NORDLYS (NORTHERN LIGHTS)



Straight overhead.

Over the house.

I am writing this installment on Sunday night, after basketball and shopping, with the weather howling outside.  It is an unseasonable +5C, strong winds and rain!  The rain on top of the icy permafrost makes the entire town a skating rink.  It is beginning to rain so much there are streams forming.  This obviously makes it hard to walk, drive and even want to go outside.  The flight in was canceled due to a slippery runway and is likely to be the case tomorrow if it doesn’t change.  This has ripple effects as to what is in the store etc.  The winter has been about 10 degrees above normal this year, so the locals are not too happy… limited snowmobiling, limited skiing, and no ice on the fjords for easy access to the mountains or their cabins. This has been quite a change from the beginning of the week when it was -10 and still.  On the day of the solar flares, Tuesday, it happened to be clear here in Longyearbyen and Nicole and I stood outside for a few hours and watched the light show to the southeast.  Although the brightest locations were northern Norway and Canada, it was still fascinating to see the streams of light right outside our door. 

Over the town.

Looking up Adventdalen

Across Orion.

Green and red.

Picture of the week: Green and red in two directions over Sukkertoppen.

The boys both had colds this week, Jason first and then Anders, so the house was busy all week.  I used the week to finish my part of the cruise report and to pack and send off some of my equipment that I will no longer be using.  It is one thing to get boxes, it is another to get them ready for shipping…labels, shipping invoices, packing, delivering them etc.  I got a number off though and it feels good to have at least part of the process done.  Last night, neither Anders nor I could sleep, so we went for a walk at about 1am. This was before the switch to rain and there was a light snow.  Anders has not been to want to go for spontaneous walks, but the stay up factor was a great motivation.  We had a good time walking around the quite town. 

Longyearbyen early Sunday morning.

Anders looking at the east side of Longyearbyen

The governor's building.

The old coal receiving station.

I am off to a movie at the kulturhus, “Mission Impossible”… no great expectations… just a short diversion.
P.S.  It was pretty good.