Month: January 2011

  • Wandering dogs are now back safe and sound...

    But this is the internet ad I made up on Sunday...

    Please help! Our two Siberian Huskies/labs escaped from the yard yesterday and have not yet returned. Both dogs jumped fence in side yard from home Saturday afternoon, likely travelling together. Wearing collars and tags with all contact numbers and respond to names.

    Nanuq - Female,  about 3 yrs, Lab/Husky cross, predominately white/blonde,lab ears, curly husky tail, very friendly, sometimes jumps up,

    Dysis - Female, about 8 years, all blonde coloring with reddish brown highlights, brown eyes.

    Both of these great dogs are very friendly to people, other dogs, but not so friendly to cats and rabbits. Master escape artists and can run for hours. If you find them, please tie them up as they will likely find a way to escape otherwise. They tunnel, climb,and jump. Can be brought back to yard or put in house at ..... Both gates should be closed afterwards.
     
    LOST in Avonmore area may be down lane ways or in Mill Creek ravine off .... ave.

    I am currently working in Nunavut and worried but
    Please email me..... or call J. at............

  • Government buildings and schools close in your area when?

    This morning I didn't even have to check the weather report to see the snow plastered against the window and hear the wind howl but Hall Beach forecast:
    Blowing snow. Wind northwest 40 km/h. Temperature falling to minus 41 this afternoon. Extreme wind chill minus 62.
    So they closed the school due to weather but not anything else...criteria is if the water and sewage trucks are operating, so is everyone else!

    For those of you in arctic communities you understand this and for those of you in the south...

    water and sewage trucks are delivery and pick up, need I say more....School open in the afternoon and these kids walking against the wind/


  • So what do you do at Minus 44oC?

    Bake, visit and sleep-in!

    Ok it is minus 44oC out, my office is cold and just abit of a vent as I begin my week. This is the view of my house from the water side.

    Good weekend spent mostly indoor as the temps were low. Actually needed the solitary time…find it balances me. Last week had Dr. McP and her husband as room mates,  delightful older couple but again needing my space on the weekend.

     On Saturday I worked on another report I have to do for a client in Edmonton....   and baked!

    Blueberry and cranberry muffins ( I used raisins ) muffins shown here with on of my northern cook books.

     Ate TOO well as two social outings on Sunday…one to RC priest’s lunch with RCMP and teachers and this delightful 4 year old who found spaces to "NAP". My sweater provided a cover. Later dinner at the DEW line with health care staff.

  • Monday is last voting day for the NUNIES!

    If you haven't voted for BEST BLOG, BEST NEW BLOG or BEST POST in the Nunies (Nunavut Blog Awards) - please visit The House and Other Arctic Musings - as Clare has been gracious enough to host the awards again this year! Take some time if you are interested in exploring what life is like in the Canadian Arctic...there are some great photos and blogs to visit.

  • Today there is that frost bite spot again on the nose!

    As much as I love the prairies where I live, the Pacific coast and Vancouver Island with its ocean, wind, milder climates, and brisk autumn bike rides like last November and will bask in the warmth of Florida next month, there is something about this Canadian arctic where I occasionally work.

     

    The forecast for Sunday is: Wind becoming northwest 20 km/hr early in the afternoon. High minus 43. Extreme wind chill minus 65.

    Regret not getting out on the x-c skis as is weekend, but on the other hand been a busy week and change of room mates...all good but I do need some solitary time and will be indoors.

     

    Toted my camera for one day this past week in hopes of catching more scenes…one day the sun was just rising as heading home for lunch and red sky but missed it and back in office when setting about 2 PM.

     

    Although access to a vehicle I have chosen to walk when out and here are a few of what thought unique. New Years is gone but the greeting not. Rows of houses covered in blown snow and hoare frost. The RCMP detachment with its radio tower and needed to stop to update my criminal record check. Canadian flag and Her Majesty’s portrait adorn the entrance.  


    Inns North the local hotel is full with construction workers who are working on projects…housing and a new town hall I think.


    Thursday morning arrive here at my office building and spent 10 minutes trying to find the right key to get in, only once settled to have the power go out for an hour. The whole hamlet was out. Fortunately a few emergency lights but sat I minimal light for awhile with no phone or internet. Inside of my office may be messy but everything works and that was a few days of figuring out and talking to the help desk.

     

    Food prices well… one of the good things is that since Jan 1 the stores are charging 25 cents a plastic bag to encourage cloth bags. Availability and shipping is the prime factor in prices here...a hamlet of 600 above the arctic circle where everything has to be flown in. Eggs $3.50/doz, can of pop $2, Tim Hortons tin of coffee $12, 2 L milk $7.50 and $5 for 4 bananas but best bargain was bunch of grapes for $2 not $7 because just on the edge, or a lemon at 31 cents. Worse bargain was I should have known that pears on sale would be mushy.

     

    So that is it for now…HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND ALL!

  • Arctic foxes...some photos

    Because of the interest in arctic foxes this is what I found from National Geographic....the photos are mine!

