Month: January 2014

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Ancestory

Good morning Brave hearts!

Rise and shine! The world awaits you on this glorious day of fun filled adventure and grand survival. Hail to you, almighty human, for the far reaches of your destiny and for the clever intellect that saves you there.
Here, in the far north, resides the inventor. Clever human of specialized skills who lives in remote, but inspiring circumstances in the awesome and wondrous far north.
The inventor, who’s skills have saved them from the cold, from starvation and from isolation.
Scrape off your vehicles, run the engine, pull out the snow blower, shovel, shovel, shovel. The life in winter has it’s moments of back breaking hard work, icy sidewalks and treacherous driving. Pull out the sand, the salt, the ice melters. Let the plows pass to clean the streets. The snowy, blowy, frosty winter is upon us.
Hail bravehearts, to the brilliant lives of our forerunners. To building igloos, to building kayaks, to catching fish and to harnessing dogs. The life of the land was a hard one and the brilliant inventor survived by necessity, cunning and ingenuity.
The howling dogs greet their masters in the snowy morning. Dogs for hunting with and for pulling sleighs. Dogs that make their lives easier by transportation and pulling cargo. Dogs, harnessed to sleighs for sport, hunting, travelling and carrying. The dogs are a savior to the aboriginals of the far north. They carry far more than anyone could ever carry on a pack and travel more quickly and more efficiently. Dogs and man, an age old friendship, for dogs willingly accept habitation amongst humans and comply with training.
The dog sled was invented in approximately 800 BC by the Thule peoples of the Canadian high Arctic. Ancestors of the Inuit, the Thule people carved a niche in the far north, migrating hundreds of miles to their destination across the Canadian arctic. They traveled all the way across the continent of North America from Alaska, to new worlds on the other side, as far as Labrador. In the cold, snowy north, where game is plentiful, snowfall high and temperatures plunging to cold minus’s, these adaptive peoples resided.
The allure of the land held them captive and they lived on the abundant, prosperity of the gifts of the earth.
Clever aptitudes, building whale bone housing, covered with animal skins, or sod houses, or igloos. The inventor kept the cold at bay with warm housing made from the materials at hand.
Hail to you, oh brave hearts of the far north, for inventions that saved you, for perseverance and cleverness,for your great adaptability to a harsh and unforgiving climate in a land of awesome wonder and beauty. The ancient peoples of our nation resided in some of the harshest and most extreme climates in the world. Not mearly to survive, but to live and to thrive in dangerous and remote places.

http://www.glenbow.org/thule/?lang=en&p=outside&t=enhanced&s=3-1&mi=1

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 31,2014

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The Kayak

Good Day, Brave hearts!

Rise to the early morning need of daily sustenance. Your food awaits you in the refrigerator, the freezer, the cupboard, the pantry, the kitchen, the grocery store and the meal is cooked on the stove, in the microwave, the kettle, the oven, the coffee maker. Your adrenaline soars and your spirits rise as the smell of your morning brew awakes you, from Guatemala, from China, from Venezuela, from India, from Columbia, from Thailand and the brands are from other sources all world wide as our morning starts with international brews from all over the world. International trade has given us a boost to start the day and out of the house we go.
But wait, what did you say? The morning starts with the catch of the day? You rise at day break, but there is no dawn and you set out on ice flows to catch a fish, or a walrus, or a seal? You rise at whatever time your biological clock rouses you and you put on your mukluks and warm winter clothing and venture out to catch your mornings feast. The blast of cold air awakens instantly and the hunt is on.
The voices of fellow hunters call and the companionship that binds and protects creates the security of the small band.
Here in the far north the hunters pick up harpoons and kayak and prepare to enter the Arctic ocean, for the catch is just off shore.
4000 years of Arctic dwelling has left these experts to a life of fortitude. The craft, a kayak, is an invention of theirs, 4000 years of ocean hunting and 4000 years of kayak building.
The craft is made of wood, or driftwood, or bone with seal skin stretched over the shell. The paddle is made of wood or bone and the clothing of sealskin to repel water. The skin spray skirt keeps the water out and keeps the boat dry in case of capsizing. The famous and necessary Eskimo roll was first performed by these Inuit hunters.
The Inuit are the inventors of the kayak and have been using these specifically made boats for thousands of years. Each man has a boat of his own, made to fit him perfectly.
In an area so remote as Greenland, Baffin Island and the northern Arctic coastline of Canada, where these people choose to dwell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayak

