In other Boy Dog news, we met a puppy on our walk and it scared and overwhelmed him so much he lay in the snow and cried. This dog is 70lbs and has the massive jaws of a hunting lineage.

I'm not saying it's been a long Christmas but I am singing "Nothing in there for you." to the tune of Nothing Compares 2 U to Boy Dog as he begs* shamelessly at the snack cupboard. *doesn't actually beg, his brain doesn't work like that. He stands, stares and expects, but we both know what he means

Winter's back. She was just taking a run-up.

🎵 Well the weather outside is frightful, But... No, wait. That's it. The weather outside is frightful.

...and in strange aeons, even Tiny Tim may die...

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Tiny Tim R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

Merry Christmas specifically to all my fellow people with histamine disorders who have already consumed more poor choices than their medication allows for and are going through Christmas bloated, itchy and regretting none of it. 😂 (Maybe regretting some of it)

Relearning the perils of attempting to predict the weather up here* because it is currently snowing like all fuck 😂 Doesn't change the planet being a disaster though. It's still 1°C. *there simply isn't enough data, even the best mathematical models have their limitations

Husband chatting to Old Lady Dog: "No, I don't think Santa brought this for you. Dogs can't have wine. But I was talking to Santa earlier and he said maybe Husky Santa will drop round later with some fish heads. But only if you're good. Husky Santa brings coal too. Stop trying to drink my wine."

Deep discussion this morning about how Santa and his reindeer actually take off. Do they use the airport runway? Hike a mountain first and then launch from the plateau? Or is it like high-marking but without the scary bit at the top where gravity wins out?

I live closer to the north pole than penguins do to the south pole and we are not going to get a white Christmas this year. It is 2°C and raining. I just want to reiterate how utterly fucked that is.

Important small town news being passed around the local coffee shop today: has everybody seen the one massive cheese on the reduced shelf in the supermarket?

I used to have a personal 'no long stays in small towns' policy. Now I have the same policy but with a specific exception for small towns in big wilderness and small towns that otherwise look like this. 💚

The light show is a little softer this morning 💚💙

Just completely stacked it aurora chasing. Had to thrust my tripod aloft like a torch while the rest of me plunged through a rotting snow bridge. But fellas. If you could see the set I just got from beneath the old mine cableway, not one of you would have done any different.

Emerald clouds tonight over my weird little town at the end of the world

Quality small town churching from our small town church, which has this poster prominently displayed.

My snoooooowwwwww 😭😭😭

Serious* aurora this morning. *I am here defining 'serious' by 'individual shapes visible with the naked eye through thick cloud'. Completely ridiculous, I've never seen anything like it.

I didn't take a non long exposure shot but this is the same image processed to as close to reality as possible. It's possible to spot dayside aurora but really only if conditions are just right and you already know what you're looking for.

Got that solstice sort of feeling today. Lunchtime in the northernmost town in the world. (Very long exposure to show you the dayside aurora. Actual visibility is closed to nothing)

Me: "I'm upset to learn that the word gnu is actually pronounced 'new'." Husband: 🤨 "Gno it's gnot." (It *is* and I am upset about this.)

My husband and Old Lady Dog are winding each other up over breakfast 😂 he is alternating between signing 'all done' and flipping her the bird with both hands and every time he stops engaging with her and looks away she walks up to him and gives a very pointed 'woof' right in his face

Today's 6am dog walk was even more spectacular than usual. I guess she heard we were having trouble with the lights and decided to help out

Whole town blackout at lunchtime today. Social media posts from elsewhere: OMFG! Sabotage! Invasion! Call NATO! Social media posts from inside the town: - the energy company's canteen looking like the Mary Celeste - the supermarket posing with the flashlights they're giving as members' Xmas gifts

It is family run day. That is, interval sprints day, so Old Lady Dog is allowed to come too. She just does the runs on a long, super elastic lead, so she doesn't need to pull or cover as much distance as Boy Dog and me. Boy Dog is furious. I think she's cramping his style.

We have returned 😁

Oh. The entire towns power supply just went out. The moonless polar night is suddenly extremely dark indeed

Cheese and ham omelette for dinner. Old Lady Dog has died of lack of cheese and ham omelette.

Okay, tourists. I generally love tourists. You're mostly great But To the lady who stopped Boy Dog and I on our run today to ask 'how would you like it if somebody made you run in these conditions?' I am sorry I fully lost control of my face when trying to respond.

Polite letter to Old Lady Dog: it is ok to decide you don't want to be a husky any more due to the horrible storm outside. We can do a 2 minute high-speed bathroom break, no problem. What you can't do is then sit inside, singing about how awful the weather is. Husky is an all or nothing commitment.

It's warm but it is very much the wrong kind of warm.

Today is the traditional community Christmas bar crawl. You decorate your kick sled with lights, then start from the northernmost bar in town, at sea level, and gradually make your way to the southernmost, 120m up.

Made some additions to the standard sandwich I ordered. Forgot to ask for other ingredients to be substituted out, so I have just been handed a ham, cheese, chilli, mustard and pickled onion sandwich and it is entirely my own fault.

I've booked two hours in the self-service sauna on the fjord for Christmas Day. If the aurora doesn't show, we're going to fall out.

Bluesky, we need a chat 😂 you're not allowed to be that much more enthusiastic about my half-arsed Friday morning dog walk snap than any of the carefully composed, high-effort stuff I spend hours on

Temperatures all the way up to 0°C and 90km/h winds tomorrow, after heavy snow today. Also known as 'Stay the Fuck Away from the Mountains. Don't Even Look at the Mountains.' weather.

I have horrible period pain and Old Lady Dog is in heat, so we are sulking horribly on the sofa together. It is not a pleasant atmosphere but we are owning it. Robot Wars is on the TV (with Norwegian subtitles because Old Lady Dog doesn't speak English).

She's being a bit dramatic this morning. Sudden, brilliant green spikes and then gone again before you can blink, only to reappear moments later over a different mountain

Big fan of small town early mornings, just before the world wakes up

I just watched this more than half a dozen times on loop 😂 www.instagram.com/reel/DRX2ztJ...

Sounds a bit like he's trying to impersonate the eiders...

Big dog having a big dream (but with tiny boofs because he doesn't actually know how to bark properly - turning the sound on will improve your day)

Look, mate. I'm glad you're having a good time, but I did put that antler on your nice, padded, quiet bed for a reason. ( BANGBANGBANGBANGCRASHCLANGBANGBANG)

Rush hour in the riverbed (The sky got comically not-green the second I stepped outside so I just stuck around for this shot)

-14 and the sky's gone a little green, so you may not see me for a while

It is -11.7°C today, which is pretty much the perfect temperature, right after the snow gets sticky and right before the inside of your nose starts to freeze.

Small Town Murder is one of my favourite podcasts and is great for people who like true crime but, like me, struggle with the glorification or 'murder porn' that often comes with it/would rather somebody just called the police out for incompetence. HOWEVER, many warnings and caveats, see list below

Fully going to need to reflect on my life choices 😂

Can't really argue with this, can you?