An Evening Walk at the Lake

An Evening Walk At The Lake

We had been enjoying a run of sunny, warm days here at the lake. These are the kind of days that make you want to linger outside when your work is done, just to admire the distant land across the lake, or to see what kind of animal has left its tracks on your beach. The ice had been melting near the shore and the dog and I were just taking in the sights and smells together at the water’s edge. The distant clamourous honking of a pair of geese became more voluble as they came into view over the beach flying at 50 feet of altitude and bearing down on us.

I expected the geese to suddenly recognize us and to change the direction of their flight. Instead they bore in on us slowing slightly and one of them appeared to be about to land directly on the dog, who was standing in the shallow water. They continued their discordant racket and moved over the ice beyond the dog where they landed. The honking continued while one or the other looked over its shoulder to see if they had the dogs attention.

Toque played the part that nature had cast for him too. He nonchalantly sniffed and circled in the shallow water, getting no closer to the birds, nor actually looking at them. Their honking continued unabated and soon a pair of brant joined them from where they were nesting in the ox bow lake beyond the lakeshore. As a seeming show of solidarity with the geese, they stood on the same patch of ice and ‘teased’ the dog silently. Toque made a big show of going toward their nesting area and disappearing over the berm – not once, but three separate times.

They waited him out. One of the brant slipped into a pond in the ice and swam around while the geese honked and the other brant silently made rude gestures at the dog. Toque made tentative moves to get to the ice sheet, but seemed ‘less than serious’ about it. He wandered up and down the beach, sniffing at tufts of grass, drinking from the lake, or just standing – looking far away.

Finally he found an ice ledge that was closer to shore and hopped up. He immediately took a few steps toward the birds, lowering his tail for the attack.  Just as quickly he made a hard diversionary turn to the left and accelerated away from them, running to the edge of the ice before wandering back to some equipment parked on the ice. Doing his dogly business, he marked the toboggan and wandered away again before finally turning toward the birds – who were still honking at him ceaselessly. This time he broke into a trot heading straight toward them..

The birds recognized that he was serious this time and lifted off, flying some tens of yards away before alighting again. Toque continued toward them and then the birds big plan bore fruit. The thin ice that they had led him across would not bear his weight and in he went. 

 It was his good luck that the water was only one foot deep or they might have drowned him. He struggled for a few long moments and then, finally, got traction with his rear feet.

 He charged away from the birds and ran until he was dry, coming ashore and leading me back to our cottage. He was so charged up that he dodged and ran in circles around me all the way back to the cottage – where a congratulatory chicken carcass awaited him.

Days passed. And then it was another sunny evening, like the one that had come before. I was carrying some firewood in the yard when Toque came charging up to me, jumping and gesturing for me to come with him.  As I followed him back to the beach, my only hope was that he was not after the Black Bear which has been hanging around lately. I was relieved to see that it was again a pair of geese. Maybe relieved is the wrong word. I was resigned to watching a replay of the events of Monday evening.

I was considering going for a canoe, just in case it was going to be needed.

 Suddenly Toque turned his back on the birds and ran past me and up the stair of the cottage. The memory of falling through the ice was still fresh in his mind and overpowered his first instinct. Smart dog.   

Toque Goes Hunting
https://vimeo.com/97054010

Spring may be coming to the North

It’s A Snowy Evening In Nunavut...

...and all through the house – well, what the heck are you going to do in a snowstorm?  I know what we do!  We lay around reading or writing. We were deserted by ‘our’ dog Toque tonight.  There is not enough action here for him.  Today he leapt to his feet and abandoned his post ‘guarding‘the dining room door of the Lodge.  He and Richard Weber tied for first place as the engines of the Dornier 228 spun to a halt before them. Toque was extremely excited and seemed to be on a first name basis with both Sam – the visiting mechanic, and Gutti - the satellite communications specialist.

Before supper Nansen and Brian went out for a few hours to “check the trap”. They have been trying to get photos of a Wolverine – and only recently have managed to get the creature to trigger the Infrared sensor while his smiling, furry little face was in front of the camera. I saw those pics. They are great! You can watch for them too at: http://arctichaven.ca/arctic-adventures/photographers-adventure        I had no idea that these shy creatures are so pretty.

We had only been here for four days and time seems to be flying by. Some visiting workers are billeted in the crew quarters tonight – the paint on the floor having just dried in time. The pilots of the Dornier made a run to Stoney Rapids to get approximately 25 barrels of fuel, coming back before the snow started. Electrics for the entire complex have been running exclusively (and perfectly) on electricity provided by solar photo-voltaics and a wind turbine. This must have reduced our fuel consumption significantly as the generators have been silent since our arrival 2 weeks ago.