Now, with harpoon and kayak, the great hunter can catch walrus, fish, seal and whale. The necessities of life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTGGHBq5je8 A History of the Kayak and the Eskimo

Although this film is about Alaska, it gives a good depiction of the life of the Inuit, which would be typical of Canadian history as well.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 24, 2014

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A dedicated place

Good day to you, Brave hearts

This day brings you the glorious, the fabulous, the fascinating, the wonder, the joy of creation: what beauty is. To aspire to the cause of your finest aptitudes, look around you, oh great ones. The joy of the never ending planet, with its marvels and toils, brings you fresh inspiration and wonder with each day. Yours is the mind that can perceive it, can develop it, can explore it. Since the dawn of time, man has been greeted with the pleasures of the great planet and all of its wonders.
“For the beauty of the Earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the love which from our birth, over and around us lies.” hymnary song
http://www.songandpraise.org/for-the-beauty-of-the-earth-hymn.htm
You, so fortunate as to be the creation of a human.
Still, the great planet casts each and every one of us into the land of our home. The Earth places us here and we dwell in the land of it’s creation. The migration of mankind lead them to the land of their destiny. A brilliant land, an abundant land and a challenging land. Here, almighty human, is the door opened for you, to stir the imaginings of your brilliant mind.
The land filled with succulent fruits, wary predators, catchable beasts. The land, with its awesome wonder, the landscape, the star filled skies, the warm and glowing sun. All of your needs are met, with the intelligent pursuit of the land.
The fascinating beauty unfolds as each aptitude is tested and strengthened, not yours to merely survive, but to live the grand and glorious adventure, that all the world provides. Hail to you, brave hearts, for the awesome beauty of the world, compels you to venture, to discover, to explore, to challenge and to take risks. For beauty can sometimes drive you and your aptitude to yield it’s highest purpose.
The land, with its ever changing fascination. It beckons us to seek health benefits, to feed us, to nurture us, to cloth and to shelter us. The great planet, with its endless creativity, gives each and every place it’s own special purpose. Each and every human race is the caretaker of their special place.
What drives you, almighty ones? Open your eyes to the wonder of this world. To the fascinating gifts of daring and adventure, of inspiration and creativity, to the endless pursuit of beauty and grace. A home, so filled with love and generosity, of perfect adoration and endless care. A home that saves and protects us, shelter from the billowing storm, warmth and security. A place made special, by the pursuit of a mind dedicated to the pursuit of aptitudes of décor, of culinary delights, of homemade remedies and helpful partnering.
You, almighty ones, are chosen. Chosen to dwell in lands of adversity, of difficult climate, of constant change. That land, that barren oasis, is filled with possibilities for the persistent mind. The earth puts you there, almighty human, like it plants its trees and sends its wildlife. Nurture and care, oh caretaker of the planet, you are needed where you survive and live and dream and love.

http://nunavut.adventures.com/nunavut_parks.html

Care for the great planet, as it calls out your name, human, save us.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 22, 2014

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The grand dictator

Good morning Brave hearts!

