Northern Lights

Last night I was doing the dishes when the phone rang. It was my friend, Julie. Our conversation went something like this:

"Hi Donna, it's Julie. Have you been outside recently?"

"No."

"Well go outside. The northern lights are out."

She may have said something else after that, but after I heard "northern lights", I was gone. Bren was in the living room doing homework. I yelled at her,
Bren! The northern lights are out! Come on!". I ran outside, the phone still pressed to my ear. When I looked into the sky and saw the green light making waves in the sky I was in awe. It is so beautiful! I kept saying into the phone, "Oh my gosh! It's so pretty!"

Julie must have known I would react that way, like an excited little kid, as I've been giddy since I arrived here. I'm so glad she called me to let me in on Alaska's big show.

(I found this photo via Google Images and posted it here because this is is what the lights looked like last night. You can read about the Aurora Borealis here if you like.)

The temp dipped into the 20's last night and the sky was clear. Later in the evening Bren and I went out to the back porch and were amazed when we looked at the sky; there was an incredible amount of stars visible. What captivated us the most, though, was how close the Big Dipper seems. The last time I remember seeing that many stars at night was on a scuba diving trip in the Philippines in 1987. I look forward to getting out to a place where there are no lights and a good view of the sky here.

The high temp today was around 50 F and it was beautiful. We took the dogs on a nice long walk this afternoon. They really like their new stomping grounds!