Colours and a Day Off!

I write this as I am stretched out on the bench of a picnic table at Points North Landing, SK.  A helicopter is just landing on the asphalt out in front of me.  I face a lake where float planes frequently land, and the runway where our plane landed this morning is to my left.  I have a hot black coffee, the sun is warm, and it is windy enough to keep the black flies down.  There are multiple swallow nests built on top of a light protruding under the eaves of the cafeteria/main office to my right and the birds are constantly swooping overhead.  The only complaint I have: we’re not working today.  We have some fairly inaccessible plots, but no helicopter access for various reasons.

However, it’s a minor complaint.  The weather is beautiful and I’m outside.  Really, that is enough to keep me happy.  Last week was definitely a test of endurance, but we made it.  All the hiking and manhandling of the zodiac has started to make me feel like I’m getting tough again.  Working in the office all winter and my constant fatigue due to my unexplained bout of iron-deficiency anaemia really set me back in terms of strength, but now that I’m working outside and feeling healthy, I have no doubts that I’ll bounce back completely.

I think that #1 on my list of cool nature-related things I’ve seen around here is the felsenmeer ecosites that are scattered around in the bush.  They’re basically a massive flattened-out rock pile with gorgeous lichens growing all over them.  There is the occasional resilient tree standing all alone in the middle of the rocks, precariously rooted, surrounded by a few small shrubs.

Other amazing landscapes I have seen are the bogs and the burns.  The colour of bogs is a wonderful composition of greens, yellows, pinks, and oranges.  The sphagnum has formed little hummocks that look a bit like the top of a cloud.  Walking through the bogs is a major chore and more often than not results in wet feet for the rest of the day.  I suppose the difficulty of crossing a bog is beneficial to the plants, however.  Rare plants seem to be extremely locally abundant in boggy areas, and the less traffic/habitat alteration they experience, the more likely their continued existence.  I have been dying to dip-net in a bog pool and see what kind of insects are present in the water, but I have a feeling 95% of what I pull out would be black fly and mosquito larvae.

Recently burned areas are another of my favourites because of how cool it is to see the new growth.  There are big patches of fallen and charcoal-covered trees, the lichens have burned away completely to show the bare soil, and still there are many things growing.  The alder seems to grow back immediately from its roots and provides a spray of bright green against all the charcoal grey, black, and brown.  Little shrubs are emerging all over the forest floor and tiny, tiny, spruce and pine seedlings are growing their first needles.  It is all very beautiful.

Anyway, I need to run off to a safety/logistics meeting… hope the descriptions I’ve given have inspired pretty pictures in your head that will suffice until I post photos!

Cheers, JR

From South to North

Well folks, I have now migrated from the lower reaches of Saskatchewan all the way up to Points North.  I can say with confidence that this is the furthest north I have ever been.  Quite a change from working in the grasslands!  The landscape here is dominated by jack pine and black spruce forests, lots of ericaceous shrubs, reindeer lichen, and various amazing bog species.  And all of this is overtop of the rock of the Canadian Shield.  I haven't seen anything quite like it before.

We are staying in a building that feels a bit like a dorm.  It's a long trailer-house/portable building with small rooms, each with a bed, cupboard, little table and chair, and a small tv.  It's nice and warm, for which I am very thankful after all the rain we had today.  I have all my gear spread out around the room right now to dry.  We pack bagged lunches most of the time and eat our other meals in the cafeteria here.  It's a pretty neat little place, and the food is always hot.

I have been learning to operate different modes of transportation here.  We rented a big 3/4 ton diesel truck and put in a radio so we could let the drivers from NRT know our position on the rather narrow road up to Points from La Ronge.  We also have a great little side by side ATV for rocky trails.  As one of the guys in the wildlife crew says, driving it is just like playing Mario Kart, but without the banana peels and turtle shells.  And finally, we put together and drove a Zodiac around Mink Arm Lake to get to our plots today.  It was fun, and I'm proud of the patch we made to slow the air loss.  Only trouble is, there is no good place to launch around here.  Zodiacs are surprisingly heavy and the shorline is a treacherous pile of rocks.  We've just been doing the best we can to find somewhere safe to store the boat without it getting punctured.  Luckily there have been people around from the wildlife crew to help with the lifting.  Those guys are all pretty awesome.

Me in the ZODIAC on Mink Arm of McMahon Lake, SK.

The SxS.  This little vehicle can make it through almost any kind of terrain.

My first helicopter ride.

So far for wildlife here we've seen a totally adorable grey jay, which reminded me of a giant overfed chickadee.  Probably my favourite plant that I have seen thus far is Drosera rotundifolia, or round-leaved sundew.  It is so brightly coloured and funky looking... I may try and get a good picture of one before we leave here.  As for insects, I've seen mayflies, beetles, ants, and tons of little butterflies, as well as many spiders.

I apologize for not having any photos for you wonderful readers this time around.  Perhaps I will have taken some good shots by the next time I post!