The portable life

I head to Nunavut again tomorrow.  This time, Arctic Bay for 3 months.

Arctic Bay is on the north end of Baffin Island, and is one of my favourite communities in Baffin region.  The landscapes are beautiful and varied, with lots of hiking and walking options that are easy to get to.  I don't think they get as many polar bears as most communities either, so there's the added bonus of there being less risk of being eaten while out and about.

I'm currently trying to stuff my life into one suitcase and 2 medium-large Rubbermaid tubs.  I'm pretty good at it.  I never know until the last minute whether or not I succeeded, so there's suspense, but I am optimistic that I will have pulled it off again.  Of course, it's not just stuffing the stuff into the containers, but judging the weight so that I can actually lift the darn things.

I overnight in Iqaluit on the way there, so I get to haul it all to a hotel as well (no luggage storage there, or at least there wasn't, but maybe I'll be lucky this time, but I doubt it.  In Resolute they let you just leave it in the terminal overnight, but Iqaluit usually makes you take it with you.)

I'll drop a line here from Iqaluit if I get the chance... I think my hotel has internet.  Otherwise, stay tuned, I will be no doubt taking a few pictures and posting them for your vicarious travel enjoyment.

Another big hole in the ground

This one's on Richmond Rd. too, between Island Park and Kirkwood.  Probably another condo building.

Look, a plane!

Well I thought it looked like a plane.

Phlox-esque flowers

I love these phlox-like flowers that bloom in dappled sunlight at this time of year.  I don't think they're actual phlox though, are they?  The flowers are similar but the leaves are different if I remember correctly.

Water levels

Water level in the canal was pretty high a few days ago, water was spilling over the top of every lock:

On the other hand, it was pretty low in the Ottawa river, this is from the Champlain bridge:

Tadpoles at Pink Lake

My friend Anne from Toronto was here for the weekend, and we went on a hike yesterday at Pink Lake in Gatineau Park.

The trail was very nice, as always...

But look, here's the real attraction!

OK,  you're not looking closely enough.  Here...

Tadpoles!  Aren't they adorable?  There were lots of them in the shallows of the east side of the lake.

Here's Pink Lake glowing typically green (it does for some biological reason that I've already forgotten, but basically the water in this lake doesn't mix like it does in a regular lake).

More of the trail towards the end of the hike...

Nothing but green

Here's the summit of last Saturday's bike ride, sure is green up there in Gatineau Park at this time of year.

They just leave their roofs lying around in the road

On Sunday I biked into Gatineau Park.  On the way there, the path goes by this block in Gatineau.  They've been building these houses for at least a couple of years, and whenever they put up a roof they build it in the street.  Heck, I could be a roofer if I could work at ground level!

Lupins

Got this picture a couple of days ago, on the greenbelt path heading to Kanata.  I took it with my little cheapo digital camera- came out pretty well!

What's this sport called again?

I forget what you call this, this cross between parasailing and windsurfing.  Looks like fun!  It was really windy last Saturday so a bunch of them were out near Britannia Bay.

Greenbelt horses

The greenbelt path towards Kanata goes past the National Capital Commission Equestrian Park.  Rarely do I see horses there, but one day last week there were horses out in every field.  They were chomping down pretty eagerly... I wonder if they get out often to graze.

Driving range geese (from April)

I forgot about these other Canada geese photos I had, I took them around a month ago.  There's a driving range along one of my favourite bike paths, that goes through the greenbelt on the way to Kanata.

These geese were actually sitting down and sunning themselves among the golf balls, on a busy day with a golfer at almost every tee.  I wonder if they aim for the geese.  The geese sure didn't look worried- they only got up because I spooked them with my camera!

Goslings

I was out yesterday on my bike, dodging Canada geese left and right on the bike path, and was thinking, "I haven't seen any goslings yet this spring."  Before long I came across this family:

There were eight young 'uns, I think one is behind the big goose on the left.

"Grilled" veggie sandwich

I've always liked those grilled veggie sandwiches you can get at restaurants as a vegetarian item, but I rarely order them as they don't seem like a good value (all that money for just vegetables on a bun!).  So, I made one at home.

I guess the restaurants earn their money, they are a bit labour intensive, but I made enough for six sandwiches at once.  I lightly fried my veggies though, just to soften them a tad, each one separately, and it didn't take as long as I thought it would.  Onions first in a smidge of oil in a non-stick pan, then mushrooms and red pepper strips after that, which oozed some fluid and made a nice thin coat with the remaining molecules of oil on the pan, to then soften the eggplant and zucchini slices in.  I used a flavoured mayo (just miracle whip with Italian herbs), and then topped it with havarti cheese and put it under the broiler for a minute to melt it.

It's really good!  Sandwich #1 is labour intensive, but #2-6 are just assemble, broil and eat.  Fast food, without the shortened lifespan.

Construction

I like looking at buildings under construction, especially when they're at the "big hole in the ground" stage.  They've been working on this hole in the ground for a while already.  It's on Richmond Rd. at Roosevelt.  They need windows in that hoarding, they don't have any.  I'm not sure what's going up here, there's no sign right now, but in this neighborhood it's usually condos.