Buoyed by Breeze

It's already the last day of July!

How can that be?

Where did all the sand at the top of my vacation hour glass go?

Somehow spring slipped into summer, yet the transition never made it to my blog. I've got some serious catching up to do! And today I'll take the first step.

The first half of July was relatively cool with average temps in the forties...my kind of weather! But over the last couple of weeks, the Buggy Side has seriously lived up to its name.

It's been buggy and muggy and way too warm with nary a breeze to rustle even the most delicate sliver of grass. That lack of wind is significant because, without a stirring of at least 10 mph, mosquitoes become relentless. I have reluctantly been spending a lot of my time indoors.

But today wild winds from the West have energized the village!

Children are running around like parka squirrels, happy to be bug-free and cool. People are smiling as they scurry here and there on foot or four wheeler. The lake water is choppy with white caps breaking toward the shore. Little fluffs of arctic cotton float on the air, building up here and there, like summertime drifts of snow.

I walked into the post office earlier today, happy to be out, even ecstatic to be swayed by 36 mph gusts. The first thing the clerk said to me was, "Thank goodness we finally got some wind!"

At least for today, there is a lightness afoot, a reprieve, a respite from the sticky, sweaty, suffocating stillness of the last two wearing weeks.

Of course, that crazy wind is kicking up sand which stings the skin, irritates the eyes, and fills the nose and mouth with an unpleasant grit.

But, for today, I'm completely satisfied with the trade.

Flashback

A nasty bug has invaded my body and made me sick, sick, sick.

So, although there are tons of things that need doing today, I don't have the energy or motivation to move much less accomplish...anything.

This couldn't have come at a worse time (as if there is ever a good time).

Tonight there will be a (first ever) community talent show at school and I am supposed to take pictures. There will also be some guitar music that I've been looking forward to and don't want to miss.

I've heard rumors that there will be a faculty "act" and I've been warned NOT to video tape it.

So...you know what that means, right? :)

I'm hoping that this virus will run its course and I'll be feeling well enough to not only attend the talent show, but grab some photos and (of course) blackmail-worthy video too.

It should be a hoot.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a little flashback from summer involving two of my favorite little guys who are obviously experts at making the best of a bad situation.

What do you do when your bicycle falls apart? Cry? Curse? Complain?

Let these masters of the half-full glass show you...

End of Summer

Where in the world did the summer go?

(I know, I know...Australia!)

It seems to have slipped behind the clouds while attention was trained on a recent thunderstorm. As I write this, our ambient temperature is 34 (F) with a windchill of 24 degrees. After the last two or three days' rain and wind, the cotton grass around the village now more closely resembles the wet, matted fur of a freshly-bathed cat than the fluffy balls of cotton in the photograph above.

The sun dips progressively lower in the sky as if weary from months of radiating around the clock. Two weeks ago we had a string of pleasant, though windy, blue-sky days and anyone with a four-wheeler got outside and made the most of it.



Hunters went hunting. Fishers went fishing. Pickers went picking. And big brothers took little sisters for rides around the village, enjoying the fresh scent of wet summer grass and the warm caress of sun on their cheeks that will be a memory all too soon.



Quiet moments of sun-splashed Summer grow shorter and fainter every day...





while Autumn slips in a silent finger and does some doodling in the sand.

Squirrelly

It's not just the landscape that gets all squirrelly this time of year.

I'm sitting here, in my classroom, trying to update my blog, and I just had to close the mini-blinds because the sun is so bright that I'm beginning to see spots...at 12:45 AM.

The last few days have been cool (in the 40's and 50's), with light winds around 20 mph and relatively bug-free air space. Yes! Mosquitoes have been sparse for the last couple of days!

I'm hoping it's a trend and not just a blip.

I guess we'll see.

According to this cool chart, we have about 35 days before the sun finally dips below the horizon again. These super-long days make sleeping impossible for some, optional for others.

Don't think for a minute that parka squirrels are the only ones enjoying the midnight sun.



What would you do with 24 hours of daylight?

Way Too Buggy!

Spring came early this year.

In fact, for a few days at the end of April, the North Slope experienced a dramatic temperature spike from the mid-20's up to and above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Everything began to drip and slush and flow at an amazing, completely unexpected, pace. That sort of thing doesn't usually happen until June.

Unfortunately, with early spring comes early thawing and hatching of about a kazillion mosquitoes.