One of my jobs this year is to get the solar water system re-connected to the building, and in such a way that the large amount of heat captured is put to good use. There is tons of heat available during the ‘solar’ season – and we are already having 17 hours of quality daylight. Assess first, make a plan, and get to work. As of day eight, we have a strategy which should work pretty well. Some new components and a new plumber are said to be arriving. I expect that he will want to alter the layout of the heating system somewhat before adding more inputs to it from solar and a new (outdoor) wood boiler.

men at work

We are in high gear around the place polishing off loose ends such as unpainted service rooms, unfinished bits of ceilings, walls and floors. Susan and I have tackled the perennial pile of boxes that are placed in the workshop every time another plane brings freight. Tools and materials alike seem to have been left in a 'picked-over but unstowed condition. We are expecting a bolt, nut and screw storage unit on the next plane –which is bound to help.

Also, we are building stowage space for electrical and plumbing supplies which will display examples – in the hope of reducing double ordering when the first items can’t be found.

There is some equipment to modify and a couple of trucks that arrived during the winter which we also have to get ready for service. Two of the equipment operators made a runway a mile long and 200 feet wide on the lake for the Hercules to make the delivery on. The remnants of that runway are still clearly visible - despite melting conditions in the recent 20 degree 'heat wave'.  

The two trucks, an International Loadstar 5000 and a Ford 600, both run as sweetly as any of the medium trucks of my past.  As a bonus these trucks are both four-wheel drive models. Runway maintenance will be 1000% easier when these trucks are configured.

snowmobiles leaving for weather haven 75 kms along the lake

The snowmobiles need attention too. They are something new for me, and I have been looking under the hoods of the Arctic Cat four strokes as these are all overheating when running on the ice for any distance. The guides have towed three different Arctic Cat snowmobiles back (from the ‘out’ cabin -17 kilometers down the lake) in the past three days.  Luckily Ski-Doos don’t have the same issue so business can go on. I have been surfing the blogs and identified a couple of fixes that might apply.  This is just one more reason to clean out the shop.

‘Our’ dog, Toque, has been tied-up lately as he has displayed a proclivity for charging after the herds of caribou that pass by the lodge out on the ice of the lake. A couple of days back Susan dropped Toque's lead line on me while my hands were full, and before I got a proper hold on his line-he was gone, at full speed, down the ice. I hopped onto the Arctic Cat 700cc diesel quad that I have been using as a utility vehicle and ‘found out what this machine can do’. I did not, however, manage to arrest the progress of this type A (the stocky model) Malamute. Toque enjoyed the companionship of a running mate in his chase but refused to be deflected from his ‘mission’. I drove on his line and braked but his pull slipped the line from between the tires and the ice easily.

My presence split the herd so I backed off, going back to the cabin for my parka, while Toque maintained the chase. I had clocked the dog at 27 kph. The caribou were easily doing twice that speed and were in no danger. However, they don’t need the aggravation, so since that occasion he spends all of every day tied, and every night indoors so that he doesn’t mix it up with the wolves. His attitude seems to say: “No freedom, no problem – just make sure you feed me. Oh, and don’t blame me if I escape!”.

 Apparently we had an audience from the Great Room of the lodge during his big chase. Nansen Weber, one of the Arctic watch guides, later confirmed the speed of caribou to me. He found himself in a head-on meeting with a herd at a narrow gap and the noise of his snowmobile caused them to reverse direction, running with him. He clocked them at 70 kph.

Derek unloading with a skid steer

Our supply plane

Two days further along and we are still awaiting the supply plane. We have demolished and reconstructed two bathrooms and don’t want to reassemble them before receiving flooring.  There are a number of other supplies coming, sufficient to fill a Dash Seven to capacity.

 I started the Kawasaki Mule this morning and watched as smoke came from the engine compartment. Switching off, I ascertained that the glow plug electric supply wire had shorted and melted.  Luckily we had a mechanic come to stay for a few weeks. Kevin is a young Volvo mechanic from Aylmer, Quebec. I figure that if he can fix Volvos, he can probably handle any of our machinery here at Arctic Haven. As I write this he has the Mule torn down, looking for the cause of the short-circuit. Being our only GP pickup, we need the mule back in service right away.

