Here comes some frieght

Just a couple of shots. One is of a freind and associate and her son, the other is our stock for the week being unloaded.

for grandmother

hello,
for the grandparents. Apparently I need to write more as the Blog is hiding on of the photo's behin the last post. Ok, These are from this wek of Christopher. I tried to take some today, however Christopher failded to co-operate with the photo shoot. I wonder if thats enough.

Continued

Hello again,
3. Cold is cold. This may seem stupid, but its true. Melissa may disagree with me but -50 is no different than -10, You dress different but if you dress properly it doesn't make a difference. If your dressed improperly it just affects how long you'll survive. AND +15 can feel hot, you can go outside in +15 without a shirt and wearing shorts have a BBQ and a cold drink and it feels hot.

4. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. This little NRA slogan seems to ring true. There are probably more guns in town than people. However no one has been shot with accidentally, or with intent in town for many years. The children understand the danger as they are raised with guns, but guns are tools of protection and substance not weapons. In a enviroment of high domestic violence one would assume that guns would add to this danger, but it is not what I have witnessed. The only gun related deaths I have heard of are suicides. I'm sure the local RCMP have a greater concern of these weapons than I do, however I am simply relating my observations. And yes, regardless of the flak I've taken from my friends to the south, I now own a gun and I and my wife do not feel threatened by its presence in the house, but it will allow us to raom the land more freely and with less concern. In town there is no fear of stranger killing or random violence that prevails southern existance.

5. Judgement is best left to those living these lives. When I first came up here I tried very hard to avoid judging others I didn't understand. It was a impossible challenge, judgements were made changed and revised through the past year. Now all I'm assured of is that judging others you don't understand does not lead positive results. Its strange, my judgement regarding my position is still strong, I know what the market will buy, I know whose going to steal, I know when someone is lieing, etc. However once I leave the confines of the store I understand and speculate on nothing regarding these people's behaviour. Strangers come to my door for a glass of water, people I don't know offer me "important" information of the land they have learned from thier elders. There's one elder in town whom I think is desparately triing to tell me something. He only speaks Inuktituk, however he freqently stops me and talks to me for 5 or 10 minutes telling me stories of what I do not know, but his sincerity is strong.

Take Care, and don't judge:)
CG

One Month North of the Circle

Hello Everyone,
Well, we're approaching a year in the North and1 month north of the circle. I knew some mentally challenged government employee who asked herself and then speculated on how much she had grown during her time in the north, So let me indulge in the same "dae nu mont". I haven't, I'm still the same jerk I was in the south. However, I've learned a few things.
It apprears all the luxuries of restaurants, theaters, culture, sporting events, etc are luxuries. It doesn't change your life much to move on without them. That being said, I can't comprehend winter in the north without TV and internet, however now I'm not as convinced it would be the end of the world. These things are comforts and reassuring, but their absence is no great loss. In fact I think people raised without them seem more straighforward and outgoing as a community. They also act as more of a community.
2. There are "Bad" people everywhere you go, enviroment doesn't make them, they come with any group. In smaller communities its easier to identify and react to thier presence, where down south the anontimity of the community hides them. In some of the pictures of Repulse you can see a shack across the bay. The person who lives there is considered a bad person by some in the town. Rather than face the comminity he lives on his own across the bay without electricity, water etc. rather than face the town.

Where the Whales Are.

Hello Everyone,
tonight one of my associates took me to Najkakashjut (where the whales are). This was a inland fjord. The whales come in here to shelter from strong sea's. This is also where the locals go to hunt and harvest whales. In order to harvest a whale you need a tag. To get a tag you must have your name pulled in a lottery, this year the hamlet will produce 35 tags. The average whale will feed 30 to 50 people for about a week. Many people come from other towns to redeem there tags here is Repulse. Those were the people in the photo's from the other day, the locals perfer to hunt in Najkakashjut. anyways here are a couple of photo's of a very beautiful place.

Take Care,
CG

PS. I think tonight there is a good chance of something happening that we haven't seen in about three months... the sun looks like it is going to set. Yeah, things are getting back to normal, god is in his heaven and all is right...

Arctic Flowers

Hello Everyone,
Melissa wanted me to post these photo's of some flowers she gathered from our front yard. Ok so here they are.
Take Care
CG

Playing by the rules

Hello everyone,
We'll I just got in from watching a Whale hunt. The whale population must be in pretty good shape, as whale hunting is, well very challenging. You can use 2 weapons to catch whales a harpoon and a rifle. The trick is you must hapoon and tag the whale before you can use your gun. This hunt got one whale, with about 20 boats out hunting. This happened about 200 yards in front of our house. The red buoy is attached to the whale by the harpoon and then the guys in the boat can shoot till they get the whale. Its very hectic and very dangerous, these boats are racing around at random in all directions triing to get that first hit. Anyways here are some photo's, none of actual whales as they tend to stay under water where its safe with all these boats racing around, someone might get hurt.
Take Care,
CG

Life way up here.

Hello Everyone,
This morning around five am apparently almost everyone in town was on the water, It seems a pod of Narwhale had entered the Bay and it was time to harvest. The first photo is one of my associates who has a stip of Narwhale they are preparing to strip the skin from the fat. The fat is a northern delicacy, known as Muctuq.The second and fourth Photo are of a local boy who for some reason is dragging a piece of whale around his yard with a piece of rope. I don't know why he is doing it but I just got back in and he's still doing it three hours later. The husky attacking the piece of meat is his new dog. We're still getting 24 hours of daylight although not for very much longer the nights are not as bright anymore. Todays high was about 9 but the wind made it feel much colder, during the rain this morning you could see intermitant snow. Seals frequently can be seen swimming in the bay in front of our house. The Land is very beautiful with grasses and flowers growing in the crags of every rock formation. The locals have less opportunity for emplyment as repulse has very few government positions compared to Baker, they also don't have much of a tourism trade as the last 2 years they've forgotten to advertise thier region in the media.
Things continue to be busy at work and I feel I'm fighting a uphill battle to get everything I need to get done completed in the time frames I must. However, I still don't think I've ever been happier professionally or personally.
Take Care
CG

The Fun part of the Job

Hello Everyone,
Well today wasn't a good day, today I lost over a 1/4 of my staff. Man, there are days I hate this position, Oh, well. I'm sure tommorrow will be worse, well maybe I'll hope for the best,except for having no staff, there will be fewer 'pages'. Hope everyone is enjoying the heat.
Take Care,
CG

Peace be the Journey

More photo's

With a borrowed Modem and a new home

Hello Everyone,
Well, With one minor casuality (our Modem) we have safely arrived in Repulse Bay. We have too many stories to share on a borrowed modem and too many photo's to post tonight. However we hope to offer a glimpse of our new town and experiences. We spent Canada Day watching the icebergs in the bay lazily drift back and forth while enjoying a BBQ in a balmy 10 weather. Actually its been as high as 22 here since we arrived. the town and people are wonderful, very friendly and open, with a wonderful sense of humor and spirit. I thought the people of Baker were fun, but these people are even more outgoing and fun. Our house overlooks the bay and I've seen seals and whales from my front door so far, however these creatures have trouble staying still, or above water for a photo. Hopefully soon we'll be adding some exciting wildlife photo's to the collection. Anyways, I want to get as many Photo's uploaded before I go to Bed so I must get started.
BTW, for those who haven't heard (my Tillsonburg Freinds), Melissa and I have had to cancel our vacation plans indefinitly.
Missing you guys.
Take Care
CG