[MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale - Quitter Star
Yep, 'Nother Sondy Tale. QUITTER STAR By Wilton Strickland Extended delays in receiving parts and getting repairs done on my circulating hot water heating system during the recent holiday period reminded me of the following: In early evening a couple of days after Thanksgiving at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, in 1978, many of us gathered outside near the center of the base at a facsimile Christmas tree (Jule trae, in Danish) - a tall pole strung with lights to form a cone shape - for a short and simple tree lighting ceremony. Immediately after lighting the tree, a Danish lady standing beside me said, Now they'll light the quitter star. I asked, Quitter star - what's that? She replied, The big star outline mounted up near the top of Black Ridge (a 900-feet-tall cliff face overlooking the base). When they light it, everybody quits for the rest of the year. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
[MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
Yep, here's another Sondy Tale - not much, though: FOSSILS By Wilton Strickland In deep gullies in the glacial sediment (moraine) off the west end of the runway at Sondrestrom, are many fossil fish thousands of years old. One Saturday afternoon in early summer of '78, a couple of friends and I went down into the gullies and gathered many of them, most of them complete fish 4 to 6 inches long (a few longer) and each individually encased in gray course-grained sandstone stickling out from the walls of the lightly compacted sediment. Most of them can be easily split apart by hand along the center line of the back and belly of the complete fish to expose a beige, fibrous-looking, dry fish flesh and bones inside. During the last 10 to 15 years or so, my two older grandchildren have taken several of the fish fossils for show-and-tell discussions at school and with other friends, but I still have a small box full of them on a shelf here near my desk. For more interesting info on the subject, Google Lake Ferguson and fossils or Kangerlussuaq fossils. I noticed in a recent video on one of the web sites, students at the fossil site are digging in the gulley walls for more fossils, but when I was there, hundreds of them was just lying on the bottoms of the gullies and protruding from the walls for easy picking. We had to do no digging at all. Wilton ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
On Thu, Sep 19, 2013 at 5:05 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Yep, already. ARCTIC FOXES By Wilton Strickland Thanks for another great story, Wilton! I only wish you had gotten some pictures of the cute little critters! Alex ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
Thnks. Google Greenland foxes. Wilton - Original Message - From: Alex Chamberlain apchamberl...@gmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 10:36 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale On Thu, Sep 19, 2013 at 5:05 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Yep, already. ARCTIC FOXES By Wilton Strickland Thanks for another great story, Wilton! I only wish you had gotten some pictures of the cute little critters! Alex ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
[MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
Yep, already. ARCTIC FOXES By Wilton Strickland In early summer at Sondrestrom, I began to notice a couple of light tan arctic foxes poking their heads from under the edge of a small building directly outside of my rear windows. Because of their more compact bodies, shorter legs, shorter snouts and shorter, triangular ears, all to conserve heat more efficiently, they look much better to me than the long, skinny red foxes in the States. I soon began to look out the windows hoping to see them, and soon, there were two cute little kits added to their small family. At first I could see the kits only when they shyly peeked from under the building, but they were soon playing enthusiastically in their front yard and were obviously not aware of my observations from the second floor windows above them. I wished many times that I could join them in their games - as if playing with puppies or domestic kittens - but, of course, I knew that could not be. I never saw anybody else near them or their den, and there were no other predators in the area, so they had nothing to fear. I don't think anybody else was aware of their presence under the unoccupied storage building. The mom and dad would at first leave the den one at a time, evidently, to gather food for the family, who would always greet the returning parent very enthusiastically. As the summer progressed, the kits grew fast and developed beautiful, full and fluffy-looking coats. Sometime near mid-summer, the base commander issued a notice, especially to kitchen staff in the dining facilities (dining hall, Officer and NCO Clubs) to stop feeding the base fox population and to Please, stop trying to make them pets. There was some chance of their having and spreading Rabies, but I never heard any reports of it in the area, and I never heard anything about any of the foxes showing any aggression, but I thought it wise to keep each other at a distance. Their shyness worked very well for me to keep us well apart. I did not mention the fox family outside my window; 'just continued to enjoy observing them as the kits became adolescents and became more independent - running off on their own occasionally. As summer yielded to autumn and colder weather in early September, I began to notice the subtle changes in the foxes coats from the summer tan or beige to graying at first, then to a little whiter and, finally, to brilliant solid white as winter gained a solid grip in mid to late September. As darkness came earlier in the day, I was able to observe them less and less and finally was unable to see them at all outside my window. 'May have seen them elsewhere on base from my truck, but because they all looked alike from a distance, I could not know. For a while, I occasionally had a feeling of having lost some friends. This is merely another example of the many beautiful and fantastic things happening all around me that made an otherwise somewhat forbidding and potentially boring environment extremely enjoyable and interesting. I'm afraid that many who were there with me never saw it and never realized the fantastic world of beauty and adventure all around us. Of course, I should remind the reader that my situation was nearly unique in that I was able to move around in an area much larger and much more varied than Sondrestrom itself, but, again, there were many new and rewarding things to enjoy there in that small and confined space, too. The fox family immediately outside my window was another bonus. Wilton ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
On Thu, 19 Sep 2013 20:05:06 -0400 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Yep, already. Thank you! Craig ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
