A Gaggle of Prey

Unbeknowst to these winter white ptarmigan, they were under close surveilence by a 4 legged predator who was thinking that they looked like a delicious treat or an exciting challange. I woke up early this morning and discovered that the northern lights forcast was promising, it was still dark and there was only thin cloud. Sadly, no aurora borealis sightings, maybe tonight if it doesn't totally cloud back over - which it is likely to do according to environment Canada. Its been a frustrating month for Northern Lights watching, opportunities sun-wise and no cooperation weatherwise. Still, it looked promising for a nice sunrise and I feel like I haven't done nearly enough walking and spending time outside.... The sunrise was intersting mostly because of the clouds, it could have used a bit more in terms of colour, but you can't win them all.

Sunset

After what feels like years of cloudy weather, the sky broke open briefly for a nice sunset. There is a rumour that there are caribou just over the hills near town right now. I tried hiking up to the VOR to see if I could see them, although even before I left town I had confirmed with a student that they weren't there any more - I figured I still needed a hike and the sunset was nice.

Right now I'm trying to see if I can get some Aurora pictures, the numbers are good and the cloud cover thin enough to allow me to see a few winking stars and the full moon.

The next photo might just be sunrise.

Farewell Fall - welcome winter

Its still warmer than the 30 year norm, but its staying consistantly below 0 C. The lake is still unfrozen, but puddles and the ground are definitely frosted solid. The snow geese have fled the north just ahead of the snow, and while the accumulation of snow is only a dusting, it is sufficient to give the land a wintery feel.

Breakfast was a vegetably mess of scrambled eggs and luke warm coffee which is better than it sounds - honest.

I'd best get a move on it - now that my printer is done printing stuff. I'm really happy with it, especially the part where it is reliable and doesn't need me to baby sit to make sure it doesn't try and run 25 sheets of paper through at once. I also enjoy the fact that it doesn't smear ink or take 20 minutes to print a page. I miss the colour, but colour isn't that useful when your printer has a tendency to leave random smear lines and I'm definitely glad it isn't an HP. My previous experience with my first inkjet printer (also the first I personally bought) left me incredibly frustrated. I'm not sure its fair to hold a brand grudge from over 10 years ago, but I guess companies should realize that abyssmal service can leave a lasting impression.

Cheers,

Jennith

Yelp for Kelp!

The ocean is far away.... but still neat to study anyways.

Driving the Piles for a New Co-Op

The Sanvik Co-Op is finally getting their new building - it the mean time they are in the noisy process of driving piles into the rock to support the building. This is when the civil engineer in me finds myself keenly curious about the strucutural design, but the photographer in me, mostly after the light on the lake in the background - just liked the dust and the silhouette of construction equipment. I do find the idea of a large, new, modern store in town kind of exciting too. The current building reminds me a bit of a barn and its a third the size of the Northern (or less). It also manages to look closed most of the the time, with wood covering windows long broken and no sign, hours or lights near the door, and I didn't even know it was open for the first 4 months I lived here. They've worked hard the last few years to re-organize it and carry more stock, but its hard to compete in a small drab building that gives off the impression of being closed when the Northern is bright and modern looking and has the post office. In the short term, it could use a sign on the side of the building with a door, but I guess you figure out these things if you live long enough in a small town with 2 stores and 3 corner stores and 3 restaurants - its not like they need the sign - but it would definitely make it look more like a store - which might have some effect of reminding people to poke their head in there once and a while when they are looking for something.

It'll be interesting to see how things go. They are hoping to open before next summer and so I'm looking forward to see what they do with it. In the mean time, I'm having a hard time finding a store in Baker Lake that has Lemon Juice or Cinamon in stock....

Neys Beach Sunset - Pencil Crayon Version

Its been too long since I've found much time to draw or paint.  The few paintings I've done this year have bits that I'm happy with, but a lot of bits that leave a lot to be desired. Hopefully, I'll get back into painting regularly, but for now, here is a drawing using the best part of back to school shopping - a pack of 60 Laurentien Pencil Crayons.

The Calm

No storm coming as far as I know, however, I could lose Internet and possibly phone service this coming week as the ANIK 2 satellite is going to affected by the ROGUE SATELLITE GALAXY 15. I'll attach a few articles for anyone interested. Qiniq has emailed folks to warn them of potential problems. It also means there could be problems with the debit/credit system at the store as they use Internet communications to process payments. Hmmm. Better stock up on food, although, as long as I'm willing to live off rice and pasta, I can probably survive a week of not being able to go to the store. I'll miss having bananas and probably milk.

