Welcome to my Winter Wonderland! Some general things to know about my Talk page... If you write me here I will respond here. If you write me on your user talk page then please tag me there so I may respond there. If a discussion is begun in one location then please keep it there for the sake of continuity. I may move discussions to keep them in one place when they are related. I will archive discussions regularly but no longer than 6 months at a time so if you don't see a particular discussion please look in my archives before alerting me. I have some rules on my talk page I would appreciate being observed by everyone: be kind, be nice, and be understanding. Honesty is important and how you feel is valid but if you are upset by something I have done or said or something said here by others then please step back, take a deep breath, and approach me calmly- I'm totally willing to listen and will admit if I have made a mistake and apologize, especially, if I have offended you! Sometimes it may take longer for me to reply. If a few days pass without a reply, please forgive me and send out a search and rescue team to find me. I undoubtedly fell into a hole somewhere. I will respond as soon as it is humanly possible for me to do so. My talk page is regularly monitored by helpful Talk Page Watchers and Wiki-friends. They may comment or offer assistance from time to time and their presence is both wanted and appreciated. They are my guests as long as they don't eat all my cookies. :) Please note that it is 12:38 AM (-9 UTC), where I live. This page is best viewed using Mozilla Firefox but may cause some issues for viewers using mobile application. I am posting this statement as a courtesy for mobile users and to let them know I will work to find a solution. Talk Page archive: 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2027 2028

Hey, just wanted to have a quick aside over here, as I really respect you as an editor. Your most recent comment over at Talk:Lily_Gladstone#Overlinking read as a bit accusatory, like I had an ulterior motive. I don't know if that was your intent, and I don't want to read into something, as I know tone is difficult to interpret over text. However, Don't try to come up with ways to circumvent consensus and Even the way you added the wiki-links in your response says a lot. were particularly misguided in my opinion and frankly were a bit hurtful. Saying you are AGF isn't enough, you actually have to do it, and I feel like those comments missed the mark. My intentions are purely navigational/clarifying, as I have stated in my arguments. I hope this comes off in the tone of trying to build bridges that it is intended, though I understand that I'm coming onto your page and complaining about something you did, so I appreciate you even taking the time to read this. Happy editing, and I hope to see more of your great work around! Cerebral726 (talk) 14:18, 31 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Cerebral726, I'm supposed to be on Winter break but am coming back to respond specifically to you so I hope you understand that it is very important to me that you understand that my position is always one of not just assuming good faith on the part of others but a belief you are acting in good faith. However, our positions on this are very far apart and I don't see how we could agree. I do believe linking the terms does confer special treatment that we do not confer in other instances on Wikipedia with good reason. I don't believe it encourages anything except giving the Socks that have hounded discussions and filled consensus building processes a consolation for not getting their way. Worse still you mentioned so in your comment, "Especially since the word "Native American" is not used in the sentence (though not exclusively for that reason)". This emboldens those that would continue to disrupt but I absolutely do not think you made the comment in bad faith.

I readily admit that misunderstandings occur and I may have seemed harsh in my responses. My intention was not to be hurtful to you. The exact opposite. I value you and your contribution to the discussions we have both been part of. I do think your main intention was to bring emphasis to her heritage and that's a good faith action on your part. However, I continue and will continue to believe it should not be the case though. My main reason is that Wikipedia is to be neutral toward all our subjects of articles found here. I find, as is the case here, some are not neutral when we overlink things for the sake of emphasis, whether intended to educate or for some other reason. If we do not focus on the heritage of all subjects, we should not for any. That is the very definition of neutrality. Blue links can be a way for Wikipedia to tell our readers that this is a focal point of the article and when we link something more than once we are saying, in Wiki-voice, to our readers the importance Wikipedia places on the subject of those links. I may not be able to respond if you reply but if you feel you want or need to reply I will read and answer when I am able to. We can disagree on the particulars of this point but make no mistake, I value your views and thank you for every contribution you make. --ARoseWolf 13:19, 1 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Wikimedia US Mountain West

Wikimedians of the U.S. Mountain West will hold an online meeting from 8:00 to 9:00 PM MST, Tuesday evening, February 13, 2024, at meet.google.com/kfu-topq-zkd. Anyone interested in the Mountain West or the future direction of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia movement is encouraged to attend. All guests are welcome. Please see our meeting page for details.

