In some of my walking this evening and at noon, these were some observations ranging from the colorful collection of fire extinguishers outside the local fire hall, to the abandoned bike in the snow, this dog faithfully waiting for the owner to return   and teens at play on the local shipping crates. 
  

One of the areas I have just started to explore is the art available in Pang. There is a shop just down from where I work...our offices are next to the COOP and wonderful green truck as the social services vehicle...so wandered in briefly yesterday.

Unfortunately the hours in which this shop, the visitor's center and park's office are open are identical to my work hours.  Everything is closed from noon to 1 PM and after 5 PM.

But have able to view weavings by this lady and some prints by a local artist as his wife was in the offices... guess which ones were my favorites? There may be some purchases before I depart!        

Whether it is in an airport in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet or Yellowknife; on a flight to Cambridge Bay, a staff meeting at the health center in Pond, stranded overnight in Clyde River or the transient residence in Kugluktuk, it is amazing how paths cross with others I have worked with or previously met in my travels north. Often the comment is made now I can finally put a face to the voice or emails exchanged.

But this weekend has been quite remarkable when recogniziing  familar faces and putting voices to them in the inperson meetings with some felllow northern bloggers. On the flight from Iqaluit to Pang not it was booked to the hilt with First Air attendants struggled limiting carry on luggage which included  metre wide sombreos and boxes of Tim Horton donuts. A very excited and obviously tired group of perhaps 20 Inuit students and chaperones were returning from a two week trip from Mexico. The girls had hair in small braids and beads and several of the teachers joked about possibly booking off from work on Monday. In the Pang airport I ran into Austin ( Baffin_Blogger ) who was meeting his wife Kim a teacher chaperone!

  Sunday afternoon was georgeous and sunny and skied across the fjord about 3 kms. to the kullik ( valley ) and spent some time with  Mike and Nicole (Klugnanoch_Corner) and some other friends for  tea, good conversation

and oh yes, flying these huge colorful kites that are controlled by different lines and handles and note the body harness, which I am told has a safety release, if one gets swept away or up too unexpectedly....Mike was snowboarding and check out his site for more photos.

A great way to begin the week here and now quite immersed in work and today it has been overcast, windy, snowy and rainy.

This is the first time I have spent spring in the arctic and different from winter when one expects almost total darkness and summer the midnight sun, spring has been different with the changing light patterns.

In Iqaluit on the weekend, I was surprised at how tired I was and just wanting to catch up on my sleep. Capital Suites had a double set of blinds, so  could create the darkness that allows sleep Was curious what it would be like in Pang. So although the sun is actually setting there is still in effect 24 hours of visible light. These are the details from the weather site.

Length of Day 20h 56m Tomorrow will be 9 minutes 1 second  longer.

Sunrise 1:54

Sunset 22:46

Moonrise16:53

Moonset 1:39

These photos were taken about 10:30 PM last night and show how the ice is breaking up along the shore.

Pangnirtung has an elevation of 75 ft / 23 m and the temperature was 2°C, Humidity 67 %,Wind Chill-11, WindSE 46 km/h

These children were curious about my skis and definitely enjoying spring with bikes and rubber boots.


    

 .....and am actually quite excited as have never been before and this is some of the basics that I have found…these photos are taken from a walk on the ice last night when windy and overcast and a ski this afternoon.

Pangnirtung, known by the local residents as Pangniqtuuq - The Place of Bull Caribou - is located on Baffin Island and is situated on a coastal plain at the coast of the magnificent Pangnirtung Fjord, a fjord which eventually merges with Cumberland Sound. The current population is about 1,325 residents. Pangnirtung has a long history of whaling in Cumberland Sound where commercial whaling started in 1820. In 1838 a Scottish whaler named William Penny along with an Inuk guide, Eenoolooapik, rediscovered Cumberland Sound.

The sound was rich in bowhead whales causing the Inuit way of life to change. By the late 1850's many Inuit left their camps to work at the whaling stations in Blackhead Island on the southern coast and to Kekerten Island on the northern coast. In the mid 1860's Cumberland Sound was showing signs of being "fished out". By 1870 Blackhead Island was in ruins and hardly any ships came to hunt whales so the Inuit returned to life in camps scattered throughout Cumberland Sound.  In 1921, the Hudson Bay Company built a trading post in Pangnirtung which began to attract Inuit. Two years later the Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment was built. In 1929 St. Luke's Mission Hospital was established. The first government appointed teacher arrived in 1956. The year 1962 saw many of the Inuit living in Cumberland Sound move to Pangnirtung when a distemper epidemic killed most of their dogs. The federal government established its first administrative office that year as well.

