It’s still really cold here in the Arctic, but there’s something about this sky that feels like spring.

I hope it’s coming soon. π
It’s still really cold here in the Arctic, but there’s something about this sky that feels like spring.

I hope it’s coming soon. π

Happy Friday flower to you! I’m looking forward to spring. π
This wonderful bastion of indigenous culture is on one the shores of Great Slave Lake, not far from where I work.

I recently spent a day there.

The weather was fabulous.

Up here in the Northwest Territories we are enjoying some nice weather, finally. It’s been a wet, chilly spring, even for us.
Enjoy the late spring and all it has to offer. π
This cloud formation with the sun coming through a narrow opening looks like …

… a phaser beam from an attacking spacecraft. Or, I’ve been watching too much Space channel. π
The view from a North Vancouver restaurant where we had a nice dinner.

A beautiful early spring evening.
Happy Friday; happy weekend. π
Who says Canada is a cold country? A photo from my walk today around Victoria’s inner harbour.

And another from later this evening.

Greetings from beautifully sunny, spring-is-sprung Victoria. π
Wood Buffalo National Park is one of the largest preserves in the world.

M and I recently drove through a small part of it.

We saw bison (buffalo) of course but also bears.

And a sink hole.
It was the middle of May but there was still a little ice and snow at the bottom of it.
We didn’t see any whooping cranes – this park has one of the largest whooping crane nesting sites in the world – but had a very interesting short visit to an environmentally sensitive and important area.
Have you been to a park lately?
Eeeek! Is spring EVER going to arrive?
This was the view on my cloudy, snowy walk to work this morning.

Our days are much longer now, but daylight is not the problem. Sunrise is at 6:00 am and sunset is 9:00 pm, but it just keeps snowing!
If you don’t hear from me for the next month, send snowplows! π
It’s March! And unlike some other places in North America, the weather has been very stable here. According to the old saying, March came in like a lamb, but it has remained very lamb-like with bright sun that just has that budding spring quality to it. I hope it doesn’t go out like a lion. π
It’s gradually been getting warmer – we’ve had two days together of +2Β°C – with some minor melting occurring. Standing in the sun has been very pleasant and after all the cold, it feels really wonderful.

Still, we’re choked with snow, even though the warming temperatures have caused it to compress and pack.

This is a photo of the beach at our part of Great Slave Lake. You really can’t tell where the beach ends and the lake starts, although you can get an idea from the placement of the lifeguard’s chair.
Soon, however, the fact that our days are lengthening quickly – with the time change it now gets dark at about 8:00 – will bring about a sudden tipping point, and all that snow will melt rapidly.

The southern parts seem to be experiencing extreme ups and downs in temperature and precipitation, but here we are seeing a gradual climb into a lovely spring.
Has your spring started? Is it a lamb or a lion? Or are you heading into autumn now?
At 60 degrees latitude, I am very far north here, but spring has now definitely arrived.

The sky is clear and so is the lake, achingly pristine …

… very different from the frozen majesty of two months ago.

I am learning to appreciate the call of this northern land.