Susan, Madison and Beth have squared-off as the all girl construction team while I have joined-up with Seemee and Gilbert for other construction projects. Yesterday, as the day wound down, both teams joined forces to install sheet rock in a cathedral ceiling. It was truly ‘uplifting’!   :)

They are already taking fish out on the lake.  We had enjoyed fresh-caught Trout for dinner tonight thanks to the recent opening of some areas in the ice that make fishing possible.

The guard dogs

Last night, the Czech Shepherd Demon, fell through the thin ice at the edge of a hole where a group had gathered to catch fish. Before he made his way back out of the water he managed to catch a lure in his tail. Demon gloried in a lot of extra attention this morning before breakfast – when we all made a fuss over him.  In addition to Demon, the intrepid fisherfolk caught and released a 10 pound Pike and a few smaller fish as they stayed out nearly until sunset at 11:30 p.m.  These young folk with all of their energy!

chefs at work

trout dinner ala Daniel

there's the bear, our dinner guest missed the trout dinner

where's the bear?

The payoff to all of this fishing: this evening as we were enjoying trout and rice wrapped in puff pastry prepared by our young chef, Daniel and his assistant, Madison. We even attracted an unexpected guest. This beautiful little black bear had tried to get into Richard's cottage last evening. Tonight he decided to see what was being served for dinner at the main Lodge. Thankfully, Toque was in the house at the time, although he was anxious to go out and get acquainted with the bear.

The weather finally allowed our aircraft to leave Yellowknife  –  so the supply plane brought our new wood boiler and the the last of our reinforcements, a log construction specialist. I have found myself humming a corrupted version of a blues song performed by Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and probably a dozen others that goes something like: “tho’ my pocket book is empty and my heart is full of pain, I’m a thousand miles away from home, waitin’ for a train plane”.

I will close out this week’s blog with the closing line of that same song:

“  E-O-delah-Layhee-deLayhee-deHoo” .

Two for the North

“Two For The North”

Those were Susan’s words in my ear as the Bombardier 200 jet descended through cloud and revealed the frozen lakes that surround Yellowknife. We went wheels-up 18 hours earlier and had stopped-over in Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary to get to this moment – our return to the north. Our eagerness told us that we had missed the north, and possibly ... somewhat... even the cold!

We are definitely ‘excited’ to be returning to Ennadai Lake, the purity of air and water, the boats, the fish, and most especially – the ethereal sub-arctic forest with its sandy forest floor. Our most profound experience of last year’s time here was a moonlight drive through the forest. We hope to repeat that experience and to have our camera with us this time. I have been kicking myself every time I think about the fact that we forgot to take the camera – and that the conditions did not ‘exactly’ repeat themselves during the time that we were there in 2013.

Our Southern Seas blogs stopped three weeks ago when we put Panacea on the hard  the Billy Joe B and Jane Ann during the river flooding that was threatening   to  affect the (our) boats in Saint John. Son Justin warned that he would be in Mexico during the predicted flooding and that he was worried. We told him that we would take up the slack.

We bade Vic and Marilyn (Whisper) farewell at Vero Beach Yacht Club and did not stop for anything except gasoline until we arrived at the Canada Customs post at Milltown. We left in such a hurry that I subsequently had to ask Vic to go aboard Panacea and stow my genoa and spinnaker blocks. (Thanks Vic!)

Our New Brunswick time was a whirlwind of making contact with friends, and trying to sew-up details on some outstanding projects. For those of you whom we missed on that brief visit ‘home’ we sincerely apologize.   We do not want to overlook any friends.  Friends are the most important thing of all.

The rising flood waters stopped before the anticipated problems could occur.  There was little for us to do about Jane Ann – the cresting of the spring freshet was low enough that she did not float from her stands. 

Billy Joe B, our floating home, has come through the winter in fine style. As we stepped aboard her, I commented to Admiral Susan that Eric was right on top of things this spring, having already unshipped and coiled the ‘bubbler hoses’ which we had hired him to install before we left. She reminded me that we had left the hoses out for him in EXACTLY the position which they now occupied – and that, clearly they had never been deployed. When I looked at Freya on one side and Jordive on the other – each sporting electric de-icers, it was suddenly clear to me that bubblers had not been required.  Eric later advised me that the weather shut him down before he could get to the bubblers – but that the electric de-icers on each side had kept the entire area clear of ice.

The trip west was uneventful.  No single Air Terminals is unique in ignoring one of the basic needs of air passengers in transit. The design criteria which makes people sleep on the floor is definitely faulty. Flights continue to be scheduled with shortish night stopovers.  Susan and I have slept on the floors of a dozen different air terminals in the past couple of years. Most airports are furnished so as to be intentionally uncomfortable for sleep. It is too bad that these ‘rocket scientists-turned-interior decorators’ have stuck with this concept.

