We all knew the warmer weather would come to an end here in Yellowknife, and quite frankly I was looking forward to it. Although I do enjoy it being only -5 outside, but while I’m walking around there are things I do miss. The snow on the roads does not stay packed and makes it a mess to drive in and it seems like it is always cloudy.
I can happily say that streak has broken. This Saturday morning, the first in December, I awoke 2 hours later than normal, due to the fact I didn’t have to work, to an very uncommon amount of light coming through my window. I frantically tried to find my phone, to see if I had succeeded in sleeping in for a decent amount of time, but I was surprised to find it only 7am. As I crawled out of bed, it felt that little bit chillier in my basement bedroom and as I glanced out the window I saw the ever so clear blue sky. And at the exact moment I knew it was colder outside than previous days and I knew winter was here in Yellowknife.
One of the beauties of a Yellowknife winter is its pleasant amount of clear sky days. It is like a super charge of life. For those of you who don’t have the pleasure of living in Yellowknife you may not realize how dark it is and how little day light we actually get in the winter. Currently the sun, when it is not cloudy, will come up about 10am and set about 3pm. You can see how someone who works inside with out any windows might not get to see any of the day light. That is why on days like this, where it is so clear and the sun is so bright, I make it a point to get outside and take in as much as I can. I like to think after living in Yellowknife for 13 years I have adjusted myself to the light and darkness.