Snow, Boats, & Sticks

Snow continued to fall on Arctic Bay on September 23.  I could no longer see the brown ground as I walked to school in the early morning.  Only tall grass was visible.  It won’t be long until the sounds of skidoos will be heard, I thought.  I was tempted to bring my skidoo to life, but decided to wait a little longer.  Seeing all the snow on the ground made me wonder if the water in the bay will freeze early?  If that will be the case, then the boaters need to catch as many narwhals as they can.

Naturally, I took pictures of the landscape.  I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass.  I always have my digital camera at the ready.  The same neighbour’s dog from before watched me walk by and didn’t hide when I took their picture.

Unfortunately, a lot of snow melted over the next five days, disappointing skidoo enthusiasts.  The ATV owners didn’t mind.

I was walking home from work on September 28 when I noticed construction work happening near the Co-op.  A makeshift residence was being constructed out of seven sea cans for several southern workers contracted to build the new power plant at the Gas Station.  (I’m assuming they completed their 2-week isolation before travelling here).  Each sea can will be a room.  A large roof will connect the cans from above, creating an enclosed corridor between them.  Heating, electricity, water, and sewage utilities will be installed later.  The cans sit on large square wooden logs.  Seeing this made we wonder: if a company can do this for its workers, why can’t the Nunavut Housing Corporation do something similar for families on the housing waiting lists?

The boaters were out in force on September 30.  Several of my students participated in this latest narwhal hunt.  The tide in the bay was calm.  I watched the boaters wait, speed off in one direction, converge on a single spot, spread out again, and then repeat the process.  I thank the pod(s) of narwhals for swimming into Arctic Bay this year.  Because of you, I have plenty of pictures of the hunters in action.

I found it challenging to spot narwhals with my own eyes.  Their long tusks were not sticking out of the water.  It took me some time to figure out that if you can’t see the tusks, you look for the wakes the narwhals create while they swim.  I think several narwhals were caught & harvested.  Their tusks can be sold for thousands of dollars.    

The month of October began with me receiving several pairs of drum sticks in the mail.  I ordered them for my drum class.  These snare & tenor drum sticks are made & sold by VicFirth.  Their lengths, widths, & tips are different, but there is one thing they have in common: they’re part of the Corpsmaster Ralph Hardimon Signature Series. 

Ralph Hardimon is an American percussionist, teacher, and composer.  He’s been involved in drum & bugle corps, marching bands, rhythm & blues, and jazz, since the late 1960s.  He is one of many musical artists endorsed by VicFirth.  I was introduced to his brand of sticks in the summer of 2002 when I was attending an army cadet camp.  And as you can see, I haven’t looked back.  I only use his brand of snare & tenor sticks for marching percussion.  If VicFirth added bass drum mallets to the series, my drummers would be using them too.  Hopefully, I’ll meet the legend one day.