Guns

Edward, one of my students, made me a postcard while I was away over holiday break. I love it so much that it's still hanging up on my refrigerator. Every time I look at it, I laugh a little bit. It's slightly reminiscent of Andy Warhol's repetitious style, yet still captures that northern Minnesota, tacky t-shirt feel.

While much of the world sees a gun as a scary and deadly weapon, Edward sees a gun as an essential tool. He's proud of his gun because it brings him and his family recognition and prestige in the community, not to mention food for months. I suppose the image of a gun carries a lot of symbolic weight, whether it's good or bad depends on your geography.

Front: Stunning composition: two huge rifles balance the enormous moose. Both Edward and his father have told me all about their rifle. Naturally, their rifle is the exact same gun on the cover of my postcard, twice.

Back: Edward's hunting story. He still gets fired up when he talks about the "14 moose" on the mountain.


Andy Warhol: Gun. Are you seeing the resemblance?

Warmth

This week our thermometers read nearly eighty degrees higher than they have for the last several weeks. It was alarming how quickly our temperatures shot up from a steady -40 degrees to the high 30's. Our white, winter wonderland was quickly transformed into a very large and dangerous ice skating rink.

Though this looks like a view of the ocean, it's actually the melty tundra.

This week I have been running on the tundra where snow mobiles usually travel. Now it's just a hard packed trail. I took this photo while I stood on a little snow bridge over a creek.








My roommate Kirsten and I purchased this used Polaris Edge Touring snowmobile together. While I never in my life imagined I'd own a snowmobile, I realized early on that it has the potential to make life here a lot more fun. It provides easy access to Dillingham as well as any number of adventures that we can't otherwise reach on foot.

Indoor Plumbing is Back!

The open tundra, full of plenty of snow to melt, but nowhere to hide.


For a moment there, I remember feeling like it'd be a good challenge; an exercise in conservation, restraint and self-reliance. I remember thinking that it would be a little inconvenient, but that I would adapt to life without indoor plumbing temporally, and I'd get along just fine bathing in a bucket of melted snow and peeing in the -40 degree windchill. This was a great attitude to have until our kitchen was drenched in snowy water and it was actually time to drop my drawers in the elements where the threat of frostbite was very real and naturally, stage fright and accidental viewers on the tundra were inevitable. Then it starts to suck. And right about then, I would have liked to bail on this challenging predicament and have enjoyed some nice, comfortable, warm, indoor plumbing.

Finally, we have indoor plumbing again and it is glorious.

Water!

We have heat, broken pipes and hundreds of dollars in bottled water. Things could always be worse.

Sweet Coat

This is my friend Nancy. Today as we were leaving for lunch she safeguarded herself against the frigid temperatures with this amazing work of art. I just happened to have my camera. I only wish I could have captured it's true beauty. Wow.

The jacket was made by her mothers cousin for her mother. It's made mostly of ground squirrels, some beaver, otter, and the fur around her face is wolf. I've been to Nancy's house a few times now, and inside there are lots of family photos displaying fur items. My favorites were the photos of her sons wearing their seal hats, a coveted possession and a symbol of status.
Each of those little red tails is squirrel fur that hangs for decoration. The jacket is sewn by hand connecting dozens of squirrel furs.

Life and Travel

Friday December 19th school was called off early, an attempt to get all the teachers out before the weather worsened. I was fortunate enough to get out on time, but many were not so lucky. My friend Andy missed the wedding he was supposed to stand up in by several days and Whitney didn’t get back to Idaho until December 28th.

People often ask what the most difficult part about living in such an isolated community is, and sometimes I have a hard time coming up with an answer. It’s not the absence of stores, not the missing cell phone reception, it’s not life without restaurants, it’s not even the lack of fresh produce. Those are all things we can live without, we’ve just learned not to have to.

So as I flew over mountains, icy rivers and lakes, back to the comfort and ease of my simple life beneath a tiny mountain, back to a community where I am new and foreign, I remember how wonderful it feels to be with the people who know you better than anyone else on earth. And I can say for sure that’s what I miss the most.


Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures while home in Appleton, or in Minneapolis or in Chicago, but luckily, my friend Molly Breslin snapped hundreds of photos with her camera at Sawbill in Tofte, MN. Here are a few favorites.

We raced, and we lost both times. Take a look at the intensity of the pushers, or rather the intensity one of the pushers. Not my pusher.

Post pushing. The energy exertion by pushers does not appear to be equal.

I love that you can see and feel the speed and happiness. Jazmin, Kari, Liz, Dave and Caitlin cruise down the hill.
I love this picture because Clare is almost neck deep in snow, and because you can’t fake those huge smiles.

Frozen Pipes

I got back last night only to find out that our pipes had frozen. We have no water, the school has no water, the heat was out, and it's negative thirty degrees. Welcome home, eh? Maintenance, who was flown in from Dillingham yesterday, predicts this will take about two weeks to clear up. If that's the case, we can't legally hold school until the pipes are fixed.

I suppose though, like everything else, we will adapt and become more efficient with this less than convenient situation. At least we have loads of snow. As you might imagine though, the bathroom thing is kind of a buzzkill. Negative thirty degrees is no joke, makes me jealous of the men and really appreciative of running water.

Bathtub full of snow
Snow base for our soup
This bucket usually holds our sugar. For the next few weeks however, it will be our hair washing station. Unbelievable.