Furrrrrrrrrr

Well I would love to post some pictures from the great National Aboriginal Day celebration last week, but unfortunately every picture takes a lifetime to upload, and I gave up after these two. Thus, I have decided to write a little bit about fur! (and animals I guess, like the things that the fur comes from...)

That time of year has just passed! Hunters have been having a gay old time, as prime seal hunting season brought in an onslaught of delicious seal meat, and furs are EVERYWHERE! I did have the opportunity to sample some raw seal, and I would like to say it tasted like... I'm not going to lie, I'm going to say sashimi, because that's what I kept telling myself it was to help myself eat it, but it probably didn't really taste like that... Either way, once in a lifetime, you have to do it I suppose. How else could I have the stereotypically Northern experience?

Nearly every home has some sort of fur or skin hanging off the front porch, drying out. Less so now than a few weeks ago, as a lot of the furs have been put to good use-- locals have been coming around selling beautiful kamiks (boots) and mitts for the past few weeks.

There are even a few of these... that's right, this is a polar bear fur. A small one, but still enough to make me hustle by this house on my way home from work (that's right, I'm a bit afraid of a polar bear fur... but not nearly as afraid as I am of the different humungous dead stuffed animals they have in some of the different buildings here, why are the eyes always so creepy??? nightmares!!!)


So luckily this is the closest I have been to a polar bear since I've been here (that I know of... don don don). But seriously, it is. They do come through here, and it may have been possible to see one in May before all the snow melted, but I didn't. Phew.

Not every fur is used.

I don't know why I took this picture; I have no idea why I put it in my blog. I have so many other pictures to put up. Maybe it's to show the excess of fur available here (?)

I also love that you can buy pelts at the co-op for soooo cheap. I'm thinking about buying a few rabbit pelts (they're $10 each) just for kicks. Actually I was thinking about buying some of the mitts that the locals sell, but after discussing it with a lawyer who used to live in Vancouver, we both agreed that as beautifully crafted as they are, they would certainly be taboo down south, particularly in Vancity, home of the hippie. Also they would be way too warm and you can't exactly where gloves like that snowboarding and whatnot...

The Inuit people are historically a nomadic people--as such, the diaspora is soon to occur. Many Inuit families will head out "on land" (away from the water) for the rest of summer, hunting caribou, fishing for char and generally just living away from town. Sounds neat, but this already slow hamlet is soon to become... an even slower hamlet.

Okay well I'm excited for Canada Day this weekend, there's a big parade and celebration, and then I'm heading to the nearby national park for some hiking and fishing. I'll take this opportunity to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA, and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GRANNY AND GRANDPA! (while I'm doing this, I have to say HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY RAE, and WELCOME BABY KYLIE!!! so much going on at home!)

Have a great week everyone and I'll check in again soon!