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An Inconsistent Mind
The Bird Watcher by Carl Dennis Now the coast of the county is grazed by light.Farmers are rising in America.Hunters in the North shoulder their gunsAnd march off into the woods.The sky is crowded with small birds.Unnoticed they scatter across fields and towns. Now in the twilight before workIn his one moment of leisureThe bird…
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Total Gridlock
Leah’s family got back today from a long weekend out on the land. We drove over to Victor Bay to pick them up. We could see them coming down the bay, and as they neared it was clear they were going to go to the other side of a small point that juts out there. …
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Elder’s Supper
On Friday last, we had our first Elder’s dinner at the House. Leah and I had the idea that it would be nice to invite Arctic Bay’s elder’s over from time to time, before they are lost to us for ever. The last year or so has been very hard on the community as we…
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The Somme
Today is the 90th anniversary of the Great War battle of The Somme. On July 1st an offensive was launched by the British and French armies against German defences at the Somme. The losses were staggering. The British (which included Canada and other Commonwealth nations) lost almost 20,000 men on the first day alone. Over…
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Herbs
My Aunt arrived today for a two week visit, the first of any of my relatives to come to Arctic Bay. And amongst other things she brought with her potted herbs… Basil, Savory, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. I’m a happy cook.
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The Girl at the Bus Depot
A little over thirty years ago I missed the first day of school in Roblin. Instead I went to Winnipeg and to the concert of one of my favourite bands at the time, Bachman Turner Overdrive. The day before school was to start BTO was Taking Care of Business at the old Winnipeg Arena and…
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Not the Plover
One of the beautiful thing about nature is, if you go out searching for something, she’ll surprise you with something else. We had a couple of hours of free time this afternoon so we decided to head to Nanisivik so I could seek out a bird that I hadn’t seen for awhile, the Common Ringed…
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Shooyook… Part 2
Link to Part one Before coming to Arctic Bay, Shooyook lived near Fort Ross. Fort Ross was a Hudson Bay Company Post at the eastern entrance of the Bellot Strait. Fort Ross was used for a number of years before being abandoned, due to uncertain ice conditions. The manager’s house, which still stands, has the…
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Porcine Poetry
One of my favourite poets is David Lee, the first Poet Laureate of Utah. When he was first recommended to me, Martin said something along the lines of "he writes about pigs", and I thought to myself that there could not possibly be anything worth writing poetry about pigs. But I read the volume The…
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I and the Bird #26 – Gooooaaalllllll!!!
It’s the last installment of I and the Bird for its first year, and Patrick at the Hawkowl’s Nest has put together a World Cup themed post. As usual, there are a wealth of excellent posts to choose from. Some that particularily caught my eye were Bill of the Bird’s tale of finally finding his…