Weather-wise, it has been a strange week with lots of amazing skies. The weather system has been calling for consistent cloud cover, but we've gotten some rogue breaks in the cloud now and again. I meant to go back out about 40 minutes after this picture was taken to get the real sunset but I was distracted by making dinner. We've had snow, rain, wind, and the kind of calm that made the photo above possible. Its decidedly starting to stay consistently below 0 C, although, nothing above -15 C phases me anymore, unless there is a 60 km/h wind. Still, I'm starting to consistently wear a hat and bring mitts.

I don't want to jinx them, but as a long time fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, its very exciting to see them at the top of the league standings even if it is unlikely that they'll be able to hang on to that title for the season... it would be awesome if they did - but its nice for now to feel the glow of rooting for the winning team and even more exciting to watch them and see that they are obviously a much better team then I saw play in 2007 and definitely from last year.

I guess I'd better get ye olde to do list tackled. I'll probably throw up a few more posts including some recent artwork.

The Horizon on the Other Side of the Lake

I've never made to the far side of Baker Lake - certainly this is something I hope to do eventually, but currently, time and transportation are limiting factors. I think a canoe trip there next summer would be fun. One day...

Tulugak - ᑐᓗᒐᒃ

I'm not sure what this fellow has in his mouth, but I remain awed about the beauty of birds in flight.

October Skies

There is something about an indecisive sky that makes the whole world interesting and something about older buidlings and photographs... they are so much more photogenic. I'm sure if I had skill with photoshop I'd make the power lines disappear... but then this post wouldn't likely ever come into existance.

A Crack in the Clouds

There seems to be some sunshine trying to get through these clouds... lets hope that I can get some northern lights pictures tonight

Northern Lights hidden by clouds and lousy weather

Here are the current space weather conditions in Canada and unfortunately the weather is not cooperating.  There are, however, some lovely photographs of the northern lights on the The Canadian Nature Photographers website and also at Spaceweather.com.

You can check the current spaceweather at www.spaceweather.ca

Snow Bush

Well, it is currently raining, but hopefully the rain won't last and won't make an icy base under the snow, since that isn't so good for anything that lives in a Subnivian environment or the caribou who with will have to dig through a layer of ice to get food.

My other major disappointment is that currently there is a geomagnetic storm raging and sadly it is not only daylight, but looking like there is no end of clouds in the near future. So, I'll have to wait a little longer for good northern light pictures.

In other excitement, I have a container of salad and some of the best pesto pasta I've ever made in the fridge. Okay, its a slow day.

Baker Lake's Iglu

Easily one of the most iconic buildings in Baker Lake is the large double-qansit hut that houses the main building for one of our 3 hotels. The restaurant inside is done in warm shades of wood and is a pleasant place to get lunch and I've heard incredible things about their fancier dishes, although I've yet to get a chance to try them out. Here are a few pictures for those of you who haven't been to Baker Lake - freshly covered in snow.

A Shot for my Friend in Tuk

Here is our Northern Store, dusted in fresh snow with a nice few trucks parked outside and the sun trying to shine through the clouds.....

Wavy Waters

Here is a shot of the waves crashing against the shores... winds south southeastish.

Tug in the Snow

There is a tug and a barge in the "harbour" battling the waves and hiding in the snow.

Hovering around the melting point

I wish I had a better shot of blueberry hill with its dusting of snow. The temperature has been close enough to zero that the snow has melted at lower elevations, but stayed on the top of the hill. I should have run out yesterday when the sun was shining to get a better shot because now everythingn is covered in snow. I'll try and post some new pictures tomorrow.

Watercolour Clouds

It was one of those days when the clouds were just calling out to be painted using watercolours. As I walked by this beach only 3 days after this picture was taken the lake was an intense steal grey and the sand covered in about 2-4 cm of snow. The wind was blowing fiercely and the waves were crashing on the beach (i.e. its a mostly east wind) and the air was filled with snowflakes. Winter is here now!

Landing on your feet

I'm fascinated by watching birds. Their grace and strength is always impressive and their shapes facinating if you can catch them at just the right moment. Here are more pictures of snow geese in Rankin Inlet.