Of course, the column-of-twos dog arrangement is occasionally, but rarely, used in Greenland. The fan allows each dog to zig and zag a bit to pick its way amongst rough ice for the most efficient path, and it reduces the chances of more than one dog at a time falling into a lead (open space or crack) in the ice. 'Also enhances the quicker and easier recovery of just one dog from the water instead of several if they are pulled into the water one-after-the-other in a column of twos. BTW, I'm certainly no musher - far from it; merely recounting some of my observations and a bit of info gleaned from several mushers in Greenland and some reading. Wilton - Original Message - From: Craig diese...@pisquared.net To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2013 12:18 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale On Sat, 14 Sep 2013 09:58:21 -0400 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: 'Not much, but here's another Sondy Tale, anyway.. Thank you, Wilton. As we stepped over amongst the second team of dogs, a very large shaggy, black dog with the most beautiful bright, light blue eyes I've ever seen approached and sat down in front of us and held up a huge paw. I reached down and grasped the paw as large as my fist and noticed that his leg was a little bigger than my wrist. Now that's a BIG dog! He moved my hand and arm up and down and looked me in the eye with those bright blue eyes with a smile as if to say, Very well, Sir, How are you? Wonderful personality -- a good thing to have in a dog that large. The column-of-two allows them to go between trees; the lack of trees Greenland is more conducive to the fan arrangement. I wonder if the fan arrangement has some inherent advantages over the column-of-two arrangement -- one could use a column-of-two in Greenland even though it's not strictly necessary. Craig ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
[MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
'Not much, but here's another Sondy Tale, anyway.. MAY I PET 'IM? By Wilton Strickland At lunch one day in late winter or early spring of 1978 at Sondrestrom, Greenland, somebody mentioned that some sled dog teams were down at the port, seven miles away. (Tourists from Europe would occasionally fly in and charter native Greenlander sled dog teams for two-week trips from Sondrestrom to a small village on the coast or out onto the ice cap a few miles away.) After lunch, several friends rode down to the port with me to see the dog teams. When we arrived at the port, there were several Danish and Greenlander drivers/masters and their dog teams standing around in little groups, talking, napping or just sitting around enjoying the low, mid-day sun. As we walked up into one group of dogs and were talking to the master, some of the dogs appeared eager to interact with us, and one of my friends asked, May I pet 'im? The driver responded tersely, No, they're not pets. These are working dogs. I said to the friend, Yeah, be careful, you may draw back a bloody nub. Meanwhile another driver nearby, who had heard the exchange, said to us, Come on over here, you may pet my dogs. As we stepped over amongst the second team of dogs, a very large shaggy, black dog with the most beautiful bright, light blue eyes I've ever seen approached and sat down in front of us and held up a huge paw. I reached down and grasped the paw as large as my fist and noticed that his leg was a little bigger than my wrist. I offered a greeting, Good afternoon, Sir, how are you? He moved my hand and arm up and down and looked me in the eye with those bright blue eyes with a smile as if to say, Very well, Sir, How are you? I asked the owner/driver, What's his name? Sorte (Danish for black), he responded. Oh! Selvfolgelig! (certainly), Blackie, I exclaimed. By the way, it's interesting to note the way sled dogs in Canada and Alaska are arranged and hitched to the sleds differently from those in Greenland. In Canada and Alaska, the dogs are arranged into columns of two abreast with each dog attached to a main trace (cable) that runs from the front dog in each column to the sled. Dogs in Greenland are each attached individually to the sled in a fan formation. The column-of-two allows them to go between trees; the lack of trees Greenland is more conducive to the fan arrangement. Wilton ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
WILTON wrote: By the way, it's interesting to note the way sled dogs in Canada and Alaska are arranged and hitched to the sleds differently from those in Greenland. In Canada and Alaska, the dogs are arranged into columns of two abreast with each dog attached to a main trace (cable) that runs from the front dog in each column to the sled. Dogs in Greenland are each attached individually to the sled in a fan formation. The column-of-two allows them to go between trees; the lack of trees Greenland is more conducive to the fan arrangement. Wilton Another interesting tidbit, Wilton. Mitch. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
On Sat, 14 Sep 2013 09:58:21 -0400 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: 'Not much, but here's another Sondy Tale, anyway.. Thank you, Wilton. As we stepped over amongst the second team of dogs, a very large shaggy, black dog with the most beautiful bright, light blue eyes I've ever seen approached and sat down in front of us and held up a huge paw. I reached down and grasped the paw as large as my fist and noticed that his leg was a little bigger than my wrist. Now that's a BIG dog! He moved my hand and arm up and down and looked me in the eye with those bright blue eyes with a smile as if to say, Very well, Sir, How are you? Wonderful personality -- a good thing to have in a dog that large. The column-of-two allows them to go between trees; the lack of trees Greenland is more conducive to the fan arrangement. I wonder if the fan arrangement has some inherent advantages over the column-of-two arrangement -- one could use a column-of-two in Greenland even though it's not strictly necessary. Craig ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale
BTW, - Original Message - From: Craig diese...@pisquared.net To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2013 12:18 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] 'Nother Sondy Tale On Sat, 14 Sep 2013 09:58:21 -0400 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: 'Not much, but here's another Sondy Tale, anyway.. Thank you, Wilton. As we stepped over amongst the second team of dogs, a very large shaggy, black dog with the most beautiful bright, light blue eyes I've ever seen approached and sat down in front of us and held up a huge paw. I reached down and grasped the paw as large as my fist and noticed that his leg was a little bigger than my wrist. Now that's a BIG dog! He moved my hand and arm up and down and looked me in the eye with those bright blue eyes with a smile as if to say, Very well, Sir, How are you? Wonderful personality -- a good thing to have in a dog that large. The column-of-two allows them to go between trees; the lack of trees Greenland is more conducive to the fan arrangement. I wonder if the fan arrangement has some inherent advantages over the column-of-two arrangement -- one could use a column-of-two in Greenland even though it's not strictly necessary. Craig ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
