The big move

autumn arrives

2011-09-06T20:26:00.009-04:00

We went looking for the White Crowned Sparrow and were surprised to find the Savannah Sparrow. They were very curious and flew just inches off the ground about 18 inches in front of our feet. That apparently didn't provide enough information so a scout landed just behind us and checked us out for a good while!

Who's watching who now?

Savannah Sparrow

Just before dusk, autumn grasses provide just the right colours in the fading light.

This duck got very cagey and slid into the wetland grasses to conceal her ducklings.
She has 8 ducklings and they seem to be in no hurry to move south. Other ducks; American Pintails and American Longtail have dropped in for some food and rest, staying for a very brief visit but this lot isn't quite ready to leave us yet!

American Pintail Duck

Too soon autumn has arrived on the tundra. It is spectacular! We had a surprise on the long weekend when we awoke to see snow in the distance.
With the arrival of autumn the fish are gone for the season the birds are also leaving us for the winter. I had a dismal fishing season. However the ones i did catch were healthy fish this year.

Luckily I've found me a hiking buddy and over hill and dale..or at least hill and muskeg we go. We've covered a lot of ground recently in search of migrating birds. This time of year there are stunning vistas and I love the cool wind on my face.
My favourite hiking food is a light-to-carry lunch means boiled eggs, trail mix, a cup for stream water and some type of sweet...fig newtons alleviate the guilt by providing a fruit!

Then I discovered Photomatix photo editing software! Duck country

I'm clearly not a pro at this which is why i love this particular photo editor, easy, fuss free enhancements! I trialed it for quite some time before I committed to the product, I have other free photo editors but don't really want to invest the time and effort into modifying the image pixel by pixel, or layer by layer.

Migration season is upon us....

2011-08-21T18:56:00.012-04:00

Redpoll

I have spent the last couple of days birding. I'm new to birding so luckily I met someone who is not and together we hiked the tundra and hot spots for the migrating birds. We did happen upon the American Pipit, Redpoll, Northern Pintail duck!

Fleabane

American Pipit

Unfortunately my pictures of the Northern Pintail didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped. Maybe next time!

Summer Rush

2011-07-03T13:13:00.008-04:00

Flame Lousewort

Summer happens in a big hurry in the north, the plants hurry to bloom and create fruit.

Long Stalked Starwort

The fish rush to the open river mouth down to the bay to feed, and the people rush to take advantage of the warm season.

With the incoming tide, the fishing spots disappear under water.

Waiting for the ice to pass.

Flower Season

2011-06-30T16:28:00.002-04:00

The usual suspect here on the tundra.

Rain brings out the colour in your florets! Arctic Thrift; my first shot of it in full bloom, usually I get to it when the little pods are emptying out their petals.

Swans

2011-06-30T14:05:00.007-04:00

Never far apart.

Stretch!

It happened unexpectedly, driving around we spotted a pair of Tundra Swans in a shallow lake near Iqaluit! We haven't spotted any cygnets but this pair do their thing without much notice of the admirers stopping for a gander (bad joke).

Me, mosquitoes and the swans hung out for nearly two hours!

Another bird happened by, singing his song. The Lapland Larkspur briefly stopped on a nearby rock long enough for a portrait then departed singing his cheery song; the only sound on the tundra.

The fishing is off to a later start around here this summer, Heavy ice lines the rocky shores and unlike last year, doesn't look safe at all, cracks along the edges and of course it's slippery too.

It's tundra garden season too, and as usual, have been trying to do something new with the local flora pics, those at a later date!

oopsy it's been too long

2011-03-06T22:22:00.009-05:00

Been busy, really busy at work and lets face it, not much to photograph in the grand outdoors when darkness prevails for so many hours in the day. My weekends in December and January typically go like this; should get busy and get outside for some sun.....oops missed it, try again next weekend!
All of a sudden it's MARCH! We gain daylight at an astounding rate and the camera gets dusted off a little more often.
The bay one frosty morn.

With a fancy new camera, I've been experimenting with the settings and purchased a sexy macro lens for summer photography!

Up close and personal

I've learned some new techniques to improve the night shots of the aurora, but we've been sadly quiet in the night sky. Forecasts for 2012 aurora are optimistic. During the recent solar flares, I was in Ottawa and missed out viewing our inky skies.

My efforts were further complicated when one evening in the late autumn, while using the tripod on a 30 sec exposure; I had to exhale and in doing so turned away from the camera to avoid tainting the image...when all of a sudden a gust of wind took my camera and tripod flying!

To my dismay the lens mount had busted, hurling the lens a metre away, and was un-usable. After a lengthy wait for the part, followed by a failed attempt at repairing it myself and in so doing damaged it further; I ordered a new lens.
Lesson learned; do it yourself in camera repair is not for me and is best left to the experts.

Yaay longer days!

Bye Bye 2010!

2010-12-31T13:31:00.002-05:00

Safe and Happy New Year.

So Long 2010!

the arctic is melting

2010-12-18T12:31:00.009-05:00

Politicking is not my thing, but one cannot ignore the weird and warm winter we're having this year. So much rain, freezing rain and melting will definitely affect the northern wild life. Furthermore the night sky has been obliterated by clouds.

falling stars

The night of the meteor storm was unusually cold and clear night for us (this winter). My friends and family in Ontario were under cloudy skies. So with a sense of duty, obligation we went out "representin'" to view the meteors! It was a chilly -27C but well worth the effort. We bundled up, trundled out the tripod and faced the wind to watch the universe unfold.

meteor storm with added bonus; aurora borealis extraordinaire

Not much to photograph if it's mud and cloudy skies so here's to hoping for the return to cold!

time passages

2010-12-14T23:03:00.001-05:00

I made a difficult decision to remove the blog list which was to the right of ma blog. Reason, I can't keep up with the transient nature of northerners. Of the originals in my list, I think only Matt in Cape Dorset and I are still in Nunavut. Many others migrate to "greener" pastures of the Yukon, NWT or locales south. Sorry folks. Miss you all and Jen of the north I miss you the most.

Shelley

long wait to winter

2010-12-12T14:13:00.003-05:00

Winter took a long time in arriving this year. December and we were still experiencing rain! Imagine, rain in the far north in December! No new posts since September simply because I have nothing nice to say about too much rain. It is easy math; rain = mud = nothing much to photograph.

But now with a couple of cold days and persistent snowfall there has been an upgrade in the local panoramas.

I always get a kick out of decorative trees here for the Christmas season as it usually takes me a minute to realize this is novelty, not nature. But the trees complete the "festive" scene and make me feel all fuzzy and warm.

With winter finally here, the landscape looks nice and clean and the Christmas lights are brightening our long nights.

The temperatures remain unseasonably mild, with today being the first day of a temperature colder than -10C. It has been disappointing to our southern visitors as they feel cheated out of their arctic experience.

Today I saw two people out in a boat in the bay, the windchill at the time was -31C, yes a boat not a snowmobile. Hopefully the bay freezes in time for the New Years snowmobile parade!

Here's a tip of the egg nog, and a toast for a bitterly cold winter ahead!

Autumn greets the tundra

2010-09-04T15:59:00.010-04:00

It was a rare unseasonably warm September day, finally the rain had stopped, it seemed to cloud over every evening just as we finished work for the day. Life was simpler when skipping class on a fine spring or autumn day resulted in a scolding from the school or ....not! No chance on cutting classes now though. The fine weather will end, bringing on the early nights and lazy sunrises, and the plants will be blanketed for another long wait under the snow.

Alan loves blueberries, all berries in fact. I don't. Picking berries makes great use of the fine weather. Today I bake a pie..or tarts...something with blueberries for him. The black berries (crowberries) are sweeter after the first snow, oddly we haven't had one yet. When we do, I will get back out there in the colder weather to harvest the frost sweetened black berries for the winter.

Crowberry

Thanks to the rainy month of August, the berries are bountiful, big and juicy. It amazed me that so many plants can share the thin soil and at the end of the short season, everyone has had a successful summer.

Blueberry among lichen.

Mountain Avens? I think, unfurled with seed.

Blueberries, red bear berry, and crowberry crowd the thin soil covering the rocks.

Mt. Avens

Dwarf Fireweed seedpod

This fine weather does nothing to improve the state of our apartment, an opportunist like me would rather be outside playing in the sunshine than inside fighting with the vacuum. Taking pictures is a good way to stay outside for long hours. As the sun moves across the sky, with the ever changing the light, there is always something beautiful to capture.

After all, there will be plenty of time to sort and organize in the coming months!

Boston and back again

2010-08-19T18:53:00.016-04:00

As it happened, just as I was heading out on a rare work related trip; my computer broke. Seems Iqaluit repair folk were all out on vacay. Thinking that I could leave it for the week and upon my return pick it up and travel home with newly repaired laptop, I left it with a recommended shop in Ottawa. Sure enough on my return it wasn't ready...parts of course. So sadly I trudge on home without it.
Eventually it arrived safely in the post!
Now it's catch-up time on the blog.

We lucked out with a patio table for this wonderful Blues Band playing on the Blues Barge at the "Liberty Wharf" Boston.

Boston- can't explain this boarded up house which was next to (not shown) a private yacht where we creeped the chef cooking dinner.

Downtown Boston-Boston Fire Department

Buskerfest Ottawa

too hot even for the wildlife.

Have been home for a couple of weeks now. When I departed Ottawa it was an ideal 23C the heat/humidity spell had broken. When I landed in Iqaluit the temperature read 9 or 10C. I breathed in the cool, fresh air. The breeze washed over me and I was relieved, and refreshed.
Home.

Flowers and more

2010-07-13T20:59:00.008-04:00

Mushroom pretending to be a flower.

After a full day of rain, not the nice northern misty rain, nooo a downpour of blowing rain; we decided to take pictures of the tundra.
Mosquitoes didn't take long to find us but we persevered for a couple of nice shots. Yes, I even ate a mosquito. Don't be fooled, while the plant life may be small, the mosquitoes are not.

Arctic Willow
Inuktitut name: Suputiit

Arctic Thrift
Inuktitut name: "Carnation"

Yellow Oxytrope
Inuktitut name: Airaq

Dwarf Fireweed
Inuktitut name: Paunnat
There are many plants of this pale colouring neighbouring the deep pink variety. I found them irresistible.

the tempest in the river

2010-07-05T09:58:00.006-04:00

Fishing season has arrived, as they say a bad day on the water is better than a good day at the office! With the exception of pouring rain I spend lots of time coaxing out of the river what is hers.(The rain makes the rocks slippery).
I fully understand any ancient people who would worship gods of sun, sky, water, and earth. The river doesn't give up her bounty easily. Patience, skill and time are usually required....and a lure that is tempting to char.
too big for the cutting board...

Char, I've discovered or maybe all fish are very optimistic; small ones taking big lures, eating even though it's stomach is near bursting with shrimp. They are eating machines; teeth that are frighteningly sharp and numerous.

The river has a sense of humour, I discovered that today. Sending schools of minnows by, followed occasionally by a larger fish and they swim right past my line.

On the rocky river shore; the sun is shining the breeze keeping me cool (and therefore sun-burnt) the tide is high and it's a perfect day in the perfect place. It's my happy place, fish or no fish.

Rarely I post a pic of myself but I couldn't resist; this is the biggest fish I've ever caught and weighed in at 5 pounds. Yup it was tasty, yup it fed a lot of people and yup we thank the river.

