ᐱᖃᓗᔭᖅ - piqalujaq - iceberg

Some time in the middle of June, Darlene and I went for a long walk upriver. It was a "hot" day that resulted in a sunburn for me. We enjoyed the sound of the rushing river as the water crashed around the large chunks of ice along the shore and in the shallows. Every now and again a large piece of ice would break off and float down river to the ocean. Tents were starting to pop up all over the tundra and we watched as families drove to their sites with vehicles full of camping equipment, fishing gear and excited kids.

Caribou skull on the tundra

Huge chunks of ice along the Sylvia Grinnell River

Candle ice

Darlene breaking apart the candle ice...wearing a highly fashionable safety vest. It sounds like breaking wine glasses tinkling when you pull it apart.

Candle Ice: A form of rotten ice; disintegrating sea ice (or lake ice) consisting of ice prisms or cylinders oriented perpendicular to the original ice surface

Stunning remnants of a frozen winter along the river's shore

This particular piece was nearly 4 feet tall

Inuit tents are set up all along the shore. The ground is too hard for tent pegs, so the ropes are tied to large rocks. Families live out on the land all summer long.

Cool formation that is slowly melting away

ᐊᐅᔭᖅ - aujaq - summer

My goal in blogging is to be able to create one of those digital scrapbooks with our pictures and stories in it, to preserve our unique time here. It also serves as a way to keep in touch with family and friends, while revealing an unknown part of Canada to the southern provinces. In the past four weeks, my blogging has been severely lacking...not for lack of want, but simply because Josh had the computer up island and then we had a special guest for a week. Now I have much to catch up on! 

The landscape has changed dramatically since I lasted wrote. Normally July is a time of melting, spring run off and sea ice disappearing. Well, the ice has left early this year, leaving the green grass, moss and colorful flowers to appear. Although the temperature has not passed 15 degrees Celsius, the sun is hot and feels wonderful on bare skin. I've worn flip flops once thus far, and am hoping for more opportunities to do so. However, it's been cool and rainy here the past few days.  

While Josh was away, the landscape changed dramatically in Iqaluit. The ice on the ocean is now melted, save for a few huge chunks along the shore. Miniature flowers have blossomed everywhere, adding to the delicate and rugged beauty that I find so captivating about the north. The mosquitoes, flies, ground spiders and giant bumblebees abound. Thank goodness Josh returned with two large cans of bug spray. There is a certain joy in the faces of everyone you meet...that summer is here. Summer is a happy time full of fishing, boating, hunting, clamming and tenting by the river. Large white canvas tents have popped up all over the tundra as families’ stake their claim of paradise. The char are swimming upriver to feed, and hundreds of fishing lures tantalize them on their journey as the Inuit and qallunat try to catch supper. We are so enjoying the warmer weather, the delight of soaking up the sun, the beautiful ocean views and exploring the river rocks.

Taste testing the purple saxifrage....tastes like lettuce

Cross on the Road to Nowhere

It sure is high up there!

Relaxing river on the Road to Nowhere

The sea ice is steadily disappearing

Traditional kamiks hanging in the sun (They're made of seal skin)

Kisses from the sled dog puppies

Puppies exploring their world with us....yummy seal meat!

ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖅᑎ - qangatasuuqti - pilot

As long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a pilot.

Eight years after starting my flight training between the summers of engineering, the dream is in full swing. In addition, I have an amazing and supportive wife who is every bit as excited on our journey as I am.

After reviewing the books and numbers for the Dornier over the last few months, the training came as a nice progression when dealing with a much larger aircraft that fly with more inertia and responsiveness. However, working full time on the ramp for 12 or more hours a day, everyday, while training made it somewhat more challenging. Management's methodology of pushing you beyond limits stems from an interesting idea; that the training Captains can observe how a new trainee will respond in the cockpit when fatigue or stress sets in at the end of a rotation. Two weeks of being in Yellowknife was hectic and exhausting, but I am now licensed to fly the Dornier. It is great to be done and heading back to Iqaluit. Strangely enough, I now refer to Iqaluit as home. For home is where my better half is. Can you tell that I miss her? 

 I’ll have the opportunity to fly for nearly 3 weeks this coming month on the three Dornier’s we have stationed in Iqaluit. Now that I’m on the flight line I will also have scheduled off days to reset flight duty times. The rest of the time I will continue to manage the Iqaluit base.

We are truly blessed for this opportunity. Thank you to our family and friends who have prayed diligently for us and continue to do so. Truly a testament to the power of prayer. Looking towards the fall I would suspect we will take a couple weeks off at the end of October or beginning of November to head back to Edmonton and do some moving to the NWT. As for the time here on Baffin Island, the snow has melted/is melting, “summer” is here with all its wonderful daylight, and the logging of flight time will begin.

Regards,
Joshua

Prop shot

Shadow along the frozen tundra

Josh and the Dornier

Proud wife and her pilot

ᐊᓯᖓᑦᑕᐅᖅ - asingattauq - and another thing

A little update on us: 

After three weeks of being home sick with mono, Josh is feeling much better. Thanks for praying for him. Along with that good news comes more good news! He is starting his flight training this week. Yay! He'll be going to Yellowknife on Friday to do the training on the Dornier. He says it's going to be a lot of hard work, but is really looking forward to getting in the air! 

