dripping with ice and they made a beautiful tinkling sound.

Spruce Grouse hanging out ruffling his tail feathers. The natives hear have a dance called the grouse dance where they imitate grouse. I actually know the song and dance. Perhaps under the right circumstances I will sing it for you one day.

On The run

There little buts look pretty funny when there running

Khenpo Kartar Rinpoche 1978

2006-10-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

My friend requested some pictures of our teacher in the early days. There are not many good ones but hear you go. This is Rinpoche me and my mom at KTD in 1978.
Hear I am with Ripoche in June 2006, twenty eight years later.
The big tanka on the back terrace at KTD. It was taken out for Losar.
Rolling up the tanka. My Mother, Khenpo Rinpoche and Yesha Namdak.

First Snow

2006-10-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today was the first snow of the year. It is always such so wonderful, like a blanket of light.

A branch in a drop

Cranberry Adventures

2006-10-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

My 9 year old Goddaughter took most of these pics. This is my favorite, what a great eye.

I went Cranberry picking with my goddaughter, my cousin and his son. We found some interesting things to explore in the woods as well.
Yummy! We ate these with Thanksgiving dinner.
So sad all the leaves are gone until next year
Hear is an abandoned Coyote den the kids are playing at. I tried to get them to go in and pretend they were feral children I had found, but they never went for it.
A new squirrel's nest. That's lot of pine cones to eat. It's not a Gingerbread house but it's a home a squirrel can eat.
Cole and Dad having a close look at a moose carcase.

We discovered it was a grizzle that killed this Moose. Grizzlies bury there kill to save it for eating later. We found the burial mound all dug up near buy. Glad he had finished eating it last year or we would have had to high tail it out of there!

Elephants For Lora

2006-10-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

Apples

2006-10-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

Picking apples in the Okanagan!

Wow, nice big bag of apples. Sorry no pie my friends. These apples went for a tumble in my car accident. I think one hit me in the head! (might explain some things) Someones Grandmother ended up with them in Chetwynd.

Target practice!

Some Cool Animals From my Road Trip

2006-10-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

These guys were really cool. Buffalo have moved into the southern Yukon. You have to be careful driving on the highway in some areas because they like to hang out around the road. They are pretty powerful animals when you see them up close.
A caribou on the highway. There was a lot out in the morning. Sometimes they would run right in front of my car, man they look funny running from behind.
A duck, this one was in southern BC, the ducks in the Yukon don't let you get that close. This guy would beg for food.
A Dipper, not a great picture but it's one of the cutest birds I have ever seen!
California Quails, I love these guys, they are so comical. I saw these down in the Desert area of the Okanogan. What a cool place, there are all kinds of creatures there that you would not associate with Canada.
Oh my gosh Ostridges! Well it was an Ostredge farm, I have yet to discover a wild Canadian Ostridge.

White Rabbit!

How I felt after the accident

2006-10-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

I was in the drug store the day after my accident to buy some bandages. I saw this guy and said "Hay, you look like how I feel" So I bought him . We commiserated together while I stayed at the motel.

2006-09-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
I'm finally back to Blogger land, with a few adventures to tell as you can see by my car! I had a great holiday until I was on my way home. I lost control of my car went off the road and rolled it three times.
Other that a few bruises I was uninjured. It was quite remarkable really. My car danced around several large boulders and the sides took all the impact, leaving me relatively safe.
I attribute it to the Karmapa Cheno's I was saying as I started rolling and the gow my teacher made me. I had the largest bruise from the gow but it was the first bruise to heal. Refuge has so much more meaning to me now. I am glad to have my life and I hope I can do benefit with it. What better to do with a life. I will post more photos of my trip latter. Glad to be back. Love Laura

Heading South

2006-08-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Some of the last flowers of summer for my friends.
I'm not so good a close ups but I love the way these pop out at
you, like there in 3D.
The leaves have been changing color hear for the last three days.
That means this girl is heading south!
I'm going to the Okanagan, Kootenays, and to visit a friend in Nelson.
One last blast of summer hear I come!
My blogs will be sporadic if at all the next few weeks.
See you all soon. Love Lola

Prayer Flags on Karmapa's Land

2006-08-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Peaceful and Calming Victory Flag
Melodious Song of the Battle Victorious over Maras

Two rising curves of pure gold are great joy's loving ,smile;

Vibrant blue reflects the ultimate, dharmakaya lit by
a vigorous and youthful sun; sphere of light,
this hand draws
and plays, gathering into the glide of an image the unity
of the profound and vast, the peaceful and soothing.

