Pond Inlet pretty in the spring. Many polar bears can be found in this part of the world. They spend much of thier time hunting for seals on the sea ice.

The mountains are over 30 miles away but look so much closer. Many tourist make the mistake of trying to walk across the ice to get to the island. They soon find that it is much further than they had thought. 

Sandy beach at the top of the world. Some of the "mountains" in the background are actually iceburgs. Here we see the sun setting. THe sun will not return in it's full glory for 6 months. The following weeks will become darker and darker untill 24 hours of darkness in December signify the official start of winter. 

This pack ice will be left high and dry as the tide recedes. The ice on the left is about 15 ft. high. It is not wise to walk too close to the ice because when it is melting, the center of gravity changes. This can cause the ice to collapse or roll over. 

This is my son James fishing just as the high tide rolls in. Even in mid July, there is ice on the shore. The tide reached a height of 10.3 meters that day. Tides in Frobisher Bay can be as high as 12 meters. The water will recede a mile away at low tide a mere 6 hours after this picture was taken. 

For all those who are sweltering in the hot southern sun, I thought that looking at this picture would help to cool you off. This picture was taken in May of this year. Mush! ( No one really says "mush" ) 

The Sting

I have received many pieces of Email pertaining to bumble bees. Does the bee sting or not? A comment left on the site by Bill has indicated that bumble bees indeed sting and are capable of stinging multiple times. Most bees have a barbed stinger which imbeds into the victim which the bee is unable to extract. The bee will tear itself apart leaving the stinger and a pulsing venom sac behind. The bee perishes all for the good of protecting the colony. BIll has indicated to me that a true bumble bee has a smooth stinger and does not die after stinging.
So I have done some research. I was surprised to find that Bill is correct if we are talking about the female bumble bee. Here is a bit of information from an entomological web site dealing with bumble bee identification.

IDENTIFICATION

Bumble bees are large robust insects with black and yellow coloration. The bumble bee has a black or yellow hairy abdomen, which is a character that can be used to differentiate it from a carpenter bee, which has a black, shiny, hairless abdomen. The foraging bumble bee has a large pollen basket on each hind leg that is often loaded with pollen. The bumble bee queens are typically twice a large as workers or males. A female bumble bee has a pointed abdomen with a stinger. Males do not have a stinger and the tip of the abdomen is rounded.

So, Bill is correct (females) and so am I (males).
The foraging bees are female. They sting. I shall have to follow suit from now on and toss my golf clubs into the air running madly in circles screaming "Bee! Bee!" like the rest of the brave men of the arctic.