If you don't wish to receive these invitations any more, please remove your username from our Wikipedia:Meetup/US Mountain West/Invitation list. Thanks.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:49, 1 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

... I thought this kitty could keep an eye on things for you. Also, the bicycle reminds me of springtime activities and you being back from winter escapades. Hugs. --Rosiestep (talk) 18:37, 1 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

story · music · places

Today I am happy about a singer on the Main page (at least for the first hours), after TFA the same day last year. -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:41, 7 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks to Seiji Ozawa. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:30, 12 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

... and today a woman and her views --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:49, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

... and on your birthday on Valentine's Day an invitation to a theatre (where they first played Elegy for Young Lovers), and a pic of abundance: best wishes! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:49, 14 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The (upper) image, taken on a cemetery last year after the funeral of a distant but dear family member, commemorates today, with thanks for their achievements, four subjects mentioned on the Main page and Vami_IV, a friend here. Listen to music by Tchaikovsky (an article where one of the four is pictured), sung by today's subject (whose performance on stage I enjoyed two days ago). --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:33, 20 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Listen to music from Ukraine if you like, - I heard it in 2022, and the November concert (at a different church) raised a truckload of winter clothes. My story today is also from my life: I heard the singer in 3 of the 4 mentioned musical items. I sang in yesterday's. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:11, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Today's story celebrates a woman's birthday. She sat right in front of me when I took the picture at a lovely concert, celebrating her son's 60th. I thought she was 90 today, - no, 91 already. You can listen, starting at the piece he dedicated to her, Op. 1. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:41, 28 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

more music and flowers on Rossini's rare birthday --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:01, 29 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

YaquiWoman was indefinitely blocked, so probably safe to remove her from the COI template. Then User:Hiakkoba was blocked specifically from that page. Yuchitown (talk) 19:26, 12 February 2024 (UTC)Yuchitown[reply]

Yuchitown, I think we should leave it. An indefinite block is not permanent. It would be different if YaquiWoman was site banned. I didn't know about the other editor but even being blocked specifically from that article is not permanent. YaquiWoman could be unblocked and I'd rather have her attached to that article as a COI editor in case that happens or, the socks start showing up. --ARoseWolf 12:26, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I do agree with not adding Hiakkoba, since you pointed them out. That happened in '22 and we don't need to rehash old things. What's the likelihood they are the same person? --ARoseWolf 12:31, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you! I didn't know that an indefinite block is not permanent. I didn't create that article, but there've been multiple accounts seemingly from that organization who have protested it. Curious what specifically that they find to actually be factually incorrect? It seems like it's so easy to create another account anyway. Speaking of creating new accounts, the unblocked LATT socks did some newcomer tasks then faded away for the time being. Yuchitown (talk) 14:30, 13 February 2024 (UTC)Yuchitown[reply]

Yuchitown, they'll be back around again. We just need to stay vigilant. You are doing good work adding sources. I appreciate Netherzone too. You always make thoughtful comments and your edits are unmatched. I have read most of the articles you've worked on about hot springs. Some of my favorite places here and in Montana are hot springs. We may not always agree on everything. But the core principals remain. I will not be here very much the next two weeks but I will get online when I have returned in between my traveling. --ARoseWolf 18:44, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Oh gosh, thanks for the words of appreciation; I appreciate you both as well. Glad you are getting to some hot springs, ARW. The ones in Alaska must be amazing. I like working on these little articles alot, esp. when I get wiki-stressed, it's like taking a nice dip in warm water. Netherzone (talk) 19:08, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Netherzone, we do have some phenomenal locations here, hot springs included. Almost all of our creeks are glacial runoff. But it's still the only running water we have. We do have insulated tanks that contain an inner bladder for our drinking water but often use fresh water collected in catch basins. You just have to boil it first. I bathe in the creek that runs near our home. Things taken for granted by most people become a much larger task here but you get used to it. There are things we take for granted as well. --ARoseWolf 19:41, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Women in Red | March 2024, Volume 10, Issue 3, Numbers 293, 294, 299, 300, 301 Online events: New: Alphabet run Q & R | Art+Feminism | Find Her Continuing: #1day1woman | Education (year-long initiative) Announcements Celebrate Women – All content gender gap events, in every language Wikipedia, in March 2024 Francophone Women★ Writers Fortnight 2024 Feminism and Folklore 2024 Writing Contest Tip of the month: When creating a new article, check various spellings, including birth name, married names and pseudonyms, to be sure an article doesn't already exist. Other ways to participate: Become a member. You can always opt-out of notifications. Join the conversations on our talkpage. Help us plan future events and add any general ideas on developing the project. Follow us on social media: Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