Throughout existence, may the victory banner of the Buddha's
teachings resound its famous melodious song.

My Dharma friends and I hung prayer flags on Montana Mt.
on Karampa's land. He came to the land in 1977, blessed it and named it
Karma Gyurme Ling.

My brother standing in front of the view from the land.

Climbing the main pole to hang more prayer flags.

The house where I took refuge when I was five, as it stands today.

The same house when it was still erect in 1977.

Fire Puja

My cousin's son, hanging out on the roof of the old house.

Berrie Picking

2006-08-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

"Dani in the sky with Diamonds"
My cousins beautiful daughter, looking out the widow.

A land scape from my childhood. I was first taken out to this Berrie patch when I was ten. I always remembered this landscape. For the longest time I thought it was a dream, until I returned to the Berrie patch. It is one of my favorite places. The photo dose not do it justice, it's missing another 45 degrees. In the mountains with it's smell of balsam, it's wildness, breathtaking view picking on the same paths as the bears.

The kids and I were waiting for the gnome. We decided he was out on an adventure.

My youngest god daughter and my cousins kids picking berries. It was my cousin I first came to this Berrie patch with when I was ten. I hope that the next generation will continue to be nurtured by this land.

A bountiful harvest, blueberries and moss berries. Together they make the best pie, but you will have to come visit me to get some!

Fish Camp

2006-08-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

Bugs on the River! We went out on the river to set fish nets. It looks worse than it really is, I think the light caught every bug on the river that day

This past week we took the teenage girls I work with to fish camp. Many of the local First Nations hear still harvest most of there food from the land as the have been for hundreds of years. It was a great opportunity for these girls to learn about there culture and take pride in who they are.
We went to Brooks Brook, it is close to a small in land Tlingit Village. When the salmon start running the people move to fish camp the same fish camp there Grandmothers Grandmother went to. It is a lot of work and a lot of carnage but for them there is nothing that makes them happier than to be on the land harvesting food for there families.
When your out on the land with the kids there hurts seem to come up a lot. There is nowhere to run from themselves out there. It is as if the land itself pushes all that is out of balance searching for it's own peace and connectedness. The old people always say how important it is to be on the land, how it heals you.

Young Native girl with wild strawberries she picked

Salmon drying in the smoke house. Traditionally every part of the animal is used, many camps still abide by this value. Fish head soup is considered a delicacy. No one is ever aloud to make a rude comment about a fish. If children say "yuck" to a fish they are scolded and told not to disrespect something that's life was taken so we could eat.

The kids found a spider in a web at night. They were really fascinated with it and took several pictures with my camera. They watched it catch a bug and wrap it up like a cocoon. I was surprises at how enthralled they were.

Borders

2006-08-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

Laura goes camping alone in the woods........
Never fear my friends, my ferocious flashlight is always at my side!
No man nor beast has crossed his path without a snicked. Or in one pooches case a sideways turn of the head in confusion. My tiger truly has skillful means!

Me at a mountain pass Aug. 13. Note the toque (in American "winter Hat"). I was also wearing 3 shirts and two pair of pants I was still cold!

A beautiful Yukon landscape. I think you can see how it reminded the
Tibetans of there home land.
It is amazing crossing the border hear. Within half and hr as you cross the Mt pass everything changes. The skinny trees and dry landscape give way to giant ceders, lush green vegetation and the smell of wet salty air. Then there is a boarder and the man there speaks different with his think american brawl. Things do seem different on the other side of the Mt. If you make the trip in spring you can see three seasons in that half hr. Spring, winter, summer. I always make the trip to get the early glimps of leaves that are out on the other side of the Mt.

Life finds it's perch...

Hains Birds

2006-08-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hains is a famous Eagle wintering ground. At certain times of the year the trees are dripping with eagles. I'm hoping to go to the eagle festival there in November.
This guy flew out in front of me and almost hit my car. He then stayed flying low right in front of my car for some distance like he was leading me. It was really neat, to bad I wasn't faster with my camera.

