Arctic calling card, Palmer's

As a photographer, I'm always on the lookout for interesting light; as a naturalist, I'm forever looking for signs of impending change. This late-afternoon scene is both. There's a cold front starting to move in from the far north, as weather conditions are, for the first time this winter, allowing the fabled Polar Vortex to escape from its Arctic prison and swirl over our area. The snow-filled clouds are the calling cards of changes in an increasingly strong wind.  With the temperature already low, not counting the wind chill, and forecast to hit records way south of zero, we'll be thankful that we have two wood stoves to crank up and keep the Vortex at bay. On my trips outside, I'll be thankful for my new winterproof clothes and trusty old winterproof Fuji camera.