--Lajmmoore (talk 20:24, 25 February 2024 (UTC) via MassMessaging[reply]

I have to success full life --Essa es (talk) 01:27, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Essa es and welcome to my talk page. Do you have a question you would like to ask about editing on Wikipedia. I'm here to mentor you during your journey and will answer any questions you may have specific to editing the encyclopedia or its many processes, procedures, and policies. Happy editing and welcome to Wikipedia! --ARoseWolf 13:50, 4 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Education[edit]

Bold Essa es (talk) 01:31, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Essa es, WP:BOLD is a Wikipedia editing guideline in which we are told to be bold, but I would caution, not carelessly. Editing is a privilege and anything seen as disruptive may be met with sanctions which remove that privilege. My take on it is "Be Bold, But Be Smart". Also, we all make mistakes but you have to be able to communicate and be attentive when others are offering advice or criticism. --ARoseWolf 14:11, 4 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

story · music · places

in memory of the birthday of a friend who showed me art such as this -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:45, 7 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Rossini's Petite messe solennelle was premiered on 14 March 1864, - when I listen to the desolate Agnus Dei I think of Vami_IV. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:02, 14 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Today, my story is a piece dear to my heart, still in memory. When I sang it first, a friend was in the audience with her husband who knew he was to die soon. She played a tape from the performance for his funeral. I probably told you before. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:20, 19 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Vacation pics uploaded, at least the first day, - and Aribert Reimann remembered. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:32, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Next day, around Porto da Cruz, on Bach's birthday --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:50, 21 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Some days later, a calf in the mist and chocolate cake, and a story of collaboration --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:04, 27 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I got your name from WikiProject Indigenous peoples of the Americas and you appear to still be active, Any interest in helping this draft along (or any watchers)? I found some sources which I added to a Further reading section but likely the creator does not have access to them (JSTOR). S0091 (talk) 20:33, 18 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

S0091, All the sources are about Billy Caldwell. I don't see any of the content in the draft verified in any of the sources. I looked through some archives and can't find a reference to another Billy Caldwell of the Potawatomi and no references to anyone specifically named Shawanasse. It likely is the phonetic understanding of Sauganash. --ARoseWolf 11:34, 19 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That's my fault. The draft was initially about Shaw-Waw-Nas-See with no mention of Caldwell. I declined for insufficient in-depth sources but then started to do some digging and came across this which speculated Caldwell was Shaw-Waw-Nas-See. I then started to look at Caldwell and thought there was another source that stated he also went by Shaw-Waw-Nas-See so I moved it the draft to Billy Caldwell but now looking again, I don't see another source so I misread something . With that, I am going to undo all my changes and put it back to what it was initially. Thanks for being another set of eyes. :) S0091 (talk) 14:30, 19 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

S0091, always glad to help. Thank you for what you do as a reviewer. It's so easy to misread sources. I don't have the book mentioned so I do not know if the content accurately reflects to book or not but I cant find another source either. --ARoseWolf 11:18, 22 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello there I have never edited an article before however was spurred to try by an article(the article on the song tickle cove pond saying that the last name Oldford was incorrect) making a claim without any evidence that I could find as well as being curious about the process of editing and wanting to know how to request citations Apologies for the punctuation and have a pleasant day --Buckethatandtincup (talk) 03:53, 22 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Greetings, Buckethatandtincup, and welcome to Wikipedia. Thank you for bringing your questions and thoughts to my user talk page. It appears that a template was added to the article (Tickle Cove Pond for page watchers) requesting verification as the article has almost no citations. On Wikipedia we are instructed to be bold so I encourage that when possible. There are some tips to editing I will leave on your user talk page. Generally, if you remain civil in discussions, humble and willing to learn/apply what you've learned you will be able to edit as long as you want to. If you need further clarification or guidance you can always ask here or on the Teahouse. Good luck and happy editing! --ARoseWolf 11:52, 22 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

As you've been no doubt notified, there were changes to your talk page here that a now blocked account did. It doesn't matter what they posted. On the bright side; if there first edit was to vandalize your talk page here, it must mean you're doing something right. You ticked off someone by doing the right thing. Kudos to you :) --Hammersoft (talk) 01:01, 23 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

+1. --Tryptofish (talk) 22:40, 23 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

And again. Clearly the same person, but I can't link them with anyone else. Doug Weller talk 11:26, 24 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