TAAADAAA!

big and little, the duplicity of the tundra

2010-07-01T15:35:00.008-04:00

teeny tiny Moss Campion

Big expansive sky, hilly tundra and vast water. Awe inspiring the tundra, but it's secret is in the smallest flowers. Maybe David Attenborough will do "the secret life of flowers". They are blatantly, overtly sexual. They hurry to blossom, each using inspired unique tricks to attract the pollinators. Arctic Poppy

Often only with the camera can you get a glimpse of their ingenuity. Too early yet for the prickly saxifrage with it's landing strip markings. Texture and sheen often aren't visible to our unaided eye. Mouse Eared Chickweed

On reviewing the pictures I usually notice a feature the plant must use to attract bugs; texture, size, colour and even the shape of the stamen.Arctic Milk Vetch

Vetch distinguishable by it's leaves and ground hugging habits, is less invasive here than in more southern climates. Therefore it's a tundra treasure, barely rising above the ground for it's brief appearance.

white and dainty

2010-06-13T18:14:00.005-04:00

White Heather (for her close up)

Today I decided to focus on the secret life of the wee arctic flower. While snapping away I noticed the little wee fly seek a hiding spot. Doing God's work helping to pollinate the eager blossoms, the little fly was small enough to hide among the pistols.

A loonie provides some perspective.

Mountain Avens up close and personal.

a stranger in our midst

2010-06-06T18:13:00.009-04:00

While enjoying the fine weather, I heard the unmistakable call of a southern songbird. The elusive fellow sat on a rock long enough for a blurry portrait. Sparrow!

What are you doing here? Though I haven't lived in the north long, this is the first time I've heard it's distinctive call.

Kamik looking devilishly wolfish. We're on edgy terms since she has been behaving badly. I cannot fault her behaviour too much, since she's had to deal with the neighbour who decided to stone her while I was at work one afternoon. She definitely isn't timid. Alan sorted things out.

Wet feet are worth the time out on the squishy tundra, Kamik had a good run, finding pools of water and scraps of bone while Alan and I, ever in awe, took in the vistas.

I will never tire of the big land, and sky.

Always glad to find a new treasure, we came across this tiny plant on our hike. It's blossoms no bigger than my pinky fingernail but grows in a thick cluster.
If anyone can identify this plant, please let me know, it is a low growing early bloomer.

good bye night sky

2010-05-26T23:31:00.008-04:00

snowmobiles making their way home across the bay.

For those of you below the arctic; we now say farewell to the night sky. Today the forecast states the sun sets at 10:11pm and will rise at 02:52am. In reality; it doesn't get dark, dusky yes but starry and moon-y darkness-no.

moon low on the horizon

Most evenings we are rewarded with a view of the moon sliding across our window. We hope to never take it for granted. For many years I would look up in the early morning as my only opportunity to see the night sky on my way to work.

For many years living in Toronto, I was unable to see the stars and moon, it was depressing for me. Now I have the honour of seeing big sky, big moons and. the milky way as the seasons permit. Every time I step outside there is something to surprise me in the sky; aurora borealis, mares tail clouds, mackerel sky, sunsets that linger for hours and, the unbelievable visibility at nearly 50 kilometres.

busy times

2010-04-30T14:56:00.007-04:00

Things have been rather hectic lately. Alan had surgery and was away returning in time for me to go to Ontario. I took advantage of the business trip to mix in some pleasure; taking in the great weather and catching up with fam and friends.

Having a mild winter brought a mild spring for the motherland and the pictures were taken during my brief visit. Some days were "cold" around 2C other days were "nice" around 16C. Typical Ontario spring weather. We got it all; rain, snow and sun....and a wind reminiscent of Iqaluit!

Trumpeter Swans during mating rituals. My sister got a video of them swimming to one end of their pond then flying back over the water, ensuring their wings hit the water. It makes for an incredible sight and noise!

Red Trillium

Taking the goslings for a swim, they seem to bob on the water like ping pong balls.

Tree Swallow feeding the nest.

Springwater Park takes only injured or orphaned animals. This black bear talked to us...making little bear grunts.

Self Portrait Shadow

Spring trees remind me of paintbrushes, reaching for the sky.

sun wind and snow

2010-03-28T17:02:00.008-04:00

From tiny snow drift (below) to large masterpieces; all winter I marvel at the beauty of the snowdrift. Pristine white, glistening yet dangerously deceiving to the eye.

As northerners know, flat light is the worst; leading to snow-blindness, disorientation and increasing the risk of getting stuck. Even walking can be dicey trying to navigate the invisi-drifts.

Last week, thrilled that I had found a shortcut, I mean it looked like a road, I proceeded to navigate the truck between houses. Upon discovering that the shortcut was actually a snowmobile path through the playground and not really a road, I decided to turn around and take the real road. Too late. Truck sunk. Dressed for dinner at a friends and not for digging, I made my way to her house.

and sheepishly sought the help of the men attending. Not a great introduction. Fortunately with skillful rocking to and fro the visitor was able to un-stick the truck without the arduous task of digging.

Today's blog is an homage to the snowdrift. Like many things northern, the snow drift is schizophrenic; alternating between tempting beauty and dangerous deceit.

doodling and stumbling

2010-03-20T10:54:00.008-04:00

My Frobisher Bay

One evening a friend installed Stumble on my computer. Life changed that night. Simultaneously I curse and thank him. While it takes me to interesting places, it also takes me late into the night. With Alan still away recovering from his surgery, I clearly have too much time on my hands.I stumbled upon a creative website and before I knew it the clock was hinting bedtime. It was 3am.
While not earth shatteringly beautiful; here are a couple of my doodles.Right Red Bird

The fact is I'm left handed. Equally comfortable using the mouse with righty or lefty generally I use the mouse with my right hand and this is mouse work.
Not too bad for wrong handed painting.

Circles through space

I've spared the patient reader from the truly terrible attempts and take times like this to enjoy a little anonymity.

some Mondays are just Moan-days

2010-03-01T20:29:00.005-05:00

As far as Monday goes, this one really wasn't good. The day started with an early call from work. Literally one foot stepping out of the shower, towel in hand, and that set the tone for the day.

Experience should dictate that when the mercury hovers around -37 everything will be cold. But no, somehow this escaped me this morning. With bare hand I grab the metal snow brush and grimaced through the task dusting the morning snow. The truck barely started. After a grueling 10 minutes of praying, turning the key, pumping the gas and at last she rolled over, sputtered and went again. Whew! Still my fingers are not gloved and are properly frost nipped. Off to work. Firstly to deal with the reason for the call and discover what they need, we can deliver.

Now it's so cold that we decided to close the department door to preserve as much heat as possible and I stubbornly keep my sealskin kamik on, usually I change into work shoes, but that's too risky today.

After some thought I considered that perhaps the problem with the truck was the block heater. I called the mechanic and he gently suggested I check the power cord (replaced it-check) the breaker panel (flipped it-check), the outlet (tested in the fall-check). He was kind enough to squeeze the vehicle in at lunch for me.
Before departing Alan's voice in my foggy head reminds me to pour the gasline antifreeze into the tank. ONCE again, no mittens. The thing with gasline antifreeze is it doesn't freeze, it just gets very cold, in this case -37C. Just picking up the bottle hurts. Sure enough the nozzle doesn't reach far enough to penetrate the valve. Out come the handy car keys and I pour, drain, pour drain, sometimes simultaneously resulting in me pouring cold antifreeze over my cold fingers. BAH!
After what seemed like an hour, the bottle was emptied. My fingers were in excruciating pain but the truck was idling and the task was completed.
Lost mittens during lunch. Yeah I do own several pairs, I just carry them around in my pocket in case I need them...
Kind cab driver hunts me down behind locked departmental doors to return mittens.

Verdict- block heater okay.

Today I called the airline to book a prepaid ticket which I purchased on a seat sale. Up-charge, guesses? Sit down, here it comes $600! Flying out anyway, stinkers!

On preparing dinner; lift pan to put into preheated oven. Something falls off near the element. A small fire ignites a package of peanut butter on which I had inadvertently placed the pan. Peanut butter, plastic and that foily stuff is alight! Oh brother, turn off the oven, get off the phone, extinguish small flames, scoop liquefying peanut butter onto tin foil and mop up the rest.
8pm dinner is finally in the oven.

On detailing my day to Alan, he suggested there is an unmarked switch in the storage room which sends power to the outlet for the vehicle. Ooops better go check ~~~it is set to "off".

Hoping Tuesday starts off on a gentler and drier foot!

Batten down the hatches!

2010-02-24T23:01:00.005-05:00

Am changing my setting on comments to avoid being spammed by Asian porn link in the future. One such link was left in my comments tonight. While I was able to delete the comment and report it as spam via gmail, some bloggers report they are unable to disable, delete or hide this link once it is published in their comments.

The setting change will require me to approve the comment before publishing. While I dislike that I have to take this step, I want to keep the blog family friendly and block any further inappropriate spam.

Shelley

Dog whispering not for the north

2010-02-14T14:21:00.004-05:00

Cesar Millan did an episode in NYC in the autumn. Mostly he stays in the warm places, where dog owners hike around in shorts and flip flops.
Here's my challenge; leash train an ambitious puppy when the north wind is blowing, the ice crystals hurting your nose, the bulk and weight of winter wear slowing your reactions and blocking the view of the said dog in training. Now it's not so easy with a little psstchst-tap, aiming for a jumping jelly bean at the end of the leash whom you can't actually see past your hood.

The northern dog is hardy, strong and strong willed (CM doesn't say stubborn), and very well equipped for the climate. Even extreme temperatures and winds don't slow em down. By extreme I mean colder than -30 with windchill giving a -45C brrr. Anything warmer than that is a fine winter day.

He also recommends waiting til they become "calm submissive". For Kamik to become calm submissive may actually take 2-10 minutes. Now my feet may go numb, hers not so much. The only boots to keep my feet warm here are my seal skin kamik, the downer; they can be very slippery on the roads. So sneakers it is, they keep me just as warm as my -35 rated boots.

Options; wait til the wind stops blowing and hope it's a weekend or courageously attempt dog training even though the wind blows over your vocals, the ice crystals causing pain with every breath and stinging ice on your face leaves you exhausted.

Preparations:
1. Don parka, sunglasses, hat, mittens, and scarf. These must be warm and wind proof
2. Dress feet
3. Find leash, camera, training collar and keys
4. Don't trip going down the steps, especially the last one which has victimized me many times.
5. Approach dog.

He says it's all about energy be " calm assertive"..hmm.

1. Wait for dog to settle into submissive attitude- ~ 5 minutes
2. Attach leash; this generates new excitement. we wait.
3. Initiate exercise eg. walk on leash...we're off!
4. Correct with psshscht noise and with precision timing speed tap or pinch dog's neck, shoulder, or ribs..... Mittened hand swinging through the air, unable to see dog beyond hood, puffy shoulders while she artfully dodges my reach, psschst drowned out by the sound of saws, snowmobiles.
5. Bear an attitude of composure, leadership....I'm sweating in my parka, but my face is numb and toes are wooden
6. Distance traveled....25 feet
7. Dog happily sniffing while I shuffle along the shiny, slippery, wind-blown-snow-imitating-ice surface of the roads.
8. Use every distraction to remind dog who is in charge; correction if goofy behaviour starts at the sight of another dog, snowmobile passing, familiar friends truck. This brings us back to item number 4.
9. Repeat training, walk frequently and for lengthy periods...hope she doesn't slip her collar.

with the sun came wind

2010-01-17T13:52:00.006-05:00

It's very difficult to take pictures with mitts on, so I struggle-- take mitts off and freeze my fingers or clumsily try to press the shutter with mitts on. Today; mitts on won. (Temp -30/windchill -43.)

