Cool Stuff – Life Lessons from Igloo Country !
I took these photos just yesterday- ( jan 21 ) just around the corner from
where I live .
Temp minus 2 deg C-
The frozen water is the Penetanguishene Harbour – where there are Ice Huts
and folks go Ice Fishing , with their pets and friends .
Just drill a hole in the ice, put the hook/ bait line in and Sit Tight and
Wait .
For Folks in Australia- where you are burning, look at this to Cool Off !
For Folks in Snow Countries- this is ‘old hat ‘ .
For Folks in The Land of Dreams ( aka Lanka ) — take a look at Igloo
Country !!
Takes All Sorts to Make A World !
eagleD.
News, Views and More from Batch'64, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, SriLanka 
Deepthie,Beautiful pics. It is a winter wonderland. I have forgotten what it is to be snow bound.About the fishing, what species of fish do they catch?. If not for the bait from the anglers,what do these fish eat? Do these fish hibernate when the waters are frozen over? May sound silly but I like to know.Eddie.
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HI Eddie !
I am glad you enjoyed the ice fishing photos .
The Fish- is Bass and Trout , and sometimes Salmon – what kind o f Salmon, I dont know .
The Only fish I eat, is what is caught here- by my friends and neigbours .= in the summer months .
There is one Native Fishemen Family who has the Only Commercial Fishing Lic to fish here on this lake, and I buy fish from them– Trout- and believe me, it is great tasting , melt in your mouth fish . !
I know when to go and buy the fish, as he casts his net right behind my home- and comes the next day to catch the harvest — then, I go in the evening to buy my fish !
The lady in the Fish stall , laughs at me, when I come there to buy fish, as I insist on the Fish Head- for my Fish head curry !!
Being Native- she knows the principle of Waste Not- Want Not !
There is no boat fishing in the winter — so I have to wait till early summer for my supply of fresh fish .
The water in Lake Huron- where I live, is still ok- not polluted it seems , like Lake Ontario and St Lawrence Seaway .
I dont know about the water in the rest of the Great Lakes- Superior, Michigan and Erie .
eagled
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Thanks Deepthie. Fish Head curry is super when it is cooked well.! Your fish buying expeditions sound like home. Eddie.
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Deepthie,
Is that you fishing? on my birthday! It was 32 deg C here !!!!! Still had fun
Seelan
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You are Dead Right Seelan- I went Ice Fishing to Celebrate the Big Day of a person called Sath Guna Seelan !!
Glad you had fun out there – even if it was hot as hell, for this cold blooded igloo country gal !
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Nice pictures Deepthie. Ice fishing — not for me.
To answer Eddie’s question The fish are able to survive with the trapped oxygen in the water. They eat crustaceans , leeches , flies trapped in the water , plankton . Sometimes they become cannibalistic and eat smaller fish of their own species. The bigger fish usually eat the smaller fish.
Their activity is varied. Some are as active as in the summer time. Others slow down their activity and still others, become very inactive and goes into a state of hibernation. If the winters prolong some fish will die due to the depletion of the oxygen in the water. This is called a Freeze out or Winter kill and is a natural phenomenon.
Nisantha
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Thanks Nisantha for the explanation.Much appreciated.Eddie.
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Thank you my dear Nisantha for the explanation to Eddie and to the rest of the Blog followers !
Ice Fishing in my area, and all Great Lakes Areas is Big Eco Tourist Business – -where ever there is a large body of frozen water-.
Some o f the larger rivers and lakes too have lots of folks that go Ice Fishing – and there are Competitions for the Biggest Fish Catch, and a few years back, one of my Native girl friends from Timmins area in Northern Ontario , went on the ice to fish and caught the biggest fish- and was rewarded by good tidy wallet !
The location where I took these pics- is the same area, that I took the Bald Eagle photos in early winter, before the harbour froze, and the water fowl were still hanging around, before they migrated south .
Once the Ice fishing gets really going, the eagle will return to eat the discarded guts of the fish , that the fisher men throw out, once they clean the fish .
I will be in Arizona at that time.
eagled
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Thanks Nisantha.Much appreciated.