• Thank you Hammersoft, Tryptofish, Doug Weller, and City of Silver. I realize when you edit here long enough you do gather those with contrary opinions and some bitter feelings may arise but I also trust in the spirit of community we have here and always appeal to our better nature. You all exhibited that nature in this instance and many more I've seen along my journey here so far. To me that is worth any and every personal attack. Thank you. --ARoseWolf 12:14, 25 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, how do I edit information? --Sherbear72 (talk) 22:04, 28 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A Thank You Barnstar

ARoseWolf, I suddenly realized you may not have seen my longer reply to your post on my webpage a few weeks back. It was very thoughtful of you. It also gives me the opportunity to convey my respect for what you do on Wikipedia. I appreciate how you share perspectives on topics you are passionate about in a way that is respectful, responsive, and ensuring that the people involved are treated with kindness. And on our shared watch page, I am very grateful for your constant, thoughtful vigilance. Wtfiv (talk) 18:14, 30 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Women in Red | April 2024, Volume 10, Issue 4, Numbers 293, 294, 302, 303, 304 Online events: New: Alphabet run S & T | Gender studies | Health Continuing: #1day1woman | Education (year-long initiative) Announcements The second round of "One biography a week" begins in April as part of #1day1woman. Tip of the month: If you run into technical problems, you might find help on our Tools and technical support page Other ways to participate: Become a member. You can always opt-out of notifications. Join the conversations on our talkpage. Help us plan future events and add any general ideas on developing the project. Follow us on social media: Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

--Lajmmoore (talk 19:44, 30 March 2024 (UTC) via MassMessaging[reply]

story · music · places

I like to see Appalachian Spring on the Main page today (not by me, just interested and reviewed, and a bit proud that I brought the woman's pic to lead and Main page), and I also made it my story. - How do you like the statue (see places)? I was undecided so show three versions ;) -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:27, 6 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Today I see Marian Anderson as my top story (by NBC, 1939), and below three people with raised arms, - and the place is the cherry blossom in Frauenstein --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:22, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

plum tree blossom for Kalevi Kiviniemi in the snow - see my talk --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:23, 11 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

relief: the last of six RD articles in one week is now on the Main page. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:14, 18 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

followed by two birthdays in a row, and I prefer those (see my talk) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:54, 20 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

today a sad task - memory of Andrew Davis - turned into entertainment (yt at the bottom of his article, actually both) -- the latest pictures capture extreme weather --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:50, 23 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

	The Civility Barnstar
	Thank you for always being diplomatic and even-keeled while striving for fact-based, neutral articles! Yuchitown (talk) 15:32, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yuchitown, thank you. Just your message here refocused me. I don't want to make it about them but it's hard not to. I don't think it's very civil to accuse us of POV pushing like we are doing something wrong. What we are asking for is just the way you described, a neutral description of the facts. We have to use a little common sense in this. I can claim anything added to a BLP is negative and therefore if I am an admin I can force my views on others and claim it violates policy. That doesn't make it the case and the only way to form the opinion that self-identification is negative is if you start from a skewed POV, not a neutral one. I don't see it as negative to self-identify. No where do we doubt their claims of belonging to the organization nor do we discredit their claim of Native American heritage. It is these sockpuppets who are pushing the POV that self-identification = pretendian, not us. --ARoseWolf 16:45, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I always think about how neurophysics articles require familiarity with neurophysics. You don't just blow in from other fields with no background in neurophysics and tell editors what's what. Yes, consistently people have tried to leap to conclusions that aren't there and put words in our mouths. The progress made in discourse about tribes has improved so much over the last decade, and more material is being published all the time about the grey areas. I've probably mentioned this but an area on Wikipedia where there's no tolerance for claims made are all the Alternative medicine-related articles, which are WP:Controversial and Wikipedia:Contentious topics. I wonder if practices to be learned from those regions of Wikipedia. Yuchitown (talk) 17:07, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I definitely wouldn't go to neurophysics articles and start making statements emphatically. Because we don't know every detail about every editor we are forced to assume good faith but I will continue to call out those actions which appear egregious to me, like is the case here. I think Native American identity should be considered controversial and contentious. There should be a zero tolerance as is done with alternative medicine. It's a little more grayish when discussing Indigenous as a whole because every nation may have its different methods for determining what constitutes an Indigenous sovereign nation within their borders but for Native American and American Indian sovereign nations there has always been the need for the federal US government to recognize because it is with the US government that these nations signed treaties. It is not the government conferring status but one sovereign entity confirming with another sovereign entity whom they have a treaty with. I agree that the LATT need to petition the government and I wish them luck in building the case legitimately. All this talk goes away then but they, instead, flood Wikipedia with accounts decrying how unfair Wikipedia is for not recognizing them and calling editors detestable and nasty things. What I found absolutely unconscionable is an admin blowing through emphatically declaring for one side without adequately spending the time to read all the discussions and forming a broader viewpoint or having an open discussion. --ARoseWolf 17:26, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I'd like to add to a site the tile of a book that discusses the topic. --Hank Rosenfeld (talk) 23:44, 11 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Hank and welcome to my user talk page. I see you have already asked this question at the help desk which is an amazing place to start. ColinFine, a very experienced editor and a fellow Teahouse host answered your question with excellent advice to make an edit request on the article's talk page as you appear to have a conflict of interest in regards to the subject. I don't believe I can offer any better advice. If you want to know how to make a proper edit request you can follow this link and it will guide you through the process. If I can be of any further assistance please let me know. Remember to be a Rainbow in someone's sky today and happy editing! --ARoseWolf 10:21, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, how can I hide the symbols after editing? --Owenchileshe (talk) 17:31, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Buenas noches. Encantada. necesito una imagen de un cisne blanco en un lago azul. --Universo y Eternidad (talk) 23:55, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Universo y Eternidad: ¡Hola! Aquí es la Wikipedia en inglés. No hablamos español aquí. Si quieres escribir o modificar en español, por favor ir a Wikipedia en español (hace clic en el azul). Gracias.

