Tag Archives: Canada

A Furry Friend

Feb 6, 2018 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 30 Comments

A couple of weeks ago we did some dogsitting for a friend of ours. Nan is a northern girl who looks to be half Exquimaux or Siberian husky and half German shepherd. She is very tall with incredibly slim delicate features and very soft fur.

No matter what her DNA says, she’s an amazingly even-tempered pooch who could probably turn the most determined dog-disliking person into a canine advocate. Gentle and cuddly, she loves to play and run and be fussed over and petted.

I’m afraid that M and I spoiled her just a little bit.

Of course, we’re missing our Rudy who passed away a couple of years ago, but maybe it’s time to bring another canine friend into our lives. 🙂

Commentary, Photography

Remembering Summer

Jan 11, 2018 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 30 Comments

Happy New Year! 🙂

Right now we are surviving temperatures that are about -35 C. That’s pretty cold although I have experienced colder. When it’s this cold, it’s hard to remember that summer existed. It’s just a dim memory.

I pass this bush every day on my way to work.

And yup, I walk to work. Driving is not worth the trouble it would cause to start a vehicle.

It’s so cold that they have to be plugged in. And then there’s the scraping of windshields, the running of engines and the effort to get them out of the latest layer of new snow, even if I do have a 4×4. Needless to say, I don’t have a garage, which ironically, is something I’ve always had in the south. Up here, there aren’t many of them. For them to be of any real use you would have to heat them, and that makes them very expensive.

So, I walk to work. It takes seven minutes to get my gear on, seven minutes to walk there, it’s dark, and every bit of me is covered except my eyes. I peer under my big hat and over my balaclava. I’m under the time limit for frostbite to exposed skin in -35C, although a little wind can rapidly change that formula. A few days ago, I thought I had frostbite on my cheek, but no, it was just rather cold.

Everything is slower and takes longer. It’s life in the north. 🙂

How’s your winter?

Commentary, Photography

Northern Sunset

Dec 6, 2017 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 12 Comments

A recent flight to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories produced this airport photo of the setting sun.

In this northern clime, the position of the Earth relative to the sun produces these spectacular, angled sunsets.

A few days ago, I took this photo as part of a series of shots.

I love the light here, especially at this time of year when it is scattered in the most arresting way. And it is now also becoming very precious as we move into the shortest days of the year.

The light dispersal as it bounces off ice crystals gives this picture a slightly pink tone.

I hope to take many more pictures as I explore this land of light.

What are your favourite views at this time of year?

Commentary, Photography

I Awoke to This

Oct 11, 2017 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 20 Comments

North of 60 degrees N latitude, winter starts early and spring starts late.

Yesterday, I awoke to this:

It had rained during the night, and then the temperature had dropped enough for it to change to snow, at about -1 celsius.

Much different from this recent experience:

In Northwest Territories, when the weather changes, it changes fast. There’s no shuffling.

Soon, the parka will have to come out.

Happy Holidays!, Photography

Happy Thanksgiving

Oct 9, 2017 Lynette d'Arty-Cross

I have much to be grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. 🙂

Photography

Bison on the Horizon

Aug 29, 2017 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 8 Comments

Last week M and I drove to Yellowknife for a conference. Six hours of driving through some pretty spectacular scenery – the best the Canadian Shield has to offer.

Yellowknife has a sort of rugged prettiness about it. Sitting as it does on the edge of the world’s 10thlargest lake, there is every kind of boat and float plane.

Great Slave Lake is large enough to actually have a vanishing point.

On the way back, we saw woodland bison. Lots of woodland bison. They look very similar to the plains bison that were almost extinguished by over-hunting and a serious attempt to starve the indigenous peoples who depended on them.

M became a little concerned when a rather large and truculent-looking bull stood in the road and stared at us – might he charge??? – so we kept a respectful distance.

The white marks that you see in the photo are bug residues. There are lots of those, too. The mosquitos have been known to carry away small dogs. Well, not really, but I’m sure they could!

Stay tuned for more northern pictures. 🙂

Photography

Views Near Great Slave Lake

Jun 6, 2017 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 13 Comments

I was driving to another community in the Northwest Territories on Saturday when I saw this young bear. She (or he) was completely unfazed by my presence and idling engine. After a cursory look, she returned to eating some sort of tasty plant.

I wanted to get a better picture but I wasn’t going to get out of my truck to do that. Bears can run fast and have really big teeth. So, I was reduced to reaching across from the driver’s side to get these shots with my cell phone. This the sixth bear that I’ve seen since the beginning of May.

On the way back, it was drizzling. Since the air is now warmer than the ground or any body of water – thanks to our almost 24 hours of daylight – the formation of fog is very common. There was quite a layer of it above Little Buffalo River.

The fog produced some very moody scenes.

It has suddenly become very warm here with temperatures around 25C. This will increase to about 30C as the period of the midnight sun increases to its zenith. Then everything will start to cool once more and the bears will be looking for a place to sleep …

Photography

Great Slave Lake Yields to Spring

May 9, 2017 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 8 Comments

At 60 degrees latitude, I am very far north here, but spring has now definitely arrived.

The icing is disappearing from this cake.

The sky is clear and so is the lake, achingly pristine …

Like MacArthur Park, it’s melting in the dark.

… very different from the frozen majesty of two months ago.

I am learning to appreciate the call of this northern land.

Commentary, Photography

Getting Around

Apr 26, 2017 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 13 Comments

I arrived in the Northwest Territories at the end of February for a work assignment. It was -25C and one of the roads leading to the small community where I’m currently staying looked like this.

Here’s another view of the same road taken about an hour later.

If you watch Ice Road Truckers, you might be interested in this ice road that goes across Great Slave Lake from Yellowknife to a small community called Dettah. M and I drove across the frozen lake at -35C.

Here’s a short video.

An ice castle was being built on the lake.

The Snow King lives.

Two months later, the days are much longer – it gets completely dark at about 9:30 – and it has become much warmer. The south is a lot further ahead but it is spectacular here, too.

How is your spring?

Photography

Spring Is on Its Way

Jan 26, 2017 Lynette d'Arty-Cross 10 Comments

It’s still January but about two weeks ago, the weather turned. The temperature crept up, the bit of snow we had started to melt, and the ducks started squawking and flapping. Every day now it’s a little warmer and a little sunnier.

This morning I was out walking and took this photo of Skaha Lake. I’m lucky enough to live across from it and have been watching its moody winter changes this year.

It’s still got some ice over the shallows near the shore, but I don’t think that will last long.