Beach hut - Hjelmsøya, Spring'08

Vi snakkes senere

I am back from summer, and whatever else I got up to.... email and internet was scarce this summer. Very. Cabins on uninhabited islands tend not to get wireless connections...

But there it was, a summer of (sort-of) sun in the North (I would SWEAR it is called MIDNIGHT SUN coz it came out mainly, er, AFTER midnight .... save a few crazy dazzling nights work on the oh-so-scary puffin cliffs in mad golden light).

So, Summer 2008 was 5 weeks on Hjelmsøya, an island far north in Finnmark (Norways most northern county), after a few weeks dodging snowstorms on Hornøya.... Then, wonderful times with friends: thanks to Randi for her looovveely sofa ;) Tomas, Anna-Katrina & The Boys for good times in the mountains in their secret valley ;) to Ane and Jan for just about the Best Eggs that a free-range chicken can lay (and so much more, including a very sober introduction to Odd-Inga, MY HUSBAND-TO-BE... cheers guys, and yes, I am embarrassed if he is reading this! Sorry Odd-Inga but the set-up was all too crazy for me!) ;) thanks Tore for treeplanting times (... so... making me an Almost Lumberjack now!) and Maret for a blueberry-tastic 6 day Lyng-ing trek in the big hills (worth every last hobbling step!, and each time we threw ourselves flat out on those super comfyLyng-ing patches.... oh! How I 'Like Long Lynging Lazily Lion-Like (eating 'Lion' bars!)' - I recommend lying on Lyng to anyone ;)).

This is starting to sound like an Oscar speech... so I'll quit while you are still listening (perhaps too late??).

Seems I have a few people to THANK big time after I finished work for NINA this summer and was out and about visiting new places in Norway and getting to grips with just being here and soaking up the trees, mountains, and a few Isbjørn beers. I missed the family, but hey, Christmas is just around the corner!!! And I can't wait to see how Nephew 1 is sprouting, and see if Nephew 2 has any clue who Aunt Helen might be! (likely NOT).

Regretfully, I find life gets in the way of blogging these days. I have so little free time that generates good blogging success (i.e.stuck in front of a computer and wishing for distractions...) and seeking out computers in libraries, begging access off friends etc., for the sheer sake of it just ain't my thang, as those who know me know.

I will post a few pics, etc., at times, as I really want to chitter and chatter away to those who want to hear my ravings!.... but please bear with me. It will not be frequent!

My New Job Til Almost Xmas is training sled-dogs in a camp in the forest, no shower or fancy trimmings, but with sauna and woodstove. I'll never make a million at this game, but you should join me there. It's pure magic.

Vi snakkes senere (..."we'll talk later"...)

Much love

Hornøya highlights

Spring blizzard on the island shortly after my arrival - kind of messed up our work plans and buried a few nests... swept away a few low-placed kittiwake nests... made life a bit exciting for a day or so!

And midnight sun....

Hornøya

I spent the last 2+ weeks on another island: Hornøya is a small Nature Reserve off Vardø's coast. That's pretty close to Russia, for those who wonder where the heck the small town of Vardø is - Vardø is almost as far North and East as you can go, for towns in Norway. It's a nice town, with a fabulous backdrop of the Finnmark plateau - snowy, gravelly hills stretching forever with not a lot of human life out there (plenty of reindeer and lemmings mind you).

I was helping out with Greater-Black backed and Herring gull work.  Shitty... noisy...but fun!

Here are a few shots - the lighthouse is where everyone stays, and there were researchers from all realms gathered there. The social life was great - ask the others... I couldn't take the pace!

And whilst I was up there, I became second-time Aunt!  Yes, my sisters clan are growing. Charlie Matthew deserves a special mention, and was born about the time that the Black-backed gull chicks started to hatch (....a dubious honour perhaps!).

May to date

May was a month of transitition, I guess, and started with a superb outing on local hot Norwegian rock at the start of the month.  Spring definitely felt on it's way.  Coastal cragging - nice!

There were also parties on the beach (yes, that is a pig: now sausages...) with friends who were leaving to work elsewhere in Norway, and bicycle rides to support others who were cycling across the country - I accompanied Rene and Tim on their send-off from Vilmarkssenter/Tromso to the ferry port to nearby island of Senja. This involved a 9hr return journey for me, which was painful to say the least (not the sweet goodbyes so much as my ass!).

  

I then journeyed Northwards (Cruise-ship transport - now that's a fine way to commute to work), for a pre-breeding season visit the island of Hjelmsoy with Geir, my new boss for the summer, as I switch from work at the busy dogyard to life in a seabird colony!  Hjelmsoy is where I will spend the most of my summer....  it's a fair-sized island, of several kilometres squared, not far from Nord Cap, which is mainland Norway's Northernmost tip.  Athough as you can see, it was rather snowy for the time of the year, it was already promising to be a hub of seabird activity. I shall be there monitoring kittiwakes, guillimots, puffins... and trying to catch some sleep in the 24h daylight!  We spent a week on the island, checking the progress of the breeding birds. Seems kittiwakes are slow this season, with nests still unbuilt, but gulls nesting and laying already, and plenty of bird life about. There were clouds of snow buntings foraging energetically on bare patches of ground. Ah, it's good to be in the North.  These birds are infrequently seen in the UK, and remind me very much of the two field seasons I spent avoiding polar bears up in Nunavut, Canada.  

'Goodbye Vilmarkssenter' - the expression says it all!

Ice-cream send-off at the ferry port to Senja island.

The fishing-boat transport to Hjelmsoy - a short stop from Havoysund.

But first Trollfjord, a ridiculously big cruise ship - an overnight journey from Tromsø to get to Havoysund.
Leaving Tromso behind.... 


And yes, I sat in this sauna for hours, and actually saw whales swim past at one stage (I had to blink twice!).





My home-to-be for June. Can't wait to be there again!

Ha det bra Vilmarkssenter

Spring has arrived: snow is melting out fast, rain has arrived, the cyclists have flown, and I am off to N Norway for a summer of seabirds.

So, it's -

So long, Vilmarkssenter, and thanks for all the...er... chocolate cake (Jan!)