Well, tonight's the night! I've been preparing for this diligently over the last month. I've lost many hours of sleep, stressed, prepared photos for display, and managed to write my Christmas newsletter, address my holiday cards, and package up and ship off gifts. But.... I am finished! I have one more load to take to the post office today, and I can officially declare all of the hustle-bustle of December and the holiday season over!

I went online today to see if there was any mention of me on the Downtown Fairbanks website, and there was my name! It's quite surreal. It's also hard to believe that my photography will be on display for the public to see. It's one thing to have my work published here on my website, or in my gallery, but another to have it under the scrutiny of the community. I hope that my passion, and my love for Alaska, shines through. That's really what it's all about... sharing the beauty of this world with others.

I've been so busy the last few days, that I haven't had any chance to go out and take photos. However, I have been constantly entertained by the squirrels in my yard. I realized only a few days ago that there are indeed two squirrels claiming my yard as their territory. Generally, red squirrels have a territory of 1/2 to 1 acre and don't usually share, but the other day I caught a glimpse of a second squirrel while the first one was perched on the seed trough stealing sunflower seeds. When that second squirrel arrived on the scene, the first one fled and climbed a nearby tree. Hmmmmm.... now I wonder which one was doing the trespassing! As you can see by the photo at right, the furkids seem to enjoy the squirrel antics too.

The other day, one of the squirrels realized that there is glass between us. In the past, he would quickly run off when Sedona or I approached the sliding glass door to the back deck. Now, he just turns and looks at us and doesn't run off. In fact, the other day, he taunted first Sedona and then me, by running up to the glass and peering in at us! It was really quite cheeky on his part, and I couldn't help but laugh. I grabbed my camera and waited for him to do it again. I didn't have to wait very long!

The frigid arctic air came back to Fairbanks a few days ago. I woke to -15F and steady winds, which made the wind chill an unbearable -30F. It didn't stick around for too long. Today we're above zero again and it's snowing. Despite the fact that winter lasts a long time here, I love when it snows. And it's much needed too. There have been stories in the paper about the ski trails around town and the poor shape they are in. Steve and I don't want to run into another problem with the septic system like we did in March - when there wasn't enough snow to insulate the tank and it froze up on us. What snow we have gotten this year melted quite a bit during the warmth we had over Thanksgiving. Hopefully the next few days will bring a sizeable accumulation.

Tomorrow is my darling husband's 53rd birthday. Mine is on the 14th. As is customary, we celebrate both of our birthdays on the weekend between. This year, it just so happens that we'll be in Anchorage. I think it's a marvelous way to celebrate our birthdays, and we're both looking forward to a change of scenery, dining in new restaurants, and doing some shopping. We'll also be meeting up with friends while we're in town, which is always nice. I think the weather down there is going to be a bit nasty though, with freezing rain, snow and high winds. I don't relish the idea of driving on slippery streets. No doubt we'll be packing our long underwear for this trip.

In closing, I hope you'll join me in remembering our heroes in uniform.