The chill, bitter, snowless, wind

For Alaska in early December, today's midafternoon temperature of - 9 F (-23 C) is not really that bad at all. Definitely chilly, but compared to the mid -50's they have been experiencing in eastern Interior Alaska, not that bad.

But... the thing is...

...the wind!

The wind has just been relentless. It blew hard every day for over a full week before I left for Barrow. It blew all week while I was gone. I came home and found it still blowing. Today, it has continued to blow - hard. I damn near froze on my walk. It blows right now. I just went out and brought in a load of firewood and it numbed my fingers a bit - and for a taniq, my hands are very cold-toughened. I can manage my cameras bare-handed when some people wearing gloves seek desperately to find a way to warm their freezing fingers.

And, as I noted before I left, the little tiny bit of snow we had before the wind started to blow is all gone. Oh, there's shreds and wind-sculpted and hardened patches here and there, but basically the snow out here in this part of the valley has all blown away.

They have a little bit of snow in Anchorage, because the winds have not blown there as they have here - except maybe up on the hillside.

But here, the snow is gone. There is a lot of dust in that wind, too. Fine, powdery, glacier dust, with a bit of fine, powdery, volcanic ash mixed in - the worst kind of dust.

I don't like this weather. I don't like it at all. I wish it would warm up enough to allow a system to come in and snow and snow and snow. Then, when all the ground is buried in white as it should be, it can get cold again.

Really cold. Colder than this. Lots colder.

I will be happy then.

Margie won't happy. She never likes it when its cold.

She won't be happy until late spring.

Or maybe she will be happy for one week when we go to Hawaii for Rex's wedding.

We are going to try to go Arizona sometime before spring and maybe Utah, too - drive between the homes of the remnants of my family of origin and hers.

I think she will be happy on that drive - if we can pull it off.

I'm not sure we can.

But we must.

Her mom is growing very old.

Despite the miserable weather, there is still a lot of beauty to behold out there.

Comments

[Mrs Gunka]

Burrrrr! Stay warm! You need to borrow your son's big dog to sleep with. Love that last picture!

[C Mumford]

Beautiful shot going over the Knik, and I love that you referenced yourself as a taniq. You could say I'm half taniq :)