There may be a blizzard currently raging in Coral harbour, but the snowfall warning that we received mostly fell as rain and what did fall as snow melted into a big puddle of muddy red slush yesterday. There have been some stunning sunsets and sunrises, in spite of the still fairly consistent cloud cover. I, sadly, was not with camera when they happened. Yesterday, the snow dusted blueberry hill was sparkling below a string of silver lined clouds. Today, the east has a faint pink glow under the clouds.  It sounds like a real doosey of a storm has hit Cape Dorset - with sustained winds of 80 km/hr according to Environment Canada. 

I hope that I can steal some time this weekend to go out with my camera - and maybe pick a bag full of cranberries. In the mean time, I think I have enough photos from Rankin still to finish out the week.

And its going to be the opening night of the 2010-2011 NHL hockey season.... YEAH! I, of course, am cheering for the Leafs - and naturally believe that they are going to win the Stanley cup. Being a Leafs fan has a lot to do with faith, hope and tenaciousness - because one day, one year, we'll be right. The nice thing, after 5 years in New Brunswick (notably where I really started to watch hockey - especially watching the Canadian Men's and Women's Olympic hockey teams win big - (they were making too much noise in the TV lounge below my room for me to work those nights anyways)) is that there are actually other Leafs fans here - and if there were in New Brunswick, they were few, far between and generally laying low because the Montreal fans (and some other groups) really really didn't have much nice to say about my team. My attachment is largely geographic and familial - my grandpa cheers for the Leafs (given that he is old enough to remember the time when they won the Stanley cup in 1967) and I grew up in the sub-burbs of Toronto and while I don't think I'd want to live in Toronto, I don't mind visiting occasionally and I have no problem cheering for their sports teams. So... Go Leafs Go! Surprise all the unfaithful with a glorious run for the cup!

Here is hoping we all land on our feet, even when taking a big leap of faith!

First Snow

Here is the barge in our first snow storm of the year.

8 Snowflake Snowfall Warning

The current call by the Weather Office is for 10-15 cm of heavy snow tonight! I don't think I've seen that much snow fall all at once in Baker Lake yet, and it hasn't happened, but I"ll try and grab some shots. The downside is that I've probably missed my window of opportunity for Cranberry picking. Ah well... here is the link to the weather warning: http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?nu2#nu2-598cwwg-097510

In other news, October is here and happening fast - before I know it, it'll be Halloween and then gosh, after that it'll be November. I don't know where time is flying these days. At least the barge seems to have beat the ice. Its offloading.

So, I'd better get back to being busy - so I can snatch a few moments to get pictures of this years first snow. I hope it earns its 8 snowflakes!

A Day that Pigs would Die

81 Pigs die in MVA on the way to the Abbatoir

I'm not sure how to feel about this article. It seems a weird angle to focus on. Its not like every pig on that truck was on a joy ride; the truck was heading to the slaughter house. They were going to die shortly, albeit hopefully in a much more painless and humane way. Even if the article had focused on the trauma (psychological and physical) that it had on them or what would happen to the euthanized pigs. Would they still get to be bacon, or was it the glue factory for them? I was shocked that there was no mention of likely traffic nightmare this caused in Toronto with the link between the Gardener and HWY 427 closed for 11 hours - it must have been ugly. No cute stories about the mischief of loose pigs on the highway or speculation about how the pigs felt about the ordeal. I'm not saying it isn't news, it just seems that the journalist seemed mostly concerned about the number of pigs that had to be euthanized and oblivious to any other aspects of the story save that the driver was going to be charged. Will the pigs that survived be rescued from the slaughterhouse fate awaiting them?

As for local news, we had wind, clouds and rain and we are slated to get snow tonight. However, the long awaited (since the end of July/beginning of August) barge has finally arrived bringing food, vehicles, and sundry other items. I'm sure for those who've been waiting, it'll be a bit like Christmas. Hopefully, everything has arrived in one piece and largely unfrozen.

Crossings

I'm sipping my Kootney Crossing Coffee, contemplating my marking and reading about new forscenic information supporting the idea that Tom Thomson remained buried at Canoe Lake. Strangely, it has become October and the temperatures are set to become chilly and we are supposed to have wind 60 km/h gusting to 80 km/h this evening. Its the crossing of seasons, the crossing of thresholds between temperature and light patterns and the crossing of my eyes as I try to decide between eating left over roast and squash for breakfast or a bowl of cereal.

Its a new flavour of coffee for me, and it smells incredible. It tastes good, but it has a definite flavour that feels almost too much like dessert for regular breakfast coffee. I'll have to consider. I'm also at the point when I'm running out of my stash of photos - its been so cloudy lately and I've been pretty busy too - I'm hoping to get a tonne of marking done so I can at least play outside for a little bit.