Colour your world to the dictates of fashion. An array of beauty unfolds to greet you. The grand master of influence and adventure. A call to the superior mind, to the inferior will, to the jealous and the courageous, to be spoiled and to secumb, to the master of human destiny, to be fated and ill fated, for necessity, for income, for prosperity and for nation building.
Fashion!
The word echoes in the ears of centuries old man. The fine garments, the decorative interiors, the gilted gold and bejeweled ornaments. The fun of the grandeur, the privilege of the covering, the daring to be individualized and the refreshing outlook of a different approach.
Hail, great human! Come to the wild! Here is where all destiny awaits. In business and trade, in negotiation and marriage, in adventure and lifestyle. Come, live your lives in the great Canadian north, where the dictator surrounds you and compels your compliance. Look to the forest, almighty human, there is the answer to your needs.
The aboriginal peoples of Canada clothed themselves in the finest and most sought after garments in the world at the time. Fur and leather are the trademark of their apparel. Hunting and trapping are the trademarks of their lives.
The bountiful forest and the open tundra yield animal life by the thousands. The daring lives of the bold northern hunter as he skillfully sets his trap line and waits in eager anticipation of the dollars to come. The stealthy hunter who stalks a prey of fleet footed wild for food and for fur. What brings you here, oh brave hearts, to settle in the remote far north? A land of danger and destitution for most. A land of changes and peril.
Cloak yourselves like kings. The seal gives up hides of waterproof warmth, for snugly insulated footwear, warm and impermeable. No dampness there, no winters chill, no ice cube toes or frostbitten feet. A necessity of an age gone by, where warm mukluks, kept us warm and dry. A coat of caribou, deer or bear. For centuries old man clothed himself in the finest cloth that man could find, fur.
Bejeweled in feathers, claws and teeth, bone for knives and ornamentation, the life of the land drew the cunning and daring, the strong and agile, the persistent and healthy. The clever craftsman of ingenuity and necessity, created a culture, a life, a world of their own.
Drawn to the hunt, by need or adventure, the northern man is a rightful settler. The need for the wild, as it gives up it’s treasure, is returned in the dutiful knowledge that waste is intolerable. All parts must be used, in meat, in fur, in bone, in teeth. The wild gives up their lives so sparingly, that precious gift must not be wasted.
Cloak yourselves in fur and feather, leather and hides from hats to boots, to mitts to coats, to pant and shirts.
Oh great dictator, you dress so well, for fashion calls us from our warm abode to venture out into the cold, to the north, to Canada, to settle and trade and to become the nation that we are. The nation of the fur trade.

This clip is about building an igloo, but look at their traditional garments!
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 17, 2014

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The Winter

Good Day Brilliant Mankind

Sighs the great planet. Come out to my wonderland of fresh fallen snow, of blue skies, of sunny warm weather, of winter freshness and winter play. The temperature drops to a mild -zeros and the warm blanket of snow, covers the earth. Tread lightly, oh great ones. Beneath you lies, in sleeping peace, the life of the hibernating wild.
The quiet pond, full of animals, frogs dug into the mud for winter protection and snakes, curled in sleep awaiting the thaw. The dead of winter, of biting wind, of chilling storms, of ice and snow, of planetary sleep in dreamy warmth beneath the soft cover of insulating snow.
But why the winter, with it’s housebound cold, with icy wind and chilling temperatures, with snowy sidewalks and treacherous ice, with slippery streets and flues and colds. Why the winter with sudden storms, with blizzards and frozen fingers. Constantly scrapping the car, the driveway, the sidewalk. The snow filled streets for dangerous driving and the cold! The penetrating cold.
Just dress for it and remember, be prepared.
Praises mankind, sighs the great planet, to winter fun and winter’s play. It is with great pleasure that I present the winter.
Come out, come out to play, oh great human and enjoy the winter’s treasure.
A skate on frozen lakes, with glass like ice beneath your feet. The darting fish trapped in the unfrozen waters below, play tag with you as you skate in pursuit. But where did they go, so fast and exciting, a game of chase so easily won. A different perspective of life in the lake, looking down at the reeds beneath the ice, beneath your feet.
The life in winter, on a beautiful, brilliant day, is filled with sporting possibility. The quiet forest, now changed with its, deep, soft blanket of beautiful snow. The chirping birds, so plump and cheery, greet us as we pass in silence. Listen to the winter, with quiet snowfall, perhaps a chance for an encounter with animals, the privilege of a walk into the great wild.
Here us, oh great human, sighs the great planet, winter is a wonderland of play and sports activity. While those of us who need the rest, nob off to needed sleep and needed quiet, beneath the warm and insulating snow, the rest will play on the surface and fill our days with the great Canadian winter.
The dog team rushes speedily, with happy dogs barking and pulling, the days of thrilling, driving adventure to pass the time in traditional pursuits. A skate on a sun baked lake, with suntan lotion lathered to your skin, sunglasses, sunscreen, just like the summer, but without the bugs.
For here in the north is where the fun is. Generations of cultural pursuits, of winter daring and winter bravery, of Courier de Bois and the fur trade, of the Inuit and the igloo, of polar bears and the whale hunt, of dog sledding and skiing, snowshoeing and trapping.
Here, almighty human, is the meditative stillness of winter.

