Sun Dogs, Snow Dogs

Last night, we were treated to our very first sun dog. For those of you not on Baffin Island, that would be an optical illusion -- when the air and light are just right, the sun is followed on either side by light. This light sometimes appears as a small half-arc rainbow, sometimes a smaller circular sun, and sometimes, like last night, a smear of colour. The effect is the result of light refracting off of ice crystals in the air and, in temperatures like this, those crystals are known as diamond dust. Friends, this place is made of magic.

Sun dogs tend to, up here, come with two small suns, on on each side of the real deal. Oddly enough, we could only locate the one dog; we suspect the sun's other pup was hiding behind the notorious iceberg although, on my trek down the beach to snap a photograph, I couldn't locate him.

One sundog, its master, and sea ice.

There have been other stray and missing pups today. There is a mother dog who wanders around in the area with her one puppy. I've snapped a few pictures of her over the days. Indeed, when I walked back from my trip to find the sun dog, I wandered right past the mother and pup curled up under the motor of a boat grounded for the season. But today, as I peered out of the bedroom window, I saw the mother by herself, eyes scanning the area, wandering to and fro and looking a little lost.

I don't know if that meant a lost pup, or if he was hiding around the corner of the house, waiting for the all clear before coming out. Only time will tell.

The wanderers.

Under the watchful eye and warm light of the sun dog in the distance.

I've said before that life here for dogs is different than it is in the south. While there are certainly dogs-who-are-pets (and I met a gorgeous, rolly-polly, fuzzy, and well-loved puppy today, with his owner, a 7-year-old boy, attached and happy to introduce them both), most dogs are not pets. Many dogs spend their winters out on the ice, waiting there to pull a sled, waiting to be fed delicious seal that is carefully prepared on the ice. Others, like this mother and her pup, are loose and wander. And, as I've said, the dogs understand this relationship: they work for their living; they're bred to be working dogs and, with a purpose fulfilled, are very contended indeed. In the south, most of us tend to understand dogs apart from their original purposes. We think of them as companions primarily -- a luxury in a life in which we do not need that carefully-domesticated and carefully-bred companion to help protect us, transport us, hunt for us. It is incredible to see these dogs doing what is programmed deep into their brains and bodies, even if I find myself hoping that our dear mother dog has not lost her pup.

When we were treated to the sun dog sky, the mountains were also especially spectacular: swathed in mist, still sharp and crisp but softened around the edges.

The way back home, misty mountains in the distance.