"Cold! If the thermometer had been an inch longer we'd all have frozen to death."
- quoted in Mark Twain and I, Opie Read -

The winter cold has arrived. It's late, by seasonal standards, but we knew we couldn't escape it forever. It arrived a couple of days ago, when the gauge on our big outdoor thermometer started dipping below 0F and then 10F and then 20F and then....

As I type this, it is -40F (which ironically is also -40C). Can you imagine it being that cold? Before I moved to Alaska, I would have never believed that I'd see temperatures this extreme. And yet I've seen colder. There's that day in 2004, when I snapped the photo of the Fred Meyer sign at 2:36pm and it was reading -55F. Some say that it actually got colder later that same day. All I know is that in the split second I was standing outside my car, trying to focus my camera on that sign, I felt the breath freeze in my chest, and my lungs tighten up painfully.

That's how it is when it's this cold. If you don't cover your mouth before you step outside the door, you'll most likely end up having a coughing fit. For people with asthma (like me), attacks come immediately if you don't take precautions. I cover my mouth with my hand at the very least, but almost always a scarf or the collar of my coat. Even Sedona coughs when she first goes outside. It is indeed indescribable, unless you've experienced it.

Some members of my family have questioned our decision to make Alaska our home - especially when I write of the bitter cold. But I'll tell you this... the coldest winters I remember were those I experienced in Philadelphia. The temperature may not have been -40F, but the dampness and the humidity created a cold that seemed to find its way through even the thickest coat. Especially when it was windy as well as cold. We don't have that here. The cold here is dry (yeah, I know... just like the "dry" heat in Arizona people like to scoff at! *grin*). But seriously. It is dry. When it snows - even if we get 6 inches - we can clear the deck with a broom. It's so dry that we can't make snowmen or snowballs.

We learn how to dress properly. We dress in layers, and we know better than to put cotton next to our skin. Wool, silk, and fleece are our friends. We have found that the trickiest part of dressing for the winter is finding a system that keeps our hands and feet warm. Steve and I have invested quite a bit of money on different types of gloves, glove liners, mittens, socks, and boots. I need a system that works well for taking photos. I need to be able to use my fingers, and heavy mittens and gloves don't allow that. I just purchased a nice pair of arctic mittens that have a wrist cord so I can drop them off my gloved hands when shooting, and then put them back on when not. So far, so good. Of course, then there's the problem with using my camera when it's -30F and colder. That's another subject altogether!

So this morning, I knew before looking out the front window at our thermometer, that it was cold. I knew this because there was frost buildup on all the windows in the corners where the seams are. Cold air certainly has a way of finding its way into any crevice, no matter how microscopic, and when it hits the warmth of the inside, it turns to frost and ice. I wasn't surprised to see that it was -35F. I took a photo of one of our windows. These are high-quality triple-pane thermal windows. There's no repelling Old Man Winter when he wants to get into your home!

There is a positive to all of this madness and arctic cold, however. This frigid air seems to bring the northern lights out for a beautiful display. And that's just what happened the night before last between midnight and 1am. At first I was going to take my car and drive to a place where there aren't as many trees to get in the way, but I only had an 1/8th of a tank of gas and it's a big no-no to go anywhere in the middle of the night with a low gas tank. So I had to be content to shoot the lights from my driveway, the street out front, and my back yard. I'm glad I stayed close to home; I was able to run back inside to warm up every 15 minutes or so! It was close to -30F when the lights were displaying.

I love how bright the stars were in the sky! The moon was out as well, which is why the sky wasn't pitch black. The clouds were a nice touch too.			Sedona was out with me, and ran in front of the motion detector on our garage. I couldn't resist taking a photo of our frosted trees lining the driveway.

A few days ago, I ran a few errands which took me to downtown North Pole. I was going to go to the Ice Park, but decided that I'd rather go after dark and take photos when the sculptures are lit up with colored lights. I haven't made it yet - there's no fun walking amongst frozen creations when it's -35F! I think we're going to warm up some next week (-10F), so I hope to get over there then. This is the first year for the Ice Park in North Pole. We usually have our Ice Art Festival in Fairbanks in March, and this is sponsored by the same organization (Ice Alaska).

While downtown, I drove by the foot bridge to see if the creek below it was frozen. There were still some open places where you could see and hear the water flowing. The scene was beautiful with everything covered in snow, so I took a few photos. As I drove by the Wendy's restaurant, I had to stop and get a photograph of the Santa and sleigh ice sculpture in front of it. We have these sculptures all over town now.

I've been finding wonderful cards and goodies in my mailbox from far away family and friends. I do love this time of year because my mailbox is constantly full of good and happy things and not just bills! It's been a joy checking it every day.

Yesterday, I received a familiar package from my friend Michele. She's been sending Steve and I the White House Ornament since 1998. These ornaments are beautiful and I will always think of Michele and her family when I look at them. Her Christmas card also included a photo of her beautiful daughters. I can not wait until Michele and her eldest daughter, Maddie come for their visit in June.

If I don't get the opportunity to post an entry before Christmas, I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Holiday and a blessed and healthy 2008.