    Map

    Map: Arctic fox range

    Arctic Fox Range

    Fast Facts

    Type:
    Mammal
    Diet:
    Omnivore
    Average life span in the wild:
    3 to 6 years
    Size:
    Head and body, 18 to 26.75 in (46 to 68 cm); tail, up to 13.75 in (35 cm)
    Weight:
    6.5 to 17 lbs (3 to 8 kg)
    Group name:
    Skulk or leash
    Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

     

    The arctic fox is an incredibly hardy animal that can survive frigid Arctic temperatures as low as –58°F (-50°C) in the treeless lands where it makes its home. It has furry soles, short ears, and a short muzzle—all-important adaptations to the chilly clime. Arctic foxes live in burrows, and in a blizzard they may tunnel into the snow to create shelter.

    Arctic foxes have beautiful white (sometimes blue-gray) coats that act as very effective winter camouflage. The natural hues allow the animal to blend into the tundra's ubiquitous snow and ice. When the seasons change, the fox's coat turns as well, adopting a brown or gray appearance that provides cover among the summer tundra's rocks and plants.

    These colorings help foxes to effectively hunt rodents, birds, and even fish. But in winter prey can be scarce on the ground. At such times, arctic foxes will follow the region's premier predator—a polar bear—to eat the leftover scraps from its kills. Foxes will also eat vegetables when they are available.

    The above and below is behind the garbage at the DEW line

    Like a cat's, this fox's thick tail aids its balance. But for an arctic fox the tail (or "brush") is especially useful as warm cover in cold weather.

    Female arctic foxes give birth each spring to a large litter of up to 14 pups.

  • So where are you really?

    Oh just a little north of the Arctic Circle.....

    Hall Beach (Inuktitut: Sanirajak (the shoreline), Syllabics: ᓴᓂᕋᔭᒃ) is an
    Inuit settlement, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, Canada, established in 1957 during the construction of a Distant Early Warning
    (DEW) site. Currently the settlement is home to a North Warning System



    Probably about twice a year, I do a work stint as a child protection social worker to one of the hamlets in Nunavut, Canada's newest territory. The other two are the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

    Being casual, somewhat like a substitute teacher, each trip is for a fill in position and a new contract with Health and Social Services. This time round there has not been a permanent social worker in the community since October.

    Hall Beach is a new community for me and will probably be here until mid-February.

    Hall Beach NUNAVUT

    Hall Beach is located in Canada
    Hall Beach

    Coordinates: 68°46′38″N 081°13′27″W

    It has been exactly a week since I left Edmonton and been one of settling in.

    Mornings are joint meetings at the health center which is a three nurse station and then off to my office building which is shared with the Income Support worker.

    Sharing a house across from the Northern Store with Mysti who is a mental health worker here for about two weeks from Igloolik. Mysti and her two 3-yr old husky dogs have been a great welcome committee, as I miss my own two huskies. They are so similar in behavior with their whines, growls and howls.

    Yes, I did bring the cross country skis and really, no regrets, as I have been out twice on them this weekend, although only a few hours of light each day.

    The colors, the ice and snow and patterns that they create is really a different world. Like this shot of snow blown against the stop sign.

    This morning the crew from the Health Center was invited for Sunday brunch at the (DEW) line site.

    Learned there are 47 stations across Canada with prime funding coming from Americans...all in all they stretch from Greenland to Alaska.

    Underneath the building were Arctic white foxes.

    Very cute but not pets as often can be rapid ( carrier of rabies ).

    There has been some socializing as well with the teachers and RCMP joint dinner on Saturday.

    Monday I suspect is going to be the beginning of serious work.



  • Hall Beach Nunavut Weather


    Yesterday

     Max:
    -19.8°C
    Min:
    -29.4°C
     
    Normals
    Max:
    -28°C
    Min:
    -36°C

    Today

    Sunrise:
    11:26
    Sunset:
    13:43

  • For those of you who follow northern blogs....

    See my link to the left and below...

    shar.es

    Well it is once again time for The Nunies. This is the fourth annual incarnation of the Nunavut Blogging Awards, and things are operating much as they did last year. The next week, from now until 5pm ET on Monday...

  • On my way to Nunavut...

    For some of my southern readers, the following photos will give you an idea of the reason for the blog title. ...these are the beginning of my flights into the Canadian Arctic for a work stint in Nunavut.

    Began in Edmonton 7:15 Am on Monday, change planes in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, missing my own dogs enjoyed this 4 month old lab called Hudson,  arctic sun rise about 10 AM, inside First Air cabin   and with MEAL SERVICE, stopover for 20 mintues in Rankin Inlet where I got a phone call into a friend Cindy, blustery outside as shown by snow plough here on airstrip and finally overnight in Iqaluit

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About me...

An Albertan & Canadian, definitely a northern gal. Social worker by profession, this blog has included some of my work over 10 years in Nunavut from 2002 on. Passionate about slowing down & taking time to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors or kindness in relationships as gifts & blessings; injustices against children in situations beyond their control; my faith; Nature, experiencing the outdoors whether cycling, walking. x-c skiing or gardening, my dogs, capturing on film God's beauty, experiencing life intensely & with the senses, richness of late afternoon light, wind in my hair cycling with my dog on a beach road, couching inches from an arctic flower or alpine lichen to capture it with my camera, insight of a student's new learning, a good conversation over a coffee.

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