small river in winter by Kleimer Bach
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 15, 2014

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The Inuit

Hail, you awesome human

To the great frontier of the far north. A call to the spirit of man, to traverse the land bridge and build a home in a land of diversity. To you the mighty hunter, surrounded by herds of migrating caribou. Their numbers in the hundreds of thousands of animals. Brave the elements, oh fearless fighters, to the call of the wild, to your own destiny, to the land of fur!
The caribou, always plenty, although now in decline, has served you for hundreds of years. Brave hunters, whose passions led you to the remote north, whose eyes spied the massive herds of roaming wildlife. Brave hunters with your sharp skills and agile bodies, keenly aware of the dangers that stalk you. The predators, the remote tundra, the climate, hunger and the deep chill.
So it comes to pass that the lifestyle of the remote and rugged Arctic, appeases the instincts of your fine survival aptitude. Aptitudes of daring, of athletics of hunting of settlement, of navigation, of founding new lands. A will to conquer and to be free.
Here in the remote Arctic, your skills are challenged. The daily bread is the catch of the day. Walrus, whale, seal, caribou, wildlife is plenty.

http://nides.bc.ca/Assignments/Nunavut/Inuit.htm

The far north, in the Northwest territories, where home is, to a growing number of Inuit, has a land of diverse landscape and animal life. The land, the ocean, the ice and snow, make this almighty human a man of his own making.
The Inuit, once known as Eskimo, are the aboriginal inhabitants of the far north. A land of challenge, but also of great beauty. Of hardship, but also of great abundance. A lifestyle wrought from living off the land, from hunting and fishing and having skills to survive. The inventive mind for making harpoons,for whale hunting, kayaks and igloos.
Thousands of years of habitation in the north, across the Arctic of Canada and into Greenland. The story of the Inuit is a story of peoples adapted to life of ocean seafaring and polar conditions. A story of people whose planetary niche is in the remote Arctic, where unique skills are honed to perfection to provide for a life of unusual adventure. Where the sea offers up its bounty of fishes and the land provides for endless hunting.
The sun has set on the land of the Arctic and the dark skies of endless night are upon them. Still, the dauntless human of this territory emerges the victor each spring.
Praises to you, the peoples of the north, for the habitation of the great land. Praises to you for your ingenuity and strength and for claiming your heritage in this nation, in that remote place and for the daily adventure of your skillful lives.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 14, 2014

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Igloo

Good Morning Brave hearts

Wake up to a day of architectural delights. Fascinating domains from our cold climate. The perfect dome shape of carved snow, of barking dogs and aurora borealis brilliance, to start the morning off right. Add endless darkness, sub zero temperatures, a little wind chill and here’s the start of a great day in the far north.
Brave human, a day of reckoning with severe climate, possibly predators and elusive game makes today a day of challenge for the Arctic champions of survival. During the darkest months of the year, when the cold is the deepest and the snow is the highest, those tiny domes in the snow, protected small villages of independent and high spirited individuals, who saw the great north as a frontier, called home.

