Northern Exposure...Summer Beaver: Settling In..........

Friday, May 30, 2008

Settling In..........

So another day in. Three weeks left and I will be home and I have to say I am looking forward to it. I moved to Bearskin Lake because Summer Beaver was not that busy and I have to say so far Bearskin is not either. 5 patients today but the staff say it is so unusual it is never this quiet so I am beginning to think it is me. I bring good health I guess. So we shall see what next week brings. Todays visits were very minor nothing too interesting. The pictures I posted today is taking you on the first part of my walk.

I am sure I mentioned before that birch trees are in great abundance and as you can see they are. I walked through the forest behind the Nurses Station to the water. It is only about 7 minutes to the water. It is really a pretty forest that is for sure and when I got to the water the picture below is what I saw. Could not get a good spot to sit like my property at Summer Beaver but I will keep searching for my perfect place. I also put a picture of something that I saw throughout the woods and did not know if anyone could tell me

what it is. I am not sure if it is coming from the trees or what. They are everywhere. From the forest I started my walk into town. It is a longer walk then Summer Beaver about 15 minutes puts me into town. This town has a few stores I think three and three churches and even a chicken dinner restaurant. I ran into a teacher who teaches at the school and she has been teaching in the North for 5 years and will be returning South because her daughter is soon going to school.

This seems to be common up here. The pay is higher and well depending on your profession the accomodations are cheap. A teacher only pays 500.00 per month and that includes her utilities. She is married to a NADAP police officer though and the police get their accomodations for free so they are living free. I thought the police up here had to be native but this is not true. Many are actually not native at all. Anyone can apply and do their training in Orillia Ontario.

The Nurse who works here full time tells me she makes 150,000 per year but much of this is due to the OT and call backs (not sure if you are interested). She has been up here 5 years with her husband and two children but they too will be heading south soon to put kids in school.

The Picture tothe left is a picture of an old church that I pass on my way to town and the one below is what seems to be a place for construction equipment and supplies.

Although this town seems a bit more modern the area is still unkept. Today was gargage clean up day and walking through the town I think that maybe people forgot?

Well that is it for tonight. Will keep you posted over the weekend. Hope you all have some fun in the sun. Take care.......

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Morning Hun

Well as far as the Sun goes not down here in Athens, we had a hard rain all night and suppose to rain all weekend

As for those things on the ground if it was down here they could be mistaken for Turkey Dung as it looks about the same but I know there are know Turkey up that far, interesting is it plant like material or animal, could be from the trees or maybe some big ass grouse!!!!let us know what you find out.

The lake looks real nice for fishing once the ice goes out, not sure if you will get to see that though.

Seems like it would be a great place for a young couple to get a start on life, there careers on the go and put some cash in the Bank...
As long as you could handle the North as It would be long hard winters.

Well just waiting for the girls to come home to help me get the new washer as I am only a driver they will be the movers.

Oh ya your Bridal reef Spirea Hedge is in full bloom, I will try to get a pic for you and send it up as it will probably be over before you return.

Well hope you have a great weekend I am sure you will be out exploring so be careful especially in the woods alone...do not run from a Bear.. he can run faster then you....Luv Ya miss Rob; May 31, 2008 at 6:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Pouring rain up here in Ottawa as well :(; May 31, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Anonymous said...: We have to get some sun before we can have fun. You aren't missing much it has been cold and wet here as well. EVE; June 3, 2008 at 11:06 AM

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Pemmican, one of the ladies had made this for the feast.......

Pemmican was a staple of the Plains people’s diet with the name originating from the Cree word, “pimikan”, or ‘manufactured grease’. Pemmican was made from buffalo meat, although antelope, deer, elk and moose were also used. It was a mixture of dried meat pounded to a powder, a quantity of rendered fat, Saskatoon berries or choke cherries, and sometimes peppermint leaves. The whole mixture was stored in parfleches, or skin bags, where it could be stored indefinitely. Pemmican was portable and highly nutritious with 1 kilogram equaling 5 kilograms of fresh meat. It was one of the most important contributions native people made to the survival of the Europeans through the harsh Canadian winters.

How to Make Pemmican
To make pemmican the Indians began by cutting meat into thin slices or strips and drying it either in the sun or over a fire. After the meat was dried, it was spread out on a stone-headed mauls and then pounded. This pounded meat was called "beat meat" by the natives. "Beat meat" was then mixed with melted fat and marrow. One early European observer noted that 40 pounds (18kg) of fat were added to 50 pounds (22.6kg) of beat meat. Sometimes a paste made of fruits or berries were added to this mixture.
Pemmican was stored in folded rawhide containers called parfleches. They were flat which made them easy to store and transport. Parfleches were greased along their seams to keep out air and moisture. Pemmican could therefore be kept fresh for years. Three-quarters of a pound (.34kg) of pemmican a day was a sufficient ration of food, although a hard-working traveler might eat between 1 and 2 pounds a day.
"... to make this essential food, the women would cut buffalo meat into very thin strips and hang them on hooks or a rack over a slow, smoky fire. The fire was used mainly to keep flies off the fresh meat. After a day or two the fire was discontinued and the meat was allowed to dry in the sun and wind. Three or four times a day the women would crack the meat open to allow the outsides of the strips to dry. After the drying process, which took about a week, the meat was broken into small pieces and put inside a flour sack. The women then pounded the meat into powder. This powder was mixed with dried berries, and melted buffalo fat was used to bind the substance together into balls. The pemmican balls were then placed into bags made of green (untanned) buffalo hid, and sewn up tightly. A bag of pemmican, made properly, could be cached in the ground for several years and still remain usable.
Rubaboo is the name for a stew made of pemmican and any wild vegetables at hand. Boiled in a pot of water, the chunks of pemmican would fall apart. Additions - the likes of onion, turnip, asparagus, parsley, sage, bullrush root, cattail heads, dandelion root, wild parsnip, wild carrot, mushrooms, pine nuts, daylily roots, or wild rice, would turn it into an appetizing stew.

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