I've been back in Canada for a week now and am digesting all that has transpired; searching myself for signs of personal growth, clues of where to steer my heart next. Here follows, the tale of a winter at 69 degrees on the coast of the Norwegian Sea...
Good 'eh Folks,
I recently turned 34 on a mountain by a glacier in Kluane National Park. I usually write a reflective journal entry on my birthday but because we were back-packing and tenting, I left my 'morning pages' book at home to cut weight. As I lay in my tent on the eve of my birthday I reflected on this past year and decided it was by far, one of my favourites thus far.
Greetings from the melting Canadian North.
I am in Whitehorse right now after spending the first month and a half of 2016 in Alberta and BC. I headed west on the train from Toronto to Jasper at the beginning of January. I played my way across the country and as always, reveled in the experience of soaking up the Canadian landscape from the comfort of the train. I am reading 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' (Robert M Prisig) right now and one of the lines that stuck with me as I neared my destination was: "Sometimes it is a little better to travel than to arrive." It is my sense of adventure that drives my life, however, sometimes I find myself nervous of life's vicissitudes. I wonder what the next chapter will bring, what will happen next. A friend had told me that the Ice Field Parkway between Jasper and Lake Louise was one of his favourite drives in the world. I planned my trip accordingly. I spent a night in Japser and in the cold and dark of the following morning, boarded the bus that would take me down this road.
Happy New Year!
I've been looking back through photos from the past few months and it has been a very rich fall. The image above is from a show I played in Haines Junction, YT with Keitha Clark in August. I guided a couple of canoe trips in August on the Teslin and Yukon Rivers, then headed to northern Saskatchewan in September to paddle the Paull and Churchill Rivers....
Well, I've sure been busy bouncing back and forth across the country. I'm spending this summer playing gigs and also guiding some canoe and hiking trips in the Yukon. I played a couple of shows with multi-instrumentalist, James Stephens this spring and summer, including a show in Battersea Ontario as part of the Pumpkin Pie concert series. Its been fun to play on my home turf and see family and friends at the shows. We played at the Canada Day celebrations in Perth Ontario. It was my first time in Ontario for Canada Day in about 11 years. It was nice to be somewhere dark enough for the fireworks - in the Yukon, fireworks are reserved for the winter months, when its dark enough to see them. Its felt like a really nice, long summer this year because I've spent time down south with warm weather beginning in April.
I headed to Alberta and Saskatchewan in March to play some shows and release my new album "Frost on Black Fur". I have played in both provinces a few times in the past with Grant Simpson as part of Home Routes house concert tours. It was lovely to connect with people that we had met on those previous tours.
I spent the fall and first part of this winter touring with Grant Simpson. We played shows in Ontario as a CD Release tour for my new album, Frost on Black Fur. It was a full month of playing gigs spanning from Montreal to Kingston to Kingsville in southern Ontario.
Hi Folks,
Well, here I am launching my new website to match my new album. "Frost on Black Fur" is officially being released Oct. 1st 2014 at the Old Firehall in Whitehorse. I'm going to be doing some CD release shows in Ontario with Grant Simpson in November and December, and then solo across Canada in March.
The new album arrived about a week ago and I'm keen for folks to hear it. Bob Hamilton produced it and a whole bunch of great Yukon musicians contributed to the tracks. The tunes are all originals, many were written specifically for the album. There are songs about mushing dogs in the Yukon, paddling in the Peel watershed, and travelling in Ireland and China. I would still call these folk songs, but they've definitely got a spring in their step.
Speaking of paddling.... I had the opportunity to paddle the Wind and Teslin River's for the first time this summer.... here is the Wind:
And here is the Teslin:
The other big news is that I'm moving out of my little orange cabin on Squatter's Row in the Yukon and heading east back to Ontario where I am from. I've been up north for 11 years now (which blows my mind) and it feels about time to take stock and perhaps reassess where I'd like to channel my energy. Sometimes its hard to do that when you are caught up in the whirlwind of daily routines. I've loved my time in the Yukon and know I will be back soon, but for now - I'm looking forward to connecting with musicians down south and perhaps partaking in some Kundalini yoga and dining at some thai restaurants.
Stay tuned for more on the finer points of southern living,
Kate
