12:1:12The sun will rise at 10:27 this morning, and will set 4 hours 28 minutes later, at 2:55 this afternoon. At its highest it’s barely 3°, 6 times its own diameter, above the horizon, which explains why the light throughout the day looks like sunrise – pink with blue shadows. The birches are well covered with frost, which gives a fairyland effect.

It doesn’t feel much like a fairyland. November averaged -8.8°F, 11.4°F below normal. We haven’t had a maximum temperature above -10°F for more than a week. On the other hand, it wasn’t really cold by our standards in November, and there’s been no ice fog to speak of. (What’s really cold by Alaskan standards? 40 below and colder, which coincidentally is where the Farenheit  and Celsius scales cross.)

Thermometer

8:00 this morning, 10 degrees below the official temperature of -38.

More of the same is forecast, though some clouds are expected, Still, no above-zero temperatures in the forecast. My thermometer has been reading lower than the official temperatures, and Sunday morning it was somewhere below -40. How far below I’m not sure–the electronic thermometer starts reading LL whenever it’s that cold. Too cold to go outdoors, anyway! It warmed up a bit during the day yesterday (somewhere in the low – 30’s) but by sunset it was back to LL. The dial thermometer, which wasn’t too far off the electronic one while both were working, said 45 below at 9 pm yesterday. This morning, with the electronic still reading LL, it was at -48°F.

#Writemotivation:

Final report: the manuscript of Rescue Operation is now ready for my editor when she gets back.