Good morning,

It's a snowy white day outside, and we are slowly and happily contemplating a day with only plans for dinner, and wide open hours. One of the pleasant parts about relaxing inside over the last few weeks is getting to see new plant growth. We are far away from swelling tree buds and flowers in our sub arctic environment but inside the cabin we are still enjoying expanding spruce buds, flowering basil plants and now our spider plant is flowering too. We are not sure if all this growth is connected to the lengthening amounts of day light or something else but it is exciting to see on cold days. 

We haven't installed a permanent solution to the dog pen jailbreaks- Cookie has proven herself as an A+ chewer, and gnawed through a woven leash that we had wrapped around the bar and locking block earlier this week. Colin sewed up a new strap to use temporarily, and today we will work on something to Cookie-proof it. It's kind of strange, but I feel a bit proud of Cookie when she figures how to get out again, and she's so happy to run around at the speed of light :) Our next attempt will involve aircraft cable and very thick eyelets for clipping into.

Wow, I just noticed in this photo (that Colin took) that Smiley is still in the pen. I didn't see her at first! This was from earlier in the week:

The cold weather stayed all week, and along with it came the ice fog and hoar frost. Ice fog forms when the air temperature is so cold that it freezes all the humidity in the air into ice, and the ice particles are suspended until the air warms up. 

The lunch room at the hospital looks out onto the Yukon River, and on the other side of the river there is usually a clear view of downtown (this photo I found by Murray Lundberg shows the river's width just by the hospital):

During our lunch breaks this week, I was amazed every time I looked out the huge windows out to the river. The ice fog was so thick we could not see town across the river, and didn't lift from first thing in the morning until after lunch! Another photo I found by Murray Lundberg of the SS Klondike sternwheeler ship (one of our National History Sites) kind of gives you an idea of the thickness of the fog as it is dissipating.

When the ice fog lifts, it settles along the already frosty trees, especially near running rivers and creeks, and deepens the groves of the hoar frost: 

These photos are taken in Shipyards Park looking south at the sunrise (about 10am) 

This is Colin's view out from the Yukon Made Store

After a few days of this, along with stunning sunrises and sunsets, skies filled with more stars than I imagined were up there, plus vibrant blue skies that put a smile on your face, I felt like the winter here is just possibly as beautiful as the summer. Colin and I find ourselves thinking of family and friends lots, like 'Bill would like to see this and photograph it' or'Mom like to see how cute the dogs are when they bury their heads in the snow'. We miss the presence of a lot of people, and think about you often :)

In other news:

That's right, we ate Jack Pig last night, in a Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce meal with Kim. He was delicious, and we really had a powerful experience in knowing where your food comes from.Our evening also included Kim and Lauren's favorite childhood movies - Labyrinth and Neverending Story. It was a great night in.

Happy weekend,
Love Lauren and Colin