Sunday, May 23, 2010

Fundraising

On June 18th I'll be taking part in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life. If anyone would like to sponsor me you can click this link. I would greatly appreciate any amount contributed but please know that I'd be just as happy to be in your thoughts that night.

Sincerly,
Jesse V.

to care for animals

No more ice.

Though the water level is high I've been told that it's actually much lower than normal.


I took this yesterday. Normally the entire is swamped for several days.

I took this today. Not only is the water level lower than usual; it's also receding faster too.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

but in the mean time

The big news around town is that the ice is breaking up on the MacKenzie River. This means the Dempster highway will reopen earlier than expected. My plan was to take these pictures in the early morning hours on the weekend but I'm glad I went out after work. By the time I returned home a lot of the ice was already gone.




I'd like to know where that root came from. It's also interesting to note just how far the ice gets pushed up on land. It's possible to see this process in the video.


I've seen the ice melt on rivers before but never like this. The noise heard in the video is the sound of the ice shards hitting each other in the water. It's a bit muffled in the video but it sounded like rubbing ice cubes together.
My apologies for the poor camera control.

-one last thing - it's possible to click on the pictures to get an enlarged view

Sunday, May 16, 2010

I'm here for the money

I can never quite get the midnight sun on film but this is what it's like around 12:00am. There's no more actual darkness - even in the small hours of the morning. I find that I have no trouble sleeping with the light but do have a problem with going to bed.

Last weekend was the convocation ceremony for some of the students of Aurora College. Though the graduates were few the event was attended by the Premier of the N.W.T. and several other prominent figures. The Learning Centre will have a completion ceremony in two weeks. The word 'completion' is misleading - it's actually an event recognizing that students have participated in a year's worth of classes. It is unlikely that any of my 13 math students will finish their math course. Similarly, many of my English students aren't going to pass because they haven't turned in a single assignment.

If you were to take off the"+ gifts" the sign could be grammatically correct; though odd.


This isn't a mangrove. The melting snow and ice has lead to rising water levels and it's now impossible to walk around Boot Lake without getting wet feet. I've been soaked on more than one occasion. Speaking of H20 -the colour of the town's drinking water is now a mellow yellow but still tastes like dirt.

If the movie Cast Away had a volleyball for Chuck Noland's island stay then I think it's only fitting that there would be an old stump for the Arctic Circle. I don't talk to Gwen too often.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

handstands

"Okay, so we're going into the canned peach business?"

"With a brand name like 'Success' we can't lose."

"You make a good point but there is some tough competition out there."

"I know - we'll only provide can sizes of 2.84L. We'll offer the public something the competition doesn't and fulfill the prophecy of our brand name."

"Hmm, maybe. But what section of the public is going to want almost three liters of peaches in pear juice from concentrate? And we came up with 'Success' through focus group testing - don't get all weird on me now."

"You're overlooking an often forgotten segment of the general population - sailors, hunters and those planning for the apocalypse."

"You my friend, are a genius."

Friday, May 14, 2010

my boat is sinking

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post - a recent inexcusable excuse:

Have to stay home to watch kids. Babysitter is having a baby.


Thursday, May 13, 2010

shadows wandering off somewhere

Posting is hard when you feel like you're dwarfed by giants. It's also harder when morale is flagging. However, I just had some coffee and either the sugar or the caffeine is giving me a boost. Or it could be my shorts. The weather has finally come to its senses and warmed up. For about two weeks there was a very angry wind - perhaps bitter about the absence of snow. I think the wind wanted to prove that even though the snow was gone winter wasn't over. Well done Wind - you did it. I watched Boot Lake thaw and then refreeze in the span of two days. My toque and scarf came out of retirement - they complained they were getting too old for this. You know what toque and scarf - so am I.
But today it all changed. The air is warm and the wind gentle.