Wednesday, June 18, 2014

summer thaw

With the temperatures occasionally rising above zero these days, it's starting to really feel like summer.  Especially with the Arctic Ocean starting to melt.


We went for a walk on one of the gorgeous evenings to look at the cracks beginning to form in the ocean. One of the benefits of the 24 hours of daylight is that you can go for a walk at nine o'clock at night and it's still as bright as day...because it is day.


Some of the cracks in the ocean ice have gotten quite big. In some parts, I was actually able to dip my hand in the Arctic Ocean, in liquid form.  FYI: It was cold.


This time of year, some of the braver (or foolish?) guys like to go out on the ice with the snowmobiles and skim over the pools of water forming on the ice. It's pretty daring. "Light coloured pools of water is okay," one of my friends said. "Not the dark pools of water. Avoid those." I would be too scared to do it.  Sometimes the snowmobiles don't make it and go through the ice.

And sometimes, the ice is just a good parking spot for snowmobiles.


It was also the perfect kind of night/day for kite boarding (snowboarding with a kite), as I saw my friend Brent was doing out in the Bay.





9PM evening sun dog

By the way, if you're in Ottawa, you may want to check out this Arctic rock show that's happening at Zaphod's this Friday!