There's still ice out there!

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Hello again.
There is still a fair amount of sea-ice lingering around on bay near Churchill and every day brings us newly shaped sculptures. It seems as if this warm spring has encouraged every flowering plant to blossom earlier than normal making the tundra a rainbow of colours, we have counted about 40 different species of flowering plants on our hikes in the area. The warmth has also alerted the Manitoba air-force (mosquitos and other biting insects) to fill the sky and attack anything that twitches a muscle! We will more than likely have the privilege of their company until the summer ends!
We are still enjoying the amazing weather here as well as the almost endless light that summer brings us. We also saw our first polar bear of the season a couple of weeks ago. He (or She) was about a mile away out on the ice. The way the ice is looking, most of the bears should be coming ashore very shortly! Exciting times!
We've also moved house (twice) this month... Aaaaaaaah, fresh air...
D + T...

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Photos

Hudson Bay sea-ice.
The break-up of the arctic sea-ice is a spectacular sight!

Fata morgana.
A fairly common (and complex) type of mirage for this area, a fata morgana is an image of the ice in the sky. It occasionally looks like a vast city or a mountain range, but more often than not, it resembles a huge advancing glacier. Fata morganas don't like being photographed either - you have to use a slow shutter speed.

Mirage on the horizon.
A Fata morgana.

Ice-cubes on the beach.
At low tide, the beach becomes a resting place for monster chunks of ice.

Balmy Weather.
Although there is still a fair bit of sea-ice drifting around, the temperature on this day was a balmy 30 degrees Celsius. The whole town enjoyed the beach!

An ice-choked bay.
The sea-ice comes and goes with the tides and winds. (June 22nd).

Greenland Primroses
A beauty of these latitudes.

Golden saxifrage.
A tiny plant that looks as if it's from a fairy tale land.

A family of geese.
Thousands of geese waddle across the tundra each spring/summer in the Churchill Region.

Bog Laurel.
Another wee beauty.

The lookout on the trail.
The twin lakes area is a nice place to go hiking. It's a mix of boreal forest/taiga and tundra, with a splash of wildflowers.

Our friend - Anopheles.
Although we may not be overly fond of our buzzing, six-legged friends too much, they will be our constant companions for the next few weeks (until September probably). Apparently, according to the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, there are 12.5 million mosquitos per hectare in these parts.

Bog rosemary
Another dwarf among the tundra plants.

In our bug-nets!
Claudia, Theresa and Dave.....

Heart-shaped rocks.
This picture is dedicated to Shauna Ravai.
Based on Dan Fraser's idea of finding heart shapes in nature. There is a lot of love out there for Shauna.

Labrador tea.
A tasty boreal treat...

Hiking to the Ithaca.
A hike across the tidal flats to the stranded ship.

Comments

[MOM]

beautiful
Hi you two, beautiful flowers, and if I were close to those rocks, I would bring back home the hearth one Have a good week MOM

[Just Bob]

Enjoying your posts!
More great stuff from D+T! Please keep it coming. One question: Any idea what causes the ice to be brownish? CO2 emissions, oil, etc? Bob

[Crannster]

What causes the ice to be brownish?
The ice that is near the shore gets lifted up and down by the tides, and as a result, it bulldozes it way into the beach and loads up with sand and gravel.

[Rachel]

Hello!!
Hi Guys! Awesome pics as ususal, Sarah and Winston are on their way! Have fun dodging the mouths large and small up there!

[EL]

Been there, done that
Theresa et al; Was up there for 6 weeks one summer back in 1985. The Ithaca is still there ! What about that plane on the rocks ?? Enjoy the long days and the long sunsets & be sure to see the Beluga's. Eric

[Crannster]

The plane is still there
'Miss Piggy' is still in the rocks and still in relatively good condition. The Ithaca is deteriorating though!

[Shauna]

Wow, thank you!
Thank you so very much Theresa & Dave for the pic of the heart shaped rock. A couple years back, I found an old picture (It was my 8th birthday party) and it's so incredibly special to me because it is of me and my cousin who was more like a brother to me. The reason this photo is so special to me and my heart was that both me and my cousin looked happy and the way the sun was coming in through the window; there is a perfectly shaped heart near the top of my head. I always look at that picture and smile knowing that I have many people that have passed on & angels watching out for me! I feel the warmth of that picture every time I look at it, so it's in a place that when I wake up; its the first thing I see...and my heart smiles "good morning world". Keep enjoying life and doing the things that make your hearts happy! Much love, Shauna! xo

[Crannster]

Thank you Shauna
Hi Shauna, thanks for sharing that amazing heart story. So joyous and magical. I am sending you much love! All is well in Churchill!