First and foremost let me state that I love where I live. I love Alaska. I love the wildness of its nature, the wildlife, the sweeping landscapes, the crazy weather, the aurora and the way people try to live more one with nature. But there also comes a time when I go a little stir crazy. Call it cabin fever or light depravation but I think what it really comes down to is it feels like we are living our life in monochrome. Everywhere you turn things are black and white. The Alder and Birch trees have lost their leaves and begin to look like these dark crazy spindly creatures that are reaching out to grab at the life around them. The firs create this vast black blots along the snow covered mountain landscape or look like they have been frosted by some delicious fluffy icing.  And there is snow EVERYWHERE, covering EVERYTHING. Don't get me wrong, we want it and lots of it, but after 3-5 months of nothing but this thick white blanket you start to yearn for color to dazzle you. Its at this time of year that I have to make a decision, either I be miserable and complain about the lack of color in my life OR I search for the beauty that is hidden in this frozen, icy landscape. And when I look I usually am not disappointed. For instance, today we were 'treated' to a round of dense ice fog that leaves driving, and just seeing, very difficult but leaves the trees, statues, and bushes covered in what is called hoar frost. A hoar frost is a very dense frost that can form up to a couple of inches on items left outside. All of this creates a stunning landscape that still has me smiling, even if it is once again a monochrome world.