Chicken Hunting
So, month two in Tulita NWT. The last month has been a bit of an eye opener to me up here. I live in a community with a lot of men, women and children. But very few families. Alcoholism is rampant, and puts my own battles into perspective. As such I have cut back by about 30%. My goal before christmas is 50% and by the time i get transferred to have it down around 10% of where I was when i moved here. So far so good.
I miss winnipeg horribly. My friends, family, and the ability to go out and have a good time at a bar, a movie. a game, etc. Having said that, there are things up here that I can do that are just not possible in winnipeg. Yesterday, I went chicken hunting. By chicken I mean pheasant or prairie chicken what ever you call them. White and grey, bout five pounds or so. Smaller birds. Either way, bagged my first game kill. Ate the breast, but the meat was gamey. Not really happy about that. It was rather bitter. Up here there is a lot more wildlife, bears, foxes, wolves, even wild dogs tho i think that is the result of poor animal ownership than anything. Ravens are abundant, and are crafty as shit. They can cooperatively open garbage dumpsters.
Also to, i find it to be rather relaxing up here compared to the bustle of city life. Here, there are no set timelines, the job is laid back, the people are incredibly relaxed and slow to anger (unless they have been drinking). The Dene (aboriginal peoples of this part of the north) are more what I would expect of manitoba and saskatchewan than what I would think of the north. My preconception coming up here was that they would be quite a bit different than southern aboriginal tribes, but there are a lot of similarities.
If there is one big draw back I dislike about this place it is the infestation of insects. Sand flies specifically. Not harmful, dont bite, but holy fuck they follow you around and constantly fly into your eyes, ears, nose, mouth etc. Its like you have the plague. Its horrible.
Anyways, this is getting long winded, so I will leave it here, and get back to you later.
Cheers
Zach
I miss winnipeg horribly. My friends, family, and the ability to go out and have a good time at a bar, a movie. a game, etc. Having said that, there are things up here that I can do that are just not possible in winnipeg. Yesterday, I went chicken hunting. By chicken I mean pheasant or prairie chicken what ever you call them. White and grey, bout five pounds or so. Smaller birds. Either way, bagged my first game kill. Ate the breast, but the meat was gamey. Not really happy about that. It was rather bitter. Up here there is a lot more wildlife, bears, foxes, wolves, even wild dogs tho i think that is the result of poor animal ownership than anything. Ravens are abundant, and are crafty as shit. They can cooperatively open garbage dumpsters.
Also to, i find it to be rather relaxing up here compared to the bustle of city life. Here, there are no set timelines, the job is laid back, the people are incredibly relaxed and slow to anger (unless they have been drinking). The Dene (aboriginal peoples of this part of the north) are more what I would expect of manitoba and saskatchewan than what I would think of the north. My preconception coming up here was that they would be quite a bit different than southern aboriginal tribes, but there are a lot of similarities.
If there is one big draw back I dislike about this place it is the infestation of insects. Sand flies specifically. Not harmful, dont bite, but holy fuck they follow you around and constantly fly into your eyes, ears, nose, mouth etc. Its like you have the plague. Its horrible.
Anyways, this is getting long winded, so I will leave it here, and get back to you later.
Cheers
Zach