After a very temperate autumn, especially for the north, we have been whacked by a sudden cold front that will deepen as we head into December.
In less than a month, I will be heading to warmer temperatures in the Okanagan Valley for the winter break.
Although this weather produces an extremely clear air quality and beautifully bright daylight, I am already looking forward to more warmth.
It arrived with a bang. Last night there was a sudden drop to -25C, the blowing and falling snow erupted into a fury, and I scrambled my parka out of the closet and the plug-in for the truck out of the storage room.
Brrr. 🥶
Well, it’s a frozen water sign. Aquarius the water-carrier, to be exact, which is kind of perfect, because this frozen water is carrying cars and trucks.
I know that I’m really stretching this symbol, but I like the idea of the Aquarian water-carrier carrying ice for a safe crossing on an ice road.
This ice road crosses Great Slave Lake between Yellowknife and Dettah. In the summer, you have to go around, and that takes about 20 minutes more.
I hope we all soon experience some sunny and safe shortcuts. After all, most of us have had to do the long way around for the better part of a year.
Happy mid-week. 🙂
I love this snow sculpture! Very endearing.
In this area, we have brown and black bears, but you have to go much farther north to the Arctic to see the white polar bears.
Climate change has lead to some of the polar bears mating with grizzly bears and producing a sort of blond hybrid called a grolar.
If you’re interested, here’s more information: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know-environment/grolar-bears
Happy Friday; happy weekend. 🙂
This picture is for my blog-friend Allan, who loves Jasper National Park and often posts his beautiful park photos.
It almost looks like a plate of ice cream scoops. 🙂
Enjoy, Allan.
This should give you an idea of how much snow is on my roof. I took this on Tuesday (March 16).
It’s beginning to melt and I’m starting to think we had better knock some of it down. I wouldn’t want any of that falling on my head!
Today, the icicles were starting to develop …
… and we had +7°C! It was such a nice break after literally, months of -30 and -40 … and sometimes, I really just didn’t want want to know. It was better that way.
The snow was soft and beginning to be slushy; snowballs were waiting to be made, snow sculptures were waiting to be found.
Yay! Bring on the melt!
Happy weekend. 🙂
… this icy lake will start to melt. The sun is beginning to have some power and the days are getting longer.
Happy week. 🙂
I have been looking for signs …
… of a loosening, of a collapsing of cold, of a melting.
And there have been. Warmer temperatures have started, and while they are for now frequently driven out by the colder ones, eventually they will dominate, at least for a while.
I was very pleased to see this icicle a few mornings ago. Such a good sign.
Happy mid-week. 🙂
When you work in the north, lots of things are different. Since you’re surrounded by snow and ice for many months of the year, you learn to make tools of them.
So, what is this? It’s a frozen lake runway. There is another nearby airport (quite a large one, actually) that’s on dry land, but here, summer float planes can become winter ski or wheel planes just off Latham Island on Great Slave Lake.
Happy Wednesday. 🙂
A photo of a partially frozen Niagara Falls, Ontario, from January, 2019.
Isn’t our natural world magnificent? It’s amazing to see that green tint in the water, and that hue certainly contributes to how cold it looks. It’s cold here in NWT, but that somehow looks colder!
After all the recent nasty weather, I hope that wherever you are, you are warm and comfortable.
Happy Wednesday. 🙂
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 