Alan had remarked to me that he could hear a jet behind us, when I looked up, it was in front....wrong there were two jets streaming across the cloudless sky. Alan took this picture before the jet streams broke up and leaving a trail of dots on the sky.

The recent strong winds have filled in and buried Nanuq's house. She finds shelter under the steps.
Underestimating the depth of the snowdrift, the truck got stuck half way into it. The drift blocking the driveway is not enormous, it is about 2 feet deep but fooled us into going forward.

Nanuq and Kamik playing nicely. At first sassy Kamik tried to dominate the much bigger Nanuq by mounting her; this went poorly for Kamik. It now seems they've come to an agreement about who's who.Frosty face and icy nose.

and then the sun came back

2010-01-09T13:58:00.008-05:00

After days of mild temperatures; our December was milder here than other places in Canada, finally the cold returned.

The mild weather seemed stuck in some kind of eerie movie scene; days of icy mist, the horizon hidden by a fine freezing drizzle, the sun behind gray curtains. Everything including cars, buildings, and the ground was solidly covered by thick ice and a frosty topcoat. Raven and dog were not immune; raven had a frosty head and dog frosty back.

One morning I lay in bed thinking how comforting this noise is, how familiar it is....it was in fact the power lines humming under a coat of ice.

Eventually the cycle broke, the sun returned from behind the fog and revealed the hard, windblown landscape.

Ending the old year we had a special treat; a blue moon. Some (we won't mention who) were surprised to find it was a regularly coloured moon, not blue at all.

blue moon before dawn (around 0830h)

one ball, one dog, one raven

2009-12-31T13:53:00.004-05:00

I decided to get "outside" balls for Kamik. She has the concept of returning the ball while we play indoors. This didn't translate to outside. She stayed a safe distance away and played by herself.

It didn't take long for Raven to show up, he perched low on the fence, hunkered down making a variety of clucks, clicks and pacoos. Raven carefully watched the dog and the ball. Notorious for eating snowmobile seats, bicycle seats and anything not covered by a tarp; I figured it wanted to eat the ball.

Kamik made every friendly effort to engage Raven, she carefully placed the ball on the snow bank, at his feet, looked up at the bird, nudged the ball, to no avail. She ran across the parking lot with it, dropped it and facing the raven she waited. Nope. More interesting clucks and pacoos. No playing. Finally we (read I) gave up on raven and we returned up the stairs. Naturally the fastest route to the top is to fly, which Raven did and met us at the top of the landing, firmly settled on the rail.

As I turned to get my key I was surprised to see many ravens were circling overhead. Must have thought lunch was being served. Sorry tulugak, perhaps another time.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T13:33:00.003-05:00

Christmas eve over Frobisher Bay

Not much daylight to take pictures yet!

the raven....again

2009-12-14T23:35:00.004-05:00

I don't have the creepy imagination of Poe, but am fascinated by our northern bird. Raven is very cagey.
At lunch today I searched the rooftops and wires for tulugak. He wasn't there, nowhere to be seen. So I tossed out the meat patty and waited. Not long; count thirty and swoosh, on the fly out of nowhere he grabs the patty. In close and noisy pursuit six others followed! Where were they?
How did they know? That patty didn't sit there two whole minutes!

Today my coworker told me about a dog that barks and runs his chain to scold the ravens on the rooftop. Sounds normal enough, squirrels would delight in scolding Caesar if he treed one of them.
But much smarter than a humble black squirrel, Raven turns his tail to the dog and ...and....yes poops on the dogs back!

The bird pictured here made noises I hadn't heard from a raven;he clucked a noise which sounded like two pieces of wood. uhuh wood. Then he said "doink".

Winter Fur

2009-12-05T12:53:00.007-05:00

Now with the shortening days and lengthening nights, there is little opportunity to get good pic, especially if you value your fingers. Before walking the dog, and wanting to take advantage of the low winds and the waning sunlight I went in search of a nice image.

Kamiik are slippery boots, having a bearded seal skin or a ujjuk sole and being a klutz to begin with, I didn't venture far down the hill and spent time on hands and knees with camera. Thankfully my fingers, knees and camera did manage to co operate to get a couple of frosty pictures.

Kamik the dog (so named because when she was tiny she looked like she was wearing kamiik) waited patiently for me to return. The new harness does work well in stopping her from taking me sliding across the road, but she's a jumper! No help there from the harness.

The wait finally over; it's time for walkies.

whewww-eeeee

2009-11-26T10:14:00.011-05:00

To my long suffering readers, I apologize for my absence. A medical emergency took me to Ottawa at the end of October. I return nearly one month later with numerous bruised injection sites which make me look like a junkie, but it was for a good cause, I guess.
Although I have worked in hospitals my entire life, this was my first real hospital admission I have come to these conclusions; the food isn't very good (one eats it to avoid death), the bed and pillow are plastic which makes you sweat (eew), hospital pants are hard to come by and you can't really poke the snoring roommate.

Should I decide to shop, I was quickly reminded of the Christmas fervor that was exploding and could barely tolerate more than an hour in the mall. Never much of a mall person, or a shopper and with the added discomfort of recent surgery the experience was exhausting. Plus a girl can transport only so much stuff right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I left Iqaluit, there was little snow remaining from the Sept. snow storm, upon my return it is full winter complete with Iqaluit winds and stunning white vistas. How I missed my beautiful view. Rain and fog was the climate in Ottawa, dreary, bone chilling dampness.

On first look it's apparent that Kamik is now very fluffy which makes her look quite stocky and sturdy. Tail a-wagging, she greeted me with her standard excitement. I brought home a new type of harness which is supposed to limit or stop this endless bounding around at the end of the leash. She is very good off leash but would prefer her on leash to walk the roads over the winter. Once I'm back on my pins we'll give 'er a try.

getting some puppy love............

Before moving on there is a small update; October 2009 my disgusting carpeting was replaced. The workers re floored the entire apt and repaired the sub flooring too. Am pleased with the workmanship and the expedience once the job started. Next project; build the new bed!

coming out left handed

2009-10-10T22:18:00.008-04:00

Well it's not a true coming out per se; since it is apparent to those who see me work will recognize that I'm a lefty. The coming out is more a coming of age. It is changing the modifications made over a lifetime to "fit in" with the right handed world. From check marks to shoe laces to right only doors. Why don't they unlock the other door? Watches, binders, notebooks, knives, number pad, and my pet peeve....wallets. I no longer use a wallet, instead dumping cards, cash and coins into purse pocket or jacket pocket.

It came up at the lunch table that some of us are left handed (by the way I have noticed a large number of the paramedics are left handed). When the discussion turned to wallets, one person suggested; "is it so hard to turn the wallet around?" UH yes but it is more than just turning it around its not dumping your cards and change all over the checkout. It is snapping/zipping it closed in a non akward manner. Much more.

In a previous job another leftie and I got to talking about working with righties...we're always crashing into them. Then I recalled my sister who is right handed used to shoo me and my daughter and dog if he was in the room out of the kitchen. You see daughter and pup had adapted to my leftie ways and this created chaos when a single rightie came into the space.

Being Left in the kitchen; a spatula, corkscrew, can opener (yeah yeah get electric). The option to arrange cupboards and appliances so the workflow suits my natural tendencies.

Oooh boy a left handed vacuum cleaner...oh my no more getting the hose kinked, the cord tangling, easy access to the tools. But I digress.

For a time I left oriented my work space. Working in a group of 10, being the only leftie I thought they could adapt once in a while. hmmph! What changes did I make; staple on top right corner--yup, of course marginal notes on left of page, pen holders, telephone, mouse settings all modified to make the workspace easier, more comfortable. Sigh it was fine.

Even bought my nephew a lefthanded journal scribbler book. In journaling I start the book at the back and work frontwards. A watch with the dials relocated, a camera with a left sided shutter and a bread knife with a left handed serration would rock my world.

Imagine a world where my mug is facing the left way?
If I could have one left handed wish it would be to custom build a house....my way!

anythingleft-handed

this 'n that and back

2009-09-28T21:49:00.010-04:00

Montreal- primary school. I think the first kid is portrayed in a chair wearing a dunce cap!

A secret entrance way. Old Montreal

Upon returning home from a much needed visit south, snow had blanketed the rocks, the berries were done. All things as they should be. I listened to the men across from me in the plane, one a man who grew up in the north; Inuit, the other accented and en route to Igloolik from California. The visitor had a brand new Snow Goose winter parka; the rest of us northerners- light jackets, me; a fleece zip up. The northerner was patiently answering all the questions the visitor had. I smiled. One clearly proud of his home the other curious and excited for his upcoming adventure.

South was loud, hot and my skin broke out. Even the nights were warm. I have never enjoyed the hot steamy days of summer and delight in the northern expression of the season.

Glass honouring WWII Army, Navy, Air force volunteer forces.

Even though I have lived in large cities, the crowded streets exhausted me. We discovered ways around to avoid the busy thoroughfares. Then one morning the wind was gusting and it reminded me of home, I turned my face windward and reveled in the breeze. It felt good, it felt familiar.

It was almost novelty to go outside without a jacket, to see bird houses hanging in trees, TREES, and even the weeds overgrowing gardens were like seeing old friends.
________________________________________________________

Back home.....drama unfolds as I was visiting with my daughter and doling out her shopping requests we heard a dog screaming. When I looked out it was our little Kamik. One leg up and crying. Children were scrambling up the stairs. This made me angry as Alan had also said that someone has been throwing rocks at her recently. I brought her inside for a rest.

Kamik likes to be outdoors, doesn't like to be inside for the nights. The nights are mild and she lays upon the snow or takes refuge from the rain in her house. She thinks the children are playing when they throw rocks at her. She didn't think they would kick her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There were lots of things I didn't do while out but of the things we did; mostly we laughed. My friend and I sharing our secrets, catching up of course and together we rediscovered Montreal.

just when you don't have a camera

2009-09-03T18:45:00.003-04:00

Today while walking the dogs; include 3 puppies, Kamik and Kai, we saw a shifting rainbow.
It arched into the dark rain clouds, and out the far side. As we watched it continuously change we noticed the end of the rainbow.
It came down the side of a hill to a house. The hillside was rainbow lit, most predominately yellow and pink, then amazingly it moved forward to the road and the road was rainbow lit.
The far side gave us a second rainbow they shifted in brightness before disappearing.

Now we know where the rainbows begin.

'tis the season

2009-08-29T16:44:00.006-04:00

The red plumage of the ground plants is a sure sign of autumn. The leaves start turning in late July, but I remain in denial until the tempertures convince me that it is true.
It was a fine Saturday afternoon to go see if the hills are ready to give up their fruit. Yup they are, and so the three of us went a picking. Kamik was a good puppy not running off with strangers (as she has done) instead she caught on quickly to berry picking. In using good sense she didn't raid the basket but stole the berries out from the patch. Happily she nibbled the berries while we picked. Frequently we sent her to find her own patch of berries to enjoy. She has yet to figure out how to drop them into the basket.