Every spring and fall the swans stop in the Yukon to rest on there migration rout. This pair decided to stay the summer on a little pond in the mountains.

The majestic Raven,
Much bigger that the crows most of you are familiar with. The Raven is our territorial bird. When I was a kid they were trying to decide what would be our territorial bird there was quite a debate as some consider the Raven to be a pest, always getting into people's garbage.
They are actually extremely intelligent, right up there with monkey's. They have been seen manipulating things to make tools. They also appear to have a sense of humor, every one up hear has a funny story about Ravens.
They are one of my favorite birds. Bird geniuses that have no problem eating and the dump and playing tricks on us human folks. They are know as the trickster by the natives.

Flowers For My Friends

2006-08-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hear are a few flower pics from my trip to Hains. This is the Mountain Fire weed it only grows at higher altitudes. Collideascope: Blurry but I like it.

The common Fire weed. It is our Territorial flower and grows abundantly hear.

With every seed comes the promise of next years spring, when we Yukoners wake from the slumber of winter to play in the midnight sun not resting until fall comes again.

2006-08-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
Sorry there has been no pictures. For some reason this site is not letting me upload photos. Hopefully I will find someone to help me fix it. Lola

Karampa in the Yukon 1977

2006-08-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

Arriving with the Black hat. You can see Jamgon Kongtrul, Bardo Rinpoche, Umbsay Tubtin and others
HH 16th Karampa meeting with the local first nations. He really loved them and they he.
Empowerment ceremony

Rupa

2006-08-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

The magnitude of our suffering is such a distraction from the even greater magnitude of our compassion.

Morning visitor

2006-08-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

The first bird at my feeder, a Blacked Capped Chickadee. He even sang a little for me!

Indian Ice Cream

2006-08-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

Hear are the Soap berries(seen in previous post) after they have been whipped up with sugar. It looks like a big bowl of pink clouds. It actually tastes quite bitter, but it grows on you. I have to have feast of it once a year. One tablespoon of these berries a day will keep diabetics blood sugar balanced.

Old Kagyu Photos

2006-07-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hear are some gems! These are old photos taken by my mom's boyfriend. Hope you all enjoy. This is Karmapa when he visited KTD , he is with Lama Ganga.

Hear are the Regents in India, apparently they are rehearsing a play for the Kamapa.

This photo was taken during the 16th Karmapa's cremation. You can pick out several Rinpochies in this photo.

Soap Berries

2006-07-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

These berries grow prolifically up hear. They are a favorite of the native people. You add sugar and whip them up into a thick foam we call Indian ice cream. The Berrie has great medicinal properties for balancing blood sugar.

I must say it is an acquired taste. Tomorrow we sample this delight.

Moose on the Loose!

2006-07-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

The Moose are behaving very strangely in Whitehorse Yukon!

Little fiddlers & Little eagles

2006-07-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hear are some little fiddlers performing on
Main St in Whitehorse. We have a month long
street festival where performers and artists
come from all over the world to perform and
sell there work. It's small but attracting international attention.

Hear is a Baby eagle checking me out, he seemed really curious about me. You can't see him very well but there is only so close you can get to an eagle nest. I go by this nest on my bike ride to work all the time.

Life Is

2006-07-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

A Bowl of Cherries

The Pits

Everything Changes

Rainbows in the Desert

2006-07-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

After a very difficult day with one of the kids I work with, we went for a walk in the desert(yes we have a desert in the Yukon). A storm was just rolling in, we walked towards it with the sun shining and the sky rumbling. As we were walked 2 beautiful rainbows appeared. We crested the hill to see where the rainbow touched the earth. It was a wonderful moment.
This desert is at the bottom of the mountain where Karmapa's land is. It is considered a sacred place to the local natives. It is also the smallest desert in the world.

2006-07-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, Welcome to my blog. It was suggested to me that this would be a great way to keep in touch with all my far away friends and let them know what my life hear in the Yukon is like. So hear you go, it would be great to hear from all of you as well. Love Laura

Last weekend I went to Atlin to attend a music festival. Atlin is a beautiful Native community that hosts a great artist community as well. I is very stunning there with it's huge lakes, giant mountains, glaciers and a hidden warm springs. This is a photo of the Atlin Native dancers who opened the festival.