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My dear Dilisena Tharuwa,
Thanks for sharing with us, your unique beautiful experiences
I am not an envious guy yet you clearly do stretch my limitations
Your profound talents in describing the magical winterwilderness
Put us in the centre of the picture and you are a boon to our class
Ariya
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Thanks Deepthi and Nisantha for the beautiful pics and erudite explanation. I am already feeling the cold in sunny Sri Lanka, and hope to go into hibernation in the heat.
Narme
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Hey Narme- to keep you folks Cool with Cool Stuff- was the idea !
I have turned into a Cold Blooded Species – just cannot stand the heat anymore .!
In a week- I will be in Arizona, to get away from too, too much cold- but, will return late march, as it gets too , too hot in Arizona for me , and I yearn for the cooler spring, summer and fall temps of Canada !
Today, it is minus 15 DegC; right now – the sun came out- so, it ‘feels better for the mind ‘ as I get the so called Winter Blahs’ when I dont see the sun for more than 3 days !
Glad you liked the Ice Fishing post !
eagledinthesnow
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Dear Deepthie,
Thanks for posting this cool pic, I agree fully with Narme, I too felt the cooleness embracing me while experiencing the 37-40^ weather here in Melbourne
The satisfying, calm, way of life in Igloo, shown in the photo,makes me wonder whether SAD “Seasonal Affective Disorder” is a MYTH
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Thanks Rani !
Glad you enjoyed the post !– it was really meant for those of you living in Australia and Lanka- and I am glad it served its purpose .
The Igloo- the most sensible way to build a shelter – learn it from the Ancients who survived this land for over 10,000 years .
Today, this is big Tourist Industry- Eco Tourism – in the Canadian Arctic – where people do go out and spend time in an Igloo- with an Inuit guide .
More recently- two Canadian Inuit People went seal hunting, got lost in a blizzard and they built an Igloo for shelter- till the Search and Rescue team came to pick them up , two days later .
It is good that this ancient way of building a shelter on sea ice , which was a way of life, and survival just about as recent as 100 or less yrs ago, is still passed down to the 21 century modern Inuit people .
There are still folks who live up there, who were born in an Igloo- or have had their parents and grandparents born in an igloo, before the modern hospitals were built !
As for Seasonal Affective Disorder– believe me- it is NOT a myth !!
for me, it is as REAL as it gets !!
I go to Arizona to get away from the constant cold, and dark cloudy sunless skies .
Living alone does not help .
This winter has been , for some reason, not good for me, and y’day seeing the news of Kamala’s passing away- did not help … I was a total ‘basket case ‘ !
Today- the sun came out after nearly 3 days- and I am feeling a lot better- though spending this time, writing this in a Ford Dealership- to get a ‘car job ‘ done .
My name Deepthie- true to its name !
eagledeepthie .
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Dear Deepthi
Thanks very much for letting us know how it is where you live. I am not envious as I don’t like snow. I limit my outside activities to minimum if there is snow. There had been some snow this winter in the north of England where we live.
You educate us on different things most of the time. Keep it up Deepthi.
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HI Swarna !
I just thought that folks around the world in the Class o f 64 might just enjoy something different for a change – to see how some folks enjoy life, doing different things — Life Lessons !!
eagleD
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Dear ‘Dilisens Tharuwa’
When we were studying Geography in lower classes
I was bemused by the descriptions of Iglues & Inuits
Did not beleve that they were real were like fairy tales
You with wonderful descriptions remind me to those days
Ariya
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Yes my dear Ariya – I too was just totally fascinated by the kids living in Igloos- when we studied Geography in our childhood days, and this fascination is still with me !
I long for the day , when I can actually spend time in a REAL Igloo- in Inuit country.
The two times I have been to Nunavut-it was in september, and the weather a bit unsettled to take a trip ‘out to the land ‘ to be in a REAL Igloo .
But, this is good enough for me- for now !
Love to watch the ice fishing guys -when ever I drive by that road – like I did even today, under real clear blue skies.
But, the the huts- were empty- as folks have to work to put bread on their tables — as Man Does Not Live By Fish alone !!
Glad you enjoyed the Cool Stuff !
eagleDigloogirl !
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Thank you Sam for ” Cool Stuff ! ”
eagleD
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