 Some airports are more pleasant than others – with Edmonton getting a big negative due to doorbells and gongs going off interminably – seemingly unanswered. We give Calgary a ‘best-in-category’ so far.  No-one expects beds to be provided but it is very unkind to furnish chesterfield-like seats with close-spaced ‘hurdles’ to inhibit the tired traveller. Calgary airport wins our approval because the seats allow the weary to lay out in ‘some’ comfort.

It was a great to be among westerners again - with their pleasantness and the relaxed way of dealing with those around them. We could definitely ‘feel’ the difference, even though we had not noticed anything unusually wrong with Easterners during our brief tour of NB.

 On the leg from Edmonton to Calgary, one young mother handed out pre-printed introductions to her infant asking forgiveness should the infant cry during this, the baby's first flight.  Her short written plea was typed on construction paper with a brief bio of baby, the paper cut in the form of –um, maybe a turtle.  The document came packaged with a bag of sweets.  No one complained when little dolly cried-out, in fact the baby received a great deal of attention and praise. It was a pretty creative effort by the mother, I thought.

We arrived in Yellowknife after a four-leg flight from SJ of 20 hours to be informed that our charter was delayed for a day due to payload/fuel-load adjustments relating to weather. On the drive to downtown we passed a formation of Mounties turned-out in their red costumes, listening to a speech.  We hurried back with our camera after check-in at the Yellowknife Inn but unfortunately, did not catch the event on film.

The delay turned into a two day one as late on Saturday day the air-freight company advised that we should stop waiting for pickup (we were in the hotel lobby with our luggage) and book a room for one more night at the hotel. .  We are told to be ready for a 6:30 am departure on Sunday morning. The room is great – but the hotel does not serve meals on weekends. After placing our luggage in the room we sallied forth. The downtown of Yellowknife is a long distance from the true commercial and shopping area. There are shops – but they serve the office crowd and like the offices, they are mostly closed on the weekends. Or so we had concluded during our 3 day lay-over last summer. This time – however- we found and entered The Black Knight Tavern – a mere block away from the hotel and a place where, to our delight, we discovered that we could have full steak dinners for $20 each and Keiths Standard from a tap.  This was a good find.

On our return to the hotel, the young lady at the desk beckoned me from across the lobby and handed me the telephone. It was ‘the boss’ – touching base.  Azi advised that we had a new fly-time, 7:00 a.m.  We could go around the corner to the 7-11 and buy a sandwich to serve as breakfast.  We would be the only passengers as the rest of the aircraft would be filled with a new quarry-crusher.  

This is fabulous news about the crusher. All of the aggregate at our destination is round, with all of the problems of wind erosion and packing that accompany it. It sounds, however, like it might be a drafty, cold flight. Susan set the alarm and we retired early – awakening and coffeeing-up at 5:30 am. Naturally we were foiled again – this time by blizzard conditions at our destination which would prevent us from landing.

We finally arrived in late afternoon after the storm abated and we helped to unload the plane before going to our new quarters, The Caretakers Cabin.

Last year this cabin was occupied by a half dozen young men and was basically unkempt. This year it had been the home for Al and Frances, from Nova Scotia, who had made it a true home since their arrival in January. And, best of all, awaiting us at the front doorstep was a 100 pound Malamute – just waiting for us to take him for a walk. Did I say this place is heaven? Well it certainly is!

When we arose in the morning our dog was sleeping on the doorstep waiting for us to take him to breakfast. Frances had given Susan all of the ‘care and feeding’ instructions before I was even aware that this dog existed. I think she ‘forgot’ to mention Touque to me to enjoy my surprise. This gentle giant isn’t as used to having his ears caressed as my Chinook and Misty were. I hope he gets used to it.  As I write this he and Susan are slumbering in front of the woodstove.  We were warned to keep him indoors at night due to possible problems with the wolves. The couple who operate the resort also have a dog, a Czech Shepherd – and while the two dogs do not ‘fight’ they are quite territorial – and generally do not encroach on each-others territory.  Today this meant that the Shepherd stayed near the back door of the Lodge, while the Malamute patrolled the front. No matter where we walked – he walked with us. If we drove, then he ran out in front. We humans have little to fear from wolves with these two dogs around.

Here we are and here we shall be staying until well into summer. There is lot to do again this year so stay tuned to ‘Northern News’