Airplanes, Windmills, Horseshoes and an Apache

Photographs copyright - Property of Ron Wassink

Life is my canvas and I capture it with my camera.

Though much of my photography is of the Canadian arctic,

it's when I leave for a few weeks, and return, that I present

life in other parts of this land.

Having returned from two weeks in Ontario, I present

the images below.

Perhaps it's simplest to say these are my

"One hundred mile photos".

We do live in an incredible land, don't we.

 Wind turbines near Arthur.

 A late 1950s GMC Apache in Brussels.

 The straw mow of a century-old barn near Neustadt.

 Horseshoes remind us of an earlier way of living.

 Canada geese on a foggy morning on Marle Lake.

 Pushing a Pitts near Hanover. Each year the local

flying club invites Ontario pilots to a flying refresher

seminar called "Rust Remover" to prepare private

and recreation pilots for a summer of safe flying.

And, lastly an orange Volks Hurricane homebuilt

aircraft because orange is the official colour and

royal family name of the Netherlands.

That's my heritage ... I cheer for Oranje (soccer).

I Am A Tree And I Have Seen

Photographs copyright - Ron Wassink

 I have been standing here,

on this spot,

for years. 

A few hundred I estimate.

There is no record of a time ago.

I have seen generations come,

And I have seen generations go.

My families.

I have not strayed an inch from my spot,

Only the wind has moved me.

My bones, they creak with the wind,

And remind me of the years that have passed.

I have been in this field ... before man.

Except for a time when a native Canadian

may have walked around me.

I was young, and was still young

when this land was settled.

My neighbours, also don't move.

Their stones speak German.

They live in graves,

Only steps from my roots.

I have seen them come, be born, and stay.

Forever. They are like me ... trees.

I am here,

Watching life ...

pass by.

I don't travel, only when the wind takes my seed,

Perhaps to lands far away.

Though I stay, I have seen much.

I tell you this, because even though I have not travelled,

the world comes by,

And now, they come to see me!

I am majestic.

My branches cast long shadows.

The toil of horses,

Has been replaced by ribbons and streamers in the skies,

Above my canopy.

I Am A Tree.

I Breath,

And watch,

From My Spot ...

... on this Earth

 This red barn carries my genes.

My family supports its roof.

I am proud of my contribution to sustain ...

... life

 My friends marvel at my size.

They call me "Giant of Elms".

Hug me, but come with four.

I dance,

under the sun,

a much older partner.

We share the sky,

And gossip of the things that ...

have come,

and

gone.

I Am 

 A BIG Tree.

And, this is my story.

I Built an Igloo With My Own, Bare Hands

Photographs copyright -- Ron Wassink

... and let me say that building bare-handed is a cold affair.

Here are the photos of me building my igloo. Commentary goes with the photos.

My igloo building colleague, John, photographed me building.

I love this type of construction ... no permits required!

 This is my first igloo, ever. It was a perfect way to spend

a Saturday afternoon ... constructing with nothing

but blocks cut from snow. I returned to my snow cottage

the next day and parked the tundra rover nearby.

Inside, I enjoyed a nap (two minutes), just so I

could say I did, and a boxed lunch. Then, I had the urge

to build, so I stared another one ... for company.

You just never know when someone will drop

by for a visit and nice, hot cup 'o tea.

 Here's my igloo at sunset. It's in Sylvia Grinnell Park,

beside Sylvia Grinnell River.

 John took the next four photos of me building. Voila,

here's me standing in the middle of my igloo. I'm ready

to conduct a choir, er, put in the last blocks.

 Hey, what can I say. It's pretty cozy inside an igloo.

Notice the angle of the snow blocks. I'm amazed

at my abilities ... that the blocks didn't fall in

and give me a good whack!

 Real builders go bare-handed. My left hand will never

be the same. This photo shows how I use a snow knife

to angle and fit the blocks. Once it's fitted, you give 

the block a good whack with your fist to place it.

 And it seems they stick like glue after you whack 'em.

The walls are built in a circular corkscrew fashion.

This action is noticeable in this photo. The

corkscrew action is installed in the first layer of blocks.

That, and angling blocks seems to keep everything

from collapsing. My block laying was counter-

clockwise. I'm right-handed. If I were left-handed,

I'd be laying block clockwise. Weird, eh!

Best of all is a sunset and photographing my

very own igloo, on the tundra, in the arctic,

under the (almost) midnight sun. The full sun

days won't happen for another six weeks.

Anyway, here you have it, the story of my igloo.

What can I say ... never say never. I'll scratch

 that one off of the old bucket list.

