I live in a magical world, a world with a quality of light that is hard to quantify, where I can step out of my door and be in the wild. A world where the sun never sets for three months in the summer, and offers only tantalizing hints of it with a glow in the horizon that dims until Christmas and then brightens with the promise of a February sunrise. A world that birds flock to each spring, and then leave again when the snow begins to fly, all but a couple of hardy species, one of which plays and thrives, the smartest of birds, the Raven.

I live in the High Arctic of Canada, at the north end of Baffin Island. At first blush it might seem greedy to want to earn this trip to the Antarctic, for I’ve visited there already, I’ve also traveled on the Orlova here in the Arctic, leading a tour for (ahem) another nature travel company. Most summers I can look out my front door and see the Orlova anchored in Arctic Bay at least once.

But I know that the Antarctic is another magical place, with a rare quality of light. And I know that I am the perfect fit to blog about that place, and the expedition of traveling there. I am a writer, an amateur photographer of some skills, and I know of the challenges of the polar regions. We experience many of the same environmental challenges, posed by a changing climate, that are threatening Antarctica. I’m also a blogger, having written the House and other Arctic musings for over four years, so I know the dedication it takes to write daily, especially when there are wonderous things happening all about you.

So check me out at the House, and vote.