As summer zips by us, the days in the north country become shorter and shorter. We have already begun to see the shift in daylight which bring with it a chance to glimpse one of the most beautiful light shows on earth, the Auroa Borealis.
These are photos I took last night while being eaten alive by mosquitos, I think it was worth it!
 

Finally, after a long couple of days spent watching water levels rise around the community I have been able to return home as the threat of flooding has ceased. Sunday evening we received the phone call from our Flood Coordinator saying that the risk of water rising over the dyke behind the town is over. As the ice breaks free and it makes its way down the river towards the Arctic Ocean, large chunks become lodged on the shoreline making for an impressive display revealing a huge field of ice. …

Today, Fort Albany had most of its ice break up and after the water began to rise up over the road, to everyones relief, it began to fall. With our large scale evacuation by the military last year, worst case scenarios were on everyones mind. This winter we received significantly less snow and the ice was less thick which has made the break up process alot smoother this time around. I am living on the hospital side with two brand new medics from moosonee flown up to lend a hand …

You are truly one of the best dogs we’ve ever met.
You kept me company for two months when I would have otherwise gotten cabin fever, and you always kept our feet warm – especially when we stood at the counter.

Waking up to you jumping on my face was one of the best ways to wake up, and going to sleep knowing you were safe inside was one of the best ways to end our day.
We will never, ever forget you

Finally, I got my first weekend off work in over 5 months and I took full advantage of it. Spring time in Fort Albany is full of excitement as the majority of the community hops on their Ski-Doos to spend their holidays at spring camps to hunt geese. Many families own tiny camps in the middle of the bush which can only be reached in the winter and early spring because the rest of the year, when there is no ice, the land becomes Muskeg which is a nasty kind …

Today was Lianna’s last day in Fort Albany and the North did not let her go without a fight! For the past 24 hours it has been snowing non stop and doesn’t appear to be letting up until Thursday according to the forecast. Lianna was extremely lucky as normally, planes will not fly when the clouds are so low to the ground. Here in the north the planes do not have all the fancy intstruments and normally rely on sight to land on the runway which makes cancellations due to …

Max (puppy’s daddy) seeking refuge on the porch
Among everything else in Fort Albany, the dogs were covered in white powder this week. I have never heard wind like this in my life, it really makes you feel like you are in the Arctic – I could just imagine the wind originating directly from the North pole and smashing into the side of the building. The wind was so bad during the night it was almost impossible to fall asleep, and was even strong enough to blow open the …

Friday was an interesting day as Anna Michelle, one of the teachers in Fort Albany, phoned the ambulance base to let us know there was a presentation for the students on how to dress a Caribou. A local hunter had brought one of many caribou he had shot with a hunting party roughly 3hrs from town. Caribou are only hunted in the winter as it is much easier to track caribou in the snow and the herds can be reached by ski doo. The pics are pretty gory but its …