It
is the Seventh Inning Stretch – and everyone is pulling HARD here at
Ennadai Resort. A group of Territorial inspectors visited
to inspect progress on the wind
turbine, the Solar
electric, the Solar
domestic hot water, the
heating system and the fire safety measures. There is progress, but we will be working hard to be ready for the
arrival of the paying guests at the end of the month. 
During
the rush to get at some pipes beneath the building the other day, I grabbed a
black garbage bag that was awaiting its flight to Yellowknife for
disposal. I gave it a mighty heave and
thought nothing more about it. About a minute later, two squirrels emerged from
a hole in the bag as I came out from beneath the building. I received a terrible
dressing down... they gave me both barrels! After venting their feelings about
my disrespectful behavior they took off like a couple of rabbits, dashing for
the other end of the runway. 
Some
recently arrived help will dial the pace up. The recent Dash-7 brought carpenters
to renovate the staff
quarters and an electrician to sew together new electric services for all of the buildings. A boiler tech is expected soon to get heating
zones working in the rooms – and that will be a timely thing. While the rest of
the country is suffering heavy rains, great heat, tornados and hailstorms, we
have had sunny days in the mid-teens and then cloudy periods with single digit
temperatures and brisk breezes. It already feels like October at home.
The record fish size keeps bumping up. One of the guys
landed a 14 pound trout of 34” length a few days ago.
Sailor Sue is becoming an aero photographer of note in these
parts. Here is a briefvideo of the landing of a turbo-otter (float) in which she is interrupted
by a very handsome caribou which she photos until he exits the scene, then
returning to the aircraft on final in time for the splash. Max was calling a warning to her as she was
standing right in the caribou’s path – a warning which she blew off, thinking
that a DeHaviland Caribou aircraft must be next in the landing circuit. Her
surprise was complete.
This
was our first float plane since our arrival here, and I was surprised at how
many different things are required for their proper care and feeding. The pilot
, who turned out to be a distant cousin of Susan’s, was unable to get near our
beach or our wharf due to the low water level in the lake. After we ferried the
passengers ashore he took off to survey nearby coves, selecting one that was
not too far away, from which we could pick him up using a Quad ATV. The next
morning we carried barrels of jet fuel to him by skiff, a process repeated again
on the second morning.
With two aircraft at a time operating yesterday, the level
of activity was feeling a lot like Turnbull Field – until we saw a procession
of four floatplanes passing overhead enroute to Kasba Lake Lodge about 50 km
from us. Our visiting inspectors advised that Kasba was very busy, and
expecting the arrival of 30 visitors when they stopped to inspect.
Our Inuit contingent, Seemee and Peter learned the location
of the caribou main herd from the visitors and left by boat – bright and early
this Sunday morning – to bag a good one. I thought that they must have been low
on ammunition by now, but apparently not.
With
the limited rainfall experienced to date, water levels are very low here. And the
lake is uncharted. On lazy sunny days like this, it would be a good idea to use
a chartplotter running lines on the lake to record depths and create an uploadable record of where the underwater obstructions are located.
There are so many reefs that, I slipped into boatbuilding
mode (uh – oh!!!) in my dreams two nights back, designing a bigger version of uncle Vernon’s ‘Gone
Goose’ from the sixties (for those who would not remember that craft – it was a
high speed barge with a Gypsy Major aero engine, and capable of 65 MPH ). I can
still remember being aboard when he hit a sandy and rocky shore at the head of
the Belleisle Bay – and simply powered over it and back into the water. He had
put a replaceable layer of ¾” plywood on the bottom to mitigate damage from
such groundings.I woke up and reminded myself that I have yet to finish the Big Boat on the river in New Brunswick, not to mention the total refit of the Southern Sailboat. However, if I were to spend an off-season in a place like this then building a boat would be the perfect activity to keep in focus. I heard a story once about the widow of a guy in Newfoundland who asked the teller to please see what her spouse had been up to up in the attic in the several years prior to his passing. The teller went up (she was reluctant) and found a boat, built in the attic – complete and painted, ready to go – but with no way to get it out of the attic without demolishing the house. I think I am probably that man reincarnate.
(This is the voice of Boat Boy if you didn't guess lol - as Sailor Sue doesn't dream of boat retrofits.)
