Big polar bear and little people

Today we headed out with Lily and Lisa to see what the Hamlet was doing for Remembrance Day. We loaded up the stroller and walked down to the Hamlet office. It is about minus five and it was blowing up to 60 km winds this morning but had died out a bit by the time we left. Sadly it turns out the community didn’t do anything because nobody decided to take on the planning this year. So we headed down to the shoreline which was fun because there were people getting boats and gear ready to head out to camps for the long weekend and Lisa had never been down to this particular area before. So we hung out for a bit and headed over the Northern, but it was closed. Then I thought I would show the Polar Bear hide that was up on a frame drying out. This was the same bear they had seen being butchered a couple days ago. Once we got there we were taking pictures of it in front of the house feeling a bit odd, just standing looking at someone’s house when the window opened up and one of lily’s buddies from school pops his head out. So we asked the family if they minded us touching the hide and such and it was no problem. Next thing we know there are kids all over the place and the man who shot the bear was at the window and we chatted for a bit. Turns out it’s a female, so about half the size of full grown male. He thinks it was quite old as there were no cubs around and the shape the teeth were in. He found it about 40 minutes by boat heading over to the mainland. It is huge and very soft. The funniest thing about being near the bear was when Lily wanted to touch it at the last moment she changed her mind and told us the bear was saying “no thank you, I don’t want to be touched.” We then started heading home with numerous kids in tow.

It was a fun morning out. The house is quiet with Lily and the dogs asleep and Margot gone off to her sewing club. She is keen on trying to get her parka all finished as she only has her ski shell and fleece.

So, here is the next chapter in the snowmobile debacle. The used snowmobile that we purchased needed to be repaired it turns out. There is a small piece of metal attached to the suspension that stops the springs and shocks from moving too far and inverting which would then rub on the track causing it to tear. Turns out, this is why this sled has a new track; this is what happened to it last year. The previous owner to it and had it fixed, or so he thought. Fast forward to this last weekend. While trying to fit the snowmobile into the new shed, the springs compress and invert. Luckily, the water truck was here along with my neighbor who is very handy and owns the same kind of snowmobile. We flip the sled on its side and figure the problem out. I go over to see Eric’s sled in his shop to see what it should look like meanwhile the water truck guy and a carver and able to push the spring back to where they should be. We decide it will be safe to drive to my school, which has a nice shop I will be able to disassemble it in and fix it. Needless to say, I bought a carving from the guy who was helping. The next day, I take it to school and at lunch figure out how to take it apart. I take the frame up to the welder at the Hamlet garage who says he’ll have it done tomorrow. Two days go by and it’s finally done. We have an early dismissal yesterday so I go the shop to get it. When I get there it has just been welded up and it still mighty hot. I pull out my wallet and am told not to worry about it. The guys seem gruff but are really quite nice. I give the fella some cash and say coffee is on me. I make a comment about how I heard that there were no gentlemen who worked up here and that was not the case. The shop foreman tells me schoolteachers should be careful what they say there because they are all pink Floyd fans. I don’t get it, so I wait for the punch line. He say’s “cause we don’t need no education.” I smile and say thanks, and then head back to the school. Well, I got it put back together and properly adjusted. I have never worked on a snowmobile and do not even have an owner’s manual. I am still very proud of myself. Yay me! HAHAHAha.

We decided to purchase the twin to this one also as it is a bit small for the three of us and it is a good idea to always go with another sled if you are going out on the land in case something goes wrong. Turns out that one needs work too. Frustratingly I realize this after I buy it. Grrrrrrrrr. However the old owner is a stand up guy and did not realize there was an issue and has offered to pay for the parts to fix it. I am sure he would have refunded me my cash had I asked, but I really want the sled. The springs that hold up the snowmobile’s rear end are shot and need to be replaced. But, really the other one could use new ones also. It bottoms out if we both try to ride it. I will order the parts tomorrow from Iqaluit assuming they have them in stock. The nice thing about buying a machine from up here is that you end up getting something that is common to the area and parts are readily available.

To all bloggers who read this, I need help. Blogger seems to have changed it's layout as far as posting goes. On the toolbar used to be a button I could press that would allow me to upload and publish pictures. The button has vanished and I don't know what to do now! Has this happened to others? Have I changed a setting unwittingly and if so, how do I reset it? I need help, please help.



Take care,

-Richard