The Land and Wildlife

The beauty of Pangnirtung is in its backdrop, the mountains of Cumberland Peninsula, where some peaks reach 2,200 meters.The central part of the peninsula is dominated by the massive Penny Ice Cap, from which many glaciers flow into the sea. Large numers of beluga whales may be seen in the summer at their calving grounds near the head of the sound; walruses can be seen in the sound and occasionally, so can bowhead whales. Ringed seals are found throughout the sound and the fiord.

Pangnirtung is the nearest community to Auyuittuq National Park - one hour by boat - where outdoor enthusiasts can hike, climb and ski. The Angmarlik Visitors Center features displays interpreting Thule culture and staff there can help arrange trips in the area. The Parks Canada Interpretive Center holds the Parks Canada office and houses displays and exhibits to describe the varied nature of Auyuittuq National Park. For those not ready for the challenge of hiking in Auyuiituq National Park there are several good hiking trails that start just outside Pangnirtung. The Ukuma Trail skirts the Duval River and heads towards Kingnait Fiord, which parallels Pangnirtung Fiord over the mountins behind the community. You can also spend a day climbing Mount Duval.

....only if you have been to Nunavut would you understand this....flying this afternoon for an overnight in Iqaluit

Not much to add today except that spring is definitely here with melting snow and children in rubber boots. the usual short cut to the office across the back field has me sinking up almost over the boots. Walk home at lunch and the longer way takes about 15 minutes.Noon hour is probably the only time there are traffic jams in the Nunavut hamlets!

Some problems waking too early as sun up at 4 am, ...so added a sheet to the bedroom window!

Around the office we all are busy and it has been quite a weekend on call, but being part of a team, laughter, visiting over coffee or when others stop by like this gorgeous toddler visitng her aunt offer good breaks.

   that is what the weather has been like for most of the last two days. Local flights tried three times before landing yesterday and only one flight got out BUT was at the airport today and it was crowded and sunny out. I swear Rankin must be one of those spots in the north where weather is very changeable in a 24 hr period.

We however are not the only ones experiencing transportation difficulties e.g. Greyhound bus strike in western Canada. On of the RNs had to get home to her family farm just outside of Regina and so because no planes from here yesterday missed the connecting flight from Winnepeg. She explored every alternative from train to alternate air routes with no success so her husband is driving 11 hours to pick her up and for farmers in the middle of calving season not an easy feat!

There are a fair number of us who work in the north and still maintain a home in the south and thus lives in two often vastly different worlds. Jaime www.newnavut.blogspot.com in one of the northern blogs, ( access from the top bar on my site ) asked what would you recommend for those who are considering moving north, with a whole series of replies, but the best one I liked was Clare's comment, you must consider and treat it as your home!

I am in the office with access to the internet but not my photos so for the moment you will have to be content with text and not photos.Took a short video and if I get a chance will down load it. The wireless is very intermittent so even downloading photos takes a while.

These shots are from about 7:30 PM Sunday and I heard the airplane going over. Snow fences abound the edges of town and the snow is very windswept and packed against them. There have been spots of melting and signs of spring and children play with bikes and in puddles on the roads and birds migrate or feed in open spots. These fulmars were over head and calling and these sandpipers small flock were scratching in the brown dirt and open space every time I approached they would fly up and circle and land on the other end of the patch.

This afternoon the sun came out and all is slush and melting but did manage to get out skiing again with Anessa. Both of us are on call ( she is a midwife at the birthing center here ) so toting the radio phones! Warm enough that had to shed a few layers and again the "sik sik's" made their appearances. If you were in the western arctic, where Inuacqtiun is spoken, these ground squirrels are called " hik-hiks".

So when you go for a large coffee and muffin at Tim Horton’s or Second Cup, what is your bill? Probably about $2.50 to $4.00.

Similar cost at this local shop is $6.29, but a delightful stop on a Sunday afternoon.

There was also for those who wanted loose spiced tea, a 2 cup brewer that gave delightful aromas.

Managed to get out on the skis and discovered another staff Anessa who had also brought her skiis. Windy but bright we did about 2 hours in the late afternoon,  and took many photos of the ice and boats in the distance. This dog team was one of three we saw and I liked taking shots of the other photographer. Saw several siks siks as well on our ski back and needed to bundle more as going against the wind.