IGLOO -- A House Made of Snow on the Arctic Tundra

Photographs copyright - Ron Wassink

 The sun sets as the last snow block is put in place

to finish the roof dome of John's igloo.

 John started building his igloo in Sylvia Grinnell Territorial

Park near Iqaluit, Nunavut, last week. I helped cut 50-pound

blocks of snow. We started the project mid-week and decided

it would be wise to watch the igloo building competition

at Iqaluit's Toonik Tyme festival on Saturday to learn

how to finish the snow house. Here, Bill, a veteran

igloo builder, gives John a few tips.

 I purchased a hand-saw at one of the local grocery

stores last week. Yes, I had to saw through the snow

to get blocks this size. This is me holding one

of my block of snow. Believe me, sawing snow

is hard work ... it is possible to work up a sweat in -20C.

John finished his igloo this evening, April 16. It's still

very cold in Canada's Arctic. The temperature, when

we finished, was -20C with a -31C windchill.

What's next? How about camping in an igloo over night!

Toonik Tyme Snow Dragsters, Skijoring on Frobisher Bay 2012

Photographs copyright - Ron Wassink

 It was a busy Toonik Tyme Sunday in Iqaluit with

most activities happening on Frobisher Bay. The

morning started with skijoring. For the most part, dogs

pulled skiers around the course, but I did see one pair

where it was the skier pulling the dog. They finished,

but didn't win. the photo shows the start, which is

Iqaluit's beach. It's very white--the beach--but don't

be fooled ... it's snow. The temperature at race time

was a balmy -20C. The winners led the race from the 

start and from the left they finished third, first and second.

 Skiers raced over Frobisher Bay ice, around

the flag, and ...

 ... made the turn for Iqaluit. Though the bay is ice

covered, the tides still come and go. The ice surface

rises and falls daily. It isn't smooth, and where

water meets land, the ice is pushed up as if it

was slammed in an earthquake.

 Willie Hyndman and his partner,

Bruce (aka Springsteen) won

the big fish and dog treats for their first

place finish. The top three winners

won arctic char and other goodies.

 Hundreds of spectators spent Sunday afternoon at the ice

drag strip on Frobisher Bay. A massive earth mover

cleared and levelled the ice surface to create a drag strip.

A young mother carries her baby in her amauti as she

watches racers take off from the start line.

Though it looks slow ...

... the sleds roared along the track. From start to

finish, the ice drags were over in seconds.

Building Igloos at Iqaluit's Toonik Tyme 2012

Photographs copyright - Ron Wassink

 Five igloos were built in less than two hours at the 2012

Igloo Building Competition. The construction, of course,

drew quite a crowd of sidewalk superintendents!

This mini pano image is made of four vertical photographs.

 All you need to build an igloo is a saw

and snow knife. Solomon Awa, Honorary

Toonik, judged the competition.

 The first thing you do is measure your igloo.

It has to be big enough so you can lie down, to sleep.

 Next, you cut blocks. Start at the igloo's

entrance and cut six-inch blocks and start

piling them up. Once you have a stack,

it's time to start building ... in a circle.

Cutting blocks is hard work.

 You work up a sweat in no time.

 The tricky part is tilting the blocks in such a way

so the igloo closes in on itself. When complete,

the igloo is a dome-shape. And, it's so strong

that you can stand on top and it won't collapse.

 When the crowds went home, the igloo village

was a perfect spot for kids to play.

It's said that 'a man, who can build an igloo,

will have no trouble finding a wife.'

 Come on in ...

... and take a look! It may not have the comforts

of the 21st century, but an igloo is a refuge

when you're out on the tundra, hunting, and the weather 

turns into a blizzard in the arctic.

Iqaluit's 2012 Toonik Tyme Feels the Inukness

Photographs copyright - Ron Wassink

 Solomon Awa is Iqaluit's 2012 Honorary Toonik.

Solomon led the 2011 bowhead whale hunting team.

It was Iqaluit's first bowhead whale hunt in a century.

Toonik Tyme started in the former Frobisher Bay

(now Iqaluit) in 1965. Toonik Tyme is a week-long

celebration of Inuit culture and tradition.

 The traditional Inuit drum was part of a musical

ensemble. The singers dressed in the traditional amauti.

 Throat singers opened

2012 Toonik Tyme.

 Feeling the Inukness is a three-minute movie filmed

in Iqaluit and now on YouTube. The movie's star,

Anguti Johnson, 2012 master of ceremonies.

Check out the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iawDXQGQsr0

Face painting, of course, is popular with kids,

even at Toonik Tyme!