The Light - and Bugs.

Some of you have asked about these two aspects of life in Yellowknife: what's the light like??? and: how are the bugs???

Second question first: the bugs aren't bad, at least not yet, at least not in the city, at least not on the boat, and even - at least - not during the hikes we did in fairly breezy conditions. I've had two no-see-um bites, I think - actually, I'm pretty sure, because I react badly to them and I remember them very well, all too well, from a camping vacation in Vermont in June of 1989. Which brings me to this: even if there are bugs, as I am sure there are, there are worse places in the world for bugs, and I've been in them: mosquito masses in the Hardanger Vida in Norway, flea hordes in my otherwise picturesque Amsterdam rooming house, uncountable because unseeable no-see-ums in the northeastern US states. So far, Yellowknife has been relatively paradisical by comparison.

The light - well, here are a few pictures. My camera is getting old and doesn't do the light justice, but the images do give an impression of the night sky in summer.

First the sun going down between 11:30 and midnight (that's the school across the street below the setting sun):

Then sunset, perhaps up to an hour later :

Finally, night around 3:00 a.m. at which time the streetlights are on, in my view unnecessarily (it's actually somewhat lighter than the picture shows). People water the garden across the street after midnight some evenings, some evenings kids sit and talk - summer just seems to be a different time.