Spring in Bavaria

Did you laugh today?

No, you didn´t? Really?

posted by: Moosecow at 19:49 | link | comments (5) |

Pat´s trip up to the north of Canada

We had a great flight in from Yellowknife, approximately 1.5 hours on a twin engine otter. The flight its self was uneventful but the landing was a little rough. The frost is starting to come out of the exposed ground and the runway was a little soft.

Yes we have weather "out on the land" our mornings are around -12C with fog followed with a daily high of a balmy -4C with beautiful clear days and the nights drop to a chilly -17C. The land is still snow covered and the lakes have anywhere from 24 to 60" of ice. The weather should change sometime around the beginning of June, when the ice starts to come off the lakes. Our sunsets are beautiful all the same.

The camp, well where were do I begin. I am staying in a trailer there are tents for the overflow when the camp grows to more than 30.The trailer is worm, except that the outside doors do not close tight, and beds are comfortable. By the end of the day we will have phones, internet and TV. All of it is satellite of course seeing that we are 250km northeast of Yellowknife. We have had some fun all the same. The plumbing was leaking in the washroom, so that had to be torn apart to find the leak, that took us from 3 showers and toilets to one in the mans washroom. The kitchen is leaking somewhere and that is currently under investigation.

I have to go now we are having the daily safety meeting held at 073 hours. I’ll continue this later…….Well I’m back, almost exactly12 hours latter.

Where was I…ah yes the camp…. Well the washroom is repaired and we are now up to 2 toilets and showers. We are missing a ventilation fan in the kitchen and the other morning, at around 0530 hours (the time I’m getting up anyhow) the fire alarm went off. We thought we have this problem fixed? They have installed the fan, however now when they turn it on, the vent fan it trips a breaker and we loose all power to this side of the camp. The phones are in and working except if you use the intercom, if it’s used the phones go off line and need to be reset. I have a TV in my room and it has power but no channels, the satellite dishes are up and the wiring is in, but due to weather (strong north wind and thick –NFLD thick – fog) the plane bringing supplies and the last part for the TV system was cancelled. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow! Until then I still have my CD’s.

The food is very good and there is plenty of it. I’m trying to stick to only one plate at each meal and no deserts only fruit. However I’m drinking to much coffee. The milk has lumps – I hope it’s powdered. New milk will arrive when the plane comes in, along with ketchup, mustard and all the other necessities. We do have 9 types of creamy salad dressing to choose from.

What’s it like up here you ask?....Well that’s hard to explain. It’s very different than the Great Bear Lake area, for those of you who have seen photos, this area is very flat with a lot of rock outcropping. The trees, if you can call them trees are very small, no more than 6 to8 feet, and very sparse. I have seen 3 since I’ve been here. You have to remember that the ground is still snow covered, in some places several feet deep. As for the wildlife we have had a fox and a white wolf come around the camp. Our wildlife monitor, that is the guy that checks for and deals with any wildlife that enters the camp, is an older man (a native from up here as is 90% of our camp) who has spent his life "on the land" thinks we may have trouble with bears this year. He is very superstitious and will not say the word bear. He says "if you talk about them, they will come". We will be getting a bear fence around the camp, when the plane comes.

Work is keeping me very busy. I have to survey all the building for PCB, asbestos, mercury, lead and all the other good stuff. This can be difficult at times due to debris, structural condition and no light. I have a good helper, a native from a town on Great Bear Lake, and he’s interested in learning about environmental surveys. After a 12 hour day crawling through these buildings (I’ve done 2 of 39) I have to meet with the contractor and discuss the days work and what will happen next, then the report writing starts. Speaking of which I’m going to have to run and get my reports done before bed. And yes Dano I am doing kata every night.

Well good night from "on the land" and I’ll try to keep you updated on any new events.

Cheers and enjoy your good weather!

Pat (5 of May 2007)

posted by: Moosecow at 18:05 | link | comments |

Happy Birthday John!!!

My friend, on Your Birthday,
I Have So Many Wishes for You

I wish for you to have
people to love
people in your life
who will care about you
as much as I do

blue skies and clear days
exciting things to do
easy solutions to any problems
knowledge to make the right decisions

strength in your values
laughter and fun
goals to pursue
happiness in all that you do

My friend
I wish for you to have
beautiful experiences
each new day
as you follow
your dreams

 

 

posted by: Moosecow at 17:30 | link | comments (1) |

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