Surprise on me:Christmas is Coming!

        Last week I noticed that two blogs I follow had a Christmas topic. One a reminisce about childhood Christmas expectations and activities and a second describing a painting done of the Mother and Christ child. I'm sure that if I looked for blogs about Christmas I would find lots. So, not too worry I don't get excited about Christmas. Home Farm Girl agrees with that assessment.

        Last night I attended a small appreciation party for volunteers at a facility I volunteer for. The evening was great as volunteers got together for good food, visiting and outdoor fun. The volunteers are mostly seniors but they do make an effort to include handicapped people as well.

     The day before Home Farm Girl had dragged me to a free lunch at one of the malls. Free lunches and crowds are not my favorite, but since Home Farm Girl doesn't drive I had to attend.

     Then I started to think that a number of Christmas activities have sneaked up on me and I was not really aware of what was happening. I guess I was having so much fun I did not really think that December was upon us and Christmas activities were taking place whether I was in gear or not.

     Then I remembered that about Nov. 10 I put up my Christmas lights so that I wouldn't have to suffer in the cold. This too was at the urgent prodding of Home Farm Girl. Today I looked out to see my neighbor putting up his lights and it's minus 15 C(+2F). This afternoon all I had to do was set the timer and turn my lights on.

    Oh yes! I wrote a Christmas letter a couple of weeks ago so that Home Farm Girl could include it with her Christmas cards. I do all my greetings on email.

     So surprise on me. Christmas activities have been happening and I didn't know about it or(think about it.)

December Days

A cold clear December voice
Calls for deep slumber
Dormancy.


                                    Gloomy December
                   Invites us darkly to
                   Winter Solstice.

                                December beckons to
                                Final end of blackness
                                To start new light.


                              

Hanukkah

HAPPY HANUKKAH

                           to all who celebrate this season.

From Hiawatha House

Snow Houses:Igloos

      Since I'm on the "cold" topic I might as well make it three in a row: Polar Bears and Cold Snap and Snow Houses. Since I have been thinking about my polar bear experience it brought back watching the Inuit build snow houses.

      As I said in my last post I spent two years in a remote arctic community. The community had only been established as a settlement for Inuit six years before I arrived in the late sixties. Inuit had lived and hunted in this area for thousands of years. An air radio station had been established in the late 1920's when cross ocean flying first began. Flights from North America went to Wakeham Bay and then across Hudson Strait to Frobisher Bay, across to Greenland , over to Iceland and I'm not sure where after that.They had to use this route so that they could refuel.
     But I got off the topic. When I arrived in this community the people were still actively hunting. One dog team was still in use but all the others had begun using skidoos. These people still were using and familiar with traditional hunting patterns. When they went out on the ice for several days they used snow houses rather than tents. Snow houses were warmer than tents and you didn't have to carry a tent.

     The first time I saw a snow house built was an unforgettable experience. I was not prepared for what I saw. First, the main tool was an ordinary hand wood saw. A large knife (machete) was used in the trimming of the blocks. They first look around for the right amount of snow which has the proper consistency. The snow has to be fairly hard. Then they start cutting blocks out of the snow with the saw. After half a dozen blocks or so they begin setting them up. The bottom of the block is slightly beveled so that it tilts inward. They continue this pattern in a spiral . When the second course is laid they make sure that the blocks overlap the bottom joints and again the blocks are slightly bevelled. The layers continue until one piece of snow can be cut to fill in the last hole in the top. All this is done from inside so you see the blocks of snow do not get that high. Any spaces between the blocks are filled with little chunks of snow. They cut the door out from inside. The test for success of your house is to be able to stand on it! My fellow teacher tried his hand at building snow houses and was very successful.

      Again I have pictures which are still slides and not changed to digital. I have a project ahead of me.

      These houses are surprisingly comfortable. You have to be careful not to warm them up too much or the inside walls ice up and then they are not comfortable. I once had a soapstone mining project where they went out for a week to mine soap stone . At the end of the week the inside of the snow houses were iced up. They used Colemann stoves which would throw off too much heat.

     These were wonderful houses and I'm glad I got to see them even though I didn't spend a night in one.

Early Winter Cold Snap

        I recently posted on Nov. 15 about winter hitting Red Deer with a good dump of snow. In fact it snowed for six days. We accumulated about 10cm of snow which isn't that much.

       When the snow stopped a mass of arctic cold air slipped into our area. The cold was unpleasant but not unbearable. Up until the 15th we had daytime highs above zero and not very cold over night. I had ridden bike a few times in November and could have ridden more times if I wasn't busy.

      It really hit me how cold it was when the paper reported that we had broken an old low temperature record. On Nov. 23  we had a low of minus 36 which was two degrees colder than our previous record low. So after I read this I realized why it had been so uncomfortable.

    On Nov. 25 a chinook blew in and we suddenly warmed up and had a high above freezing again. So we have to get used to the temperature extremes and live with them.

    Hiawatha House did not expect to post about weather again in Nov. but since it was out of the ordinary a post was made.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

To all Americans...
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
From Hiawatha House

There Once Was Polar Bear in my House

       Yes, that's right I had a real live polar bear in my house. Not only one polar bear but two at the same time. Me, being such a brave person, stayed in my house until they both left.

       Now I have to start at the beginning of this story to explain how this really happened. In the mid 60's I was a teacher, principal and administrator in a remote arctic community. The school had only been opened for five years. The inuit were still very independent and good hunters. The area was also a productive game area with lots of seals, fish, birds and caribou. These were wonderful proud people. They supported me and looked after my welfare.  For some reason I learned to depend on them and fully trust them as they were the masters in this land.

     One winter a few hunters were out on the sea ice hunting for seals. As happens on occasion they found a polar bear and killed it. Once they got to the bear they realized it had cubs. They searched and were able to find the den and the two young cubs. They were sharp enough to realize that they could probably get some money if they brought the cubs in. They immediately brought the cubs to my house and half expected I would give them money on the spot as I was the federal administrator. The little bears were active and not in a very good humor. They were probably very hungry and looking for their mother. We could hold them and pet them but you had to watch as they would nip you. We were not about to take a chance to become polar bear food. My house not only had the two polar bears but many of the people from the community as they all wanted to see the bears.

     The issue was quickly taken out of my hands as game was under provincial jurisdiction. So they went off to the provincial office and administrator. The Quebec Provincial Police were radioed and instructions were given to keep the little bears and they would fly in the next morning to pick them up.

     It was one of the more exciting evening during my two year stay. These hunters came in many hours after dark and were cold and excited. Usually the female bears with cubs were not out on the ice. I don't they they captured cubs very often so they were excited. I was excited as I knew this was a once in a lifetime experience. I have pictures of this event but they are on slides and I have not changed my 35 mm pictures to digital. Now maybe I will have to get serious about changing them as I have many slides of my Arctic adventures,

     I don't remember if the inuit got any cash for these little cubs. I know that one of them went to the Calgary zoo and lived a long life there and was a very popular animal. I do not know what happened to the other animal.