I was finishing up some work on my computer this morning, when Skippy said I should go out and take some pictures of the imminent sunrise. Also on my to-do list for the morning: using the outhouse and then feeding the sled dogs, the usual routine. What ensued, once I stepped outside, can only be described as the unavoidable pull of photography on my sight and mind. You might use the term “addiction,” if you so chose.

It started out rosy, contrasting nicely with the white-capped mountains.

I took a few pictures, and went back inside to suit up and complete the other two items on the list. I stepped back outside, and the view had become even more beautiful. I ran back in and grabbed my camera and tripod.

Okay, that finished, I went back inside to put away my camera and tripod. I made it halfway up the path to the outhouse before turning to look and see everything go from beautiful to mind-numbingly amazing. Back to the house, grab the camera and tripod, run!

In total, I took 130 pictures this morning. My hands were numb (it was 24 degrees F), I was covered in snow (there are 6 inches of snow on the ground, more where it drifts), and I still had to go to the bathroom. But I think I managed to capture at least a little of the beauty we saw this morning!

We’ve had a whole lot of rain the past week and a half. It was sunny the first few days after we arrived, then Alaska pulled the old bait-and-switch, plummeting the temperature by 15-20 degrees and covering the sky with clouds.

The rain has made taking care of the dogs more of a chore, what with the constant threat of slipping and falling on our butts while holding 30 pound bucket of dog food, not to mention being cold and wet. However, having 36 dogs happy to see us and our buckets, and the affection we get to lavish on them after they eat is more than worth the slight discomfort of the season.

Here are a couple of pictures I took when the sun lit up the lighter cloud cover over the mountains. The light was so bright beneath the darker clouds, it was hard to look at directly.

A little later, it became a little less intense, so I got out my telephoto.