Katie and Kamik picking berries.

The hills offer a beautiful view and an opportunity to race.

the real big boys came to town

2009-08-23T12:38:00.007-04:00

HMCS TORONTO
Chopper

F18

Kamik playing catch-up

The small capital was inundated with a military presence. Is this the future the PMO has in mind for the beautiful arctic?

I still get a thrill watching the F18s roar overhead but best of all is watching them leave the tarmac and in a heartbeat are so far into the sky it seems to defy logic.

From my seaside balcony we had a great view of the airshow on this cloudy day. This time they departed for quite a long while, I wondered if they flew to Arctic Bay and back in the 40 or so minutes they were gone. At top speed they cross the Atlantic in about 3 hrs, can make the trip from Quebec to Newfoundland in well under an hour.

(The images are a little blurry due to the extreme zoom used to capture the vehicles.)

oooh the big Kahuna arrived

2009-08-18T19:33:00.004-04:00

So it is that the arctic is such a hot spot currently we get more official visits than anyone would imagine.
The big blue cheese arrived in a black jet with an entourage of security guys, aides and ministers. The local cops kept up perimeter blockades.
Let it be said; no body here much noticed or seemed to care. What's the big deal? Reminds me of American rap star or Kelly Clarkson and their entourage. With his plastic face and never changing hair (why doesn't he show up when the wind is blowin' a gale?)
PM Harper has been here before and can no longer be considered a 'newbie' to the north. So how is it he insults everyone with the misspelling of the capital city? DOH!
With the recent hoopla created by the nationally circulated photo of two children sleeping in front of the grocery store this summer, the PM instead focuses on military issues, arctic sovereignty (for mineral rights?). All for naught if the future generations are not prepared for the quickly changing times in their world.
So with military and all the little big guns in the area for the week, I wonder who does it serve?
We pay a flat rate subsidized for gasoline, it is shipped in.
The city is ripe for corrupt, non transparent government and business practices. Nepotism is so common it is understood that is the way of things.
But at least the PM will ensure through military presence that the real issues can be ignored. Basically a showman using the oldest trick in the world...distraction, slight of hand and diversion. Politics is magic.

big sky

2009-08-15T12:56:00.004-04:00

While out on our daily constitutional, Kamik and I headed down to the graveyard. Oddly it does not have the same sense of most burial sites. I don't find it peaceful, or creepy, or anything weird.
This day the clouds seemed to go on forever and when Environment Canada says we have a 48km visibility, one has to believe it on days like this.

...as it happens

2009-08-04T21:35:00.008-04:00

I didn't have to worry about the key deficient laptop for long. One day just any ordinary day, my laptop refused me. No power no how. *sigh* PC is dead. No blogging, no facebooking, nothin!

All is well as a replacement arrived rather quickly in the mail. Next on the agenda is rescuing the hard drive so as to recover my pics and tunes. Really I'm sure I don't know how much stuff is locked away until the transfer of goodies is complete.

taking the lead

Kamik is a clever, friendly little dog chasing after new friends, mostly the two legged ones. On the flip side, she returns to me at lightening speed when I call her back lest she trails after an unsuspecting person to locations unknown.

Often I take her to the river, a good, only-puppy entertains herself chasing the waves and tossing pebbles around. While I got busy fishing away the afternoon, she was chasing the waves, she got careless -- KER-splash. Since it wasn't a fish splashing at the end of my line it must have been the pup. Sure enough there she is; soaking wet, little paws trying to climb back onto the rock. She had tumbled into the Sylvie Grinnell river! I had visions of her bobbing downstream into the bay but she clambered back up, gave a shake and found a stone to amuse herself with.
One thing I've learned about dogs; they know how to get on with things and don't linger over the "what ifs".

Bistort
Vetch

dogs just don't embrace technology like we do....

2009-07-15T13:40:00.004-04:00

Looking ALL INNOCENT!

I don't even know any Lilliputians who could re-affix the salvageable keys.

flowers for Lisa

2009-07-10T01:27:00.008-04:00

1. Mt. Avens
2. Diapensia
3. don't know, if you do, tell me!
4. Lapland Rosebay
5. Mt. Avens over Moss Campion

you know it's summer when

2009-07-07T23:14:00.011-04:00

Long sunny days, summer solstice, ships and tundra blossoms. Summer in the far north presents it's own beauty, nature capitalizing on the long days in such a short season. This is my second summer here, yet I am amazed that no sooner is the snow (mostly) gone the plants are forging up from the thin soils and bogs.
Nuthin says summer like the first freighter into the bay.

Tiny summer blossoms.New puppies!

Riverside meltdowns!

Flag Etiquette

2009-07-01T11:21:00.006-04:00

Yup there are rules to flying our flag. Today I have taken the rules from the Govt website. Some seem pretty common sense but here goes!
(should it be noted that the stick is at the bottom ahem...)

1. The National Flag of Canada should not be used as table/seat cover, as a masking for boxes or as a barrier on a dais or platform.- curtains in college dorms?
2. While it is not technically incorrect to use the National Flag of Canada to cover a statue, monument or plaque for an unveiling ceremony, it is not common practice to do so and should be discouraged.
3. Nothing should be pinned to or sewn on the National Flag of Canada.
4. The National Flag of Canada should not be signed or marked in any way (A border could be attached to the outside edge of the Flag on which it would be acceptable to have signatures leaving the Flag itself untouched). er am sure I've seen some signed flags, oh dear!

Who goes first?

Order of Precedence

The National Flag of Canada
The flags of other sovereign nations in alphabetical order (if applicable)-ah that's how they decide eh?
The flags of the provinces of Canada (in the order in which they joined Confederation)-sure, poor Newfoundland/Labrador!
The flags of the territories of Canada (in the order in which they joined Confederation)-uhoh for Nunavut too...dead last!
The flags of municipalities/cities
Banners of organizations
Historical Flags

Since it's been so long since gr 8 history here's a refresher on the confederation dates.

National Flag of Canada
Ontario (1867)
Quebec (1867)
Nova Scotia (1867)
New Brunswick (1867)
Manitoba (1870)
British Columbia (1871)
Prince Edward Island (1873)
Saskatchewan (1905)
Alberta (1905)
Newfoundland (1949)
Northwest Territories (1870)
Yukon (1898)
Nunavut (1999)

There are rules of etiquette for every possible use of the flag; on a car, a boat, projected from a building, draped over a casket, how to fold it, and how to dispose of tattered flags. There are guidelines on the mast, and the red colour dye number is also defined! (The painting colours are Federal Identity Program red No. 509-211 and white: 513-201)

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

cold beer and buttons

2009-06-28T14:16:00.009-04:00

As the river broke free of the winter ice, I could hardly contain my excitement. If you have ears you know I went fishin'! An excellent way to tire an energetic puppy. She spent her time chasing pebbles and bits of moss or tackling the small winter stalks of grasses. She managed to steal my sub sandwich from the backpack and with steely determination refused to unclench her small mouth. Man she was tough...but she didn't growl. Eventually we (me and two friends) won, she got to pick up the pieces that had fallen to the rocks and so we shared.

Pictured below are Kim and Keith fishing the bend of the river, you can see the large pieces of ice which still flow toward the bay.
Is there any other way to chill a beer? Icy meltwater makes the perfect place for a beer to nestle in the rocks...Tres Canadian eh?
Within the past couple of weeks the hills have come to life with the desperate, hurried growth of plants, lichens and flowers. They are so tiny and perfect and hardy. One must admire the quick growth and maturity of plants in this hostile climate.
Soon mosquitoes will be hovering like black clouds. Fortunately they enjoy a very short season; a couple of weeks to a month and they don't seem to bite as much as you'd think, but hover like black flies. They are gigantic though!

In other news Jaime introduced herself to me, this was a pleasant surprise there are plenty of northern bloggers but I rarely get the opportunity to meet'n'greet any of them. Hi Jaime!

Jaw'n'paws aka Kamik has ruined two keys on my laptop but its the letter "a" that is proving the most challenging as my fingers feel lost without it. I thought I could stick it on in a temporary fashion however it is so mutilated that it won't sit atop the spongy bit left behind.
Next blog expect missing "a" perhaps it will read like a riddle.

very exciting day!

2009-06-21T00:48:00.012-04:00

The artwork of Kenojuak Ashevak.

Kenojuak Ashevak opened her exhibit in Iqaluit today, I was very excited to have the opportunity to meet her. She is a tiny bit of a woman with a bigger than life talent. The owl above is probably her most recognizable work. She often portrays birds; owl(oopik), goose (kanguk), and raven (tulugak). Her simple portrayal of tulugak (middle) captures his confidence and proud attitude.

Wee blossoms dot the landscape, sharing the sun with the snow and ice.
I was fascinated by the way these large pieces of ice crystallized and fall away like the hair of a mythical goddess.

We did toss our lines into the raging river but to no avail. The ice below the fast moving current continually snagged our lures and most certainly kept the fish out of reach!

Housing disclosure

2009-06-07T02:29:00.004-04:00

When I moved here it was January. I was shown an apartment 3 weeks after I arrived. The guy who shows housing here picked me up at work and brought me to the apartment. Here is what I learned that all new GN or Fed employees should know.
Lets start with the questions he asked me:
Q. do you have a dog?
A. yes
Q. does he bark?
A. yes, he's a dog.
Q. do you smoke weed?
A. what?
Great start and welcome to Iqaluit.

You have the right to refuse any apartment, you will be offered up to three then you're on your own. Good luck with that.
You have the right and the expectation that the unit be immaculately clean, top to bottom, inside and out.
You have the right to accept with conditions; eg fix the cupboards, the carpeting, the door, the light fixture.
You have the right to insist that the unit be "re" cleaned if it is not in move in perfect and I mean perfect condition. Know this when you move out if this guy is having a crappy day you will be made to pay or clean until the power tripper says it's okay. He made one employee clean the hinge on her washing machine lid...with a q tip! and another clean a small spot off the oven rack in what was otherwise a perfect unit! hmmm?

Why the rant?
Nobody in the GN or housing informed me that I could insist on having a picture perfect move in no hassle apartment.
I have 14 yo carpeting that they are hassling me about because I've requested new flooring.
The condition of my unit when I accepted?
1. dried urine on bathroom floor, toilet black.
2. filthy carpeting that is 5 years over the period of replacement according to the housing standard
3. damaged doors frames due to previous animals
4. washing machine was filthy and needed javex to make it useful
5. front windows broken
6. holes through the inside doors ie fists
7. blinds black with years of grime....I washed them in the tub
8. food in fridge
9. wood shavings on flooring
10. building supplies left behind
11. bathroom cabinet was black with grime.

If only someone had informed me. That man who showed me this unit was hasty and less than professional. Quite frankly he was well aware of the GN expectations and took advantage because I believe he is either racist or lazy or burnt out or just took out his bad day on me.

So the fight begins. They expect me to move my furniture so the guys can replace carpeting that they didn't even bother to steam clean.
But hey if someone did their job.....

The GN housing liason has requested a copy of my inspection from he who shall not be named. Two weeks still waiting. I will email it to her myself next week, maybe even with pictures.

how to mend a broken heart?

