(Post 4 of 5) A man and his plants. Jeff Saarela shows off the Oxitropus maydelliana he collected in Cape Dorset. It’s also called locoweed: “Don’t eat it,” Jeff says. Jeff and Roger came north from the Canadian Museum of Nature on a mission to collect, sample, map, press and dry plants. They have 2000…
Shorts
-
-
(Post 5 of 5) Someday, somewhere, these plants I have arranged will be in a herbarium. Look at my Leymus mollis. I’m so proud! I’m a botanist in training now. As you can see, my supervisor (those are Jeff’s feet), is not too far away.
-
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
Time for a journey to the Canadian Arctic. This is my new and unexpected back yard in Apex. I am held over in Iqaluit due to weather, and the bay is still packed with #ice. No boats in or out. Lots of flight changes. When in doubt, look at plants. I’ve been taken in by…
-
Dreaming north, Lakefield, Ontario, Canada
Eating chocolate cake and studying my circumpolar map with author and adventurer James Raffan (Circling the Midnight Sun). We’re in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada for a literary festival but can’t stop scheming about #thenorth. “I’ve had a version of this map on the ceiling of my work space since 1975,” James said. “But the real map…
-
Riding in Húsavík, Iceland
Farewell for now, beautiful Iceland. I’ll be back with friend and photographer Eric Guth in September. In the meantime, thank you to those I met and to this creature, Blassa, who showed me the tölt and carried me across the beach into hip-high lupines.
-
My newest friend in Iceland.
-
Siglufjörður, Iceland
(Post 1 of 2) “There were cute boys on the ships who came in with the herring.” That’s part of what made being a herring girl in Siglufjörður, Iceland so much fun. Even though these women sometimes worked 24 hours straight, they assured me those summers were the best of their lives. Two of the…
-
(Post 2 of 2) What should I remember about the life of a herring girl? The fun after hours. Birna Björnsdóttir grabbed my shoulder and said, “It was fun to be young and to work a lot. You’d go home, change, put on a bit of make up and go to a ball every night….
-
Jan Mayen, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Norway
(Post 1 of 3) Welcome to Jan Mayen. Maybe you’ve never heard of it. This is a Norwegian territory at 71°N, and it’s 500km east of East Greenland, 600km north of Iceland and 1000 km southwest of Svalbard. The island is 54 kms long, and 18 people live here. On the island you will find:…
-
(Post 2 of 3) A thirteen month post on Jan Mayen with be the “grand finale” of Wiggo Johansen’s career. He is the station commander and a member of the Norwegian Air Force. What does he like best on Jan Mayen? “The stillness. At home you have to drive in line and shop in line….
