Minnesota, -20 °C. After hearing that even Lviv got a glimpse of the aurora, skipping it here felt almost criminal. -20? Fine. That Duluth Trading Company parka I bought three years ago, after a long internal fight with my wallet, finally got its moment. The last two Minnesota winters were such a joke that it had been hanging in the closet untouched, waiting for a real reason to exist.

I was late to the party. Peak activity was around 6 pm, and I only made it out around midnight. A little flicker, and then nothing. But unexpectedly, I learned something useful: winter aurora watching can actually be very comfortable if you drive out onto a frozen lake. No trees, no buildings, just space and sky.
And yes, a small background panic about whether the ice will hold 🤪

📷 Canon R6, Lightroom

#Minnesota #ExploreMinnesota #MNastodon #OnlyInMN #MNWinter #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #ChasingAurora #NightSky #NightPhotography #Astrophotography #SkyLovers #Starscape #WinterVibes #ColdWeather #FrozenLake #Winter #Midwest #MidwestNature #NaturePhotography #LandscapePhotography #RealWinter #WorthIt #QuietMoments

Tough gig being a snowman at the dog park. #mnwinter #otterlakedogpark #Minnesota

This strange flower of a creature has thoughtfully arranged himself for maximum toe-heating. #MastoDog #EffingCold #MNWinter #FloppyEars

I braved this winter storm armed with snow tires, an epic playlist, and a tiny Subaru to make my way to Cindy. It's so cold my windshield wipers spread slush across the view, which froze in even layers until I gave up, pulled over, scraped that sh*t off, and relied on the windshield only heat setting. The slight shame of snuggling another's cat and sending them photos of it as proof of life will linger in my brain for days.
#mnwinter #catlover #allergies #drivesafe