2009-05-24T15:04:00.003-04:00

A foster puppy of course!
This pup was being cared for in the Iqaluit Humane Society and we have committed to fostering her for a short while. She was 4.5 wks when we picked her up and by 8 weeks she should be ready to move to her forever home. They had named her Slippers for her white toes. We like the name Kamik better as the markings continue up her front legs and reflects her proud heritage.
She has a great temperament and seems in excellent health. Kamik spends her puppy days in puppy ways, trouncing around after our feet, yeowling for food and crashing exhausted at the end of it all.

northern spring

2009-05-09T10:46:00.005-04:00

At work this week a co worker was griping about the snow that has continued for nearly a week. Off and on, a little snow shower occurs daily. I reminded her this is spring! This is the arctic!
This got me thinking....you know it's spring in the arctic when (and please feel free to add to the list).
1. the snow buntings and geese return
2. when the dog is off the roof (snow drift steps melt away)
3. there is more daylight than darkness
4. the temperature sans windchill is warmer than -20.
5. the tidal waters seep up on the frozen bay.
6. the pavement appears
7. the potholes appear
8. grading the road doesn't fix the potholes
9. the plow is now used to grade the roads
10. kamiik become impractical in the mud
11. sunglasses a must even on a cloudy day (owie that's bright!)
12 ice crystal replaced with tiny snowflakes
13 the ravens take up their spring dance in the skies.

More ideas of spring things. ... click comments to see what spring means to other northerners!

thank you and good bye

2009-05-01T18:03:00.012-04:00

My old fella no longer greets my return. This blog is to remember what a fine animal he was and the wonderful companionship we shared.

buntings and spring challenges

2009-04-29T19:40:00.007-04:00

Uhoh, have been remiss again. Also not much to write about. Mike, Daniel and I went skidoing one evening after work.
The light was flat which made it difficult to see the trail and cracks in the ice. Spring break up kind of freaks me out, skidoing over large cracks and tidal pools during high tide. But this time (compared to earlier last year) it seemed the cracks weren't as large and we didn't have to cross tidal pools.
Later on the same outing, the girlie in me rose up and squealed, grimaced, and all reasoning was abandoned.
What you ask?
Having toured the bay we arrived back on land at Apex ventured up'n over the hills. The alarming girlie bit was when Mike and Daniel disappeared over a hill.
I'm not that into amusement parks, I don't go on roller coasters...just too scary! No choices here, now. I can't deke outta the line! If anyone had been watching me they would have been in stitches. Abject terror overcame reason but down I went, straight down! Before I knew it we had arrived safely to the top of the other side.

In other exciting news; the snow bunting has returned! This is a sure sign of spring, their cheerful chipping and chirping and flitting through the air add a welcome element to the skies.

Here is my so-brand-new-it's- being-modelled-on-the-steps-of-the-woman-who-made-it-for-me parka! Wonderfully warm and beautifully rendered and most importantly, it is very feminine. Ahh! you can be a woman and be warm in the arctic!

what to do, what to do....

2009-04-13T18:40:00.004-04:00

It occurs to me on each long weekend, after the initial excitement of a long weekend, that there are no road trips. No trippin down the highway to visit with friends, family or for an outing to take advantage of the fine weather. Nope, a road trip Iqaluit style may involve a 3 hour plane ride.
There are of course lots of things to do on a long weekend anywhere. Here you can ski do on the bay or the land, visit friends and family still or just hang loose and get the spring cleaning done.

This Easter weekend the Francophone centre hosted a sugar shack which included a yummy breakfast and maple syrup toffee made on the snow. I met up with Katie and Brandon for the buffet feast. There was a lot of food; Fruit, ham, bacon, crepes, french toast, scrambled eggs, baked beans, bread, croissants, sausage, coffee, juice and carrot cake! hmhmhmhmmmm!

Naturally Polar man was there to enjoy the feast. He propped up a mini polar man next to an ice inukshuk for a photo op!

Overnight guest

2009-04-06T21:44:00.005-04:00

Have you ever been too frightened to move? Well this lil feller camped under our front window overnight and all the next day. He seemed friendly and healthy and even had a tagged collar. We even fed him breakfast.
Seems he found himself in a place he didn't like and sought refuge on the snowbank under my window. Question is if he was so scared how did he get up here?

What was so frightening that he didn't move for two days?
The open grating on the walkway of course.
Once lifted onto the walkway he trembled, with toes splayed like Charlie Brown taking a hit from Lucy.
Once he was back on terra firma he posted his tail high and scampered off!

Recessional decisions

2009-04-05T12:35:00.004-04:00

Shocking start to my Sunday morning. Usually I don't blog about very personal things, however since I needed a forum to air my disgust, shock and awe...it's blog time. CBC News Sunday is getting cancelled! ARRRRGH. Better than "One on One" with that fish Mansbridge, (has he been cancelled? Why is he golden?) Evan and Carol have occupied my Sunday mornings engaging me in politics where I would usually have little interest and portray unique Canadian views on current events for years.
Now what? More Mansbridge....hope not. B.O.R.I.N.G. In fact my favourite Mansbridge bit was done on "This Hour has 22 Minutes" Where Peter was portrayed interviewing himself yuk yuk yuking it up with his own "witty" responses.
CBC obviously doesn't have it's finger on the pulse of Canadian viewers. Take George on The Hour, he started his show with no audience...didn't they know that when he was at CityTV the t-shirts stating "I"m Georges wife" sold out in record amounts? So they start him without an audience then a dim bulb lights up and he gets audience space, a better set and an A list of guests.
Hello CBC we are not our parents generation.

Signs of spring

2009-03-29T16:46:00.008-04:00

During the winter we had noticed this stop sign. Was it implanted in the ditch? Was it buried by snow? Both I guess!
Even though the thermometer reads -13C the sun is so warm that it possible to go about with just a fleece jacket. Today was the first day I opened a window at home. The sun heats up the small front room with the same intensity that the north wind can chill the apartment. This time of year is perfect, bright sunshine, open windows, fresh air, no dust!

A truly perfect day

2009-03-14T21:23:00.009-04:00

Just before lunch Mike called to ask if I would be interested in going out on the bay today. The stats were perfect: Temp - 10C, winds calm, sky clear and sunny. You betcha I said, dashing the alternative of hanging out in my jammies and doing housework.
It was a large group, six machines each with kiddie passengers and one qamutik. Once at the destination, Mike put on the stove to start a pot of tea, he asked "should I use bottled water or snow?" "Snow" I answered, "because we can!"
The kids big and small each took turns climbing the big hill with sliders, some went almost to the very top to start their slide. But since I'm in such unhealthy shape, I only managed to climb about halfway up and then proceeded the fast trip down. Too fast for all the hard work of climbing up! Sure enough the kids climbed up, this time to roll down the hill!
After a tea and a tanning session, it was time to return. We chose not to recross the bay but to come in across the land. Once again, I was in awe of the stark beauty, the big sky, the harshness of the land and the kindness of the sun.
Mike successfully guided us home pointing out the notable landmarks, and trail markers.

The evening had us return to friends to deliver a parcel, upon arriving home, the aurora was dimly lighting the night sky. As we proceeded into the apartment, they grew and grew and this was the first time I've ever had the chance to witness pink aurora borealis.
Twenty minutes later, the sky was black, starry, and quiet again.

Playing Catch-up

2009-03-08T20:25:00.005-04:00

Been so long since I've blogged, and after some nagging...you know who you are.... Finally here we are.
News: dog is recovering thanks to the good advice that we got from family physician. He suffered damage to his ear in a fight, but worse his health has been very poor. Seems he's had an intestinal infection, lost about 15 pounds yet after a couple of days treatment is back to his bossy ole self!
Having recovered from surgery I picked up the camera again and the fine spring weather had me out'n'about again.
After sitting for most of December, all of January and February the machine got buried by the blowing snow and reinforced by the plow, but at last it is time to take her out!
Raven's eye view of Mike and I getting ready to go out to Tarr Inlet for the afternoon with the kids and fam. Usually cartoon like images of me accidentally running him over while he straightens the skis fill my head. He's quick and I'm slow sooooo he is safe.
Paybacks a...er well today my aches remind me it's been too long. Northerners know that spring weather is something that doesn't include a -30+ wind chill. Temperatures around -18 to - 25 C would be included in the springlike ideal. No kidding. Saturday being a sunny, windless -18 made for a perfect day to head out on the bay. By the time we returned so had the wind.

guilty pleasures

2009-02-02T10:24:00.012-05:00

Recently I was shipped out to Ottawa for medical treatment. Finding myself alone in the village and hungry, my first guilty pleasure was a drive thru Wendy's hmmhmm. Yes the cabbie drove me thru and back to the hotel. Total cost of Wendy's #1 meal = $24! Was it worth it? I confess the food tasted very salty. Did I really eat this before? Eww. too salty too greasy and the beef had no flavour.
What a difference a year makes.

Second guilty pleasure? Between appointments I had one free day. My plans were to skate the canal, see the gallery and view the Notre Dame Cathedral. First stop was the National Gallery and to my great surprise they had a Bernini exhibit showing! For the added cost of $6 Bernini!
That pretty well took my whole day going room to room through the beautiful gallery, eating lunch on site and of course shopping the gallery boutique.
I'm not sure what the rules are, but I touched a sculpture! Yup touched it!

Once finished there it was four o'clock. The wind had picked up and skating was put on hold.
link to National Gallery

Across the street to the cathedral. Now I'm not Catholic and not even very religious but in my travels love to see the large churches and cathedrals. The glass work, the architecture, the flooring are exquisite. Again another beautiful surprise upon entering; the organist was practising on the pipe organ. Alone in the pews, I marvelled at the sites and sounds of the majestic structure.

http://www.notredameottawa.com
(Image: bcserge,fliker.com)

While the city grappled with the 18cm of snow and the transit strike I hiked on to the Byward market in search of a great sushi place called Kinki. Just as I was about to give up and eat at a sub place instead...there she was like a beacon through the storm.
This finished my day and back to the hotel to rest up for what would be the most memorable, most painful surgical experience of my life.

live and slowly learn

2009-01-25T23:39:00.004-05:00

A good friend sent me this puzzle, a great way to pass the long winter nights. I am truly an idiot with puzzles, one piece, ten minutes...uh nope doesn't fit....next piece...ten minutes..er ah...can't jam it in yet...and so it goes. This one was 1000 pieces.
They are fun and so very satisfying once completed. This one is particularly beautiful with the use of colour and light and it was relaxing to build.

Frequently snow or ice crystals are forecast. Snowing here means anything including micro-snow which you can barely see, but blurs the horizon and magically accumulates to some depth. You may know it's snowing by standing outside and seeing if your coat gets whiter.

Ice crystals; until now I hadn't made much notice of ice crystals in the forecast. Then suddenly one day I coughed, or hollered or something and OWWWIE those ice crystals hurt! You can't see them. They are tiny invisi-razors when inhaled! Best inhaled through a scarf or balaclava in case you come across them in your forecast.

tagged

2009-01-17T00:27:00.004-05:00

Jennith of The Blog Bog of the Tundra has tagged me!