Now, I can appreciate that mosquitoes have a place in the "circle of life."  I can appreciate that many migratory birds feed on mosquitoes. And I appreciate that mosquitoes feed on the nectar of flowering plants and can be credited with some of the pollination of the tundra that occurs each year. I can even appreciate that female mosquitoes need protein for the development of their eggs. But I find it very difficult to appreciate being the source of that protein!

According to this article on Scholastic's website for kids, Ken Philip, an entomologist in Alaska reports that if you are on Alaska's North Slope with no repellent and lots of exposed skin, you could die from loss of blood within three hours! Although I can't verify the accuracy of that statement, my own experience with Arctic mosquitoes leads me to believe that Ken Philip has it just about right.

The movie The Snow Walker has been listed on my sidebar since the early days of this blog. Although the story is actually set in the Canadian Arctic, everything looks and feels extremely familiar. In one of the scenes, the main character, a bush pilot who has crash landed smack in the middle of the tundra in summer, tries to escape a swarm of hungry mosquitoes. I have experienced (many) similar swarms, but never without protection. I was amazed by the realism of that scene and can't imagine how they accomplished it. If you're interested, check out this great clip. There is a short segment in the clip that shows him trying to outrun the swarm. Of course, the movie shows more.

I'm including a little mosquito footage of my own.  Though definitely not an example of high-quality camera work, it's what I have for now. It is difficult to see the LCD or manipulate the camera while hiding hands and every other vulnerable body part inside a nylon mesh bug shirt, but I just couldn't bring myself to sacrifice skin or blood for the sake of better video. 

Sorry about that.

Stumped

Four weeks is a long time not to blog.

It's not that I've been off or away or had nothing to share.

I'm here...haven't been anywhere. I have quite a collection of summertime photos cached away. Some have been on my computer for weeks and weeks, unshared, growing stale, gathering virtual dust.

The truth is, I've been stumped...baffled, discountenanced, disquieted, stunned.

Like the unfortunate comrades of the playground duck, something came along that knocked me for a loop.

And I couldn't write about it. Still can't, exactly.

Let's just say that the buggy side of the dog expanded its borders for a while. The cool summer wind that holds bugs at bay died down and an uncomfortable stillness pressed in heavily against my heart. Then began the irritating buzz of a thousand doubts around my ears, each whining a plethora of reasons to fold it up, pack it in, silently succumb.

How could I write about that?

Thankfully, the wind reappeared before any succumbing came to pass. Huffing and puffing, it sent the bugs packing, back to the grass where they'll wait and hide.

Now, instead of seeing this...



I'm beginning to see this.



I've missed this place, this corner of cyberspace, where the Arctic and the Tropics can be next-door neighbors, where people who've never met can be inseparable friends.

Four weeks is a long time not to blog.

I think I can write about that.

Something Amazing

This video clip was shot by Doug Armstrong, a new teacher here in Atqasuk. A few weeks ago, he discovered something strange swimming along the edge of the Arctic Ocean in Barrow. I've seen jellyfish along the Arctic coast before, but never anything like this! It looks more like something featured on Pure Florida than here! In lieu of an official identification, Doug has dubbed this mysterious creature a "technicolor sea corndog." As far as I know, there's no stick involved. :)



Note: When I viewed the video on YouTube there was an option to "watch in high quality" linked just below the volume button. If this version is too pixelated, I definitely recommend checking it out on the website directly...click here

End of a Season

How often do I cling

to stem

or

vine

fearful, in releasing,

some loss

to

find?

Wind, a graceful partner,

sways hearts

to

dance.

Sweetness only ripens,

given

the

chance.

The Wind softly beckons.

Freely

let

go.

No more decreasing, my

heart must

be

bold!

Summer is waning, so

changes

must

come.

Only in losing may

some things

be

won.

First Things First...Almost!

I guess this should have come first. I should have started with an explanatory post before thrusting The Buggy Side of the Dog out into cyberspace. It has prompted more than a few emails from family, friends, and new acquaintances, all inquiring minds who want to know. They want to know...what in the world does that crazy title mean, anyway? Well, I am a big fan of curiosity. So, I'm sort of pleased to have inspired a little curiosity here. But I do want to explain how the title came about and what it means...at least to me.

