I have been busy all summer. There hasn't been much time to blog anything. This summer was full of family activities, BBQ's, campfires, fishing, berry picking and a few frosty beers. The fish didn't come until late July this year. The ice had all melted earlier this year and made fishing in July a bit safer and easier. I hooked a very large char late in July. We threw it on the BBQ soon after I had caught it. This fish fed 8 people and there was plenty left over. I do not know how much the char weighed in at but it was about 29 to 30 inches in length. I would say that all in all a total of 60 fish were caught in July. Most of the char was hung out to dry in the persistent arctic sun. This dried char is a favourite among the local crowd here.
In the first week of August, a deck was built in behind my inlaws house. The deck is about 150 square feet of unfinished 2 x 4 lumber. It juts out over the hillside above the shore of Frobisher Bay. The view is awsome. We hope to enjoy the deck for many years to come. I will get some pics posted as soon as I get a new camera.
The blueberries are ripe and the picking is still good. Baffin Island is covered in blueberries and black berries. The arctic varieties are smaller than the southern counterparts but just as tastey. Blue berry pancakes, blue berry muffins, blue berry pie and blue berry jam make August a special month.
People have been digging up buckets of clams during the lowest tides. Frobisher Bay has up to 12 meter tides. When the tides are in the range of 10 meters high and 1 meter low, this is the time to take a boat out to the clam beds. The arctic clams have to be caught one at a time. The people use garden tools to dig up the clams as they find them at the low tidal pools. The clams are tastey and plentiful. I don't mind them raw but prefer to make a clam chowder at home with them. The digging is hard and cold even in the mid summer. It is wise to take a warm parka with you when you go boating on Frobisher Bay.
Golfing on the tundra is still a favourite with the local men. The "course" was always busy this year and still loads of fun to play. The Canadian Military have been here doing some war games and stuff. They also had a chance to take a shot at my tundra golf course. The verdict? They loved it. HooWa. No fairways, no out of bounds and no trees. I think that they all enoyed the golfing. I know that this year, I had played a few very good rounds. I think that we should build a new course though. It would be nice to have a change in scenery while playing. It'll have to wait though. The snow is on it's way. It is getting dark and cold. Another arctic winter. I wonder what it will bring me this time around?