Since I routinely archive my photos, my 'puter didn't have six directories in the photo file. So into the archive I go...this is my sixth pic from the sixth directory in a randomly chosen flash drive. The date on the photo is September. One of many taken here of the remarkable fall colours that blanket the tundra.
At the time it reminded me of Christmas. I'm not keen on it as it is over exposed making the leaves look silvery and not as red as they should be. Voila.
Tagging six people to play!
M&M of Cape Dorset, (you two crack me up!)
Periples
Adventures of Matt and Kara and Baby Hunter
Baffin Blogger are you still around?
Beas Blog
365 to 42

sticky stuff

2009-01-16T17:41:00.007-05:00

Mythbusters did an episode on busting the "myth" that if one were to lick a cold metal pipe in winter their tongue would stick. Sure, Canadians don't need a couple of Cali boys telling us the facts in that scenario. Probably everyone has done it at least once or coaxed a buddy into checking it out to make sure.
This week I have managed to stick a finger to an outside door handle, stick 3 fingers simultaneously to a door and the most weird stick up I had this week, was my shoe to the door jam.

The dry, frosty metal door handles and my toasty warm, moist finger make like tongue and metal and stick fast together. But the shoe? It was weird, repeatedly pulling at my foot until viola in a three stooges moment the shoe came free of the frost nearly sending me on my tush.

Lesson of the north: Tongues aren't the only thing to become victim to waiting icy metal.
Repeat to myself "Keep gloves on"..... especially when pulling doors, or starting car or setting up tripod ..well just keep em on.

-gassing up northern style

halo and ribbons

2009-01-04T21:39:00.008-05:00

These photos were taken with a long exposure. My tripod is broken which is why the moon looks bumpy. However, the Aurora Borealis and giant halo around the moon were what prompted me to return outside with the camera.
Holding my breath with frozen fingers these are the shots I managed. Now they aren't perfect but I had never seen a night sky like this before.

kamiik for qimmiq?

2009-01-04T13:16:00.009-05:00

This new year brings Caesar a bittersweet gift. Booties. While he may appear as a large intimidating, ferocious animal, at heart he is a big baby. Often the extreme temperature of the snow and ground will have him stopped in his tracks. Literally, he wouldn't move, turn his eyes towards me as though I could change the snow under his feet. He's an old feller, turning eleven this year. Sometime pushing his rear end to get him moving again would be all that he needed. Which falls under the " I can't believe I have to do this" category.

This big hairy baby starts to tremble and clack his teeth while he is being shod. Which probably falls under his " I can't believe the humiliation" category.

The minute he is outside VOILA, the boots don't matter, and he doesn't run around trying to shake them off.
Maybe inside his little dog brain somewhere, somehow he will see the boots and think "walkies".

The booties worn on his back feet (as these seem to suffer the most in the snow), are shown here in a bright orange with a reflective stripe. They are fleece lined.

In other dog news, the only sealift we did this fall was dog food. Yes $1500 to bring dog food up here. As it turned out there was a small error in judgement (ahem) and we ended up with 2 yrs of food. Guess who decided he doesn't like it anymore? Yeah. So now to encourage him to eat enough calories each day of dog kibble, we've resorted to mixing in gravy or other enticing aromas. What puzzles me is he had eaten one bag of this brand last year and enthusiastically gobbled it up each meal. He's lost weight in his protest and we struggle to get him to fatten up for the cold weather.

One year

2008-12-26T15:33:00.009-05:00

New Year's eve marks some anniversaries for me. One year not within in 10 or even 1000 miles of the 400 series highways! YAAAAA! One year of missing my daughter. One great year with Alan.

One year of firsts. So many to consider where does one start? First snow mobile ride on Frobisher Bay. First Toonik Tyme. First time in an iglu! First Celebration of the Seal. First catch on the Sylvie Grinnell River. First taste of seal and muktuk. First joy of cooking my very own arctic char. First arctic hare siting. First boating across the bay. First lick of an iceberg! First taste of arctic wild blueberries. First time ever getting moss on my butt!

New language skills; hearing the language was baffling, after a couple of courses I am able to discern a few spoken words. Though not very capable of answering in same I can manage a few basic phrases.
My daughter is moving here! She has accepted a job which includes housing and some other nice perks. This will be all new to me. Living in town but not together. We have lived together or miles apart. It will definitely be nice to have her over for an evening meal or movies together. Or to help her decorate her new digs (I haven't been able to in the past..)Recently I have considered ending this blog. I figured the first year will be most exciting to blog about. What else would I have to say?
We'll see.

2008-12-24T08:07:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas to all, enjoy a safe and fun holiday!

and ...and..YES!

2008-12-12T16:19:00.002-05:00

After countless delays and an all nighter, Katie finally made it out today by switching airlines. Original booking; Wednesday!
With so many re bookings on her connector, I am not even sure when she arrives in Toronto tonight.

Deeps sighs of relief all around.

down but not out!

2008-12-10T21:46:00.001-05:00

Northerners recognize this posture. Cancelled.

...and home again?

2008-12-10T12:13:00.009-05:00

While my daughter is preparing to leave we decided no trip to Iqaluit is done until we visit the Hudson Bay building in Apex. Once finished there we naturally drop in to see Rannva and find she has beautiful rosette hair ties fashioned from rabbit fur....a fashion must have!
Also, this being her last day we took in the vistas and tourist sites to round out her vacation.

The "other" airline cancelled. Nearly in tears, Katie re booked the flights for tomorrow. Tonight she enjoys the hotel, and three meals gratis and some much needed solitary time...to rest up. We try again tomorrow, hopefully it doesn't come to a scramble for seats on a Friday flight south!

From the top:
The view from Apex
The Hudson's Bay company building.
Katie and Daniel racing on the lake.
How wind chills at -45C really feel.
Alan looking amused.

to a strange land....

2008-12-06T16:59:00.012-05:00

My daughter arrived after some planning, shopping and after announcing to friends she was going to the north pole, flying! First present she brought:
this photo of trees near her work in Ontario. Snow draped on rock isn't nearly as romantic!
Her stay is a short one and she has a busy itinerary!
Next at the museum, the irony of the seal exhibit while donning sealskin kamiik.
Picture of sunsetting around 1:30..dusk!

Katie asked what was happening across the street, I answered school's out! She replied; "what?" "It seems like it's 9:30 at night!" I reminded her that it was 3:30...school out!

The most amusing for me was definately watching her at the grocery store. She wanted peppers for salad, but said not to bother. I asked; "because they are $8.99 for 3?" "Ah YES!" Never mind just grab a decent one!

We celebrate Christmas this weekend, with full turkey-lurkey dinner and fixins'. Plans for the week ahead should be fun and keep us both busy. For sure the short visit will come to an end before we're ready.

lights in the night

2008-11-26T20:16:00.004-05:00

It doesn't occur to me that all my equipment is going to get extremely cold, extremely fast when the temperatures are -25C --doh!
So, with frozen fingers I tried to capture the Aurora Borealis. This is what I came away with. Kamiik didn't disappoint either as my toes stayed toasty warm!

All righty then...a little of this 'n that

2008-11-23T21:07:00.009-05:00

Weather here has been frosty, despite the wind chill of -40 or so we got the sled moving today! Yipee! Mike of course is the brains behind the work! Since he snowmobiled down and continued to work in the wind, his face was glowing white on old frostbite injury. It was painful to see. Nakurmiik Mike

In other thoughts; are there any other northerners who feel cheated with the Winners commercial advertising goods straight from the North Pole heading to stores near you? Firstly, I'd give my eye teeth to have a Winners shop, secondly ...dude...make a few stops on the way down!

Lurkers. You know who you are...well the ones south anyway! You drop by, visit blog, discuss it with friends and family.
Once in a while, an email arrives or perhaps a phone conversation reveals the dedicated following I didn't know I have. A generous surprise each time.

Please feel free to leave your comments, even if it's just; "hey just checkin' things out."

Kamiik!!

2008-11-16T21:51:00.003-05:00

Hello Western friends!
For Matt, Kara and Hunter! I'm very pleased and proud to own this pair. (Today I added an insulated insole which helps get my feet off the snow).

For those who may be interested the boots are constructed of sealskin.
Sealskin can be factory tanned or prepared in a traditional way. The woman scrapes the hide, stretch it on a rack which dries it, cut and hand sew into the required garment.
Bearded seal (which is very thick) constructs the sole and foot of the boot, ring seal is used on the upper leg. The white upper is also made from the bearded seal only it has been picked clean of the black top surface. This pattern is typical of a women's design in rounds. Men's on the other hand generally have a long contrasting piece down the front (at least in this corner of the north). Kamik can be made from caribou, though not as tough they are also very beautiful. Either way the sole is always bearded seal.
The duffel liner is crafted from felted wool, hand sewn into the shape of the boot and is removable. The decoration on the top is also hand stitched with a woollen yarn.

I was showing Alan the inside of the boots when he noted that there is an inner slipper. Completely surprised by this I removed the slipper to have a look! Wow! It's more boot than I ever imagined.

holes in the snow

2008-11-15T20:10:00.009-05:00

Every girl loves a sale, today was the pre Christmas craft sale (we're still allowed to say Christmas here instead of "Season"). We headed off, well prepared to line up in the snow and wind to wait for the door opening.
I had in mind to get two things only; kamiik for myself and a print to send to friends south. It was with some hope that Noah Maniapik would be there for I do like his work.

Both my wishes were fulfilled, as I came upon beautifully rendered kamiik. I kept one on my foot while I spoke with the sellers. Many people came along and handled the remaining one on the table. I felt lucky. They fit.
Noah was here and had stretched artistically from his standard style and had on hand two impressive compositions. Nervously I waited while a man handled the one that caught my eye. He decided against it. WhooHoo- Mine!
I won't say more about the artwork as I've yet to post the item south and want them to be surprised.

Exhausted we headed out for a brunch. Though Alan didn't join us he did offer to pick us up post meal. When he returned, he assured me that the kamiik were safe from the dog as they smell seal-y. No, he hadn't put them on the top shelf, yes they were in the bag on the chair, no the dog won't get to them....soon I discovered the reason; Caesar was waiting patiently in the truck.

seedy side of small time

2008-11-13T21:20:00.002-05:00

This is a blog I had started in mid August. At that time I had decided to hold off publishing it ......here goes..it ain't pretty!

Early on I had decided that very personal information would not be blogged . However, this extraordinary event requires acknowledgement.

My friends car had been targeted, vandalized and several untraceable pieces (which were well hidden) were taken. Knowing that the goods would show up circulating informally for sale around the local dining and drinking places, I purposefully stayed home. Finding a stranger passing off his stolen goods would only make me angry and that wouldn't be good.
Finally a neighbour and I went for dinner and sure enough around comes a tray full of the missing pieces. The seller was prepared and his lies were fluid and forthcoming without hesitation I got the full scoop. Since I got his name (he offered) we were able to narrow down a list of people who may be involved.

After I carefully examined a few pieces, I purchased one and returned the piece to my friend.

What happens next is what is remarkable. The seller tries to dump a large quantity in a shop, who notifies the police. The police arrive, friend arrives, seller disappears. Not for long as he calls my friend to tell him where the balance of the goods are. Seems he doesn't want anything to do with the stuff anymore. Police take the stolen property into "evidence" though no one is receipted.

Now we await the police retrieval of the remaining missing pieces.
and wait
and wait
No the seller wasn't interviewed, the person reported holding all the stuff was not interviewed, or visited, or called. My friend was not "updated" (no point we did all the work so far...)

(The piece which "broke" the case I respectfully suggest should be held on to, perhaps framed as it now has a place in our history.)

Fast forward to September, a young woman is trying to sell more of his stolen goods. The shop keeper informs friend and police. She splits! Police let him take the goods home this time, interviewed him, took another statement. Wow a second chance! Wasted.