There are, of course, some obvious associations between dogs and bugs. So, I know what you're probably thinking. But fleas and ticks have nothing to do with this arctic anomaly. No, this is something different and far more disturbing. This is about...mosquitoes. Being a transplant from the South, (the deep, deep South) I have experienced plenty of mosquitoes. I've slathered on bug dope and sprayed myself in the eyes (accidentally) more times than I can count. My senses are intimately acquainted with both the aroma and the flavor of Deep Woods Off. I've been bitten in every conceivable location of my body and have even slapped myself awake in the middle of the night (on more than one occasion) because some relentless mosquito couldn't resist my ear. I have real, tangible experience with mosquitoes. What I didn't understand right away is that Alaskan mosquitoes...tundra mosquitoes...are not the same.

Many southern states actually claim the mosquito as their unofficial state bird. Yes, I know they're kidding...sort of. I don't know if they all got together and made a uniform decision or if somebody came up with the idea and the others simply jumped on the bandwagon, but I've seen tourist shop merchandise in no less than five southern states, all claiming that the world's largest mosquitoes reside within their borders. I won't try to dispute their claims. I'm just saying...Alaskan mosquitoes are different. Alaskan mosquitoes don't just happen upon you. They hunt you down. They swarm you in a pack, hundreds at a time. They dig into your clothing and drill for blood. Wearing bug dope will keep them hovering a few inches from your skin, but it doesn't make them go away. It's like they know that the repellent will eventually wear off and they want to be there when it does. And they aren't content to just hang around. They will pelt you from every direction imaginable, so that it sounds like rain is hitting your hat or hood or jacket. I know it sounds like I'm exaggerating. I would think that too if I hadn't experienced it for myself. So, what does all this really have to do with The Buggy Side of the Dog? I'm getting there.

The one thing that sends Alaskan mosquitoes packing is a really stiff wind. Thankfully, we have a nice supply of that here on the tundra. I know there are some individuals who do not enjoy wind. It can be irritating, after all. Wind picks up sand and deposits it into your eyes, ears, nose, and your mouth if you haven't learned to keep it shut. In Atqasuk, wind is almost constant. There's really no question about whether the wind will blow, only from what direction and how hard. In the winter, when snow is blowing in my face at 45 or 50 mph during my half-mile walk to school, I will agree...wind is annoying. But, in the summer, wind can be a respite, a refuge, a blessing in disguise. If the wind is strong enough, the mosquitoes will hide down in the grass. If it's not quite windy enough for them to hide, even just a hefty breeze (at least 15 mph) will keep them behind you. That's why I coined the term "buggy side." It means just what it implies. If there is sufficient wind to challenge them, mosquitoes will hide...behind a person...or a dog...anything to stay aloft and near their potential smorgasbord.

While walking my dog one fine July afternoon, I noticed that the wind was not blowing hard enough to send the mosquitoes into the grass. I looked down at my dog, Rudy, walking ahead of me on his leash and was astounded by the sight of hundreds of mosquitoes clinging to his fur on the down-wind side of his body! It was as if an invisible line had been drawn straight down his spine and the mosquitoes dared not cross over! Of course, it was the windy side that was mosquito-free and the other side that was buggy. That got me thinking.

Wind has always fascinated me. I see a lot of symbolism in the creative and destructive power of a forceful wind. There is imagery there that I can appreciate and find meaningful. As I looked down at the buggy side of my poor dog, I thought about how extreme life often is. There's a buggy side to life that has nothing to do with mosquitoes. There are things in an average day that will suck you dry. A month, or even a few weeks, on the buggy side might be more than we feel we can bare at times and even the best repellent won't keep us safe for long. But then there's the wind. Irritating, sometimes. Dangerous, potentially. Blessed relief from the buggy side, always! Here's the important thing. There can only be a buggy side of the dog if there's a windy side to draw the line. That's what the image of my dog's ravaged fur means to me...the buggy side is real, but it's only half of the equation. The wind is just as real and it's much more powerful! I guess the trick is to find the wind and embrace it. Instead of hiding from its unpredictable nature...face it! Let the wind's forceful nature do its work, clearing away the bugs...the blood-suckers in our paths. My title, The Buggy Side of the Dog, isn't meant to focus on the negative elements in life, though I will acknowledge them. But I'd rather focus on the wind, that powerful positive, that keeps the "buggy" elements in life at bay.

So, that's where the title came from and that's what it means...at least to me.

Take a gander if you dare...


Remember, these are just the ones you can see!


Click on any photo to see more...