KONG51 - Day Three

 We awoke to a wet Sunday morning with temps just above freezing. But only a gentle breeze outside! I had set a dough of bread on Saturday afternoon, and it had a good night's rise. Another two hours of shaping and resting followed before a two-hour final proofing started at 08:30. At noon, the bread was done. 

And this is it.

Propagation-wise - no rise there. Very poor conditions overnight, consistent with propagation forecasts so only the usual dominants were heard. Maybe the best catch (thorough check not done yet) was KGIW-CO 1450, heard both on the 340 beverage and at alt-Loran.

After our usual Cappucino and Caffé Latte routine, I went out for quick walk and took these photos.

Sun and sun dog

Sebulonbukta - The Sebulon Bay. Kongsfjord in the distant, centre of photo.

The KONG HQ

DX Starts Here! (pt. I) - start of the 340-deg beverage.

DX Starts Here! (pt. II) - start of the 310-deg beverage.

KONG HQ and the hamlet Veines (left). 310-deg starting point visible.

The hamlet Veines

Facing NW - Antenna support belonging to the 310- and 340-deg beverages.

Just after 12 we drove to the alt-Loran site to collect the SSD with last nights recordings, replace the battery and set down a new grounding rod with termination at the far end. We didn't have to, since after a bit of searching in the "swampy" area we did in fact find the old grounding rod - albeit without the terminiation. That fixed, we drove back to the KONG HQ in sleet showers.

Dinner! Ole the farmer brought with him some products from his area, such as Umami (huh?), Jalapeño & Cheddar, and Bratwürst sausages. Served with a paste of almond potatoes and carrots, Heinz ketchup and Idun mustard. Maybe we should have had beer with this, but being who we are we chose red wine, a Bellerouche Côtes du Rhône 2023.

Sausages...from left, Bratwürst, Jalapeño & Cheddar and Umami, which unexpectedly won the first price!  

More importantly, these products are local (to Ole, not me). In dire times like these, locally produced alternatives should always be preferred, even when more expensive.

Weather: Calm, some sleet and rain showers in the afternoon but otherwise dry. Just above freezing, peaking at 3 Celsius. Tomorrow's forecast is sunny but windy, up to 4 Celsius but cold overnight.

So, with this image of the western horizon at 17:20 local, it's time to finish off another report from the Arctic.