Inglés/English (literal translation): Hello! Here is the English Wikipedia. We do not speak Spanish here. If you want to write or change in Spanish, please go to the Spanish Wikipedia (click in blue). Thank you. Rusty4321 ^{talk contribs} 00:27, 14 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Adicionalmente, Wikipedia no es el lugar para imagenes. Los imagenes y fotos son en Wikimedia Commons. Puedes buscar allí.

Additionally, Wikipedia is not the place for images. The images and photos are in Wikimedia Commons. You can search there. Rusty4321 ^{talk contribs} 00:31, 14 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

How to enable the Visual Editor? Recently it got disabled (the option greyed out) with no specific reason. --The1stWay (talk) 14:25, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The1stWay, Hello and welcome to my talk page. The visual editor is enabled by going to "Preferences" at the top right of the screen (Desktop) and selecting the "Editing" tab. The eighth box option under this selection say "Enable the visual editor". Make sure that is filled in and checked. That should enable the visual editor again. You may have to log out and back in again. --ARoseWolf 18:12, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

How did you make that text box thing on your user page Maestrofin (talk) 01:56, 21 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

(talk page watcher) @Maestrofin: It's made using an input box; see mw:Extension:InputBox for more information. Rusty4321 ^{talk contribs} 03:38, 21 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

18:55, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

I just noticed your comment about caribou. So we are both hunters of those delicious critters! When I lived in Greenland, many, many years ago, I shot 16 of them. I also wrote the article Reindeer hunting in Greenland. (From Greenland and eastwards, they're called reindeer.) I miss those days. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 20:28, 24 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

If a caribou gets shot is that a caribou boo-boo? (Sorry!) --Tryptofish (talk) 23:31, 24 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Why apologize, Tryp? This made me giggle. Martin and you always make me laugh and laughter is like sunshine on my face, warm and inviting. I'll have to show my daughter when she wakes up. --ARoseWolf 12:15, 25 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

We're in a very fortunate location because we have three herds that migrate through the area. They don't typically migrate en masse through our valley but we do get wandering splinters. Even so we don't have to travel far to find them. We usually use a bush plane to spot the herds. We keep track of their numbers and report locations to help better track the herds for conservation purposes. Caribou is a main source of meat, along with fish, Dall sheep and ptarmigan.

One thing important to me is honoring the spirit of the animal. We leave a gift after each harvest and ensure all of the animal is used for a purpose. It's our way of life.

That is a beautiful article, Valjean. Thank you for sharing and thank you for coming to my talk page. I simply love to hear of others experiences so if you ever want to share any of your experiences you are welcome to do so. Please consider yourself a friend and a guest in my little corner. --ARoseWolf 12:11, 25 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Rose, what a gracious reply. You inspire me to be a better person. I see from your user page that you have a rich and colorful background, with the Jewish/Hebrew and Cherokee heritages. How fortunate you are. I envy you living in Alaska. I hope we can make it there someday. We vacationed in Canada last summer (Banff, Jasper, Vancouver Island), and it was grand and beautiful.

