A Few Firsts

I have put over 2000 kms on my sled now, and it would be safe to say that the kids have logged that many kilometers too.  Anywhere that I went so did they, and we are not driving out of here with trucks yet, so they will log on even more.  We are at the in between stage that we figured would happen.  Where the quads get stuck on the breaking up trail, the sleds could easily still travel, but there are stretches where there is 100-600 meters of gravel.  So we are staying put and just waiting to see what happens, the nights are not freezing now and the snow in the yard is disappearing fast, it is just the parts of the packed trail in the shade that will  determine how long until we can get out the quads.  We were just thinking the other day how at first Delaney didn't even want to sit on the quad, she was very restless, and now she can do a 100km day and not bat an eye.  Of course you can bet if the sled is running and she's on it, that a sleep is involved too, so that helps. 
We celebrated Sasha's 7th birthday last week.  Actually she celebrated it a few times with different get togethers, but last week was her actual day and we spent it at Manson with some friends, one of whom shared the same birthday.  Usually when we get together like this we have a potluck meal, this time I brought something very out of the ordinary, at least for us.  Some of you may think I am becoming bushed but I think I can safely say no, just trying something new.  This trapping season after we caught our first lynx, we were asked by some of the locals if we ate it.  We hadn't and didn't even give it a thought, but apparently it is quite good cooked a few diferent ways.  And after we thought about it, Paul and I remembered some other trappers telling us the same thing.  So anyway, after Paul caught the second lynx of the season, he kept the edible portions of meat in the freezer and we figured that this would be as good of time as any to cook it up.  So I made a stirfry out of it, just as you would chicken and that's pretty much what it tasted like too.  The people we shared it with enjoyed it, some of them hadn't had it in quite a while, and others it was a first time for them too.  So there, now I can say I have eaten lynx.
We also spent a few days last week taking a Basic Fire Suppression Course.  Another first for me, I have never taken a course like this before.  Now Paul and I are certified to help assist in wildfire fighting if the need arises while we are here.  They are predicting that this year may be a doozy, since we came into the winter from a dry fall and having probably at least 4 feet less snow through the winter than normal.  Another factor is all the beetle kill trees in the area, or the "Red and Dead" as they are referred to, these trees can make for an even worse fire season.  So lets keep our fingers crossed that we won't need our newly acquired knowledge.