Our unnaturally warm weather (mid- to high 30s) has finally gone away. Temperatures have been near or below zero for the past few days, which means we’re about as cold right now as Chicago and St. Paul.
(But nowhere near as chilly as Fairbanks, where the daytime highs have been in the minus-20 range – and that’s nowhere near as nippy as it often gets there.)
The cold, clear days have brought two bonuses:
The chance to send the bedclothes outside. DF and I like putting the comforter, blanket, top sheet and pillowcases on the clothesline a few times per week, but only if we can be sure they won’t be targeted by sleet or freezing rain. Sleeping in an air-freshened bed is one of life’s simple joys.
The reappearance of the aurora. Activity has been high for the past few days.
An “interactive aurora borealis video” has been galloping around the Internetz lately. I couldn’t get the film to post here, but you can click the above link to see it. (Note: Turn off the auto-rotation if it makes you dizzy.)
Even here in the light-polluted city I’ve been able to spy the aurora several times each night. In part that’s because I keep checking, hoping for a glimps. But it’s also because the cold, dry weather makes me extremely thirsty – and if you drink water all evening, it’s likely you’ll get up at least a couple of times per night.
A midnight blessing
The lights have been bright enough to be seen even through the bedewed bedroom window (we use a humidifier). Even so, I sometimes open the back door and step outside briefly to get the full effect.
Each time I imagine what they’d look like if I were out in the middle of nowhere. Each time I feel blessed to have the opportunity to see them at all. A sight that’s on so many people’s bucket list is something I can experience every fall and winter.
The below-zero air sneaking up under my bathrobe eventually sends me back in, thoroughly chilled and usually thirsty. After a quick trip to the kitchen sink, crawling back into the warm flannel-clad bed is a luxury.
It’s easy to drift back off on those sheets, smelling as they do of cold air and winter. Which is yet another blessing, because I’ll probably be getting back up before long.
Related reading:
We live right at the Canadian border in Montana where it’s absolutely dark at night. We love seeing a billion stars and occasionally we get a glimpse of the Aurora. I’d love to see it in it’s full glory!
Speaking of places that have real winter….!
That’s one of the (few) winter things I miss here in SoGA. I’m from the “upper lower peninsula” of Michigan (Grand Traverse) and we almost always got a night or two of aurora in very active years. Since I lived out in the boonies, it was a magnificent show. Lucky you!
I’m not a big fan of cold weather, but I have always wanted to go to Alaska. Lucky you, getting to see the aurora borealis! Stay warm… it’s minus 2 in suburban Boston this a.m.!!!
Living due west of NYC, I’ll have to travel to see the Northern Lights, although I’d read a few years ago that they were visible in northern NJ when they went really far south. My sister and mother are going to Iceland in a March, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for them to see the aurora. I’ve got wait until the 12-year-old child is fledged.
That is on my bucket list! I am absolutely amazed by some of natural beauty we have been blessed with. I totally get the bedding and sheet thing….I try to do it as much as possible all 12 months of the year.
You have such a blessed life. You worked hard and now are enjoying the fruit of your labor. You are a wonderful example of how to live a frugal and emotionally rich life. Prosper in 2015! I feel so Spock-like.
“Emotionally rich life” — nailed it!
Every time the Aurora comes far south, I look out at night in the hope of seeing one. But no success. Between the light pollution from NYC to the northeast, Philly to the SW and cloudy nights, I have never seen an Aurora.