Yesterday's Sunrise and Sunset and Last Chance for Calendar Giveaway

Yesterday we went for a long lunch with friends.  As we were leaving home I snapped this shot of the sunrise at 11:35, 41 minutes after the official sunrise.

On the way home, I snapped this shot of the sunset at 2:12, 41 minutes before the official sunset.

You're probably thinking that there isn't much difference from the midday shots in my last post.  There really isn't as the sun doesn't climb very high in the sky at this time of year.  Well, there was no ice fog yesterday as the temperature was up to about -8F.  

I'll be drawing for my calendar giveaway at Midnight tonight Alaska time, so if you haven't thrown your name in the hat yet you still have time.  Photos of the calendar are HERE, and you can comment on either this post or that one to have your name in the drawing.  Good luck!

Midday at 40 Below

On the day after Christmas we went to visit friends and I took a few photos along the way.  The photos were taken between 12:30 and 1:00, and the temperature varied between 38 and 44 below.  It was a sunny day, but there was a bit of ice fog.  The shots taken into the sun look a bit darker, but the light in the last photo is probably the most accurate.  Yes, our daylight is on the upswing, and we've already gained over 10 minutes a day.

If you haven't put your name in the hat for my calendar giveaway, be sure and comment that you want to be included.  You can see the photos in the calendar by clicking HERE and you can comment on that post or this one to be included in the drawing.  I'll be doing the drawing New Year's Eve close to midnight Alaska Time, which will be New Year's Day for most of you as Alaska is just east of the International Date Line.  And, yes, I will mail the calendar to wherever in the world you live.

Merry Christmas!

Check out my calendar giveaway in my last post.  The drawing will be on New Year's Eve, so if you haven't already commented to be in the drawing, you can comment on this post or the last one.

Calendar Giveaway

I put together a calendar this year, and just picked the finished product up from the printers.  Although I've found a few proofing errors, I'm still happy with how it turned out.  Although I've been busy the last month and haven't had much time for blog visiting, I very much enjoy all of the wonderful people I've met through blogging.  To show my appreciation, I'm going to have a drawing on New Year's Eve for one of the calendars.  If you'd like to be in the drawing, comment on this post and mention that you'd like to be in the drawing.  You can also comment on any of the posts I do between now and then. 

Below is a collage of the 12 photos in the calendar, with the bottom three being bonus photos at the back of the calendar.

Good luck!

There's Gold in Them Thar Hills

One of the best views in town is up on the hill at the University of Alaska.  Last week I was there shortly before 1:00 and took these shots.

There's been a lot of gold mined in our area, so there probably is some gold in them thar hills, but the gold in the photos is all the result of the low midday sun angles and taking the photos into the sun.

And, yes, that's as high as the sun gets at this time of year.  Today's sunrise was at 10:55 and sunset was 2:39, making the length of day 3 hours and 45 minutes, but adding an hour or so of twilight on either side of sunrise and sunset gives us a bit more daylight than that.  We'll lose a couple more minutes over the next couple of days until the shortest day on the 21st.  Then we start gaining daylight again!  Hooray!  Summer is on its way! 

Crane Dance

I ran across this series of photos that I took early in May during Spring migration at Creamer's Field.  I do love watching the Cranes dance!

A Second Look......

This afternoon we were on the way to a doctor's appointment, and the sun going down provided some lovely color in the sky.

We turned the corner, and I got a second look--or perhaps it was a second, third, and fourth look!

Afternoon Sun

December 2, 2013, 2:00 p.m.

-20F, Sunrise 10:23 a.m, Sunset 2:57 p.m.

Exquisite Lace

A Little Tilt

Things got a little tilted in Fairbanks this last week.  Well, this house wasn't really tilted, just the camera as I took a drive-by shot.

The tilt had to do with all those powerlines that show up in our photos when we'd much rather they didn't.  I'm much more appreciative of them right now.

We had a couple of good snowfalls, the first of which I showed you in my last post.  Then last Wednesday things warmed up to the upper 30s, and then we had freezing drizzle, and then some more snow, and then some freezing rain and then more snow.  During the night the wind began to blow, gusting to 55mph.  Now, that's not anything compared to the tornadoes that swept across the Midwest Sunday, but still enough to cause a lot of problems.  The heavy snow on the trees caused a lot of White Spruce trees to blow over, taking numerous power lines with them.  About 13,000 homes lost power, and that's in an area with a population of around 100,000 people.  There are still about 800 homes without power, and the forecast for Wednesday is for 30 to 40 below zero.  We were without power for only about an hour Wednesday night, but lost power several times over the next few days.  The schools were closed for three days, and so my granddaughter Sydney spent two of those days with us as her preschool was closed too.  

Today we drove downtown a bit after noon, and the photos below are all drive-bys, taken between 12:30 and 2:00.  Yes, the sun is at its peak for this time of year, and we're down below six hours between sunrise and sunset.

 

I left my computer off for a couple of days, and I am just getting back into the swing of things.  I'll be playing a little catch-up on blog reading over the next several days.  Hopefully power will be fully restored to everyone soon.  For now at least those powerlines are a thing of beauty!    

Patterns in the Trees

 November 11, 2013 

Remembering.....

.....all those who have fought for our freedom.

White on White

Creamer's Field, November 9, 2013

These look like black and white shots, but instead the snowy day washed the color from the view of the barns.  More snow is on the way, and it looks like winter is settling in.