Now it's November and the police who seem only interested in how much press coverage they can garner have yet to advance on the given information, recovered the goods, nor have they returned goods they took into "evidence".
I plead with my friend to call them weekly, get a receipt for the goods they took, to get answers, if no charges are to be laid (uh ya think?) then at least get his stuff back. Optimistically he believes the police will ante up and place charges. I got a weeks pay that says nope. When they want to arrest someone they do...right away...simultaneously calling the CBC.

As a culture I don't have much to say about the "thin blue line", but living here listening to this and other stories, nightmarish by measure really have me disgusted with our national police.

People could fill books on the miscarriages of justice in the north, rapes, murders, incests which continue to this day. People don't get arrested, if by chance they are arrested, serve little or no time and guess what? They move on to serve in public office. Thats the north for ya!

Seems they don't ever "get their man", they are just to busy, too unorganized, too transient to be effective. Busy with dealing with domestics and drunks. The good hard working tax paying citizen doesn't even get the courtesy of a phone call.

Next time you think the cops in your neighbourhood need an upgrade....think again...your neighbours weren't raped outside the grocery store and still waiting for an arrest!

sun fall down

2008-11-11T15:40:00.007-05:00

Upon rising today, like most days I take a in view of the bay. Two reasons; one to check out the flags below for the wind and the other because it's a seaside vista. Today it was a crystal seascape; shoreline frozen over in icy pebbles, the sky clear, and the hills white.
Since I was home for the holiday and not busy running errands I decided to take a series of photographs on the sun setting. It seems to fall out of the sky! The first was taken at 2:27pm and the last at 3:10pm. As I write this it is dark and 3:50pm.
In other news; the final sea lift boat couldn't make it due to the sea ice. Soooo, we unpacked the sea crate and dragged the stuff back upstairs. There it will wait for spring to bring another shipping season.
For friends and family south, this is autumn. Not the one we grew up knowing, now the wind chills are consistently below -20C. Winter is a whole new season, since I've only one winter here I know that we can expect temperatures to hover around -40C and the wind last year brought values of -52C. That's winter! Now maybe I can get some boots that live up to their claims. Kamiik?

Remembrance Day

2008-11-10T19:24:00.002-05:00

A place to hang your hat

2008-11-09T18:14:00.007-05:00

Alan took this photo recently, I was surprised that the entrance is built first. Perhaps then the GN can say it can offer you a place to hang your hat. Housing is an ongoing crisis here, companies rent or purchase "staff houses" meaning you get to share your housing. The wait for housing can be quite long. If you're hired by the government of Nunavut, then you don't get too much choice. The housing guy will show you a place, you may accept or decline. This is not like moving to town, finding the location and housing you prefer. You take what you get.
As often noted on this blog, my housing was previously a bootleggers house. Only recently have I been getting late night knocks again.
This weekend our project has been getting the waiting Polaris up'n running. She started today but I didn't get a chance to take her out around the block before she putt putted out.
Neighbour and friend loaded up her southbound sea crate. By the time it was ready to nail, my feet were numb and in pain. Darn those new boots! Serendipitously a man came down the stairs and in a few minutes had the whole thing nailed shut.
I can hammer, but men just have this upper body strength. And no matter how hard we swing there really is no comparison.

Our sun sets at 3:30 now, I'm still adjusting to afternoon break in complete darkness.

smiley day

2008-11-01T12:24:00.004-04:00

Happy days are here again! Snow snow snow! Hopefully, soon, there is enough snow to get out on the machines. The bay won't be safe for some time, but when the rocks are sufficiently buried it will be fun times ahead!
Mike has offered to teach me to shoot! His new rifle arrived and we oohed and aaahed when he opened the case. I've never fired a firearm before and am nervous that I will lose an eye or knock my shoulder out. He has reassured me that safety first and the rifle won't kick like in the movies. We have a accumulated number of cans to use for target practise and now we wait for the snow.

Since we don't live in a "suburb" we had only two little ghouls knock on the door last night. I realized that I miss the hallow'een adventurers. My house in Ontario was in a downtown neighbourhood and we would get all comers; from baby winnie the poohs in strollers to ghoulish, or hobo-ish teenagers. I never really minded, after all it is supposed to be a fun night for all. Usually I could determine which kids ran home made a quick "costume" change and ran back around the neighbourhood. I would tease them to let them know they hadn't "tricked" me but in the end they were "treated" for their efforts.

The blizzard day off Thursday made Friday seem like Monday with the bonus of it being a rent free pay day. Poor pup came in from morning constitutional with snow packed on his forehead. While it was indeed a nasty morning, I haven't experienced a true northern blizzard yet. We expect to lose water, cable (hopefully electricity stays on..),and internet service. This past summer I purchased the latest David Sedaris book he now has the honour of expectation and anticipation. He is my first blizzard book.

There and back again

2008-10-27T18:03:00.005-04:00

Last Wednesday I went out for a medical appointment. Most northerners will understand the term "out". For my southern friends, lemme 'splain; specialists arrive here for clinic visits, any further tests and follow up appointments may be booked in Ottawa or other southern destination. Such was my case, further testing was required and off I went. Really I didn't want to go. Too much noise, too much traffic too much of everything. However I had to go and decided to make the best of the trip south.

The weather in Ottawa was beautiful, somewhere between 6 and 12 C, no rain, sunny days, and no wind!

This was the first time I had been in Ottawa since the grade eight class trip. A friend toured me past the Parliament buildings, the market downtown and we dined on real Sushi!

She was kind enough to take me shopping after my appointments and remarked that I was like a kid. Can you imagine 10 light bulbs for 10 dollars!? A box of laundry soap for $8! Honestly! I filled my luggage, the extra bag and a box, full of goodies to bring home. Yes soap is a goodie, so is white sugar at $10/2lb bag.

A girl can't have too many shoes, and lets face it, the high heal spikes just aren't practical considering my climb to the tree house over the open metal steps. New shoes are shining on the shoe rack, new clothes to match. Might as well make the best of the opportunity and I treated myself to a manicure and haircut! Wheee I'm a girl again!
My birthday came and went and was fun. I got to fly in a plane, was treated to a nice dinner and a party followed! Most of all just being home for my birthday was the best part of the whole thing. My friends were generous in their kind wishes and the evening rounded off the trip home perfectly

The Food Chain

2008-10-19T11:17:00.003-04:00

Such is the dogs life. The raven in their cunning ways pester an animal to exhaustion. Each taking turns at the game "distract and rob" I couldn't believe my eyes when I counted a dozen birds awaiting their chance at Aputi's spilt kibble.
Persistence wins the day as the tied dogs usually tire of the game and the ravens win their booty.
They may squabble and caw and fuss, but they're a co operative lot willing to wait their turn. They are not fussy eaters and will take any opportunity to rob a dog of it's meal.
Last week, a neighbours dog slipped her collar and spotted a murder of ravens on the hilltop. She promptly ran up, stole their food and took it to her home! One for the dog!

Voting Day

2008-10-14T08:07:00.001-04:00

Go cast your ballet. It's the power we have!

taaadaaa-my first time sea lift

2008-10-12T09:12:00.005-04:00

Sea lift has arrived! It was a chilly and gusty morning. We headed down to the dock to unload early. The only thing we ordered on sea lift was 1120lbs of dog kibble. The problem here with dog food is: it is not always available, it's poor quality food, and it costs a fortune. We didn't have a crowbar, but friends arrived with one; the skid was split between two households. I hired a young neighbour to lug the 16 (40lb) bags up the 28 stairs...I forget how strong men are..he carried them 2 at a time! Didn't even get winded!
Purchasing on sea lift was the equivalent of buy 2 get one free. And we got a top grade Canadian product. We bought one bag of Nutri Zoo in the winter and for the first time in his life, Caesars perma-ear infection cleared up! (I don't mind giving them free promo)
The other household will make good use of the wood product, it isn't pressed wood, but plywood and the hardwood skid ( a rarity) will be used to ship goods south. Angela and I seen whacking the crate used this opportunity to cleanse our frustrations, it was very cathartic!

This weekend we all will be enjoying the good food!

ilinniaqtunga inuktitut....again (atilu)

2008-10-04T13:40:00.004-04:00

Learning Inuktitut it seems to me is somewhat mathematical. In re writing the exercises I have discovered that performing a mathematical type equation works well in remembering the rules. Interestingly the order of the words is unimportant, the meaning comes in the construction of the word. It is not incorrect to say ilinniaqtunga inuktitut or alternately to say inuktitut ilinniaqtunga.
Example
umiak= boat (pron. oo me ak)
-juag = large, big, (pron. ju ak)
umiak+juag = large boat, ship
umiakjuag= umiarjuag. Sound 'k' must change to sound 'r'.
-kkut = by way of.
umiak+juaq+kkut = umiakjuaqkkut =
umiarjuaqkkut = too many consonants q has to go.
umiarjuakkut!- by ship, by way of big boat (pron. oo mee aar joo aak koot)

Tikit= arrive, (pron. tee keet)
tunga= self or I.
So it becomes tikitunga. (no tricky rules here) (pron. tick ee tunga)

A two word sentence: umiarjuakkut tikitunga or for fun tikitunga umiarjuakkut. "I arrive by ship"
Whew! that sure seems like a mouthful!

Incidentally I arrived by plane.

Accidental Owl?

2008-09-28T15:16:00.005-04:00

My friends have seen them, even have beautiful pictures to prove it. Not me, not yet. I didn't see the blip on the monitor as I was taking this picture across the bay. While editing the photo I figured there was dirt on the lens. There it is, definitely not a dirty lens, not a raven, perhaps an owl or other bird of prey.

Flakes

2008-09-17T20:16:00.001-04:00

Never have seen snowflakes this big! Honestly they were the size of a toonie! As it happens this one on Caesar's head was also heart shaped.

big moon, low tide

2008-09-14T15:51:00.003-04:00

The night has returned and the sealift ship sits in the bay at low tide. From my window we watch the moon sail across the horizon out of view. Last night we couldn't resist the photo op.

The full moon brings the biggest tides. This tide is to be one of the most extreme of the season; the highest high tide and lowest low tide. Another chance for the fish to jump up the falls to winter in the lakes. The ravens have returned, the blossoms gone to seed and the buntings song is silent. The wind has a frosty bite to it and the flags are out straight!

I worry about the old dog, he winces when he climbs the stairs or stands up. I hope he can manage the extreme cold this winter. I guess that autumn has arrived for the dog and the land.

September 10th

2008-09-10T19:58:00.002-04:00

It snowed today.

sale season

2008-09-09T18:56:00.004-04:00

This is the sale flyer from Arctic Ventures and I'm told it is the best prices you'll find from either retailer in town.

I really hope that one day these prices do not seem normal or heaven forbid good!

Someone smack me if I call up excited and say hey I just got the best deal on paper towel..only $8.33 a pack!

long shadows and sunny days

2008-09-08T21:49:00.008-04:00

Take 'em while they last. That goes for about anything here from toilet paper to warm sunny days to the one-in-a-million type pictures.
Here Kai and Caesar play together after they ran across the hill to each other. Makes me think of daisies swaying in the gentle summer breeze, violins playing, soft filter image..Actually Caesar ran past Kai to Angela and Kai had to pull a 180 to catch up to him....then they played! BAH

Here I have grouped together the fireweed in it's different stages. (I think in a previous post it was mislabelled, oops). From the bottom: the plant blooms, then it makes wizard hats and finally looks like spider legs. Summer must be over now!

