Thanks to Tina at Travels and Trifles for this week’s Lens Artists Challenge, cold. The first day of summer is less than a week away in New Zealand so the only cold we have here right now is the ice cream that all the strawberry places are selling. We’re at the mercy of our larger neighbour, Australia for most of our weather and when they get a heat wave, which they seem to be having far more often these days, they send it our way a few days later. The Tasman Sea takes some of the sting out before it reaches us but it’s still been a very warm spring.
But up until Christmas, the weather is often changeable and it’s not unusual to have a fire going on Christmas Day. I remember the only time as a child our family decided to spend Christmas Day at the beach. We ended up eating Christmas dinner in the back of the station wagon when a hail storm swept through.
We felt the edge of a hail storm just the other day. My friend who lives at the bottom of our hills was deluged, we had about a dozen hail stones drop on us.
In September, we cruised to Glacier Bay in Alaska where we watched the Margerie Glacier calving into the sea. One of the few glaciers still advancing, the Margerie grows about 30 feet (9 meters) a year. It’s difficult to gauge it’s size, but that wall of ice is about 150 feet or 45 meters high (think a 14 storey building). And don’t be fooled by the blue sky, a cold, cold wind blew off the the ice. It felt a bit like being in a fridge.
The water at the foot of the glacier was a freezing slurry.
A glacial iceberg.
Seals on ice.
We live in a small valley surrounded by native forest and protected from cold winter southerlies. But that shelter means frost settles on us. The month of July is our coldest and looks a lot like this. Luckily, frosty mornings are usually followed by blue sky days.

Frost flowers form on the grass in winter and you crunch, crunch, crunch across leaving deep footprints.
A water leak turns into stalactites on a fence.
What does cold look like in your part of the world?
Oh my! Happily not quite like that. You are amazing, thank you for showing us your pioneer spirit!
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Thank you Tina. It was more fun than you can imagine, once we had some dry firewood. 😊
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Superb. Water in my part of the world does NOT look like THAT!
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Thanks John. Winters are generally short here, thankfully.
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Wendy, wonderful shots of the glacier. Had a good laugh when remembering my outhouse “journeys” in winter 🙂
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I felt my heart jump when you wrote about a the growing Margerie glacier – not possible in my world nowadays…is this true`? Thank you for amazing photos and news! Loved your pioneer hut as well.
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According to Alaska.org yes, it’s one of the few hanging in there.
Our little hut was very warm and comfortable for nearly 12 years but I don’t think I ever enjoyed the outhouse in winter. 🙂
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😀
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Your shots of the glacier are fabulous. I admire your pioneer spirit, Wendy!
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Thank you Patti. It’s all a memory now.
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Ah yes, the outhouse in winter! It took me years to brave a winter in McCarthy because just the thought of the outhouse…… Nice post. I like the frosty grass.
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Yes, but that’s REAL winter! I don’t blame you.
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