Northern Apex

This photo was taken back in September when we had a lot of northern lights activity for a week or so. I like it because it shows the big "star" that Fort Richardson lights up every winter reflected in a lake where the boys and I fished for trout when they were small. I have hiked up by the star in the winter when ptarmigan hunting and I have to say it is much more impressive at a distance - up close it is an anticlimactic series of plain telephone poles with lightbulbs on top.

I can hear the rain on the roof as I type as the weather has been pushing 50 degrees these last few days, rapidly melting what snow had accumulated. I always love these mid-winter thaws where you get a chance to catch your breath, get the driveway down to bare asphalt again, and enjoy the outdoors with a minimum of gear. I don't even mind the Chinook winds that always accompany these warm spells as long as I'm staying around town - down on Turnagain Arm the natural venturi effect of the narrowing land mass whips the winds to 80 and 90 miles per hour and beyond making for interesting travel.

As I waited for a trucking company to pick up the day's outgoing freight today I stood outside and watched transfixed as a holiday decorated 35 foot pine tree belly danced; the boughs festooned with Christmas lights undulating and swaying to the wind's demands. I saw my daughter's brow furrow with concentration as she participated in volleyball drills, complete focus and totally unaware of how beautiful she was and how very proud her Dad was at that very moment.  I watched my other daughter pour my morning coffee into my travel mug before we head out the door to bring her to school, making sure the top is tight and wiping down the sides before handing it to me with a smile.

So many things to be thankful for - great talks with my brother today, getting ready for the holidays, making batches of soap in the evenings at home. I am very lucky - and I have made my own luck in many ways. My thoughts and prayers are with you all this holiday season!