SYLVIA PATTON - 2019 - 2021 - CALENDAR EXTRAS

MARCH 2019        March's  image was captured in Buchan Gulf, Baffin Island. This 22 mile long gulf was carved by glaciers which left steep coastal cliffs as high as 2000 feet. I was fascinated by the designs of the glaciers as they met the sea.  In addition to the stunning views, we saw a lot of wildlife in the gulf. We saw numerous narwals, orcas, and a few polar bears. The narwals were numerous, but too far away to photograph, with the exception of two who became polar bear lunches. Lunch by the water. Find the narwal! Polar bear retrieving narwal carcass from the water to see if there wasn't just one more bite!

                                                                  FEBRUARY 2019 Ilulissat has a population of 4453, and is the third largest settlement in Greenland. It's the most visited tourist destination in Greenland due to its proximity to the Ilulissat Icefjord, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. It is well deserved! Ilulissat literally means "the icebergs", and its name comes from the fact that the Icefjord is the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere. And what do glaciers "produce"? Icebergs! Like 20 billion tons of icebergs calving and moving out of the fjord every year.  Hog heaven for me! We got to cruise among the icebergs in a small fishing vessel, and the light that morning was spectacular. The whales were enjoying frolicking among the icebergs as well. The problem...

January's photo was taken in Inglefield Bredning, which is a fjord in northwest Greenland.  This area is where a lot of the research on Arctic climate change is occurring, and an area where narwals summer. We saw narwals, but we were never close enough to get good photos of them. A staff member was kind enough to put the below photo in the shared folder. Here is a great video of them using that long tooth! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHAc65Vwwnk

                The cover shot was taken at 78.51 degrees North - the northernmost point in our journey. We almost made 80 º North! But the ice said "NO"!                                                                At the top of the map below. The calendars are ready for distribution. Look for it in your mailbox in the next week or so, if you are not lucky enough to be living in LA! If you do  live in LA, I hope to be seeing you soon, calendar in hand.    

One suggestion was to get a closer look at the texture of the Greenland Icecap. Check it out!

      What ? This is a Greenland/ Arctic calendar blog. What does either of the above have to do with that ? Those of you who know me may have heard my take on Rachel Maddow. If you want the facts ma’am, and only the facts, don’t listen to Rachel. She’s a story teller, and will start in left field and hit all the bases before reaching home. (I happen to like her stories, if not the interminable commercials.) Those of you who know me are also aware that my stories often have that same issue - but no commercials. This is one such blog post! A calendar has to have a “Theme”. The images all have to work together as a group, and even if I occasionally sneak in an outlier, Rick is there to keep me on message. However, this is a blog! So I can tell stories  and show pix that go all over the place with no restrictions. You, of course, have no obligation to read them!  You can just sit and look at the pretty pictures of the calendar. But, then again, you might...

 Hello to you all! This year I am adding something new to the calendar. In the past many of you have requested more information about the individual photos in your calendar. Some years I have tried using captions, in other years I have only given you information on the back cover, and let the photos speak for themselves. The subject of 2019's calendar is a BIG one - the Canadian High Arctic and Greenland. Thousands of photos were culled in order to reach this year's selection. And the area depicted is a fascinating one.  So throughout the year, hopefully monthly, I will add to this blog with additional photos and information.  We'll start with a map of the trip. Greenland is on the right, Baffin Island on the left. Devon Island, and Ellesmere Island are on the upper left, above Baffin Island. The North Pole is just north of the map  at 90º North. The northern tip of mainland Canada is at the middle on the bottom.             ...