I miss Greenland. It was the best time of our lives. The beauty, extreme weather, and dangerous storms which we miraculously survived (our boat was rugged in hurricanes), all left deep impressions in us so we never forget Greenland. We had a close group of friends who shared a diesel fishing boat that was slow but cheap to use, and we did a lot of fishing and hunting, as do the Inuits. Whether we were fishing cod or hunting reindeer and ptarmigan, we were surrounded by grand vistas of great beauty, with huge sea eagles sailing across the sky, sometimes pestered and attacked by smaller birds like snow buntings, falcons screaming down the sky as they dive-bombed, and beautiful and noble ravens following us and cleaning up after each kill, or cross-country skiing, we loved it all. Nature played a grand theater before us all the time. The reindeer were the most calm and quiet actors on that stage. They generally moved slowly as they grazed, making them hard to spot in the distance. They blended in with the bushes and granite boulders.

We had chest freezers filled with reindeer, ptarmigan, cod, Arctic char (trout), salmon, rockfish (we called them redfish), ducks, etc. I have never eaten so much meat (as a percentage of my diet) in my life. The climate there is like living next to an open freezer all the time. The inland ice stunts the growth of the trees so they are just bushes. It means the body's metabolism is kicked into higher gear and we simply burned up a lot of calories. When hunting we had good trail mix, jerky, and lots of unhealthy candy, but it got burned up too. We needed a high calorie diet with all that exertion of hunting in the mountains and valleys. It's hard work to backpack, canoe, hike in rugged terrain, stalk, and then carry a reindeer back to camp. I had a habit of eating a large Snickers bar after each kill. One day I ate four of them. That was a good day.

We loved the rugged and raw nature there. Some might think it was bare, bleak, and without much beauty. We didn't see it that way. Alaska has trees and forests, so that makes it quite different than Greenland, yet there are many similarities. I hope we win the jackpot someday and can visit, but I don't gamble or buy lottery tickets, so there isn't any chance of that. I'm retired, so our means are now limited. I'm happy I visited you here and wish you well. Let's keep in touch. I think I could benefit from your wisdom and advice, so please offer it when you see I need it. Feel free to email me. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 14:23, 25 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sweet Song, your kind words are a melody to me. I do have a rich background though I'm very careful to state that it is my heritage. My ancestors are Cherokee and Ashkenazi Jews, some survived the Trail of Tears and the Holocaust, respectively. Some did not. I do not live the same life but I do honor theirs. The highest honor I can show them is acknowledging their existence, their lives, their songs, and be the best principled person I can be, true to my heritage.

Alaska works for me. I need lots of space to be the eccentric enigma that I am. Wikipedia sees only a fraction of that. Greenland is at a higher latitude than even we are here so I imagine it is so much colder there. We actually warm up into the 70's and even the 80's here in Summer but as low as -65 and -70 in Winter. We do have huge evergreen forests here. But if you ever get the chance I suggest visiting the sand dunes of Kobuk Valley. It is such an odd thing to find in a vast sea of evergreen's and tundra.

We live on a creek that empties into a glacial lake located in our valley. We have cabins dotted throughout the valley and into the surrounding mountains, a total of ten. We have to check on all them through the year to make sure brown bears haven't take up residence. We maintain the various Winter and Summer trails in the valley as that is the primary route for commerce and travel, other than air.

Banff is so beautiful. My parents used to take us on annual road trips from Haines, AK back to Montana. I actually did such a trip with my niece and daughter a few years ago before I was diagnosed with Leukemia. We would always stop for a few days of skiing in Banff. I did not ski on that trip but my niece and daughter did.

I look forward to our email conversations. I want to hear more about your experiences and would love to share some of mine. I'm not retired, I guess. Maintaining a homestead this vast is a huge chore. But I always find time for the finer details, something I never had the years we lived in towns. --ARoseWolf 16:58, 25 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

How To create a Wikipedia article --SharmaJiKaChotaLadka (talk) 03:37, 25 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello SharmaJiKaChotaLadka and welcome to my user talk page. I left a welcome message on your talk page that should offer some useful links. If you have any questions after reviewing that information please do come back and ask for assistance. Happy editing!! --ARoseWolf 17:08, 25 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]