Walking the Dogs

Each morning and night we take the dogs for a 20 minute walk.  Our favorite path is heading towards Frobisher Bay.  There is plenty of open space, so once we get off the local roads the dogs get to go off leash.  They seem to love this experience and for me, it is very enjoyable too.  We are up a few hundred feet above the bay and the view's are breathtaking.  Each day, we are amazed to see boats out in the bay, since it must be getting close to the end of shipping/boating season.  Some of these are bigger ships that transport goods to Iqaluit and some are smaller local boats that fish or sightsee on the bay.  Still, since it is typically -5 to -8 degrees, we are surprised to see the boats on the bay.  Near shore, there are already signs that the bay is beginning to freeze over.  So far the only wildlife that we have seen on our excursions are the ravines.  These are large black birds that seem to communicate by making all sorts of interesting noises.  They terrorize the dogs and one of the funniest times was when Quinn was trying to take a dump and this ravine kept hovering 3 or 4 feet over his head.  He would get down into a squat and the bird would hover, so he would jump up trying to get the bird.  This happened 4 or 5 times in a row.  Finally, Quinn just gave up and searched for an alternate, more private dumping ground.  So far, no polar bears, wolves, whales or any other animals that are supposed to frequent these parts.  All in all, one of my favorite experiences is taking the dogs for their daily walks.