September

2008-09-06T15:37:00.010-04:00

It is harvest season in places south of Nunavut (thanks for the reminder friend!), it is my favourite season. Favourite veggies hit the market: turnip, squash, beets, potatoes and fresh crisp apples, blueberries still have some time. Having lived near the farmers market I would go and pick up a turnip for (get this) fifty cents, a cauliflower for a buck. Ahh the good old days.
Here we have those good root veggies,

but they are priced per pound, as in 4.99 per pound!
I finally shopped with a shopping cart last week and used my points card! No longer in denial, I did the northern thing which is get what you want, don't wince and sign.
The big deal is the toilet paper that which cost 29.99. The dog food which costs $89 or the milk at 8 bucks.
Northern creed: at least it's on the shelf. No fun going to get a salad and have to wait three days for it to show up. So we take what's there and enjoy the bounty.

it's over

2008-08-29T18:09:00.005-04:00

Fishing that is...for now. *sigh* I dragged home my fishing gear to stow for the upcoming winter. Alan asked, "is that it for the season?" Yes, the fish have gone to the lakes upriver early.
A sad finale to the season as the authorities shovelled over 200 dead fish off the shores into a pickup destined to the dump. They had been jigged out, badly damaged, discarded and left to rot! ( jigging or snagging uses a very large hook which can grab the fish alongside and snags the body leaving bad tears and cuts on the fish) nunatsiaq news on char
Now our thoughts turn to ice fishing, snowmobiling, but even that is a long way off. It may be cold and maybe an early winter, but usually it's late December before there is enough snow to cover the rocks.
This weekend everyone gets ready to return to school, and the signs are all around that the warm season is over. There was a definite chill in the air today, the wind howling down at 60km/h bringing ice floes into shore again. The wind chill isn't posted unless the standing temperature is below -40C but I'm tellin ya there's a wind chill today!

blue blue blue ...berries of course!

2008-08-25T18:16:00.006-04:00

It must be nearing end of summer, for the signs are everywhere. The foilage, although it is on the ground is turning bright reds and oranges. The blueberry is ripe and ready for picking. Best of all they are completely free. Hunting, fishing, sealing all require permits and equipment; boats, lures, weapons. Not free.

Blueberry requires no permits, and has no limits. If you've got time, they grow wild everywhere.
Picking fruit, in the sunshine, sprawled on the tundra is a far better use of a beautiful day then slogging away at the laundry.
I discovered, rather quickly that it is best to locate berry patch, find the bottom most part on the hill and then work your way up. It's much easier to find them if you look up at the plant. They try but can't hide their bluey blueness!

Post script to the ulu- I have not yet cut myself. It naturally moves in an outward motion.

dog days and heydays

2008-08-24T09:50:00.013-04:00

Having grown up in a small town which grew to a decent sized city, I guess I had forgotten what living in a small town entails. Grocery shopping or dining out means you see the governmental brass, the friends from work and acquaintances. Things are done differently in a small town.
Yesterday while walking downtown to meet up friends for coffee, a wedding party passed by. Now having seen countless children and or dogs riding along in the space of the pick up truck box, the surprise of such a sight no longer shocks me. However on this fine sunny day the wedding party passed by with the bride and groom riding along in the box, horns-a-tootin followed by the wedding train (of one). Now I had never expected to see a well dressed couple in fine white wedding clothes pass by on the dusty road waving from the back of a pick up! Is it just me?

Fishing news: the season draws to a close for us. The fish are no longer feeding as they prepare to leap up the falls for the coming winter in the lakes. How frustrating, yet fascinating to see them jumping and leaping by the hundreds at the mouth of the river. Catching one with a lure is next to impossible...the irony is they're so plentiful and none of 'em biting!

Dog news: Caesar and Fidel are still at it. Each trying to prove his right to dominate the other. Old dog Caesar engages in the scrap and then suffers his arthritis for the balance of the night. Politely declining doesn't occur to him. Fidel, a young healthy dog is sure to displace the ole boy sooner or later and with each attempt manages to gain a little on Caesar. I guess dogs don't subscribe to the wisdom in ageing with grace.
Puppy Aputi (translates to snow) has been recovered having been stolen a couple of weeks ago. She's a hoot as she howls when she sees her friends and enthusiastically greets each one.

lady's tools

2008-08-17T12:04:00.004-04:00

Taaadaaa! Finally the owner of an ulu. The handle on this one has grooves to accommodate a woman's fingers and the pink caribou bone handle makes it the perfect knife.
(The pink tint comes from the blood supply to the antler.)
This one came with the caribou bone stand. Rummaging through the knife drawer would be very dangerous!

In other news.......we came across some German tourists who needed a lift. Alan offered them a ride to their lodging and we sat chatting for some time. Hans and Elvira have already toured Canada's east coast and this trip decided to do Eastern Canada, touring Quebec, Ontario and Nunavut. As always I am astounded at the energetic German tourist. Hans and Elvira were well educated about Canadian politics, social issues and geography. They kindly answered our questions about the social issues that they face at home, in politics and in health care too. They asked if Iqaluit provided a good living, if life here was good for us. We each had our own answers and it was a pleasure to exchange our viewpoints. They were continuing their tour by ship to Resolute before returning home. Happy travels Hans and Elvira!

mo fishin'

2008-08-11T21:32:00.005-04:00

Yesterday like most days Mike and I went fishing on our lunch. You've heard it many times, the one that got away! Well darn it, the big mamma broke my 12lb test line and ran away with my lure! Not before giving a big splash and roll and then !ping! goes my line.

It was a great day for Mike as he reeled in a beautiful fish; big, belly full of shrimp, spawning colours starting to show.
I did hook a keeper and it was too big for the pan. Shucks. No matter it was enjoyed by Alan and I for dinner the fish head to the puppy downstairs, nothing wasted.

Today Mike said he saw a big char cruise by with a lure still in place...we wonder...

Finally today I caught a spunky one, pulling the line, leaping out of the river. She's a beaut pictured here and in the freezer for sushi later!

p.s Caesar contained himself but was quivering with the smell of the fresh char. He got a tasty treat after I finished cleaning the gut.

sunny days

2008-08-09T17:28:00.005-04:00

Apparently last summer was rain, rain and more rain. This summer, my first here has been glorious; with long sunny days, cool temperature, enough breeze to keep you cool. It is difficult to explain, when the sun shines it is warm if cloud should cover the sun it is cold. The air is always cool. So when the sun is shining it is hot, the breeze refreshing! The temperature today was recorded at 11C but we really didn't need our jackets.

Iris, Angela and I walked for about four hours today looking for the late bloomers. We missed the blooming of the cuckoo flower and the water buttercup. Maybe next year!

We did see an arctic hare! She sat in the sun no more than 10 feet away (2m) dressed in gray with white trim around her ears! My camera battery was dead!

She bounded off into the distance much to our delight. Caesar only noticed her when she was safely beyond capture, he gave a brief "token" chase.

We did get a tan and a great day out of the four walls. The dogs enjoyed every minute. Caesar got Kai to play and they chased each other over the tundra!
Now those of you who know Caesar will be as surprised as I was to find him wading in the tidal pools and river runoffs! He dug his nose through the water and threw his head back to wet his back. (now it must have been hot for that!)

Below is a tiny mushroom.

The rack of drying char is called pitsik (pit see) and this is a traditional way or preparing char.

by the sea

2008-08-04T18:32:00.009-04:00

Finally the voyage around the bay and out to Qaummaarviit Provincial Park. The Thule people kept sod houses. Pictured here is a sod dug out which is leftover from these people, carbon dated to 1000 years ago. The homes were structured similar to the iglu using bowhead whale rib bones to define the structure.
Also our guide was very knowledgeable about the way of life and was able to show us different food storage areas and grave sites. I won't say too much as it was well worth the price paid and maybe you'll take the trip!
Pictured above is Virgil, he is armed in the event a bear should appear. Virgil worked on the boat with his uncle.

The sealift vessel, which brings us our groceries, furniture, vehicles and anything else you can think of from mainland cities. This ship arrived from Montreal.

Below stranded on an island at high tide these three floes will probably stick around until high tide and westerly winds can dislodge them. In other words they are stuck here as we rarely get a west wind.

We did manage to see some wildlife out at the mouth of the bay, different seals resting or bobbing along. It's a double edge sword to spot a Beluga. Once spotted it doesn't stand much of a chance of escaping the hunters.

I couldn't resist these late Mountain Avens. This is their mid summer stage and as the summer progresses they unravel. The Inuit use this plant to tell the season by their state of unfurling.
Besides they look like a row of wizards hats!

what the east wind brings

2008-07-31T00:12:00.004-04:00

What the east wind brings:

More ice.

Fog.
Side effect of ice; foggy misty mornings.

Rain.
Side effect of colder air brought on with additional ice.

Mud
Side effect of rain.

Slip 'n' slide
Too dangerous to fish.

p.s. the mosquitoes are done!

oh the wind

2008-07-27T15:27:00.006-04:00

No boating today. The wind wouldn`t co operate. We`ll try again next weekend. Instead a group of us hiked out to the Thule site and to a location overlooking the falls to find water buttercups. We found them, we`re just early for their blooms. So back we go in a couple of weeks to catch the unique flower growing up the in the marshy ponds.

For now the humble chamomile.

mo' flowers

2008-07-26T12:54:00.018-04:00

Mouse Eared Chickweed
Arctic Thrift
Bladder Campion/Fireweed
Bistort
Tomorrow is the boat cruise around Frobisher Bay. It must be noted that it is a pleasure sight seeing cruise where rifles will not be on board for hunting beluga. This was one point I confirmed since the volley of gunfire can be heard all over town when the whales are being targeted. I get it that lots of people enjoy whale, but it saddens me to think it is the pretty Beluga that is served up. Perhaps if it was ugly or mean or psycho, I would be more comfortable with the hunting of whales.
With a steady hand perhaps we can get a couple of pics of the whales, seals and walrus enjoying their chilly home. (Still suffering from guilt of trying the beluga muktuk)

Since we are booked for 6 hours on the water, I will be bundling up. Having learned my lesson in Newfoundland years ago, I know that the oceanic waters are not fresh-water lakes; ideal for tanning, pleasure sailing, diving, snorkeling. It's winter out there. Pack ice still gets blown in and of course the icebergs.
Winter mitts, boots, scarf, shades and the tour operator provides survival suits (orange I hope).

This brings me to the river. Last night around 8pm one of the fishing men, doffed his shirt and dove into the river! Wowza! It isn't warm and the tide was bringing in colder salt water from the bay! Kersplash! I stood mouth gaping at the sight, the very thought of getting any part of me wet in these icy waters made me shiver on his behalf.

Hopefully I won't have to put the survival suit to the test, I can't really swim and besides drowning would interfere with fishing!

big and small

2008-07-20T20:49:00.010-04:00

Angela and I walked across the mud flats at low tide to meet the ice bergs. Once one, they split and drifted apart. We tasted them; only one was salty. I was surprised that more people weren't out there. One guy brought an axe and was chopping away. I also took some video to catch the sound of the fast melt off.

We had to stop the hot, thirsty dogs as each tried drinking the salty puddles left by the tide. Blech

Below is the arctic version of the Harebell. We found them growing in the sandy beach front. I had them in my garden in Ontario, but here much much smaller!