Katabatic

Several years ago, I watched part of an educational TV program about Antarctica. What stuck with me was the description of the katabatic wind that swept off the ice dome and down to the sea level. This fierce, cold, and strong wind was so terrible that it killed penguins, prevented their bodies from decomposing, and sand/snow blasted their carcasses into eerie half skeletal, half frozen flesh forms. This image is my ultimate paradigm for extremely cold weather. I guess this has become more common with the release of March of the Penguins, a movie on my must see list that everyone has told me to see and I believe them. For a lovely image of the winds, click on this link.

Boston is suffering from similar weather conditions, and if I stay outside too long, I have visions of a similar fate. Today is such a dynamic change from the balmy sunlight of yesterday. I woke, after a horrendous nightmare, to the feeling of cold air blowing through the apartment. We have not yet put up the plastic that we had last year because the temperature has not been so bad. When up, it is almost invisible and really stops quite a bit of the cold air. We also used weather stripping putty and foam to fill some cracks between parts of the window and frame that were pouring cold air into the apartment.

Since my fractal is only half rendered it will not be available till Tuesday night, and I can't render any others till it is done. Maybe I will make another snowflake to go with the season and put it on later.

(Later) OK, here is a snowflake: