High Noon Dec 21

Hello everyone,
I've read many blogs but still don't feel the winter in the far north has been accurately portrayed, by myself either for that matter. We have entered the time of year when the sun never rises, but that doesn't mean its pitch black out 24/7, It means we spend some time each day in dawn and dusk state but fail to have all the stuff in the middle. This photo was taken as the sun reached its apex around 2:00 pm. As you can see it never breaches the horizon line. Around 12:00 each day we reach a state of dawn where you can see fairly well to almost a kilometer, you can open your curtains and get some residual light through the windows etc. Around 3:00 pm dusk begins in earnest and light fades fast, we remain in true blackness for maybe 18 hours a day. The moon only sets for about 5 minutes each day so it is essentially always present.
Obviously though these numbers decrease the further north you go. We are currently at 67°27'N, 133°44'W approx 500 km north of the arctic circle, but in places further north such as Arctic Bay these number are even further reduced to mere minutes a day where indirect light can be achieved.
As a family we are suffering though this worse than we have in our three winters in the north so far. As for myself, when I can get a lunch I spend it in the apartment asleep whenever possible, Christopher is now no longer attending school in the afternoon as he can no longer concentrate after lunchtime and will remain away from school in the afternoons until February when full light (to some degree) should return (at the recommendation of the school), and Melissa is suffering more than any of us as she already suffered from a SAD before coming up here and there are days when she cannot stay awake more than 4 hours a day even with her sun lamp.
Take Care,
And Above all (just to annoy the PC's) Have a Very Merry Christmas.
CG