Click to access 2_a_history_of_igloos.pdf

Way back in far off history, tells a time of human migration throughout Asia to Canada. People were mobile and robust, following herds of game animals, in search of food. Following the call of the wild, to the daunting task of immigration and settlement, of the new frontier, of the far north.
These ingenious people with inventive minds, created the dwelling of snow for shelter and habitation. The landed migrants of Asia, set up domiciles of snow, igloos, to house themselves, during the long winter’s cold. A snow house of warmth and comfort, easy to build, with readily available building materials.
High up in the Arctic tundra, above the treeline, where wood is sparse or non-existent, remains the ancestors of those ancient pioneers. Settlers to the far north with courage and creativity, the daring human, with perseverance and skills, tackled a task of bold survival in extremely harsh conditions and carved a niche of humanity, in a land of constant challenge.
Out on the barren landscape, stands a village of domes. An Inuit village of igloos, carved from compacted snow and filled with an Inuit family and their precious belongings. Furs to sleep on, whale oil for light and cooking, utensils and tools. The daily awakening to a wind swept view of barren, snow covered land. To temperatures dropping to more than -40 and to the more chilling need for food.
Feed the hungry, great hunters. The caribou roam in herds and the walrus plays in the ocean. Yours is a land of extremes. A call to the will of the indomitable human.
Bravo to you, almighty human and to the will of survival. To your place in our history and to your perfect domes, the igloo, on our list of the seven wonders of Canada.
written by Dr, Louise Hayes
January 10, 2014

downhill skiing
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downhill skiing

Good day, you awesome human

Global warming greets us today, on this pleasant, cool winter morning. High snowfall and warmer winter temperatures bring us the delight of long days of winter play. Sunny skies, warm jackets, cool air, snow. It all adds up to a plus in winter sports activities.
Hail bravehearts, strap your skis on. This is a day for snow!

The long dreary winter is one of our finest hours. It brings so much winter pleasure. The slopes, the winter scenery, the winter festivities and the winter fun. No more the cold, icy frost of bitter harsh winds. No more the ice running through your veins. No more the heart stopping blasts of lung chilling air that slow us to a stiff, plodding, gait. For us, this winters past time is the joy of this day.
Downhill skiing as a recreational sport is a relief from the long winter stress of cold days and indoor living. A fresh new snowfall on well groomed slopes entice us to the great outdoors for fresh air, exercise and fun. What would we be, in the great white north, without our awesome snow?
The snow provides more than just stuff for us to play in. It provides a blanket of warmth for winter animals to sleep under. Hibernating bears, scurrying mice and sleeping plants, lie protected under the soft, warm cover that protects them from the winters chill of freezing air and penetrating wind.
A quiet day of deafening calm as the forest dulls the sounds of noises. No wind disturbing our sheltered run. We are alone on this massive mountain. A mid week escape from weekend frenzy. So very few to witness our feats of daring, our new found paths through untracked forest. A mountain so often visited, so frequently accessed, yet still the same old thrill of fresh new snow, of powdery gusts, of flying and gliding. The ease of the sport of downhill skiing, the motion of practiced turns, the roller coaster ride of bowl shaped hills and the pummeling of moguls.
The easy freedom of a day on the mountain, skiing wherever your skills will take you. The ride of a lifetime on two sticks with two poles. The soft whisper of the lift as it passes overhead. A day that was made to make time stand still, when hour after hour is not long enough.
The breathtaking views, the thigh burning exertion, the endless flight over rolling terrain. A gift of play and winter smiles, a joy of the weather, of our harsh climate. The north. With our sub zero temperatures, our high snowfall, our ice covered lakes. Dress for it, we say. Then strap on your skis for in winter we play and play and play.
written by Dr Louise Hayes
January 7, 2014