Fairbanks at 35 below zero

In memory of the noble dragonflies who unconsciously released me from the mosquitos

 Dr. Odonota, Pen

There was another "rainbow animal dream", this time a rabbit-which-may-also-be-cat-creature

 Dream Rabbit, oil pastel and pen


This weekend we experienced a sudden cold snap: the overcast skies evaporated into perfectly clear weather, but with the loss of cloud cover the temperatures plummeted to -35 in the valleys, and about ten degrees warmer in the hills. Perfect time for a sunrise hike on Ester Dome! At 11 am!

It was soothing to finally see direct sunlight again. We found some zebra trees...

When I was away from Fairbanks, I remembered how clean and open the spruce lowlands can be in winter (they are such a tangled, impenetrable mess in summer). 

 Luna Fidelis, watercolor and ink

We lost some elevation and dipped down below the sun line!

The perfect bowed birch

 I also wanted to climb up the ridge above my cabin to catch the last glimpse of the sun and to see the moonrise.

Aspens enflamed!

… And then the sun set ten minutes later… that's all for today!

Over the Hump

January may be cold, but we are past the solstice and gaining light every day now! Though on a ski tour up the Crow Pass Trail near Eagle River, the landscape was all gradients of grey and blue.

It was snowing a little bit, and as the trail crossed onto the river you could tell that the ice was a little rotten in places. There were many breaks with open water. We trusted the tracks because the ice under a trail is usually at a greater depth than ice with lots of snow insulation on top.

However, we turned around quickly when we saw that the trail ahead of us crossed over dangerous ice that was breaking away.

Snowy tributary of the Eagle River as the sun sets

The sea ice is not white and pretty like you might imagine. It globs in filthy grey masses and into fantastical shapes.

 Turnagain Sunrise, colored pencil and pen

Sunlight Slick, colored pencil and pen

Some days were sunny!

 Hiking up Glen Alps to snowboard (around 1 pm)

For my birthday dessert, I decided that I wanted to make "baked Alaska", a triple-layer dessert with a brownie foundation, strawberry ice cream filling, and meringue top. Except that apparently wasn't adventurous enough, so I also elected to pour flaming Bacardi 151 on top. This turned out to be even more dangerous than it sounds.

No need for candles!!

It's a shame that the flames didn't turn out in most of these pictures (except above), because the blue color was really pretty. And without visible flames I look like I'm miming a cooking show.