As for me, I'll stay in Iqaluit while he's away. The staffing situation at the hospital is horrendous. (Read: We have NO staff)......and so there is no way I can get time off. That being said, if you're a registered nurse and want lots of work, then come to Nunavut! Interestingly enough, the two weeks while he is gone happen to be my two busiest weeks of work so far this summer. That will help the time apart pass by quickly. 

Since Josh is taking the computer to Yellowknife, I won't be blogging until he's back. But I had a bunch of pictures to share, so here they are......a brief collection of what our world looks like up here, right now. 

Sandy sea shore

Dead seal...in the spring, the hunters return uneaten prey back to the land for wild animals to feed on

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Ravens eating the remains of a kill....not sure what was killed though.

Fishing boat waiting to be back in the ocean

The ice waves continue to melt

Tundra behind Iqaluit

Josh is feeling better!

Driving on the Road to Nowhere

Cool clouds in the distance

Love the bright colors of spring plants

Grumpy sled dog who wishes it was winter. (Note the baby seal on the right side of the pic)

Fishermen are getting their boats ready

ᑰᒃ - kuuk - river

Joshua and I hiked around the Sylvia Grinnell River last weekend. It was an overcast, kind of rainy day, but we still enjoyed ourselves. It is amazing how different the land looks without snow! The cool wind continues to blow, but it is complimented by an ever shining warm sun. Although it is only +5, it feels hot! The river is flowing into the ocean, taking chunks of ice with it. The water is a murky light green, similar to that green color they used to paint operating rooms with. We think this color is caused by the amount of copper in the water. As big chunks of ice break apart, they pile up and create raging rapids. The rocky shore reveals hundreds of colors and shapes of rocks, green, pink, black, grey, brown, coral. Small patches of green moss and little clusters of flowers reveal that the brown meadows are on the verge of bursting into life. These tiny plants look so delicate, and yet they are very tough to survive in this terrain. 

Josh overlooking the river

Copper green river flowing around, through, over and under the ice

 

I love water, but I sure won't be swimming in this river

Thankful to be together in Nunavut

River shore

Mini ice chunk on top, large ice chunk under the water.

Everywhere we walked, we could hear water dripping

If you look real close, you'll see wild blueberries. Yum!

Purple saxifrage - Nunavut's territorial flower

 

 

 The Nunavummuit call this plant aupilaktunnguat, which means something like bold spots or blood spots in Inuktitut. In Inuit culture, the purple saxifrage has a number of important uses. First, the sweet tasting flowers are a favorite treat. But, like candy, eating too many too fast can produce a belly ache. The plant can produce both a green and a gold dye. The dried stems and leaves had two common uses: to make tea, and as a supplement to store-bought tobacco. Purple saxifrage also provides an important time-keeping function: when the plant blooms, the Inuit know that the caribou herds are calving out on the land. Source

ᒪᕐᕋᖅ - marraq - mud

The roads are dry here. The rivers of muddy sidewalks have disappeared. Kids are wearing shorts and t-shirts. Even saw a pair of stiletto sandals the other day...worn with thick black socks. But they still count as sandals! It looks like spring has done its job and melted all the snow up the hill. The view from our apartment building overlooks the whole bay. Instead of seeing a blinding white reflection of ice and snow, we now see the dry, sandy town; a very muddy and churned up ocean shore, and white frozen ocean bay. All this surrounded by snow covered rolling hills. The view still looks like outer space, like we're at the top of the world. 


The amount of garbage the melting snow has left behind is unbelievable. The town is having a garbage pick up day soon, where all GN employees get the afternoon off to clean up the great outdoors. And with good reason. This place is a mess. It is interesting to walk along the shore and see all the boating equipment that has been uncovered by the warm sun. Big ocean faring fishing boats precariously perched on wooden blocks sit next to snowmobiles and qamituks. 


The sea ice that we have been fascinated with has churned up against the ocean floor in its thaw and is a frozen muddy wasteland. It is interesting to walk on, because it is still 3 to five feet thick and yet there are huge cracks running through it that reveal a river of rushing water underneath. The hunters and fishermen are still going out on the bay with their snowmobiles and equipment. I wonder how long that will last. Apparently this has been a warm spring in Iqaluit and normally May and June are peak snowmobiling season. But this year, the snow is almost completely melted off the land. 


As the snow receeds, we are finding meadows of brown grass lie waiting to turn green. Rock fields of silver grey stones scattered across hillsides, giving us stepping stones as we climb to the top. Rough sandy streams burst with spring run off water, sparkling against the snow that remains on their shores. Tiny beet-purple sprouts of arctic flowers peek out from the leeward side of rocks. Kids dressed in bright rubber boots play and laugh for hours in the sunshine and sandy playgrounds. I think the beauty of Nunavut will continue to reveal itself in a rugged, natural way as spring progressess and summer brings the land to life. 

Joc sitting on the ocean floor

The ice waves are melting

Hunters with their snowmobile and qamituk

Our view

Boats scattered everywhere

Looking out onto the frozen ocean

Melting rivers cut through the sea ice

A pile of dead frozen seals, used as dog food for the sled dogs

Sled dog puppies!!!

All the dogs are off the sea ice now