Final Days of Frosty Wonder

Our time in Churchill is coming to an end. I am a bit frantic to get in one last chance to take in all the wonder that Churchill offers. Sometimes it is a small wonder as in these icicle pics, sometimes it is the vast beauty of the frozen landscape, and we even had a picturesque morning with frosty trees thanks to the stillness in the air.

You don’t see many icicles in Churchill during the winter months, but this year brought a few days of warmer temperatures. Of course these days were followed by howling winds. Check out the icicles on the side of this older building. During our last days, Brian noticed (and photographed) this crazy icicle dangling from the edge of the roof. for three days we watched it sparkle as the wind blew it around.

With clear skies on our last days, I took several walks around the CNSC grounds to photograph the snow covered trees and the snow drifts sculpted by the wind. In one of landscape shots below, you can see the soft pink light of sunset on the tundra. The sun was on the other side of the sky, but all around is the gentle blanket of pinkish light.

This photo truly reflects how awesome this snow drift looked. It was very large!

On Tuesday morning as our last group was preparing to depart, I went outside to check some tracks left by a visiting animal- probably coyote. I noticed that the landscape was sparkling in the morning sun. The night before, the flags lay almost limp on their poles. This is such a rarity that I took a photo. Overnight, the vapor in the still air clung to every tree branch as frost. Such a pretty world!

It was our final day, and we headed to town to catch the train. I made one last trip to the beach on the frozen shore of Hudson Bay, and it was definitely getting closer to beach season. I could see the sand! I collected a few rocks for my rock baskets on our porch at Georges Pond in Franklin, Maine. I find rocks much easier to care for than plants

Karin takes her last look at Hudson Bay

This large crack was very close to the shoreline and several feet deep.

My beach buddy Karin and I made one last stop to admire the beluga whale sculpture in front of the town complex. On our walk to Gypsy's to meet the others, we found these cuddly little puppies who were very curious about us.

 We were all meeting at Gyspy’s for a final dinner, and then it was off to the train station to say goodbye to our northern family. It is always bittersweet to leave the north, but I do have the promise of little Charlotte and her new talent for winning smiles.